Nissan’s plan to open a vehicle assembly plant in Ghana with its longtime partner, Japan Motors Trading Company Ltd. (JMTC) and the submission of the comprehensive report on Ghana’s nuclear power programme to the cabinet for approval are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Times reports Nissan is set to open a vehicle assembly plant in Ghana with its longtime partner, Japan Motors Trading Company Ltd. (JMTC) appointed as its local partner in all new vehicle assembly facility in Tema, Ghana.
The appointment is a result of a memorandum of understanding signed between Nissan and the government in 2018 to lay the foundation for a sustainable automotive manufacturing industry in the country.
The first model to be assembled at the new facility will be the all-new Nissan Navara Pickup, unveiled by Nissan earlier this month.
Speaking at an event to announce the deal Mr. Nouhad Kalmoni, Executive Director, Sales and Marketing West Africa, JMTC underscored that the assembly of vehicles by Nissan in the country was to build on its leadership in manufacturing of vehicles through supporting the government to create the environment for a successful automotive manufacturing industry.
Japan Motors, he said, was proud to see its association with Nissan bear much fruit in the interest of Ghana as it leads this innovation.
The newspaper says that a comprehensive report on Ghana’s nuclear power programme has been developed and submitted to cabinet for approval, the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has revealed.
The NPI Director, Dr. Seth Debrah, who disclosed this yesterday, said if the government gave the green light, feasibility studies would formally begin towards the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant.
Compiled between 2019 and this year, he said the technical report contained all issues related to the construction of the plant including financing, procurement, stakeholder involvement, gaps identified and recommendations.
“In doing the pre-feasibility studies, we developed a report which we have given the government to take action or what we call a knowledgeable commitment. Government has already made a decision to go nuclear; now it needs to commit based on the technical background that we have given it,” he said.
Dr. Debrah was speaking at a workshop for selected journalists, which opened in Accra yesterday on the theme “Ghana’s power generation plan and current options to accelerate industrial development.”
The Graphic reports that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has urged member states to be proactive in preventing conflicts in the sub-region.
The Vice-President of ECOWAS, Ms. Finda Koroma, expressed worry that the region, which is already crippled by poverty, mass unemployment and underdevelopment, would continue to be the epicentre of turmoil and turbulence if measures were not taken to stop further conflicts.
She was speaking at the opening session of a five-day induction course for directors and analysts of the coordination of early warning and responses at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra yesterday.
Ms. Koroma said years of economic restructuring had not moved Africa forward, hence the need to ensure that democracy yielded dividends for the accelerated development of the subregion.
The participants, comprising officers from national security, were drawn from 12 West African countries, including Ghana, Togo, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
The course is being organised by the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), in partnership with the KAIPTC and with support from the European Union, the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the African Union and ECOWAS.
The newspaper says that the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs. Jean Adukwei Mensa, has reiterated how it is impossible for the EC to rig elections in favour of any of the contestants in the December 7 polls.
She said since her appointment as chairperson of the EC, she has met with President Akufo-Addo twice and they were all official meetings.
She reiterated that the structures in place makes it impossible for the commission to rig the elections.
Speaking at a training programme for journalists organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Tuesday, November 24, Mrs. Mensa dispelled suggestions by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that she intends to rig the presidential election for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The course will equip participants with relevant skills in early warning monitoring, including data gathering, analysis, reporting and dissemination.
The Graphic also reports that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has designated Dr. Angela Lusigi of Kenya as the new Resident Representative of UNDP in Ghana, with approval from the Government of Ghana.
Dr. Lusigi will lead the operations and programme interventions of UNDP in Ghana, in support of Government’s development priorities and the UN systems’ contributions towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ghana.
She brings over 20 years of experience in developing national development strategies, socio-economic analysis, partnerships building, inclusive and sustainable development.
Prior to her appointment, Dr.. Lusigi was a Strategic Advisor in the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa in New York. She previously held other senior leadership positions in Africa, including serving as a Regional Program Advisor of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), where she developed projects, supervised implementation and led resource mobilization for UNDP/UNEP’s poverty eradication and environment projects in Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
She also served as an Assistant Resident Representative (Strategy and Policy) with UNDP in Nigeria.
Dr Lusigi has also worked with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, all in Rome, Italy. She has also provided policy support to national programmes and projects in South Africa and Zambia.
GIK/APA