Ghana: Press zooms in on introduction of AGOA renewal Act in Washington, others

The report that the United States Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) have introduced the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 in Washington is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the United States Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) have introduced the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 in Washington.
This bipartisan bill aims to renew and strengthen the AGOA trade preference program with sub-Saharan African countries, which is set to expire next year. AGOA facilitates deeper investment and stronger commercial ties between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa.
A statement published on the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee website stated that Senator Risch highlighted the significant role AGOA plays in U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa trade and investment, as well as in U.S. foreign policy.
The proposed legislation seeks to refine AGOA’s eligibility criteria, increase transparency, and hold U.S. agencies accountable for their advice to the president.
Senator Coons emphasised how AGOA has created jobs, economic growth, and investment opportunities over the past 24 years.
The AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act would extend AGOA until 2041, providing certainty for businesses looking to increase investment in sub-Saharan Africa.
This long-term extension aims to support economic development in the region and strengthen ties between the United States and sub-Saharan African partners.
The bill includes provisions to streamline the eligibility review process, integrate AGOA with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, and incentivise beneficiaries to develop strategies for increasing exports under the program.
The newspaper says that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) commenced its 10th National COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign on Sunday, May 2024.
The exercise, which is mainly targeting individuals who have not gone for the COVID-19 vaccination, will end on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
A statement issued by the GHS on Sunday said, “Teams will be moving to communities and visiting homes to get eligible people vaccinated.”
As of December 31, 2023, a total of 28,515,854 people in Ghana had been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to GHS statistics.
The Graphic HS recently announced new cases of COVID-19 infections, urging the public, particularly individuals who have not vaccinated to do so.
The Graphic also reports that the Institute for Energy Security (IES) has disputed claims by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that the incidence of erratic power supply (dumsor) facing several parts of the nation has been resolved.
During his May Day celebration speech, the President stated that “dumsor” had been effectively dealt with, stressing that it had become an issue of the past thanks to successful resolutions of problems associated with transformers and the supply of gas.
However, despite the assurance by the President, many areas across the country continue to experience persistent power outages.
A Research and Policy Analyst at the IES, Emmanuel Derrick Xatse, therefore, asserted that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was being gravely misled on the status of the crisis.
Speaking in an interview with Accra-based Citinews, he intimated that the data available did not support the President’s claims and as such the problem was far from resolved.
“If anybody says that we have solved dumsor, what it means is that you have a generational peak this is equal to or more than your peak demand. But what we have as it stands now is a deficit. We have not been able to meet our peak demand,” he explained.
“On April 30, the data from GRIDCo, showed that our general peak was less than 3,700 megawatts because our demand at peak times was 3,760,” Mr Xatse added.
The Chronicle newspaper says that the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is to engage with the Ministry of Finance to consider removing some taxes on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to make it more affordable and accessible to consumers.
A Deputy Chief Executive of the Authority, Mrs. Linda Asante, who made this known, said the move, spearheaded by the NPA Chief Executive, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, was to encourage more women to use LPG for cooking and to protect their health and save the environment.
That, she said, was in line with government’s target to increase LPG penetration to 50 percent by 2030.
Mrs. Asante was speaking at a regional town hall durbar on cylinder recirculation model (CRM) in Tamale, on Friday.
Organised by the NPA, the durbar was attended by chiefs, security officers, public servants, LPG dealers, students and traders.
Mrs. Asante said smoke from charcoal and firewood exposed mostly women and children to lungs diseases, such as hypertension and also affected their eyes.
She said LPG, on the other hand, does not emit smoke, which makes it the safest and convenient means of cooking.
Mrs. Asante said the government had introduced the CRM policy to make LPG more affordable, accessible and available.
She said the recent introduction of tender process by the NPA for importation of LPG had reduced the cost of the product.
GIK/APA