Ghana: Press spotlights Ghana’s plan to consolidate gold production in Africa, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The plan by Ghana to consolidate its position as the leading gold producer in Africa, as new mines come on board is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that Ghana intends to consolidate its position as the leading gold producer in Africa, as new mines come on board.
The new mines are expected to help push gold production output from the projected 4 million ounces in 2023 to over 4.5 million ounces this year.
Ghana last year reclaimed its status as the leading gold producer in Africa after losing that position to South Africa in 2021.
This was after the country’s gold production increased by 32 per cent from 2.8 million ounces in 2021 to 3.7 million ounces in the third quarter of 2023, with the full-year production figure expected to be around 4 million ounces. The production figure for 2022 was 3.4 million ounces.
At a stakeholder breakfast meeting with the Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Minerals Commission, Mr Jinapor said the government was not resting on its laurels but putting in place measures to consolidate this position.
He said there have been significant investments in the construction of new mines and the redevelopment of existing ones, which was welcoming because for the country to maintain this position, it would require investments in new mines and investments in exploration.
“The Bibiani Mine, which had been dormant for seven years, was revived in 2022, and we are looking forward to new mines coming on stream, including Cardinal Namdini, which has committed to pour its first gold this year, Azumah Resources and Newmont Ahafo North.
“When all of this comes on board, it will mean that our status as the leading producer will be consolidated and in the foreseeable future, we will continue to be the lead producer,” he stated.
The newspaper says that the government is implementing measures aimed at providing an enabling environment for accelerated private sector growth, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has said.
Mr Ofori-Atta said there was a need to deliberately make the country more accommodative for private investors to attract more foreign investment that would help expand the economy and create jobs and prosperity.
Mr Ofori-Atta was speaking to a gathering of the Chinese business community in Ghana as part of the Ghana Mutual Prosperity Partnership Dialogues in Accra on Monday [January 22, 2024].
Present at the meeting was the Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond, Ambassador of China in Ghana, Lu Kun, former Ghana Ambasador to China, Edward Boateng, and Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Tony Oteng-Gyasi.
Also present were the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and Chairman of the China Enterprises Chamber of Commerce in Ghana, Yang Qun.
Mr Ofori-Atta explained that, the event was part of the government’s efforts at engaging with businesses that will be at the forefront of championing Ghana’s economic recovery.
He said with bilateral trade volume between Ghana and China reaching an unprecedented high of $10.2 billion, and Ghana’s exports to China surging by 60 per cent, the government wants Chinese businesses to operate in a more conducive environment.
The Ghanaian Times reports that a cervical cancer strategy to support Ghana’s effort to prevent and control the disease is currently being developed.
It is being done by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) through a group of experts in cervical cancer control.
The Director-General of GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, who revealed this at the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer Symposium in Accra on Friday, said the strategy would help the country to achieve the global elimination targets while streamlining the multiple disjointed efforts to address cervical cancer.
“GHS has initiated efforts to establish a Technical Working Group for cervical cancer. Together with WHO, the group of experts are drafting a cervical cancer strategy which will support the national efforts at prevention and control.
The strategy seeks to chart a course for Ghana to achieve the global elimination targets whilst streamlining the multiple disjointed efforts to address cervical cancer,” he stated.
The event was organised by OmniDiagnostics in collaboration with the National Vaccine Institute and Atlantic Lifesciences Limited on the theme “Advancing Awareness, Building Capacities and Enhancing Healthcare in the Fight Against Cervical Cancer and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)”.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said globally, a total of 604,000 new cases of cervical cancer were recorded, with 342,000 deaths in 2020, making the disease the fourth most common cancer in women.
However, he said 90 per cent of the deaths were attributed to low-and middle-income countries which Ghana was no exception.
He explained that cervical cancer was the second commonest female cancer in Ghana, affecting an estimated 3,151 women, with 66 per cent rate of fatality.
The newspaper says that an initiative of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the project aims at addressing the root cause of unemployment in the country and focuses on sectors such as agriculture, agribusiness, tourism, creative industry, building and construction.
It is being implemented under five pillars comprising: Youth Skills Development (YSD), Access to Markets (ATS), Access to Start-up Kits (ASK), Youth Social Networks (YSN) and Youth Social Networks and Institutional Strengthening, Policy and Regulatory Support (YSNIS¬PRS) with funding of $55million from the MasterCard Foundation.
Dr Bawumia said the Biz Box was a transformative initiative birthed as a result of the collaborative effort between the GEA and the MasterCard Foundation and built on the successful Young Africa Works – Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment program (YEEP).
He said the Young Africa Works Project, with a budget of about $13million implemented between 2020 and 2022, impacted approximately 94,000 young people in the country.
“Now, armed with a budget of US$55 million, the new Biz Box project sets an ambitious goal to empower 250,000 individuals, support 125,000 with start-up kits, provide market access support to 50,000 businesses, and regulatory support to 40,000 businesses,” he emphasised.
Dr Bawumia noted that Biz Box project, would be implemented across all the 16 regions and 261 districts of the country, adding that “also benefiting diverse groups, including youth, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), vulnerable females, majority women-owned businesses, and female youth-led businesses.”
He said that the project symbolised hope and opportunity, encompassing the tools, knowledge, and support necessary to initiate, develop, own, and grow successful businesses for young people in Ghana.
GIK/APA