The report of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the British Monarch, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland yesterday, September 8, 2022, aged 96, is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that Queen Elizabeth II, the British Monarch, died “peacefully” at Balmoral Castle in Scotland yesterday, September 8, 2022, aged 96, the British Royal Family said.
Under a long-standing plan known as “Operation London Bridge”, her death ushers in 10 days of national mourning. Her son Charles became king upon her death and will be called King Charles III.
Having ascended the throne at the young age of 25 years, Queen Elizabeth became Britain’s longest-serving monarch, who, as a teen, witnessed the horrors of World War II and as an aged sovereign saw the agonies of a deadly pandemic and the personal pain of her own family’s turmoil.
On February 6, 2022, she became the first British monarch to reign for 70 years, and in honour of that milestone, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth celebrated her Platinum Jubilee as Queen in June 2022.
The 96-year-old monarch made an appearance with her family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the first day of the four-day-long Platinum Jubilee, waving to tens of thousands of her subjects gathered in front of the palace and watching an aviation display in her honour.
However, she was unable to attend other events marking the jubilee due to discomfort.
On September 9, 2015, when she became the longest-reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the 63-year reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, Elizabeth II refused to make any fuss, saying the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”.
Princess Elizabeth became queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and others upon the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, with her husband Prince Philip by her side.
She was crowned on June 2, 1953 and it was the first coronation to be beamed live on television around the world.
The newspaper says that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has said the government is making effort at settling its indebtedness to the trust.
The SSNIT said of the GH¢4.33 billion owed the trust as arrears for public sector workers’ pensions contributions as of December 2020, GH¢1 billion was paid in 2020.
In a statement, the trust said it was also engaging the Ministry of Finance to ensure the outstanding debt was paid.
The statement was in response to the findings of the Auditor General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu in the 2021 Audit Report that was released last week.
The report found that the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD) as at December 31, 2020, owed the SSNIT GH¢1.12 billion in respect of contribution receivable from Government of Ghana (GOG) employees.
“Also, per Section 64(1) of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) and based on our previous recommendation, the trust has imposed a penalty of three per cent on delay payments by the CAGD over the years to the tune of GH¢3.21 billion, bringing the total indebtedness of the CAGD to GH¢4.33 billion,” the report said.
The Ghanaian Times reports that about 7.9 million Ghanaians are illiterate meaning they neither read nor write, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), has said.
They represent people who are six years and older and cannot read and write with understanding.
This is contained in press statement on findings from a new Illiteracy Study report conducted by the GSS and are yet to be launched.
The press statement was to mark the World Illiteracy Day, which marked on September, 8, 2022.
The GSS said out of the 7.9 million who were illiterate, 4.6 million illiterates were females and 3.3 million illiterate males.
According to the GSS said women were disadvantaged in terms of education and the problem “has been persistent overtime.”
“The report also finds that between the 2010 and 2021 Population and Housing Censuses (PHC), 1.2 million more illiterate adults (15 years and older) were added to the population – from 4.3 million in 2010 to 5.5 million in 2021,” the statement said.
It said Ghana had lower levels of adult literacy compared to its comparators (lower middle income and sub-Saharan African countries), after three years of the provisions on illiteracy captured in the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2018-2030.
That the statement said had necessitated the production of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report Brief on Illiteracy in Ghana which will be released later this month.
“The report provides direction for stakeholders to target hotspots and drivers of illiteracy in Ghana as it focuses on three broad areas; trends, patterns and correlates of illiteracy,” he said.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) provides comprehensive, reliable, quality, relevant, accurate and timely statistical information to guide national development as stipulated in Section 3 of the Statistical Service Act, 2019 (Act 1003).
The organisation’s vision is to be a trusted provider of statistical services for good governance and its mission to lead the efficient production and management of quality official statistics based on international standards, using competent staff for evidence-based decision-making, in support of national development.
GSS also produces monthly and quarterly data on important economic indicators such as inflation, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Producer Price Index (PPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as population, housing, demographic and economic data at the locality, district, and national levels from routine surveys and censuses.
The newspaper says that Ghana and The Netherlands have agreed to reinforce their bilateral relations and take steps to enable Ghana to increase trade volumes through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In view of this, Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and RegionalIntergration, Shirley AyorkorBotchwey, has invited Dutch investors to explore the country’s favourable investment environment for business deals.
This transpired during a meeting between the Minister and her Dutch counterpart MrWopke Hoekstra on Tuesday in The Hague, on the sidelines of the Africa Adaptation Summit, which was held in Rotterdam on Monday.
A statement from the Ministry said the discussions centered on the desire by both countries to strengthen the age-old relations, founded on a mutual commitment to work closely together in many areas of common interest.
Ms Botchwey recalled that the two countries had over the years firmed up their alliance in a wide range of bilateral and multilateral sectors bordering on trade, investment, agriculture, peace, and security, among others.
The two Ministers, therefore, agreed to follow up on political consultations held in Accra earlier this year to further enhance partnerships and share best practices in the various sectors.
Ms Botchwey also highlighted the government’s economic agenda which was predicated on the transformation of the structure of the economy to perform beyond aid, and reduce dependence on imports to become an exporter of semi-processed and manufactured commodities with the private sector at the center of the policy.
She pointed out that the process of industrialisation leading to the establishment of factories and industries, which Ghana was currently undertaking, would, ultimately, provide job opportunities, particularly, for the Ghanaian youth.
Ms Botchwey acknowledged the Dutch Government’s impressive expertise in agriculture and processing of agricultural produce and praised the World Horti Center, which is the knowledge and innovation center for international greenhouse horticulture, as well as the Cargill Cocoa Processing Plant (where Ghana’s Cocoa is primarily used), to inspect the facilities.
She indicated that collaboration with such companies would add impetus to the government’s drive to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and prevent them from embarking on perilous journeys to Europe.
She thanked the Dutch for the various forms of collaboration through private-partner sector instruments which had better participation by the Dutch and Ghanaian private sector in the economic development of the country.
GIK/APA