APA – Accra (Ghana)
The announcement by the Ghana Tourism Authority that the government has authorised a Non-Pre Approval Visa on Arrival for visitors coming to Ghana from December 1, 2023, to January 15, 2024 is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that the Ghana Tourism Authority has announced that the government has authorised a Non-Pre Approval Visa on Arrival for visitors coming to Ghana from December 1, 2023, to January 15, 2024.
This pre-approval waiver has been launched as part of the December in GH campaign, which is a crucial element of the 10-year “Beyond the Return” initiative.
The GTA in a press release said the visa on arrival program aims to facilitate and encourage increased arrivals to Ghana during the festive season.
By streamlining the visa process, the government aims to attract more travellers to experience the unique cultural heritage, vibrant events and festivals during the holiday season.
In line with the objectives of the “Beyond the Return” initiative, this waiver aids in strengthening Ghana’s position as the preferred destination for tourists and investors from the diaspora and beyond. It seeks to deepen the bonds between Ghana and its global community, while providing opportunities for cultural exchange and economic growth.
In a letter addressed to all airlines signed by the Minister of Transport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the Ministry urged airlines to update their systems to reflect this new arrangement.
The CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman in welcoming the waiver, “encourages travellers to take advantage of this remarkable opportunity and be a part of the December in GH program”.
The newspaper says that the government is securing additional funding from the World Bank and the International Climate Fund to provide support to communities affected by floods from the recent Akosombo Dam spillage.
The Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare has explained that the funding forms part of the government’s post-recovery strategies aimed at alleviating the plight of the disaster victims and fostering long-term resilience among affected communities.
At a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday (Nov 22), she reaffirmed the commitment to alleviating the plight of the victims and stated that the additional funding would supplement the GH¢220 million already allocated in the 2024 budget by the finance minister, primarily for rehabilitation and restoration initiatives.
The Chief of Staff expressed the belief that the additional funding would aid in coordinating comprehensive response strategies and fostering long-term resilience among affected communities.
The spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams from September 15 to October 30, 2023, had a devastating impact on communities across the Volta, Eastern, Greater Accra, and Oti regions leaving hundreds of homes and farmlands being inundated, displacing nearly 40,000 people.
Schools in most affected areas, particularly Mepe and Battor in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region, were forced to close due to the flooding with those not affected being turned into holding shelters for the displaced people.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission (PC), Egbert Faibille, says the commission will not relent in its efforts to ensure full compliance with the country’s local content laws.
According to him, the Commission’s insistence on local content, was provided for by law saying that “partial compliance is no compliance.”
He was speaking yesterday at the ninth edition of the annual Local Content Conference and Exhibition (LCCE) in Takoradi in the Western Region, on the theme, “10 years of Local Content in Ghana’s Upstream Petroleum Industry: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects.”
Organised by the Petroleum Commission, the conference is aimed at promoting local content and local participation in the petroleum sector in accordance with Legislative Instrument (L.I) 2204.
It also marks the 10th year of the passage of the Petroleum Local Content and Local Participation Regulations, 2013 (L.I.2204), designed to maximise the patronage of Ghanaian goods and services, increase in-country-spend and employment of Ghanaian professionals.
Citing Regulation 49 of L.I. 2204, Mr Faibille said, “local content is the quantum of percentage of locally produced materials, personnel, financing, goods and services rendered in the petroleum industry value chain and which can be measured in monetary terms.”
He expressed dissatisfaction about some companies not operating according to the law saying that “regrettably, some companies operating in our upstream environment have sought to operate beneath the obligation to do local content as enshrined in the law.”
The Commission, Mr Faibille said, would strengthen its internal vigilance to bring the desired results of the law to the country.
The newspaper says that 30 countries in Africa will begin trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) next year as part of measures to implement the AfCFTA agreement, Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Peter Joy Serwornoo, has stated.
He said currently seven countries have been trading under the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative, a programme to help African countries to start trading under the trade pact.
Mr Serwornoo, who disclosed this in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of the Regional Forum on AfCFTA for Anglophone West and North Africa to discuss progress made in the implementation of the trade pact which opened in Accra on Monday, mentioned the seven countries as Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda and Mauritius.
The three-day programme, organised by Third World Network Africa, was attended by representatives of civil society organisations, private sector operators, trade unions, women organisations, government officials and policy institutions.
The objective of the programme is to share information and perspectives on AfCFTA, and fashion out an agenda for future engagement with civil society organisations.
Mr Serwornoo said the seven countries had received their certificate of origin, and put in place their customs procedures.
He said Ghana last year exported ceramic tiles to Cameroon, and Kenya exported tea to Ghana, saying, “This was to kick-start the process of implementation of the AfCFTA agreement.”
He said trading under AfCFTA was currently being piloted, and full trading would begin next year.
“A lot more countries would come on board and trade next year,” Mr Serwornoo stated.
GIK/APA
Ghanaian press spotlights Visa on Arrival for visitors policy, others

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