The hosting of the Youth ConneKT Africa summit in Accra, which is the biggest youth platform that seeks to connect the youth of the continent for the socio-economic transformation of Africa is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Accra will this morning play host to the fourth edition of the Youth ConneKT Africa summit, the biggest youth platform that seeks to connect the youth of the continent for the socio-economic transformation of Africa.
Dubbed: Youth ConneKT Africa Summit 2021, this year’s event which is being held outside the capital of Rwanda, Kigali for the first time is on the theme: “Africa Beyond Aid: Positioning the youth for Post-COVID Economic and Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA) opportunities.”
In attendance for this year’s event are President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the President of Rwanda, Paul Kegame.
Also in attendance are ministers of youth from 24 other African countries.
Addressing a news conference in Accra on Monday to brief the media on Ghana’s preparedness towards the hosting the Pan African Youth event in Ghana, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Mr Pius EnamHadzide, said this year’s event was expected to host about 17,000 participants.
He said 2000 out of the 17000 participants were expected to be physically in Accra, while the remaining 15,000 would join from across the world via virtual means.
He explained that, this year’s event was being organised by the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Youth Authority in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as well as other partners across African continent.
He described the event as a Pan-African platform with the vision of connecting African youth for socio-economic transformation of the continent.
Mr Hadzide said the platform was to empower young people by enhancing their knowledge experiences and skills whilst investing in their ideas, innovations and initiatives.
The CEO explained that, the summit had grown to a network of 24 African countries with participation still on the rise.
The newspaper says that the relatively strong performance of the economy in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic is as a result of the homegrown policies instituted by the government and the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, has said.
“The relatively strong performance of the economy in spite of COVID-19 was due to home grown policy credibility that had been earned over four years of economic reform. The fiscal and monetary policy framework that was implemented provided a solid anchor to disinflation. Policy credibility engendered investor confidence which underpinned the significant inflow of capital both portfolio and direct during this period,” he stated in Accra on Monday during the opening of 10th Edition of the Ghana Economic Forum (GEF).
The programme, organised by the Business and Financial Times, an Accra-based newspaper, is on the theme “Strengthening Home-grown Polices to Underpin the National Digitisation Drive and Shared Financial Prosperity.”
The three-day programme being chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr K.K Sarpong is focusing on the youth.
Dr Addison said it had been almost twenty months since the shock of COVID-19 pandemic to the Ghanaian economy with its ramifications on the economy.
“The unprecedented adverse global consequences are ongoing, but the good news is that, the Ghanaian economy absorbed the shock well, and the economy has begun to turn around very strongly. The prudent and timely policy support one may call it “homegrown”, removal of restrictions, reopening of business activities, and increased vaccinations, have worked together to systematically support the recovery process,” he said.
The Governor said measures instituted by the BoG and government had placed the Ghanaian economy in a good place prior to the pandemic and the necessary policy space to undertake the counter cyclical policies that allowed the economy to stay on course.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that Qatar Airways, has reiterated its commitment to the Ghanaian market as it sees growth and expansion prospects.
Addressing the media in Accra on Monday, Vice President-Africa, Commercial Department at Qatar Airways, Hendrick Du Preez said after just a year of operating in Ghana, the airline saw huge prospects as far as demand was concerned.
“We started operating in Ghana in June this year with our first flight from Accra to Doha and just after five months we are flying five times a week with a huge possibility of extending it to a daily destination in coming months,” he stated.
He added that, the airline was the only direct carrier from Accra to Doha and with partnerships from 26 countries in Africa adding that “we are looking forward to improving massively next year and cover more destinations.”
He said the COVID-19 outbreak did not prevent the airline from operating in countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.
“We saw that as an opportunity and provided safety on our flights and never stopped flying during the pandemic,” he stated.
“We were the first to receive COVID-19 safety certification, a five-star COVID-19 safety rating and assisted governments across the world to bring people back home,” he stated.
That he said, boosted customer confidence and had since been recognised as the best airline in the world with over 600 destinations.
“It also positioned us to be on top as far as reliability and sustainability were concerned,” he stressed.
On his part, Country Manager-Nigeria, Kennedy Chirchir, said the company was working closely with communities to provide services to travellers across the world and enhance customer experience.
“We are in partnership with Africa World Airline (AWA) to utilise domestic destinations and make flying accessible and affordable for people across the world,” he stated.
GIK/APA