Ghana: Press spotlights government’s commitment to clean, equitable energy transition, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
Ghana’s commitment to a clean, equitable energy transition that will harness the full potential of renewable sources and energy efficiency and President Akufo-Addo’s support for restitution and repatriation of African cultural properties stolen and taken away by Europeans are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed Ghana’s commitment to a clean, equitable energy transition that will harness the full potential of renewable sources and energy efficiency.
Bearing in mind that ambition alone will not transform the country’s energy systems, he said, “That was why we embarked on creating an energy transition and investment plan that details what is needed to reach our goals. I look forward to working with international partners to realise the many opportunities presented in this plan.”
A release issued in Accra by the Director of Communications, of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Sherry Kennedy, said the occasion was when President Akufo-Addo and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General of SEforALL, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, Damilola Ogunbiyi, met in Accra to discuss the plan’s findings and recommendations, and ensuring that it is backed from the highest levels of government.
Ms Ogunbiyi, according to the release, also participated in an inter-ministerial committee meeting, where she briefed ministers on how the plan was designed to support the work of various ministries, including environment, transportation, industry and others.
It said at other stakeholder engagement, the private sector, civil society organisations, the youth and other advocacy groups were allowed to weigh in with what they would like to see the plan prioritise.
Among the points raised was the need for equitable access to the social and economic opportunities generated by the plan, such as jobs, particularly for women and the youth.
Ms Ogunbiyi expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to meet with President Akufo-Addo, the ministers, local community groups and the youth.
The newspaper says that the Ministry of Finance has underscored the government’s unwavering dedication to meeting its forthcoming financial obligations within the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
This declaration follows the successful settlement of the initial coupon payment under the DDEP, which amounted to approximately GH¢2.4 billion (Ghanaian Cedis).
Implemented in 2022 as a strategic initiative to alleviate Ghana’s unsustainable debt burden, the DDEP has been pivotal in restructuring the nation’s fiscal landscape. This program allowed eligible bondholders the option to exchange their existing bonds for new ones featuring extended maturities and reduced interest rates.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance said: “Under the terms and conditions of the DDEP, which was launched on December 5, 2022, to complement Government’s fiscal programme, the first coupons of the tendered bonds were due on August 22nd, 2023. Accordingly, on Tuesday, August 22nd, 2023, government honoured its commitment and fully settled the first coupon due from the DDEP, in the amount of approximately GH¢2.4 billion.”
The Finance Ministry affirmed the government’s dedication to upholding all future financial responsibilities as per the stipulations of the new arrangements.
Furthermore, the issuance of these new bonds has cemented their prominence as the prevailing instruments in Ghana’s domestic bond market, which augments the groundwork for a robust economic recovery.
The Ministry of Finance also asserted the government’s unshakable support for the triumph of the New Bonds and the development of a reliable and robust domestic securities trading market.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the President, Nana Addo Dank¬wa Akufo-Addo, has reaffirmed his support for restitution and repatriation of African cultural properties stolen and taken away by Europeans.
He said it was more imperative now than ever for Africans to reclaim what was rightfully theirs but “illegally and shamelessly” appropriated from the continent by colonial masters.
“I support fully the initiative for the return and repatriation of African cultural properties to the continent,” he emphasised.
President Akufo-Addo dis¬closed this at the opening of a three-day summit for the restitu¬tion of African cultural heritage organised by the Open Society Foundations at the W.E. Du Bois Centre in Accra on Monday.
Present at the event were Af¬ricans in the diaspora and other dignitaries from across.
President Akufo-Addo ex¬plained that the need for resti¬tution, return, reparation, and repatriation of stolen and looted African cultural properties under pre-colonial and colonial circum¬stances had to be issues of major concern to all Africans.
He said his support was not oblivious to the tension and contestations associated with the restitution processes, adding that “To achieve this call will require working partnerships with inter¬national counterparts based on mutual respect and understanding, involving dialogue, negotiation, and consensus building at all levels.”
“If reparations can rightfully be paid to victims of the Holocaust, it is so that reparations can be paid to victims of the slave trade,” he emphasised.
The newspaper says that global economy needs Africa to build back again from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant, has said.
He said Africa offered the new frontier for global econom¬ic growth and recovery due to the impact of the coronavirus disease and the Russia-Ukraine war on the global growth.
Mr Grant stated this in Accra on Tuesday at the Second Edition of the GIPC CEOS’ breakfast meeting.
It was on the theme “Pro¬moting Sustainable Economic Growth: Balancing Foreign Domestic Investment (FDI) and Local Content in Ghana”.
Mr Grant said Africa of¬fered the largest tariff market in the world through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said AfCFTA presented a market with a population of 1.4 billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product of 3.4 trillion.
He said Africa had about 40 per cent of the world’s mineral resources, such as gold, copper, manganese, and bauxite.
Mr Grant said about 90 per cent of the energy transition min¬erals, such as lithium and cobalt, were found in Africa.
“Africa also holds about 60 per cent of the world’s arable land for food production,” Mr Grant stated.
He said the location and desti¬nation must provide attraction to foreign capital.
Mr Grant indicated that in spite of the numerous investment opportunities Africa presented, it attracted less than five per cent of global Foreign Direct Invest¬ments (FDIs).
That, he said, was worrying because of the prospects Africa held for global growth.
GIK/APA