The report of the national housing deficit of over two million housing units by the Minister of Works and Housing and the ranking of Ghana in 77th position out of 199 passports in the 2021 Henley Passport Index are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Francis Asenso-Boakye, says the national housing deficit is in excess of two million housing units.
He said it was currently estimated that 60 percent of the country’s population would need some form of government assistance to help them to get access to housing, while 35 percent would not be able to access housing even with government support in terms of subsidy.
At the maiden discussion series christened “Home Ownership Series”, and initiated by the First National Bank, Glitz Africa Living and GLICO in Accra last Thursday, Mr. Asenso-Boakye said the government recognised the enormity of the housing challenge that the country faced.
Glitz Africa is an exciting high-end celebrity, lifestyle and fashion brand which highlights the life of the contemporary African.
The Home Ownership Series is a new platform created to deepen national discourse on how to solve the national housing problem.
The maiden edition brought together stakeholders and policymakers in the industry to deliberate on the challenges in the sector and to suggest a pragmatic solution.
The newspaper says that Ghana has been ranked the 77th position out of 199 passports in the 2021 Henley Passport Index.
The index was compiled by Henley and Partners which has been regularly monitoring the world’s most travel-friendly passports since 2006.
Per the latest rankings and analysis, having a Ghanaian passport gives one access to 65 visa-free destinations including Jamaica, Singapore, Guyana, Tanzania; and 162 visa-required destinations including New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and Finland.
In 2020, Ghana’s passport was ranked the 75th most powerful passport in the world.
Nigeria placed 95th with access to 46 visa-free destinations and 181 visa-required destinations.
Japan holds the first position with its passport offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations around the world.
Singapore remains in second place (with a score of 192) and South Korea ties with Germany in third place (with a score of 191).
The UK and the US shared the number one spot back in 2014, but their passport strengths have steadily eroded in the years since.
They’re currently in joint seventh place, alongside Switzerland, Belgium and New Zealand.
The Graphic also reports that Ghana has been asked to make a law on campaign expenditure and finance to enhance the overall transparency and accountability of political finance, the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission to Ghana (EU EOM) has suggested.
It said the law should establish disclosure requirements of incomes and expenses for parties and candidates and limits on expenditure and donations, including for in-kind donations.
The Chief Observer of the EU EOM, Mr Javier Nart, made the call when the team presented its observations and recommendation on Ghana’s 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections at a press conference.
The Mission returned to Ghana to present its final report on its observation of the elections and to discuss with stakeholders the proposed reforms contained in it.
It said such a legislation established effective oversight, sanctions and enforcement mechanisms that included a timely publication of all campaign finance reports, including online.
The EU EOM also asked Ghana to introduce an effective sanctioning mechanism against the misuse of state resources, including administrative and security apparatus, during the election period.
It also asked government to provide the National Media Commission (NMC) with sufficient resources to conduct media monitoring and properly oversee the work of the media.
Daily Guide says that Ghana has recorded a total of 771 deaths related to coronavirus.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, made this known to the media in Accra, on Sunday, April 18, 2021.
According to him, as of April 15, 2021, some 91,709 confirmed cases had been detected out of 1,047,048 tests conducted.
He said 89,604 patients have been discharged and that as of April 15, this year, 46 new infections had been recorded.
According to him, the Greater Accra Region was still the epicenter of coronavirus in Ghana.
He noted that there has been a significant decline in covid19 cases since mid-February from over 8,000 to less than 1,500.
He added that Ghana has so far received 966,850 coronavirus vaccines.
GIK/APA