Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s call on Central Banks in Africa to endeavour to create combined sovereign reserves that can expand their balance sheets to respond to financial challenges amongst African Union member states is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has urged Central Banks in Africa to endeavour to create combined sovereign reserves that could expand their balance sheets to respond to financial challenges amongst African Union member states.
He was of the view that whereas the combined sovereign reserves stood at about $300 billion to $500 billion making it a quarter or about 1. 2 percent of the global reserves, and member states borrowing funds from external sources at an eight percent interest, it would be imperative to rather have the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) or the African Development Bank (AfDB) to have control over such reserves.
Doing so, he said, could create a good balance sheet that countries could all leverage on as a continent to mitigate potential adverse consequences within the global financial space, Mr. Ofori-Atta said.
“It is hard to believe that Africa had just two percent of all of the world’s trade especially when you think about all the tremendous resources that they have in terms of diamond, gold, cocoa, tea, coffee among others, and to think that Africa still contributes only two percent is rarely strange,” he said.
Similarly, he expressed worry that Africa is at the bottom of the pyramid in terms of the Western concept of investments, “so how can we not have a reserve currency with all of the mineral resources that we export?” He quipped.
Addressing the business community at the closing session of the three-day Ghana Trade Road Show in Accra on Friday, Mr. Ofori-Atta noted that having a reserve currency puts the continent on a platform to determine what it could do regarding challenges within the global financial architecture.
The Trade Show was organised by Oakwood Green Africa in partnership with the Afreximbank, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Ghana Freezones Authority as partners.
The programme had representatives from the Ghanaian banking and finance community, the small and medium enterprises sector, exporters and producers of locally made products in attendance.
The newspaper says that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) is considering offering fuel subsidies to transport firms and owners to enable them to haul foodstuffs to the market centres.
The provision of subsidised fuel coupons to the transporters is expected to cut the cost of transportation of foodstuffs from the production areas to urban centres.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, who announced this in Sunyani last Monday, said that had become necessary because of the rising prices of foodstuffs in urban areas which, according to foodstuff retailers, was due to the rising cost of transportation.
“We are fashioning out modalities so that a way will be found to cut down the transportation cost of foodstuffs, so that foodstuffs will be sold cheaper in the satellite markets and thereby force down prices in the traditional markets,” the minister explained.
He said even though food prices were relatively cheaper in markets in the food producing areas, they had become expensive in the urban centres.
He explained that as part of the measures, the ministry would cause the transportation of food from the producing areas to selected urban centres to be sold at realistic bulk prices to force the prices on the open market to come down.
Dr Akoto said municipal and metropolitan assemblies in the selected urban areas would be asked to organise satellite markets, from where wholesalers, retailers and consumers would have the opportunity to buy foodstuffs.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday cut the sod for the commencement of work on the construction of the €500 million Manso-Huni Valley section of the Western Railway.
Describing it as the highest single investment for rail development since Ghana gained independence, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the project is expected to be completed within 42 months.
Addressing the gathering at Manso in the Amenfi Central District, the President bemoaned the fact that one of the great tragedies of Ghana’s post-colonial era was allowing her railway infrastructure, developed under colonial rule, to deteriorate completely.
According to him, out of the 947 kilometres (km) of colonial narrow-gauge rail network bequeathed by the colonialists, barely 10 per cent was operational.
Indeed, the only addition to the network has been the 15km narrow gauge railway line, built between 2012 and 2017, from Sekondi to Takoradi via Kojokrom.
President Akufo-Addo noted that, upon his assumption of office in January 2017, he was determined to change this statistic, because of his belief in the fact that an efficient railway system is critical to the progress and prosperity of Ghana, the reason why he re-established the Ministry of Railways Development.
“The ground-breaking event involved in today’s ceremony is an integral part of the series of infrastructural projects lined up to expand the provision of railway services. Key amongst the rail projects, currently on-going, are the development of a new standard gauge railway line between the Port of Tema and Mpakadan in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region. This project has reached an advanced stage of completion, and will soon be handed over to Government for operation,” the President said.
He noted also that the development of the Western Railway Line is on course, with the 22 km section of the line from Kojokrom to Manso proceeding steadily, and scheduled for completion before the end of this year.
The newspaper says that the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, has appealed to the member companies of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry France Ghana (CCIFG) to support the country’s industrialisation agenda.
She said the objective of government was to industrialise the country through modernised agriculture.
Ms Asiamah-Adjei made the appeal in Accra last Friday during a dinner dance organised for members of the CCIFG.
Fourth in the series, the programme was graced by the Second Lady, Samira Bawumia; Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei; Yofi Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre; Irchad Razaaly, European Union Ambassador to Ghana; Anne-Sophie Avé, French Ambassador to Ghana.
It was held under the auspices of Societe Generale Ghana PlC as the Platinum Sponsor, Orsam Oil and Gas Limited, CFAO Ghana Limited, SONAPACK, TotalEnergies, DECATHLON Ghana, Silver Star Auto Limited, DDP Outdoor Limited as gold sponsors and TechnipFMC, Bureau Veritas, Pernod Ricard, Airfrance, KLM, CANAL Plus, as silver sponsors.
The Deputy Minister said there were so many opportunities in agriculture and government would rely on the sector to export value added products to attract a lot of foreign exchange.
To this end, she entreated the private sector, especially companies from France to invest in agriculture to modernise the sector.
She commended the CCIFG for the role it was playing to strengthen business relationship between Ghana and France and also to attract business to and from both countries.
The Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, said the two countries had enjoyed cordial trade and bilateral relationship for the past 65 years.
She stressed the need to further promote trade between the two countries to increase the current 500 million euro value of trade between Ghana and France.
The France Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Ave commended the CCIFG for the programme.
GIK/APA