The assurance given by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) that it will continue to facilitate the adequate production and reliable supply of cocoa beans for local processing and export and the call by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) for a National Development Plan are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has given an assurance that it will continue to facilitate the adequate production and reliable supply of cocoa beans for local processing and export.
That plan is also part of an initiative to support the private sector and position the country to become the chocolate and confectionery hub of Africa by 2030.
That, the regulator said, was the surest way to leverage Ghana’s increasing trend of cocoa production to become a key player in the global value chain and achieve prosperity for farmers.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, who gave the assurance at the third Ghana Cocoa Awards in Accra last Friday, challenged entrepreneurs, investors and other relevant stakeholders to partner the government to establish chocolate manufacturing firms that could profit Africa’s over 1.2 billion consumers and beyond.
“Is it not ironic that the continent that produces nearly 75 per cent of global cocoa is an importer of chocolate and confectionary products?
All five of Africa’s biggest economies — Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Morocco — are importers of chocolate from the same Western countries to which Africa supplies raw cocoa,” he said.
Mr Aidoo observed that it was an obvious unfortunate situation to create job opportunities in already developed economies, while leaving the youth of Africa with limited choices.
“We need to redirect our efforts towards value addition, while taking advantage of opportunities offered us by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to turn Africa into a cocoa manufacturing and consuming region,” he said.
The newspaper says that this week is expected to be exceptionally busy in Parliament as the House enters the fourth week of sittings prior to the Christmas holidays.
Aside from the presentation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on Wednesday, November 17, 2020, there would be a total of 50 questions — 17 urgent and 33 oral — to be responded to by the Leader of the House and 14 ministers.
On the presentation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who announced the Business Statement and its accompanying memorandum, urged members to endeavour to be present in the House.
He further announced that there would be a Post-Budget Workshop for all Members of Parliament to enable them to appreciate the content of the budget.
He entreated all members to make themselves available at the post-budget workshop and to participate actively.
Mr Afenyo-Markin informed the House that the debate on the Budget Statement and Economic Policy shall commence on Monday, November 22, 2021.
He advised legislators to scrutinise the allocations and proactively deal with them as early as possible and not just rubber-stamp before it comes to the passage of the Appropriations on December 17.
“Rt Hon. Speaker, as may be noted on the proposed Business Statement, a considerable number of questions have been scheduled for response by some ministers, particularly, those who have more questions asked of them,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.
The Graphic also reports that the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has appealed to the government to revisit the recommendations by the Professor Fiadjoe Constitutional Review Committee for a National Development Plan.
“We are of the strong conviction that the implementation of these and other recommendations will be in the right direction,” it stated.
In a communique issued at the end of the plenary of the GCBC in Wa last Friday, the bishops noted that during the consultations of the Prof. Fiadjoe Commission, “there was widespread, consistent and a clear call for the formulation of a national development plan or vision for Ghana.
There was universal agreement on the need for a long-term, strategic and relatively binding National Development Plan.”
It said on the commission’s findings and observations, it recommended that “the constitution be amended to include an entrenched provision for the development of a national development plan for Ghana. That, the national development plan should be comprehensive, long-term, strategic, multi-year, and binding in nature and enforceable at the instance of any person or institution”.
It said the bishops were of the strong conviction that the implementation of these and other recommendations will be in the right direction.
On local governance and decentralisation, the communique noted that decentralisation, which sought to promote effective local governance, was the way to bring governance and its benefits to the people and improve the participation of citizens in the governance process as it enhanced democracy at the grassroots, inclusiveness and accountability.
It, however, observed that the nominations and confirmations of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) over the years had brought to the fore how deep rooted the culture of bribery and corruption in the country’s governance system was.
The Ghanaian Times says that the third Africa Regional Training Event for Commonwealth Electoral Professionals (CEP) opened in Accra on Monday.
It is tailored to address regional needs and priorities in delivering more inclusive, credible and transparent electoral processes and elections.
The five-day event is being attended by 14 Election Management Bodies (EMB) from across the African continent, being organised in collaboration with the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana with support from the Australian Embassy.
Participating countries include Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Uganda.
Topics to be discussed during the training workshop include Gender and Social Inclusion Perspective, public information and communications as essential ingredients for credible elections and managing stakeholder confidence in the post-election environment.
The programme, also aimed at boosting electoral democracy in commonwealth Africa is on the theme ‘delivering credible and inclusive elections in the era of COVID-19: building public trust and confidence throughout the electoral cycle.’
In his address, the deputy EC chairman, Mr Samuel Tettey, stated that all EMBs were mandated to deliver elections that reflected the free expression of the will of the people.
To achieve this, he said elections must be transparent, inclusive and accountable to strengthen public confidence and trust.
GIK/APA