Ghanaian press zooms in on Ambassador’s call for deepening ties with Togo, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The call by Ghana’s Ambassador to Togo, Mr Kofi Mensah Demitia, for further deepening of the existing economic cooperation between their two countries in the wake of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana’s Ambassador to Togo, Mr Kofi Mensah Demitia, has re-emphasised the further deepening of the existing economic cooperation between their two countries in the wake of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
That, he said would help solve the economic challenges facing AfCFTA to boost trade and investment in the West African countries.
Mr Demitia disclosed this at a joint conference organised by the Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference (GITFIC) and the Togolese Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Local Consumption in the capital, Lome on Tuesday.
Under the theme: “Enhancing trade between Ghana and Togo; Issues and challenges related to trade and the AfCFTA market,” the conference aimed to sensitise ratified Member States on the AfCFTA and Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
Mr Demitia said AfCFTA offered an opportunity to increase economic integration of African trade, however there had been some challenges, one of which he said was the urge to harmon¬ise trade policies among African countries.
He said aligning the trade policies between Ghana and Togo had been a challenge due to some porous practices such as smuggling and extortion at the border.
“The journey of achieving the aim of AfCFTA is a long journey but with cooperation, it can create opportunities and investment for African countries,” he added.
The newspaper says that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) generated GH¢79 million from people who have committed various crimes in the first half of the year.
The proceeds included auction of seized vehicles and under-declaration of tax.
The Executive Director of EOCO, Commissioner of Police (COP) Maame Tiwaa Addo-Dan­quah, who disclosed this in Accra on Wednesday said the amount exceeded the target of GH¢60 million projected by EOCO for the year.
She was speaking at a maiden soiree on Wednesday in Accra to improve collaboration between EOCO and the media in combat­ing trans-organised crimes in the country.
It was on the theme “EOCO five-year strategic plan: Partnering the media to stay ahead of economic and organised crime” and was attended by executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), National Media Commission, journalists, editors, management and staff of EOCO and representatives of sister security agencies.
COP Addo-Danquah stated that last year a projection of GH¢¬40million was made for the end of the year but a target of GH¢50mil¬lion was met.
She said EOCO’s five-year strategic plan 2023-2028 was one of the pillars to partner with the media in crime prevention.
The Executive Director stressed the need to highlight the mandates and mission of EOCO for the media to support them in their operations, adding that the media was crucial in crime prevention.
“Sometimes the media hear some of the things (crimes) in the communities first, with partnership you can help us achieve our goals,” she added.
She said the collaboration was crucial, adding “There is nothing like a country where crime is at its barest minimum, people can sleep and close their eyes, they know that when crime is committed the law enforcement agencies will bring the perpetrators to book to face justice,” she said.
The Graphic reports that the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah has alleged that there are a lot of corrupt people and thieves in his Ministry.
The Minister, who was visibly angry said when some of the corrupt people are sacked and new ones brought in, the new entrants are worse than those sacked.
Mr Amoako-Atta made the remarks during an inspection tour of the ongoing VALCO roundabout to Kpone road reconstruction project on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.
The newspaper says that Ghana imports an average of $4 million worth of sunflower oil every year.
As a result, a sunflower project to bolster farmers’ capacity to go into large-scale cultivation of the crop has been launched in Accra.
Given the huge potential of one of the most sought-after oilseed crops globally, it would help to improve on the country’s socio-economic development.
The crop can be used to produce edible oil, biodiesel for energy generation and also improve food and nutritional needs of citizens.
Fish processing companies in the country export fish flakes in sunflower oil to the tune of $147 million each year.
Besides, the project would help to mitigate environmental pollution and degradation by using sunflower to reclaim degraded lands.
The initiative is being implemented by Tropical Agriculture and Marketing Consultancy Services (TRAGRIMACS), in partnership with the Crop Science Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, and the Chemistry Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi.
The Chief Executive of TRAGRIMACS, Issah Sulemana, said the country had the scientific and technological capacity to cultivate and process sunflower seeds into edible oil, biodiesel and other useful products such as animal feed.
“The use of biodiesel to generate power and for public transport can earn the country millions of dollars in carbon credit,” he added.
Mr Sulemana explained that the purpose for the reintroduction of the project, which he said ran successfully from 2006 until 2012, was due to the global decline in the production of the crop.
He said the war between Russia and Ukraine, two countries that produced 59 per cent of global sunflower oil, offered an opportunity for “us to come up again to implement the Ghana Sunflower project again”.
The chief executive expressed the optimism that farmers who cultivated the drought-resistant crop could make an average net profit of GH¢461 per acre.
GIK/APA