The six-day working visit of President Akufo-Addo to France and the conclusion of the first round of negotiations between the IMF and Ghanaian officials on sealing a fund-assisted programme to stabilise the economy are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left Ghana last Saturday for a six-day working visit to France. President Akufo-Addo will receive an Honorary Award of Doctor Honoris Causa from Sorbonne University in Paris, France today.
A statement issued by the presidency said the award would be the third Honorary Doctorate Degree to be conferred on him.
It will be recalled that the first was an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree conferred on him in May 2016, from the celebrated Fort Hare University of South Africa; and the second, in December 2017, was an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from the University of Liberia.
It said prior to the receipt of the Honorary Doctorate from Sorbonne University, the President would address the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at its 215th session.
While in France, he will also address the Asia Society Forum on the theme: “To Act in Troubled Times: new perspectives from France, Asia, Africa and the world”, and inaugurate the refurbished Chancery building of Ghana’s Embassy in Paris.
President Akufo-Addo was accompanied by the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey; the Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, MP for Bosumtwe; and by officials of the presidency and Foreign Ministry.
The President will return to Ghana on Friday, October 14, 2020, and in his absence the Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.
The newspaper says that the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have concluded the first round of negotiations aimed at sealing a fund-assisted programme to stabilise the economy, re-anchor growth and protect the vulnerable against the economic challenges.
The negotiations were concluded Friday after opening on September 26, 2022.
The IMF team was led by the fund’s Mission Chief to Ghana, Stéphane Roudet.
A statement issued by Mr Roudet said: “We reaffirm our commitment to support Ghana in these challenging times, consistent with the IMF’s policies.”
In the statement, the IMF described the discussions as constructive and focused on policies aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and laying the foundation for stronger and more inclusive growth.
It said key areas of focus included ensuring public finance sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, bolstering the credibility of monetary and exchange rate policies to reduce inflation and rebuild external buffers and preserving financial sector stability.
It said the team also explored steps to encourage private investment and growth, including by improving governance, transparency, and public sector efficiency.
Ghana requested a fund-assisted programme in July in a backtrack occasioned by heightened deterioration of macro prudential indicators, including soaring inflation, a falling cedi and growing public debt.
While inflation and the cedi depreciation ended September at 33.9 per cent and about 37 per cent, the World Bank estimates that the public debt will envelop total economic production by December 2021.
The bank said in its Africa Pulse released this week that debt to GDP will peak at 104 per cent.
The Graphic also reports that the Ministers responsible for Trade in 16 African countries are meeting in Accra to conclude outstanding issues to pave way for the full commencement of commercial trading under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The two-day meeting will feature the presentation of the AfCFTA facilitated and guided trade initiative and the way forward.
It is a follow-up on the Ministerial Directive of the seventh Meeting of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers in October 2021 that provided a legal basis for the countries that had submitted their tariff schedules in accordance with the agreed modalities to trade preferentially among themselves.
The Champion of AfCFTA, Mahamadou Issoufou, addressing the trade ministers and other representatives at the opening of the meeting yesterday, called for a rapid ratification of the AfCFTA Agreement for a smooth commencement of commercial trading.
He recommended that the ministers accelerated the implementation of the AfCFTA by forming implementation committees at the national level.
The ministers, he said, were also to assist the AfCFTA Secretariat to ensure the successful hosting of a Summit on Industrialisation and the Extraordinary Session of the AfCFTA.
The Summit on Africa’s Industrialisation and Economic Diversity with the focus of implementing AfCFTA and the Extraordinary Session of the Assembly was scheduled to be held in Niamey, Niger, from November 20-25, 2022 during the Africa Industrialisation week.
As a step towards a meaningful trade under the agreement, Mr Issoufou said the guided traded initiative had also been launched, describing it as “another milestone.”
“Today marks a time of yet another additional milestone to be recorded in the history of Africa’s economic integration.
“As a step towards commencing commercially meaningful trade under the AfCFTA, the Secretariat has set this day to launch the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative.
The Ghanaian Times says that Ghana has a potential to become the hub of nuclear technology in Africa, the Deputy Secretary of the United States (US) of America Department of Energy, David Turk, has said.
According to him, the country’s nuclear reactor at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), coupled with other facilities, technologies and minerals placed the country ahead of others in the region.
Speaking at a symposium on nuclear energy and climate at the University of Ghana in Accra on Friday, he said the US was ready to share its experience with Ghana to enable the country to use nuclear for good.
The forum, organised by the College of Basic and Applied Sciences (CBAS) in collaboration with the US Embassy in Ghana, afforded the US official an opportunity to highlight clean energy opportunities and US’ efforts.
According to Mr Turk, if Ghana leveraged on the nuclear technology, it would derive economic gains for its socio-economic development because a lot of countries were investing in the technology for clean energy.
He said the country was endowed with critical minerals that were needed for projects in Solar Photovoltaics (PV) or magnets and wind turbines, or Evie batteries.
“Think about the processing of lithium, think about those products that can be used domestically, can be used in Africa to help bring those energy services that should be export opportunities, as well as the immensity of what we’re going to need in this (energy) revolution is just phenomenal,” he said.
He said, “And it’s a hugely, hugely exciting opportunity. Some estimates have put this environment’s opportunity to $23 trillion within a decade of market opportunity.”
GIK/APA