APA – Accra (Ghana)
The assertion by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, that the outlook of Ghana’s economy is positive and that the macroeconomic indicators are turning better is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Ghanaian Times reports the outlook of the economy is positive and that the macroeconomic indicators are turning better, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison, has stated.
“We are quite confident about the outlook of the economy, as just last week we had a new reading of inflation, and this is the first time we have stayed on the disinflation path with inflation declining by three percentage points,” he said.
The Governor was speaking at the 47th meeting of the Committee of Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone and the 62nd Ordinary meeting of the Committee of Governors of Central Banks of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The programme formed part of the 2023 Mid-Year Statutory Meetings of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), and West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) organised by the Government of Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and the BoG.
Inflation fell to 40.1 in August from 43.1 per cent in July after it peaked at 54.1 in December last year.
Dr Addison, who delivered the keynote address, said Ghana in 2022 went through economic crisis in which the government requested an Extended Credit Facility of $3billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restore macroeconomic and debt sustainability.
He said presently, the government was focused on implementing measures to restore macroeconomic stability and promote inclusive growth.
“There are important lessons to be learnt from the ECF IMF programme which we will share with our colleagues in these meetings,” Dr Addison stated.
He said the meeting provided the opportunity to assess the performance of the Economic Community of ECOWAS member states in their quest for a common currency.
The newspaper says that all is set to establish a lithium refinery in the country in the Western Region.
To this end, Lithium Resources Ghana Limited, a joint venture company of UK-based CAA Mining Ltd and Empire Rare Earth and Metals Group Ltd, a local company are currently exploring suitable and strategic location for the establishment of the refinery.
The Geographic Information System (GIS) and Data Manager of Lithium Resources Ghana Limited, Justice Amekudi, announced this at Ekumfi Assaman in the Ekumfi District of the Central Region on Friday.
This was when the team from the company made a presentation of some assorted items and cash to the chiefs and people of Enyan Abaasa during the celebration of the Akwanbo festival.
The company also made a similar donation to the celebration of Akwanbo festival of three communities comprising Attakwaa, Ekumfi Ekrawful and Otabanadze at Attakwaa in the Ekumfi District of the Central Region.
He explained that, the strategy of the company was to pursue an integrated strategy of exploration, mining and refining to lithium chemicals within Ghana, a project which is clearly in line with Government of Ghana’s new policy and strategy for strategic minerals as lithium.
The company, he stated, was currently carrying out reconnaissance and exploration of lithium in the country as part of feasibility studies to uncover the lithium deposits in the area in terms of its commercial viability.
Mr Amekudi further explained that, the discovery of a lithium deposit was only the starting point of a complex supply chain with diverse opportunities that could aid the nation’s transformation process.
According to him, the agenda of the company was to work towards the production of a lithium mineral concentrate in-country.
The Graphic reports that the military has pledged to protect the Constitution and the sovereign will of the people, and not to engage in any activity that will threaten the peace and democracy of the state.
“The coups in West Africa are a major concern, but, for us, we are resolved to protecting the Constitution and the will of the people.
If the people decide that democracy is the type of governance they want, then we need to respect that,” the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Vice Admiral Seth Amoama, said last Friday when the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra.
“Our mandate is to protect the territorial integrity of the State, and we are focused on that.
So, when you hear any news of coup, you should be assured that the Ghana Armed Forces is not interested in governance.
We believe that if the people don’t want the government, they have a maximum of four years to change it,” he said.
The GJA team, led by its President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, embarked on the visit to discuss issues of mutual interest between the GAF and the GJA.
The CDS noted that coup d’états were matters of the past.
With the current state of the nation’s development, he said, almost every individual in the country understood that governance was not part of the mandate of the GAF.
The newspaper says that the country lost in excess of GH¢64 million to 6,796 fire outbreaks last year alone, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has announced.
Those incidents, he said, resulted in 50 deaths and 241 injuries.
He described the situation as unacceptable and one that “we must all come together and find a solutions to”.
In that regard, Dr Bawumia said, the GNFS would receive 200 rapid intervention vehicles from the government before the end of the year to augment its fleet of operational vehicles.
He said a prototype of the vehicles was already in the country, and that the rest would also be assembled in the country.
Dr Bawumia, who was addressing the graduation parade of the Cadet Course Intake 23 of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) at the Fire Academy and Training School at James Town in Accra last Friday, indicated that fire outbreaks had dealt a big blow to many individuals, organisations, institutions and even the government.
The repercussions of these losses, especially with the loss of human lives, he said, had been dire and still difficult to grapple with.
He said the fight for fire safety was far from over as it required continuous attention and a concerted effort to consolidate the gains so far made and improve upon their achievements.
GIK/APA
Ghanaian press spotlights positive outlook of Ghana’s economy, others
