The statement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, that the policies and programmes initiated by his government since taking office in January 2017, are bearing fruit and have impacted the lives of all Ghanaians is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has said that the policies and programmes initiated by his government, since taking office in January 2017, are bearing fruit and have impacted the lives of all Ghanaians.
Speaking at the centenary celebration of the Ash Town Seventh Day Adventist Church, on Saturday, President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that he came into office with the goal of improving the living standards of the Ghanaian people.
“After my first term in office, our achievements were visible for all to see, and that is why the Ghanaian people were good enough to repose their confidence in me again, and gave me four more years to do more for them,” he said.
While acknowledging that life was still not easy as it should be, the President noted that there are solid reasons for all Ghanaians to hope for a brighter tomorrow.
Recounting the passage in Jeremiah 12:2, which says “You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit”, he told congregants at the church that “likewise, the policies and programmes being implemented by my government have taken root, they are growing, and they are bearing fruits.”
President Akufo-Addo continued, “In this church, at least, I am sure we have parents here whose wards are beneficiaries of the Free Senior High School policy. We have achieved a number of noteworthy successes, and even though the pandemic of COVID-19 has derailed temporarily our progress, we remain on course, and will build back Mother Ghana much strongly.”
Reiterating his vision for the progress and prosperity of Ghana, the President stated that his vision to build a Ghana Beyond Aid remains constant, adding that “with the help of the church, I am confident that we can realise this vision”.
The newspaper says that Development Partners International (DPI), a premier investment firm with focus on Africa has called on growing and established Ghanaian companies to tap into its $ 900 million African Development Partners III Fund (ADP III) to raise funds for their operations.
“We look to investing in businesess that are ultimately serving the African middle class as the middle class grow and earn more money, they will require more goods and services so ultimately we are looking to investing in companies that are providing these goods and services to the African middle class, for us that means investing in multiple sectors, cutting across financial services, technology, telecommunications, fast moving consumer goods, retail, education, healthcare,” Adefolarin Ogunsanya, an investment professional at DPI LLP said in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on Friday .
“We find the Ghanaian market to be very attractive, like what I said, we have invested in the Ghanaian market. We have actually done well with our investment with Cal Bank several years ago. So it is a market that we know very well and deliver good returns to us and we are actively involved,” he said.
“We find the Ghanaian market to be very attractive, like what I said, we have invested in the Ghanaian market. We have actually done well with our investment with Cal Bank several years ago. So it is a market that we know very well and deliver good returns to us and we are actively involved,” he said.
ADP III secured capital from a broad range of leading pension and sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, endowment and foundations, insurance companies, fund-of-funds, asset managers, and impact investors.
The global investor base represents 20 countries across North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. In addition to strong support from existing investors, DPI welcomed over 25 new LPs into its investor base.
This is testament to DPI’s track record and ability to create institutional-grade investment opportunities in Africa, while continuing to deliver sustained environmental and economic impact.
Runa Alam, co-founder and Chief Executive of DPI in a statement said “Africa remains an exciting investment destination with positive demographics, rising adoption of technology, and rising consumer and business spending. Against this backdrop, DPI has continued to generate top quartile returns by leveraging our team’s deep-rooted local expertise across the African continent.
“As we look towards the future with our ADP III fund, we will focus on innovation-driven companies leading the digital transformation of the economies in which they operate. In addition, our deep integration of impact and ESG initiatives in the investment life cycle has been widely recognised and ensures we are known as a trusted partner.”
The Ghanaian Times also reports that the government’s Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) policy will be rolled out in earnest, the third quarter of next year, the Head of Communication at the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mr Mohammed Abdul Kudus, has disclosed.
This follows the successful piloting of the policy in four regions across the country and identification of some bottlenecks that could hamper its smooth implementation.
The policy, expected to be rolled out in phases, forms part of measures to ensure the safety in the retailing, handling and usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in the country.
Following the gas explosion at Atomic Junction on October 7, 2017 which resulted in the death of about seven innocent people and more than 20 people injured, the government announced the new policy as part of measures to reduce explosions through stringent monitoring mechanisms as well as create more job opportunities within the LPG value chain.
As part of the policy, the Ministry of Energy mandated NPA to constitute an implementation committee to plan, oversee and ensure it smooth and successful rollout across the country.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, Mr Kudus said the implementation of the policy remained a priority for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Authority, Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid.
He explained that as part of the processes for the smooth rollout of the CRM, a committee had been constituted to engage across the spectrum all stakeholders within the LPG value chain.
“The consultations currently ongoing are a continuation of what was started by the previous CEO and it is to ensure the buy-in of all the stakeholders especially the Petroleum Gas Marketing Companies (LPGMCs),” he said.
GIK/APA