Ghanaian press zooms in on plans by govt to achieve food sufficiency from next year, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The Finance Minister’s assertion that Ghana has the ability to achieve food self-sufficiency by next year, citing strategic measures already implemented by the government is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, has expressed confidence in Ghana’s ability to achieve food self-sufficiency by next year, citing strategic measures already implemented by the government.
Following a visit to the Agrifest exhibition, a five-day showcase of agriculture and food innovations, Hon. Ofori Atta commended Ghanaians’ commitment to supporting the government’s food sufficiency agenda.
Emphasizing the government’s focus on the agricultural sector, he stated that the goal is to boost growth from 6.3% last year to eliminate food imports, saving approximately “US$2 billion worth of food in poultry, rice, etc.”
In a bold move to bolster the agricultural sector, the Ministry of Finance has allocated GHc1 billion in the 2024 budget, with an additional GHc2 billion expected from the Development Bank of Ghana.
Furthermore, the government has injected GHc10 billion into commercial banks through the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP) to ensure robust financial support for agriculture.
At Agrifest, Mr. Ofori Atta applauded the Asian African Consortium (AAC) for its efforts in transforming Ghana’s rice sub-sector. AAC provides crucial technical and machinery support to smallholder farmers, addressing financial constraints.
The newspaper says that Office of the President at the Jubilee House has described as inaccurate claims by the Speaker of Parliament and the Minority Caucus that President Akufo-Addo has refused to assent to the Criminal Offences (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2023.
It assured the public and the media that bills, including this current bill, the Criminal Offences (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2023, were being attended to with the utmost respect for constitutional mandates and legislative processes.
A statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Office of the President, Eugene Bentum Arhin, said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was mindful of Article 106 (7) of the Constitution, which affords the President seven days to review and give his assent to any bill presented to him.
” In light of this constitutional provision, it is important to note that the President is still well within the legally stipulated timeframe to make a decision regarding the Bill,” the statement added and enclosed the cover letter dated November 27, 2023, from the Office of the Speaker to it.
It pointed out that the bill was officially presented to the President for his assent, together with the Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2023 and National Petroleum Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, with a covering letter dated November 27, 2023, with reference PS/CS/112/826.
“How could the Speaker of Parliament accuse the President of remaining silent on the Bill when it was officially presented to him on Monday, 27th November 2023, the same day the Speaker made the accusation?” it asked.
The Ghanaian Times reports that five-year training programme aimed at building the innovative and entrepreneurial capacities of 10,000 young people in mining communities across the country has been launched in Accra.
Dubbed, Entrepreneurship Jobs for All Programme and christened “E-Jobs4All,” it is one of the modules under the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) being implemented by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.
It is being implemented in partnership with the Queens University, Leadogo Incorporated Canada, and the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Initiative (CEDI Ghana).
The training, which will focus on apprenticeship, skills training and entrepreneurship, was launched by the Minister of Land and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor, yesterday.
Speaking at the event, Mr Jinapor said, the programme formed part of government’s initiative to provide decent jobs for the youth who either reside or hail from the mining regions of the country.
Aimed primarily at tackling unemployment, he stated that, it was an initiative to empower the youth, foster innovation, and unleash the potential that lies within mining communities across the country.
He noted that, the programme was designed to equip the beneficiaries with tools, skills, and insights necessary to carve, shape, and transform ideas into profitable ventures.
“Through this programme, we do not only seek to impart knowledge, but cultivate a mindset of innovation and entrepreneurship in our people. We recognise that true empowerment rests, not only in creating employment but instilling the ethos of self-reliance and enterprise.
That is why the programme has been designed to build entrepreneurs who can navigate the complexities of business, and become job creators,” Mr Jinapor stated
The newspaper says that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has enough reserve buffers to support the economy until the second tranche of $600 million balance of payment support from the Interna­tional Monetary Fund (IMF) is released to the country, the Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, has stated.
He explained that he was hopeful the government would complete negotiations with bilateral and commercial credi­tors before the end of the year to enable the IMF release the second tranche of the balance of payment support under the Ghana’s three-year Extended Credit Facility with the Fund.
Dr Addison disclosed this yesterday in response to a ques­tion on thepossible impact the­delay in release of the second tranche of the IMF funds would have on theGhanaian econo­myduring a press conference after the 115th regular meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the BoG..
He said the briefing he had received indicated that there had been fruitful discussions between the government and its commer­cial and bilateral partners. he Governor expressed the hope Ghana would not get to the situation of Zambia and con­clude talks with its commercial and bilateral creditors before the end of the year.
Dr Addison said inthe unlikely event that the second tranche was not disbursed before the end of the year, the country had enough buffers to last for six months.
He said the BoG through the Gold for Oil and Gold for Reserves Programmes and pre­vious inflows from the IMF had helped bolstered the reserves of the BoG.
Dr Addison said the country’s Gross International Reserves, excluding pledged assets and petroleum funds, reflected a build-up in reserves.
The level of reserves, as de­fined under the IMF-supported programme, he said, increased to $2.5 billion (equivalent to 1.1 months of import cover) at the end of October 2023, from the December 2022 position of $1.5 billion (0.6 month of import cover).
GIK/APA