APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has embarked on a state visit to Portugal and Italy in a diplomatic move to strengthen ties between Ghana and Europe is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that in a diplomatic move aimed at strengthening ties between Ghana and Europe, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has embarked on a state visit to Portugal and Italy.
The President’s visit comes in response to an invitation from Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and marks an important step in promoting bilateral relations and exploring avenues for cooperation.
Accompanied by a delegation of high-ranking officials, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, Minister for Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, and Minister for Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, President Akufo-Addo departed Ghana on Monday, July 17, 2023.
During his stay in Lisbon, the Ghanaian President will participate in the EurAfrican Forum, an event organized by the Portuguese government. Set to take place on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the forum aims to foster dialogue and collaboration between European and African countries.
Following his engagements in Portugal, President Akufo-Addo will proceed to Italy to attend the fourth ECAM Annual Summit as a keynote speaker.
The European Corporate Council on Africa and the Middle East (ECAM) has extended an invitation to the Ghanaian President, recognizing his leadership and expertise in African affairs. The summit, scheduled for July 23-24, 2023, will provide an opportunity for President Akufo-Addo to address key stakeholders and highlight Ghana’s commitment to regional development.
In addition to the summit, President Akufo-Addo is set to meet with Italian Prime Minister, H.E. Giorgia Meloni, to discuss matters of mutual interest between the two nations. The meeting is expected to touch upon various areas of cooperation, including trade, investment, and cultural exchanges.
In his absence, Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will assume the duties of the presidency in accordance with Article 60 (8) of the Constitution.
The newspaper says that an amount of GH¢100 million has been disbursed to 105 enterprises at the launch of the Ghana Skills Development Fund (GSDF).
The amount is part of a $60 million five-year grant, which seeks to support at least 700 enterprises to upgrade the skills of their workforce for businesses in four windows: the formal sector, informal sector, innovation and green, and science and technology.
Each beneficiary under the formal sector window has the opportunity to receive up to GH¢1.1 million, while those in the informal sector, grouped under association and SME categories, can access up to GH¢121,000 and GH¢110,000 respectively.
Beneficiaries under the innovation and green window can access up to GH¢1.65 million, while those under the science and technology window can access up to GH¢2.75 million.
The fund, which is being implemented by the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), is a collaborative effort by the Government of Ghana (GoG) and development partners to establish a competitive fund, known as the GSDF, to support skills development.
The GSDF focuses on the provision of entrepreneurship and micro and small enterprise support for jobs, and serves as the vehicle to operationalise the subcomponent of Ghana Jobs and Skill Project.
It is being implemented by the CTVET.
The Ghanaian Times reports that MTN Ghana is investing $1 billion in network expansion in the country over a period of five years.
Already, the telecommunications company has invested $25 million in Ghana’s ICT AP to assist the country’s digital goal and give the youth more influence.
The Ag. Chief Enterprise Business Officer of the company, Mr Daniel Asare, who mentioned these, also disclosed that MTN in 2022, contributed over GH¢4.0 billion in Government revenue and GH¢93.2 million invested in social impact projects to touch the lives of over 4.5m Ghanaians.
He was making a presentation at this year’s MTN Media and Stakeholders Forum on the theme “Leveraging on technology to serve customers with excellence”.
The Acting Chief Enterprise Business Officer said in line with merchant interoperability agenda, MTN had partnered Vodafone, promoting industry viability.
According to him, Mobile Money (MoMo) now has 280,000 agents and 140,000 active Merchants across the country, adding that Ayoba currently, has 2.5m customers and 50 micro apps, stressing new opportunities for local developers.
He, however, enumerated a number of challenges facing the company including fiber cut still being a major issue, MoMo fraud, network challenges and their impact on the customers.
He appealed to all stakeholders, especially the media, to continue to educate Ghanaians to stop the fiber cuts.
Mr Asare cautioned MTN MoMo users not to give their MoMo pin code to anyone, assuring Ghanaians that, “Mobile Money operation is highly regulated by Bank of Ghana (BoG) and MTN officials wouldn’t disclose the details of their customers to fraudsters.”
“We’re doing everything within the confines of the license issued to us by BoG for the operations of Momo so Ghanaians, especially MTN momo users should rest assured that their data is highly protected”.
The newspaper says that one in every four, representing 24.2 per cent of young persons between 15 and 24 years were not engaged in education, employment, or training during the third quarter of 2022, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) says.
The 24.2 per cent represents 1.5 million young people between the ages 15 and 24 years old.
A statement issued by the GSS from the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 Third Quarter Labour Statistics Report issued to commemorate this year’s World Youth Skills Day, and copied to the Ghanaian Times said the figure represented 1.5 million persons in the age group.
The World Youth Skills Day, is celebrated annually on July 15 to mark the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship and the theme for the this year’s programme is “Skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future.”
The report revealed that “More than half of the youth NEET are in Greater Accra (312,394), Ashanti (300,161), Eastern (131,341), and Central (129,182) regions.”
The GSS said in 13 out of the 16 regions, more than 20 per cent of young persons, 15 to 24 years were not in education, employment, or training.
“Eastern Region (30.0 per cent) has the highest proportion of youth, with a figure about twice that of Bono Region (14.5 per cent) which has the lowest proportion,” the report stated.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census indicated that one in every 10 (11.1per cent) persons 15 to 24 years, representing 1.4 million young persons, never attended school.
It said a slightly higher percentage of females (12.0 per cent) in the age group never attended school compared to males (10.2 per cent).
“In the Savannah (43.4 per cent), North East (36.8per cent), Northern (33.3 per cent), Upper West (20.9 per cent) and Oti (20.7 per cent),” the report said.
The statement said in all, the five regions accounted for almost half (665,508) of the young persons that never attended school.
GIK/APA
Ghanaian press spotlights President Akufo-Addo’s state visit to Portugal, Italy, others
