The ban on all ministers and their deputies from travelling outside the country for the next one month by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the nationwide strike by operators of private commercial vehicles are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has, with immediate effect, banned all ministers and their deputies from travelling outside the country for the next one month.
The Director of Communications at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Bentum Arhin, who confirmed the directive, did not give details.
Other sources told the Daily Graphic that the only exception to the directive was emergency medical condition that required outside attention.
Although Mr Arhin did not assign any reason for the ban, governance analysts believe the move is to ensure that government business, especially issues about the 2022 Budget currently before Parliament, is resolved without a hitch.
Just like the previous ban issued on June 21, 2018, all ministers and deputy ministers seeking to travel with compelling reasons must seek the express, prior and written approval from the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Mrs Akosua Frema Osei-Opare.
On June 21, 2018, President Akufo-Addo directed the temporary suspension of all foreign travels by ministers, deputy ministers, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) and heads of government agencies.
The newspaper says that operators of private commercial vehicles have started a nationwide strike action this morning, Monday, December 6, 2021.
The strike action has left many passengers stranded at the various bus stops and lorry stations across the country, particularly in Accra.
The strike action follows weeks of threats by the Coalition of Private Road Transport Commercial Operators Union (CPRTCOU) on the government to reduce fuel prices.
The CPRTCOU consists of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Association of Tipper Truck Drivers, Harbour Transport Owners, the Ghana National Cargo Transport Association, the Ghana Committed Drivers Association, the Concerned Drivers Association, Digital Drivers, commercial motorbike riders, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, among others.
The coalition on November 9, 2021, threatened to embark on strike if government did not reduce fuel prices.
At a press conference, the General Secretary of the GPRTU, Mr Godfred Abulbire, said there had been an unending surge in the pump prices of petroleum products in Ghana in recent months.
A visit by Graphic Online to some lorry stations and bus stops reveal huge gathering of passengers all waiting to get vehicles to go to their destinations.
A driver who did not disclose his identity to Graphic Online at the Gbawe station said the strike action is expected to last for about a week if government did not heed to their demands.
The Graphic also reports that South African President, Mr Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, has called on Ghanaians to invest more in his country to reflect the high number of South African companies operating in Ghana.
He cited statistics from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), which indicated that over 200 South African companies had registered their businesses in Ghana.
According to the centre, the companies undertook 170 projects, with a capital investment in excess of $1 billion, within the last 10 years, employing about 20,000 Ghanaians.
“It is my wish that there would be similar Ghanaian companies registering and doing business in South Africa, so that we have a two-way type of exchange,” President Ramaphosa said, adding that in the last quarter of 2020, South African companies were awarded three projects, contributing $242 million to Ghana’s foreign direct investment.
He made the call when he joined President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to inaugurate the Ghana-South Africa Bi-national Trade Commission at the Jubilee House in Accra.
It formed part of the three-day State Visit to Ghana by Mr Ramaphosa, who led a 200-man business delegation to Accra to enhance trade, diplomacy and cultural co-operation between the two countries.
The South African President further said it was important that Ghana’s processed products “fill the shelves of shops in South Africa” under enhanced trade between the two countries.
He mentioned Ghana’s “delicious chocolate” and other processed products as some of the items Ghana could export to derive maximum benefits and also avoid the situation where some African countries mainly exported raw cash crops and fruits to other countries.
The Ghanaian Times says that a 160-member delegation from the African Diaspora are in Ghana for the maiden “Wakanda One City of Return Trade Expo” scheduled from December 3 to 13, 2021.
The expo, under the auspices of the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) seeks to explore investment opportunities in various sectors of the economy in line with the new Africa Agenda 2063 which seeks to transform the continent into a global powerhouse.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of ADDI, Dr Arikana Chihombori-Quao, said the selection of Ghana was in response to the “Beyond the Return” campaign intended to foster economic relations and investments from the diaspora in Africa and Ghana.
She indicated that the expo was expected to bring together experts, both locally and internationally, to highlight ready opportunities and in the areas of engineering and real estate, health, education, agriculture, finance and banking, trade and investment as well as culture and tourism.
Dr Quao said under the first phase of the project, the institute had acquired a 5,000 acres of land to develop “a city of return” at Asebu in the Central Region for African Diasporans as well as to pursue agricultural projects in rice and poultry production over the next five years.
Other projects in health, education and tourism development, she said, would also be undertaken within the period which is expected to create about 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Dr Mrs Victoria Hajar, the first Vice President of the GNCCI in a remark said the Chamber was glad to collaborate with the ADDI to help the African Transformation agenda.
GIK/APA