The award of The Companion of the Order of the Star of the Volta honour to Kenyan President William Ruto by President Akufo-Addo of Ghana is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that Ghana has awarded Kenyan President William Ruto the country’s The Companion of the Order of the Star of the Volta honour.
Conferring the honour at a State banquet on Wednesday evening, President Nana Akufo-Addo said that President Ruto was an “example of a new generation of African leaders” who have decided to insist on the application of principles of accountability and due process to all citizens no matter their status in society”.
He pointed out that President Ruto had done this no matter the complexity or sensitivity of political consequences.
“Under your leadership,” President Akufo-Addo said, “Kenya has become a shining example of a nation governed by the rule of law.”
He said under President Ruto’s leadership, Kenya has regained its place of pride at the international stage.
President Akufo-Addo cited declining inflation, growth in start ups and the number of Kenyans set to have access to housing and health insurance.
The newspaper says that stakeholders in the coffee sector are advocating for strategic pricing as pertains in the cocoa sector. This is to help revive the industry and facilitate Ghana’s coffee sector to enable it to reclaim its position in the global market.
By implementing strategic pricing measures, they believe the industry can enhance competitiveness, ensure profitability for producers, attract investment, and improve the overall perception of Ghanaian coffee products among consumers.
“Strategic pricing is paramount in this endeavour. By setting prices that ensure profitability and attractiveness to investors, we can create a conducive environment for the coffee industry to thrive. This approach will not only make coffee cultivation financially rewarding for farmers but also encourage new investors to participate in the sector.
The pricing determination will be fixed in such a way that it makes the business of coffee more profitable to make the business of coffee more compensatory enough so that any investor who wants to go into coffee will be able to participate and earn an income from coffee. So this is the opportunity we have as a country and what is required of us is concerted efforts and strategic planning to make sure that we regain our position in the coffee industry,” the Vice President of the Coffee Federation of Ghana, Samuel Adimado, said.
He was speaking in an interview with Graphic Business on the sidelines of a private sector stakeholder forum on coffee pricing scheme and capacity building workshop in Accra last Tuesday.
The workshop organised by the International Trade Centre (ITC) brought together key stakeholders from the private sector including farmers, roasters, traders, exporters, and some government regulators to collaboratively develop and propose a pricing scheme for green coffee beans that aligns with global commodity futures while incentivizing quality production to improve farmer incomes.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Virginia Palmer, on Thursday sworn-in 20 new Peace Corps Volunteers to support agriculture and quality health delivery in Ghana.
She was joined by the Deputy Minister of Communications, Charles Acheampong, and traditional leaders to swear-in the volunteers, after the new cohorts were taken through eleven weeks of language training.
Welcoming them, the U.S Ambassdor urged the volunteers to share their knowledge to drive innovations that take “the American Ghanaian partnership further.”
“As you give your all in two years of service, you too will enjoy all that Ghana has to offer: its warm people, its brilliance, and its unwavering spirit.”
Mrs Palmer told the volunteers that they represent the answer the Ghanaian communities’ request.
“Among you are experienced agriculturists and health professionals who embody diversity of thought and practice that the world needs. We expect you to contribute to your community’s needs through the farmland and each clinic,” Virginia added.
Mrs Palmer further said the United States and Ghana have cultivated and maintained a strong partnership, and that the Peace Corp Volunteers was “a significant marker of our deep and resilient partnership, as Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dr Kwame Nkrumah welcomed the world’s very first volunteers in Ghana.”
She also said the impact of the Peace Corps Volunteers cannot be underestimated and recalled former President, John Dramani Mahama’s, testimony on a volunteer who taught science in his school and inspired his peers to pursue careers as doctors and engineers.
The Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Charles Acheampong, in a speech for Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful, said the relationship between the two countries was built on mutual respect and shared goals.
He said the volunteer project fosters development and understanding of the cultures of Ghana and the U.S.
The newspaper says that the President of Kenya, Dr William Ruto, has said that the African Union (AU) is working to ratify all financial institutions within the Union as part of efforts to enhance intra-trade and commerce among African countries.
According to him, this would go a long way in developing the needed financial architecture to provide the needed support to African businesses, especially following the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Speaking in Accra yesterday during a meeting with private sector stakeholders, he explained that the move would expedite the realisation of the AfCFTA.
The meeting, which formed part of President Ruto’s three-day official working visit to Ghana, was convened by the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene.
Currently, he stated that Africa spends about $5 billion annually to deal with exchange rate issues, a situation he described as inimical to businesses engaged in intra-trade on the continent.
“I will be working with President Nana Akufo-Addo to ensure that all financial institutions under the AU are ratified, so that we can build the necessary financial ecosystem to support trade, investment and business in our continent,” he said.
The establishment of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), he noted, would address all exchange rate challenges.
“The introduction of the cross-border instant payment system for easing the pressures on current accounts and demands on foreign exchange liquidity is to ensure we don’t lose in trade because of different currencies,” President Ruto added.
He commended Ghana for the support of the AfCFTA secretariat to ensure the agreement was implemented in a timely manner.
The AfCFTA, he said, was a significant instrument which could end the continent’s poverty situation, and called for enhanced synergy among African governments to create institutions geared towards the achievement of its objectives.
GIK/APA
Ghana: Press zooms in on Ghana’s award to Kenyan President, others
