APA – Accra (Ghana)
President Akufo-Addo’s call for a debate to arrive at a constitutional decision on emoluments in view of the public’s concerns about the matter dominates the headlines of Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for a debate to arrive at a constitutional decision on the entitlements of Article 71 Officeholders in view of the public’s concerns about the matter.
He set the tone with a suggestion that the country, among others, must examine the practice of other jurisdictions such as the United States of America, where the principles were established and automatically adjusted according to certain objective criteria.
He further averred to the newly constituted Committee of Emoluments for Article 71 Officeholders to consider public concerns about whether or not such officeholders, notwithstanding the constitutional imperative, deserved what was paid to them in view of the current economic challenges.
President Akufo-Addo made the call when he swore in a five-member Committee of Emoluments for Article 71 Officeholders at the Jubilee House in Accra last Wednesday evening.
The committee is chaired by a lawyer and immediate past Chairperson of the Public Services Commission, Dr Janet Ampadu-Fofie.
As the terms of reference, the committee is to make recommendations in respect of emoluments and other privileges for Article 71 Officeholders as specified under the Constitution.
The Ghanaian Times says that the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), at the just ended 9th African Medicines Regulators Conference in Kigali-Rwanda, has been designated a Regional Center of Regulatory Excellence (RCORE) in Vaccines Regulatory Oversight in Africa by the Africa Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDANEPAD).
This move underscores FDA Ghana’s commitment to strengthening the vaccine regulatory capacity of other regulatory authorities in Africa.
The FDA Ghana’s expression of interest to be considered as an RCORE in Vaccines Regulatory Oversight was reviewed by the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation’s (AMRH) Independent Review Group.
The AMRH Steering Committee approved the Review Group’s recommendation for FDA Ghana to be designated as RCORE in Vaccines Regulatory Oversight for the following functions:(i) Overarching Regulatory System, (ii) Marketing Authorisation, (iii) Vigilance, (iv) Market Surveillance and Control, (v) Licensing of Premises, (vi) Regulatory Inspections, (vii) Laboratory Access & Testing, and (viii) Clinical Trials.
The authority’s new designation as an RCORE institution for Vaccine Regulatory Oversight actually constitutes an addition to its already existing RCORE status for Marketing Authorisation, Vigilance and Clinical Trials for Medicines since 2014.
Over the period, it has trained more than 158 regulators from 17 countries (francophone, anglophone and lusophone) in Africa.
The RCORE designation is also in alignment with the government of Ghana’s agenda to make Ghana the vaccine hub for Africa.
This was announced in the presence of notable figures including Heads of National Medicines Regulatory Agencies, representatives from the African Union Commission, Africa CDC, the World Health Organisation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The newspaper reports that the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) PLC is unable to recommend payment of dividends to its shareholders for the 2021/2022 financial year due to operational challenges and other shortfalls, the Board Chair of the company, Mr Kwaku Owusu Baah, has stated.
Among these, he said were shortfalls in cocoa beans supplies, frequent machines breakdown and cash flow challenges leading to losses during the period under review.
“The last three years have been difficult both for nations and for businesses globally as a result of the COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war. The pandemic led to recession and economic contractions in many countries and the cocoa and chocolate industry was not spared,” he added.
Mr Baah said this at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the CPC in Accra yesterday to discuss the annual reports for 2021 and 2022.
The meeting was attended by shareholders, directors, staff of CPC and other stakeholders.
He said the pandemic disrupted supply chains, leading to labour shortage, transportation bottlenecks and increased cost.
However, the Chairman stated that CPC’s losses were on a decline from a high of more than US$18.6m in 2020 to over US$12m in 2021 and further down to US$12m 2022.
“Additionally, beans processed decreased from 13,819 metric tonnes in 2020 to 13,097 metric tonnes in 2022 but while quantity of beans decreased, our turnover position improved, increasing from US$13.6 million in 2020 to US$41.8 million in 2021 and further up to US$43.5 million in 2022,” he added.
Mr Baah assured of CPC’s commitment in ensuring the safety and health of its employers, adding that the operations of the company were therefore subjected to regular evaluation and re-evaluation by the Environmental Protection and Department of Factories Inspectorate
The Acting Managing Director of CPC, Mr Frank Adu Asante, in his remarks stated that cocoa beans processed during the years under review were 13,494,883 metric tonnes in 2020/2021and 13,096.875 metric tonnes in 2021/2022 representing marginally lower than 13,957,450 metric tonnes of cocoa beans processed in 2019/2020.
He mentioned that the reasons for low production was attributed to the unavailability of variety of beans which were more portable to process.
“Technical setbacks due to delays in procuring parts from external sources for repairing plant and equipment, financial constraints affecting timely acquisition of spare parts for machinery were some of the reasons for the low production,” he added.
The Ghanaian Times also says that countries along the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) have been tasked to adopt a comprehensive and coordinated approach in tackling other challenges in the maritime space besides piracy.
According to the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Major-General Richard Addo-Gyane, although piracy had declined, other issues like Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, cyber threats and gender disparities persisted in the GoG.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day Maritime Security Conference in Accra yesterday, he urged stakeholders of the GoG not to rest on their oars in their efforts to have a safer and resilient maritime environment.
The conference, on the theme; ‘Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Fostering a Comprehensive Approach to a Complex Problem,’ aims to consolidate gains made in addressing diverse challenges in the GoG.
It is being organised by the KAIPTC, the Royal Danish Defence College and the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA) of the Stellenbosch University, with more than 80 participants from Ghana and beyond.
They would discuss IUU Fishing and other challenges, and the Yaounde Code of Conduct (YCC), which was signed 10 years ago by 25 heads of state to foster maritime security.
Major-General Addo-Gyane attributed the ‘calm seas’ in the Gulf of Guinea to the national, regional and international efforts particularly made by Nigeria and the EU Coordinated Maritime Presences (CMP).
He praised countries within the GoG maritime space for redoubling collaborative efforts on maritime security issues through the YCC, and commending the other conference organisers for their commitment to maritime security.
He said the KAIPTC would continue to provide globally recognised capacity for all actors on African peace and security through training, education, research, and policy dialogues to foster peace and stability in Africa.
GIK/APA