APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that Ghana and Morocco have reaffirmed commitment to strengthening their bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries and for unity, peace, stability and progress of Africa is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana and Morocco have reaffirmed commitment to strengthening their bilateral cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two countries, and for unity, peace, stability and progress of Africa.
The Kingdom of Morocco Ambassador to Ghana, Imane Ouaadil and Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, affirmed this commitment in Accra, Sunday at the 25th anniversary of the enthronement of King Mohammed VI.
The “Throne Day” was attended by Moroccan community in Ghana, ministers of state, members of the diplomatic corps, traditional rulers, Members of Parliament, and a cross section of Ghanaians.
Proposing the toast for the strengthening of the bilateral relation between the two countries, Mrs Ouaadil said that King Mohammed VI had renewed his determination to continue working together with President Nana Akufo-Addo to strengthen the fruitful cooperation and active solidarity between the two countries and progress of Africa.
“And the two countries are indeed increasingly collaborating on emerging issues, such food security, infrastructure, education and training,” she added.
“On food security, with a view to boosting South-South cooperation, Morocco’s phosphate giant, OCP Group and Ghana government completed in May, initial studies for construction of $1.3 billion fertiliser complex in Takoradi to help increase fertiliser availability in Ghana as well as reduce input costs for farmers,” she added.
Mrs Quaadil said Moroccan investment in Ghana had grown considerably during the last de-cade noting the presence of Bank of Africa in the finance sector and construction, and in real estate CI¬MAF and sister company Addoha, and in retail with Tractafric and Kitea who joined in March.
The newspaper says that the Minority in Parliament has dismissed the assertion by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta that Ghana’s economy is recovering.
According to the caucus’ leader and MP for Ajumako/Enyan/ Esiam, Dr Casiel Ato Baah Forson, the economic hardship imposed on Ghanaians as a result of bad government policies has rather worsened the condition of Ghana¬ians.
Mr Ofori-Atta, presenting the Mid- Year Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government in Parliament, Accra, yesterday, said govern¬ment was making modest gains in turning around the economy after experiencing severe economic hardship in 2022.
“Mr Speaker, we have turned the corner and, more importantly, we are determined to continue down that path. Soon, we expect the measures taken to result in economic activity greater than anything experienced in the history of the Fourth Republic. Our plans and programmes should soon lead to a sustained increase in domestic production, including manufacturing and farming, replacing many of the products that we are used to importing.
“As I have indicated, we have made significant progress on restoring macroeconomic stability and the narrative is changing. The economy is showing signs of recovery. The exchange rate has stabilised, inflation has softened, and interest rates have declined since December 2022,” Mr Ofori-Atta told Parliament.
But, addressing journalists after the minister’s presentation, Dr Forson said things look gloomy than the minister portrayed.
“The minister is not even close to the corner. What he has successfully done is that he has deepened the (economic) woes of the ordinary Ghanaian.
“This is because the minister has revised economic growth from 2.8 of GDP to 1.5. This clearly shows that the economy is contracting and declining and obvious¬ly, this will affect jobs and welfare of the ordinary Ghanaian,” Dr Forson stated.
He wondered if the new growth target would be attained because looking at developments in the economy, “if care is not taken, we will struggle to see economic growth at above one per cent.”
The Graphic reports that the exact location of what is thought to be the first English slave fort in Africa may have been found – the BBC has been hearing about the significance of the discovery in Ghana.
Taking care, archaeologist Christopher DeCorse spreads the rare artefacts out on a makeshift table next to the dig site.
A gunflint (used in old-fashioned guns), tobacco pipes, broken pottery and the jawbone of a goat are carefully laid out. These discarded fragments, unearthed from centuries of compacted soil, offer clues to a lost past.
“Any archaeologist who says they are not excited when they find something are not being entirely truthful,” the professor from Syracuse University in the US says with a broad smile.
These remnants point to the existence of “the first English outpost established anywhere in Africa,” he argues.
The archaeologist is standing in the ruins of Fort Amsterdam, speaking above the wind and roar of the Atlantic Ocean waves hitting Ghana’s coastline.
Inside that fort are what are thought to be the remains of an older fort – Kormantine – long-lost under the earth, which the professor’s team are gradually excavating with brisk activity.
The newspaper says that former President John Dramani Mahama has voiced his apprehension about the governance of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration, asserting that it poses the most significant risk to Ghana’s democracy.
In a post on Facebook on Monday, July 31, Mr. Mahama urged Ghanaians to vote out the current government in the 2024 elections to rescue the nation.
As the Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), he believes that the nearly seven years of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia administration have jeopardized Ghana’s constitutional democracy.
Mahama argues that a change of leadership is essential, replacing the current “inept” NPP government with the NDC administration to safeguard democracy and restore hope to the people.
He emphasized that transparent and accountable governance, offering opportunities to all, not just a select few, is the cornerstone of a strong democracy.
“The almost seven years of Akufo Addo and Bawumia’s maladministration is the biggest threat to the survival of our constitutional democracy. Only a CHANGE in this inept NPP government can ensure the sustainability of our democracy. The next NDC administration will work to restore hope to Ghanaians quickly. The business-as-usual approach to governance, lies, and propaganda will not work. We cannot and must avoid repeating the mistakes of the NPP.”
GIK/APA