APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that the central bank says all banks whose capital were affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme have complied with the directive to submit their recapilisation plans ahead of the September deadline set out under the IMF programme is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the central bank says all banks whose capital were affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme have complied with the directive to submit their recapilisation plans ahead of the September deadline set out under the IMF programme.
These plans will now be reviewed by the central bank and finalised by the banks for final approval.
Under the IMF programme, individual banks were expected to submit their credible time-bound plans to rebuild capital buffers on a phased basis in line with timelines set out under the financial sector strategy.
Addressing the media at the Monetary Policy Committee Press Conference, the Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, said: “All the banks have fully complied and summited their recapitalisation plans for review.”
Although he did not give details of the plans by the banks, Dr Addison, at the May MPC press conference indicated that the central bank expects banks to approach their shareholders first to recapitalise and if they are not successful with that, they may have to seek assistance from the yet-to-be-operationalised Financial Sector Stability Fund to do so.
Banks in the country have relatively been stable following the financial sector clean-up which saw them increase their stated capitals to GH¢400 million.
However, the recently concluded DDEP which saw the participation of all the 23 commercial banks in the country hit hard at the industry, with 16 banks recording significant losses in 2022.
The newspaper says that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana has increased its monetary policy rate to 30 per cent.
This represents a 0.5 percentage points rise over the previous rate which stood at 29.5 per cent.
Addressing the media at the MPC press conference, Governor of the BoG, Dr Ernest Addison said the increase was due to elevated risks to inflation driven by a rise in food prices.
After declining consistently between January and April, headline inflation increased in May and June on account of a variety of factors, including high food prices, implementation of new tax measures and utility tariff adjustments.
For instance, overall inflation increased from 41.2 per cent in April to 42.2 per cent in May and then further to 42.5 per cent in June. Underlying measures of inflation have all ticked up in May 2023.
Dr Addison noted that while core inflation ticked up, businesses’ expectations of inflation remain flat at an elevated level.
Although inflation is expected to decline in the near-term, baseline forecasts show a slightly higher elevated profile in the year ahead, which, if not contained, could embed in underlying inflationary pressures.”
The Governor explained that it was important that policy responded appropriately and decisively to prevent those risks from becoming embedded and consequently derail the disinflation process.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana has no plans of building a Skytrain, but rather focusing its attention on the Western and Eastern railway lines development for the moment, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA), Mr Yaw Owusu, has stated.
He said it was extremely expensive to build skytrain as a kilometre was estimated to cost $20 million within the cities, adding Ghana does not have the resources for such project.
Mr Owusu who conceded though that the skytrain project was mentioned in the budget, made these known in an exclusive interview in Kumasi during a stakeholder sensitisation workshop on the new Railway Master Plan on Friday.
As part of government’s agenda to revitalise the railway network, GRDA, under the Ministry of Railway Development, he said had revised the existing master plan which seeks to create an efficient railway network linking all the regional capitals and potential mineral deposits.
Mr Owusu indicated that railway network in the country was less than a percentage of the transport sector, and there was the need to change that narrative and concentrate on the development of the existing ones.
So far, he said $2billion had been invested in the ongoing projects such as the Tema to Mpakadan, Takoradi port to Nsuta mines to Huni Valley and Obuasi to Kaase to Adum.
The CEO was worried that Ghana could not borrow from the financial global market because her credit rating was low.
The newspaper says that the former Minster of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has been arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
This comes in the wake of suspicion of corruption and corruption-related offences, regarding large amounts of money and other valuable items reportedly stolen from her residence.
Ms Dapaah, who resigned from her ministerial position on July 22, 2023, is currently being interrogated by authorised officers of the OSP.
A statement from the OSP, cited by the Ghanaian Times in Accra, said the investigation aims to shed light on the alleged corruption and ascertain any wrongdoing in connection with the reported theft from her residence.
Media reports had suggested that the minister possessed one million dollars, three hundred thousand euros, and millions of cedis, all of which were stolen from her residence.
However, in a statement addressing the issue, Ms Dapaah denied these allegations, and stressed that the information being circulated in the public domain differs significantly from the core of the initial complaint.
The incident came to light when two former house helps, Patience Botwe, and Sarah Agyei, were charged with allegedly stealing cash, jewelry, clothing and personal effects from Ms Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, in their home, in Abelemkpe, in Accra.
Patience, the primary accused, is also facing charges related to the theft of kente cloth and men’s suits, belonging to Mr Kuffour.
Additionally, three other individuals, namely Benjamin, Kweku Botwe, and Malik Dauda, were charged with dishonestly receiving portions of the stolen money.
The accused were brought before the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Susana Ekuful, on July 20, 2023.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press spotlights submission of re-capitalisation plans by banks, others
