The report of two Ghanaian companies which have secured licences to export their products to any member country of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and plans to increase revenue from the tourism sector to $6 billion within the next three years are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that two Ghanaian companies have secured licences to export their products to any member country of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
They are Kasapreko Company Limited and Ghandour Cosmetics Limited.
Kasapreko successfully exported a 20-footer container of alcoholic beverages to South Africa by air, while Ghandour Cosmetics also shipped a 20-footer container of cosmetic products to Guinea by sea last month.
A Senior Technical Advisor at the (Ghana) National AfCFTA Coordination Office, Dr. Fareed Arthur, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra last Tuesday, explained that the office, which serves as the liaison between Ghana and the AfCFTA Secretariat, assisted the companies to meet the necessary protocols for the maiden shipment of their consignments.
“Two different consignments with the needed documentations and processes have already been exported to test Ghana’s readiness under the initiative. It was also used to assess the forms and format of documentations to accompany consignments,” he said.
To trade under the initiative, Dr. Arthur explained, a company needed a certificate of origin issued by a competent authority, such as the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The newspaper says that the Minister designate for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, has outlined plans to increase revenue from the sector to $6 billion within the next three years.
Currently, data from the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) indicate that the sector contributed $1 billion to the economy last year, with global projections indicating that the figure could increase to $1.2 billion by the close of the year.
The Minister designate, who made an ambitious $5-billion projection of inflow within his first two years in office when given the nod, insisted that it was very possible, considering the fact that the country raked in $3.3 billion in 2019 due to the Year of Return initiative.
Dr. Awal was, therefore, confident that initiatives such as the Year of Return and Beyond the Return, a further improvement of tourist sites and Ghana’s arts and culture would help achieve that target.
He said his plan was to make the tourism sector the number one foreign exchange earner for the country in the next four years.
Ghana’s tourism industry is currently the fourth foreign exchange earner, with gold, oil and cocoa occupying the number one to three positions, respectively.
The Graphic also reports that Ecobank Ghana, has in partnership with the Women’s Empowerment and Investment Group (WEIG), Annan Capital Partners, GUBA and Ozé disbursed GH¢150,000 as COVID-19 Stimulus package to 10 beneficiaries as part of an initiative to support women-led businesses in Ghana.
The partnership forms part of the bank’s commitment to the growth of women-owned and led businesses as well as the overall empowerment of women across Africa.
Speaking at a virtual conference, the Executive Director for Finance and Executive responsible for Consumer Banking at Ecobank Ghana, Dr. Edward Botchway, said, “For us at Ecobank, we are committed to the actualization of women empowerment across Africa, as a pan African Bank, we do this in alignment with the Africa Union’s principle of gender parity”.
“This, partly, underpins our collaboration with organizations like the Women’s Empowerment and Investment Group, a women-led Ghanaian Investment Holding Company set up to efficiently channel capital into high-potential SMEs that prioritize female empowerment and entrepreneurship. This disbursement ceremony is consequently part of our continuous commitment to the growth of women-owned and women-led businesses across the country and the continent at large,” he added.
Speaking at the launch Mrs. Roberta Annan, the Managing Partner of Annan Capital Partners said; “A lot of women have viable businesses but require funding to expand, we are therefore hoping that this disbursement will be the first of many such initiatives in our support for women-led businesses.”
On her part, the CEO of the Women Empowerment and Investment Group (WEIG), Ms Adeline Akufo-Addo Kufour said; “We are very excited and glad that we are able to contribute to the growth and sustainability of these 10 women-led businesses in very challenging times. As part of the funding, we have also lined up a series of business development workshops to support them in their business operations.”
The Times says that Transport Minister designate, Kwasi Ofori Asiamah, has said that the government will not legalise the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes.
This is because existing traffic regulations and enforcements do not support the commercialisation of motorcycles popularly known as ‘Okada’.
“We have an issue of enforcement in this country and based on what is pertaining on the ground today it will be difficult for me to lead the legalisation of okada,” Mr Asiamah told the Appointments Committee of Parliament in Accra on Tuesday.
According to him, motorcycle accidents and accompanying fatalities were on the increase and that legalising the trade would exacerbate the situation.
“Mr Chairman in 2010 the people who died out of motorcycles accidents was 210. With the 2020 figures, out of 2,500 who died from road accidents, 1,050 are as a result of motorcycles,” he said.
Denying that government hinted of a stakeholder engagement to legalise the trade in the run up to the 2020 election, Mr. Asiamah said it may later engage if traffic regulations and its enforcements improved.
“Thankfully the police are trying to modernise their system of traffic control. If the conditions in terms of traffic management, in terms of enforcing regulations becomes conducive, why not? We will assess it,” he said.
GIK/APA