The appeal by President Akufo-Addo to African leaders to unite in their response to the culture of military takeovers which are gradually creeping into the sub-region is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appealed to his colleague leaders committed to democratic rule to unite in their response to the culture of military takeovers which are gradually creeping into the sub-region.
He said these takeovers did not augur well for regional security, stability and development, and everything necessary must be done to reverse the trend.
“As we have been saying, we have come to office in difficult times in the life of West Africa. These various unconstitutional changes of government… you yourself suffered an attempt… yeah, it’s a difficult moment, but I think it is extremely important for those of us who are committed to democratic rule to continue to be very vigilant and also to be united in our response to what is going on in West Africa,” he stressed.
President Akufo-Addo, who made the appeal during a discussion with the visiting President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Mokhata Sissoco Embalo, at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, said there was a lot the two countries could do together in that direction.
He said one of the most important things to consider as part of their engagement was to inaugurate the permanent joint commission for cooperation and development for the two countries.
President Akufo-Addo said the concept of establishing a joint committee had already been agreed upon, however, the and where the inauguration would take place was being worked on.
“As I indicated to you, cooperation in the fishery sector, for instance, is something that could be of great benefit to us as well as to you. We’ve got schools here that are well equipped for education in the fishery sector.
I think that it is an area where we can be of benefit to residents of Guinea Bissau to come here to go to the school’s…fishery schools, we also have a regional Maritime Academy which is here in Ghana because of a high reputation and all these things we can put together in the fisheries sector and provide us with an opportunity to go forward,” he said.
President Embalo, on his part, said Ghana occupied a special place in the heart of the people of Guinea-Bissau and both countries would continue to work to deepen the relations.
He said the role played by Ghana in the African liberation struggles which paved the way for the independence of the people of Africa could not be overemphasised, stressing, “It is here in Accra that many freedom fighters, including that of my own country, found inspiration and indeed the needed political and material support to conduct the struggle for the liberation of the country from foreign domination and occupation.”
President Embalo said his visit was geared towards deepening his country’s bilateral relations with Ghana and in all areas of common interest.
“I am here to repeat our conviction that together we are working hand-in-hand in the spirit of brotherhood, complimentary and solidarity such that the two countries could achieve many important objectives,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced new policy measures to control inflation.
The new policy measures, which would take effect this month, are also to build a strong banking industry to promote financial intermediation mandate to support economic activities.
The Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, disclosed this during a press conference in Accra after the 117th regular meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the BoG, saying the move was to mop up excess capital from the market to combat inflation.
He said the move was also to encourage the banks to support businesses more instead of investing in government instruments and bills.
Dr Addison observed that credit to the private sector by banks continued to remain weak.
“As at February 2024, private sector credit growth was 5.1 per cent compared with a 29.5 per cent growth recorded in February 2023. In contrast, as at February 2024, banks’ investments in Government
of Ghana and BoG instruments stood at GH¢53.6 billion, an in¬crease of 67.6 percent year-on-year, compared with an increase of 36.9 percent for the corresponding period of 2023,” he said.
The Graphic reports that Ghana’s economy will enter a recovery phase this year as the government is expected to increase expenditure in an election year, rating agency, Fitch, has predicted.
It said the recovery would be driven by stronger private consumption.
Going into the 2024 elections; many have expressed concerns that the government would overspend its budget, a situation which would derail the gains that have been made under the IMF programme.
With every election year characterised by huge budget overruns, the government has been cautioned to put in efforts to stay within its projected expenditure in the 2024 budget.
But Fitch is projecting that an increase in government expenditure in an election year would help set the economy on a recovery phase.
It said inflation would moderate further as a result of statistical base effects and greater exchange rate stability, which would support purchasing power and boost household spending.
The newspaper says that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has cautioned individuals and organisations to always be in a position to satisfactorily explain their sources of wealth.
That, it is, said was because sudden unexplained wealth could be as a result of money laundering.
The BoG gave the advice in a social media post as part of a financial literacy initiative to sensitise the public about money laundering and terrorist financing.
The central bank described money laundering as a process whereby money obtained from unlawful activities such as drug trafficking and corruption is legitimised through complex transactions and processes called “cleaning” to hide its illegal source.
“Beware! Both the underlying illegal activities which produce the “dirty” money that has to be “washed or cleaned” and money laundering, which seeks to legitimise the proceeds of the illegal activities are punishable by law,” the post said.
Terrorist Financing on the other hand, it said, includes the provision of funds and financial support to individuals, state and non-state actors for the purpose of extremist acts and the promotion of terrorism and terrorist organisations.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press spotlights President’s campaign against military takeovers in Africa, others
