The report that Ghana has issued its first certificate of full commercial trading to a ceramic tiles production company to export its products under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Guided Trade initiative is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that Ghana has issued its first certificate of full commercial trading to a ceramic tiles production company to export its products under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Guided Trade initiative.
In the same vein, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has received the first consignment of goods under the initiative from Rwanda, with delivery already done.
The Assistant Commissioner of Customs in charge of the AfCFTA Secretariat, F.Y. Akoto, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said on September 30, this year, the Customs Division issued the certificate of trading to a tiles manufacturing company, Keda Ghana Ceramics Company Limited, located at Shama in the Western Region, to export a consignment of its products to Cameroun.
“It is expected that when the products reach Cameroun, their customs officials will give the necessary preferential treatment to Keda Ceramics for it to enjoy reduced tariffs and quota-free facility,” he said.
On the imports from Rwanda, he said they were made up of coffee products which were received at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
“Ghana Customs processed the Bill of Entry on the consignment, granting the importer the necessary tariff cuts after he had satisfied all the documentary requirements,” he said.
Mr Akoto added that a second consignment of tea products from Rwanda arrived at the KIA yesterday and documents on the goods were being processed for possible delivery, possibly before the close of work yesterday.
He further indicated that a second Ghana-based company, the Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) at Adum Banso, also in the Western Region, was expected to export palm kernel oil to Kenya in due course.
On the other hand, consignments of tea products were expected from Kenya, while meat products were also expected to arrive from Egypt, he said.
“This means that the AfCFTA agreement has come into full force and our manufacturers can take advantage of it to export to other countries,” he added.
The newspaper says that Ukraine plans to establish an embassy in Ghana in future as part of efforts to expand its presence in Africa.
This was disclosed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba when he held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, in Accra.
The visit of the head of Ukrainian diplomacy to Ghana takes place within the framework of the first-ever tour of the head of the MFA of Ukraine to African countries.
A publication on Ukraine’s MFA website said Mr Kuleba informed his Ghanaian colleague in detail about his country’s efforts to liberate Ukrainian territories from Russian occupation.
He thanked Ghana for its solidarity with Ukraine, and support for resolutions at the UN and other international organizations aimed at restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The minister emphasized Ukraine’s desire to start a new high-quality partnership with Ghana, which will be based on mutual respect, mutual support and mutual benefit.
“As part of the implementation of the African strategy, which was developed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is expanding its presence in Africa. We reached an agreement with the Ghanaian side: we plan to open a Ukrainian embassy in Ghana in the near future. The establishment of a diplomatic presence in Accra will give an impetus to the development of political contacts, trade, investments, cultural exchanges and cooperation in the field of education,” Mr Kuleba said.
The Graphic also reports that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has raised the policy rate by 250 basis points to 24.5 per cent.
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison announced the rate hike today, (October 6, 2022) when he addressed the media.
The rate hike is the second highest in the bank’s history and is meant to fight price pressures, with inflation almost at 40 per cent.
The BoG Governor said the increment was also meant to contain capital outflows which could worsen the cedi’s depreciation.
The press conference was to announce the decision of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) after it concluded its regular meetings in September 2022.
The press conference was initially due to take place in the last week of September but shifted forward to allow for broader consultation with the visiting team from the International Monetary Fund, BoG said in an earlier statement.
The Ghanaian Times says that former President John Dramani Mahama has urged the government to fast-track negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to create a more predictable socioeconomic outlook.
“I fear further delay on the part of the government to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund will further worsen the country’s economic situation since the nation returned to the Fund for support and assistance after months of struggle with the economy and a cost of living crisis,” he cautioned.
The former President stated that the economic situation was distressing because every passing day made the socioeconomic situation worse and urged the government to work with greater alacrity to lock in a programme with the Fund in order to create a more predictable economic outlook.
“The government needs to work with greater alacrity to lock in a programme with the IMF in order to create a more predictable economic outlook to ameliorate the plight of the citizenry since it is distressing to realise that their cost of living situation worsens on daily basis.
“Delays in the negotiations will further deteriorate the economy and worsen the plight of citizens which is distressing because every passing day makes our economic situation worse and there is the need for the government to work harder with the Fund in order to create a more predictable economic outlook to bring hope, aspiration and confidence to Ghanaians,” he said.
Ghana’s economy grew by 4.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, despite its recent economic crises, proving the current administration understands how to manage the resources and crises although formal negotiations for a Fund-supported and assisted programme have begun, with the IMF team currently meeting government officials for a period of ten days.
Talks have begun on a comprehensive debt sustainability analysis with the IMF for a $3 billion support and assisted programme even though some economists have cast doubt on the possibility of concluding the IMF deal before the year ends.
However, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, had stated that the government would fast-track negotiations with the Fund to ensure key aspects of the programme were reflected in the 2023 Budget and Policy Statement.
GIK/APA