The assurance by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, that the BoG and the government will work to ensure that the country does not derail from the implementation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extend Credit Facility (ECF) programme with Ghana is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has stated that BoG and the government will work to ensure that the country does not derail from the implementation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extend Credit Facility (ECF) programme with Ghana.
“…in Ghana’s recent history, we have not been able to successfully implement an IMF-supported programme in an election year without derailment. The government and the Central Bank are committed to changing that narrative. We recognise the importance of continued macroeconomic stability and an early return to the capital markets, and we will remain committed to ensure that programme implementation stays firm,” Dr Addison said in a statement after the joint press conference between the IMF, BoG and the Ministry of Finance on the second review of the IMF ECF programme with Ghana.
The government reached a Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) with the IMF last Friday after a successful second review.
The SLA will pave the way for the disbursement of $360 million to the country subject to the approval of the management and the Executive Board of IMF, bringing to $1.560 billion the total amount of funds Ghana has received from the IMF.
Ghana is currently implement a three-year balance of payment support with the IMF with an amount of $3 billion to prop up the economy and ensure debt and macroeconomic stability following the growing public debt.
Dr Addison thanked the IMF team for spending the last two weeks with the government and pouring over numbers and discussing matters to move the economy forward.
“We are happy that this effort has not been in vain and we are ending the Mission with a Staff-Level Agreement, which we hope will translate into a Management and Executive Board approval for the release of another tranche of IMF support,” he stated.
The newspaper says that the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, on Tuesday together with traditional authorities in the Northern Region launched the 2024 edition of the Green Ghana Day with the target to plant 10 million tree seedlings across the country.
The launch, on the theme: ‘Growing for a Greener Tomorrow,’ which is the 4th edition of the Green Ghana Day, formed part of the government’s aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, launching the programme, said climate crisis was worsening day-by-day, hence the need for everyone to come onboard to cultivate the habit of planting more trees each day in their various institutions and homes.
He stated that the Green Ghana Project was one of the measures the government, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, adopted to curb the incessant degradation of the forests which had been ongoing for years without any conscious effort to replace them, and to contribute to the global fight against climate change.
“Available data shows that between 2010 and 2015 alone, the amount of forest our country lost, far exceeds the area of forest cultivated between 1963 and 2016, a whopping 53 years, which stands at 157,300 hectares,” he added.
He said since Akufo-Addo took office in 2017, as the President of Ghana, he had committed to an aggressive afforestation and reforestation programme, which had led to the cultivation of almost 721,000 hectares of forest between 2017 to 2023, under the Ghana Forest Plantation Strategy.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that the Chief Director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Afizah Zakariah, has urged the public to create an all-inclusive environment to help promote diversity, investment and effective collaboration for women in the country.
According to her, the nation obliged to integrate gender into national planning and budgeting to address inequalities, leading to gender mainstreaming at all levels.
“As a nation, we are obliged to integrate gender into national planning and budgeting to address inequalities leading to gender mainstreaming at all levels. I urge us all to create an all-inclusive environment that will help promote diversity, investment and effective collaboration for women in Ghana,” she stated.
Dr Zakariah said this in a speech read on her behalf by the Assistant Programme Officer, Ms Richlove Anima Berchie, at the launch of the National Advocacy Campaign to mark the International Women’s Day.
Organised by Plan International, Ghana in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, Ghana Enterprise Agency and Environmental Protection Agency, the initiative form part of the Women’s Innovation for Sustainable Enterprise WISE) Project.
The event held in Accra, last Saturday was on the theme: “Fostering Economic Justice and Equality for Women Leaders in Business and Entrepreneurship for Accelerated Economic Growth.”
The Graphic reports that 2,456 pharmacies have been onboarded on the National E-Pharmacy Platform, representing a major milestone for the digital platform and for Ghana.
The platform went live in January this year, after it was launched in July 2023 by Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, and piloted for about six months.
After registering on the e-pharmacy platform with a Ghanacard, any prescription can be uploaded onto the platform via mobile phone through https://www.gnepplatform.com/ (or through a USSD code).
The platform enables subscribers to find out which pharmacies are close to them, and whether they have the medicines they are looking for.
Subscribers are also able to compare prices of medicines across different pharmacies. Using your mobile phone, you are able to order the medicine, pay for it, and have it delivered at home, or your location through a digital address or pick it up.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press focuses on assurance of strict implementation IMF credit deal
