The report that the African Development Bank (AfDB) is projecting Ghana’s economy to grow by 3.4% in 2024, up from the 2.9% growth recorded in 2023 is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the African Development Bank (AfDB) is projecting Ghana’s economy to grow by 3.4% in 2024, up from the 2.9% growth recorded in 2023.
The growth of the economy is expected to be led by industry and services on the supply side and private consumption and investment on the demand side.
The GDP growth projection is consistent with Fitch who is also predicting a GDP growth of 3.5%. It is however, higher than the projections of the government in the 2024 budget and the World Bank who are both predicting a lower GDP growth of 2.8%.
The AfFB also expects Inflation to remain outside the Bank of Ghana bound of 8±2 at 20.9% in 2024 and 11.1% in 2025.
The fiscal deficit is also projected to widen slightly to 4.9% in 2024 before narrowing to 4.2% in 2025 as fiscal consolidation efforts continue.
The current account deficit on the other hand is projected to widen to 1.9% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025.
Ghana’s outlook was clouded by several factors, including the impact of fiscal consolidation under the Post-Covid Program for economic Growth, the lingering effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, limited access to finance and foreign exchange, and global macroeconomic shocks.
Ghana’s outlook was clouded by several factors, including the impact of fiscal consolidation under the Post-Covid Program for economic Growth, the lingering effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, limited access to finance and foreign exchange, and global macroeconomic shocks.
The newspaper says that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that the commissioning of the Law House in Accra on Monday was symbol of his government’s dedication to upholding the tenets of the rule of law.
“The importance of this building goes beyond its physical structure. It symbolises our strong dedication to upholding the tenets of the rule of law, which is the bedrock of any thriving democracy”, he stated.
He explained that the completion of the building was a testament to the New Patriotic Party government’s commitment to addressing the long-standing office accommodation issues that have hindered justice delivery in Ghana.
“The completion of the law house stands as a testament to the NPP’s government commitment to addressing the age-old office accommodation problem that has plagued the Attorney-General’s office and the Ministry of Justice”, he added.
President Akufo-Addo stressed that the building would house the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice providing a conducive environment for the efficient administration of justice in Ghana.
Addressing a ceremony to officially open the building in Accra on Monday, President Akufo-Addo noted that the rule of law ensured that no one was above the law, and that the principle of equality before the law was upheld.
“The Justice is administered fairly and impartially and the rights and freedom of every citizen are protected. It is the foundation upon which we built an equitable free and just society”, he said.
According to him, throughout his tenure as president, his government had made significant progress in strengthening the justice system, including efforts to digitize and modernise the legal and judicial processes.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has allocated $1 million to support locally-led climate change actions in Ghana over a period of five years.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has allocated $1 million to support locally-led climate change actions in Ghana over a period of five years.
The project, which spans from 2022-2027, is to be undertaken in collaboration with the Ghana Red Cross Society ( GRCS) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
It aimed at promoting communities to reduce their climate-related risks and adapt to climate change, including in some of the least supported and most vulnerable and marginalised communities.
At a stakeholder briefing on the IFRC’s local-led adaptation and humanitarian response to climate change in Accra on Thursday, the Regional Coordinator of Climate Change at IFRC, Patrick Twala, said the project would focus on scaling up locally-led integrated and multi-sectoral approaches which could help build sustained climate resilience at the community level.
He said it would introduce a new, holistic and more strategic approach to ensure transformative changes across targeted national societies, institutional set-up, programmes and operations, ensuring that they become truly ‘climate-smart’ and scale-up evidence-based locally-led climate change adaptation efforts.
Mr Twala said the project was targeted to reach 250 million people and about 100 million communities by 2025 to ensure that they build their capacity and resilience while enhancing their knowledge to understand and appreciate the locally-led climate change adaptation.
The newspaper says that a Norwegian Research Vessel (RV) has completed a survey in Ghana’s territorial waters aimed at assessing the country’s stock of fish resources, and gathering data on marine pollution levels.
The Dr Fridtjof Nansen vessel conducted the assessment as part of the 2024 Trans-boundary Demersal and Pelagic Resources Survey, a 30-day marine ecosystem research within the Gulf of Guinea.
Named after a renowned Norwegian ocean researcher, the vessel is owned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and manned by the University of Bergen’s Institution of Marine Research.
It is central to the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF)- Nansen Programme, a partnership with Norway and 32 African/Bay of Bengal countries, to support sustainable fisheries and food security.
With eight Ghanaians among the team that conducted the research, the vessel previously visited Ghana in 1981, 2016, 2017 and 2019 to conduct similar stock assessments.
Addressing stakeholders ahead of a tour of the vessel which docked at the Tema port on Friday, a Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Abdul-Aziz Ayaba Musah, said the report of the collaborative survey between Ghana, Norway and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) would be ready in six months.
GIK/APA