The increase of the policy rate by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bank of Ghana (BoG) on the back of rising inflation and the call by the VP for all Ghanaians to share in the vision of the digital transformation journey of the government are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Bank of Ghana (BoG) has increased the policy rate on the back of rising inflation.
The MPC, after its 103rd meeting yesterday in Accra to review the developments in the economy, raised the policy rate by 100 basis to 14.5 per cent from 13.5 per cent.
Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of BoG, who chairs the MPC, said the “Headline inflation has risen consistently from the low of 7.5 percent in May 2021 to 11.0 per cent in October, driven by both food and non-food price increases.
In addition, all the Bank’s core measures of inflation have increased, indicating broad-based underlying inflation pressures with the potential of de-anchoring inflation expectations.
Currently, headline inflation is above the upper limit of the medium-term target band and the Committee noted significant risks to the inflation outlook.”
“These risks include rising global inflation, high energy prices, uncertainties surrounding food prices and investor behaviour. The Committee noted that these elevated inflationary risks require prompt policy action to re-anchor inflation expectations to safeguard the central bank’s price stability objective,” he said.
Dr Addison said in the domestic economy, the committee assessed that the recovery in the real sector was progressing at a steady pace.
The Graphic says that digital transformation journey embarked on by the government should be a shared vision by all Ghanaians, the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said.
In doing that, he urged the people to lead the conversation on how best the nation could position itself to drive its development agenda through inclusive and collaborative stakeholder participation in the digital innovation ecosystem.
“The opportunities to leverage technology for accelerated and inclusive development have never been so tangible. This is the time to take a critical look at our innovations and the digital transformation journey and feed our reflections and ambitions into a shared vision,” he said.
Dr Bawumia made the call at the opening of the maiden Ghana Digital Innovation Week in Accra yesterday.
The five-day Ghana Digital Innovation Week, which has attracted many development partners, particularly from Israel, Germany and Rwanda, is on the theme: “Mobilising collective action and investment to catalyse growth in Ghana’s innovation ecosystem”.
It is expected to serve as a platform to discuss and define a common national vision that drives digital innovation, generates wide interests and prompts concrete actions in the policy and the legislative regulatory spaces and the needed hard infrastructure.
“There is perhaps no more important development revolution facing us now than the fast approaching digitalisation and leveraging technology to develop our country,” the Vice-President said.
He urged Ghanaians to use the opportunity offered by the Digital Innovation Week to highlight the achievements of the nation in the digital innovation ecosystem.
The newspaper reports that the government is rolling out a GH¢10-billion package over three years as support for start-up businesses and youth entrepreneurship ventures in the country.
In line with this, the government, through the E-Levy, proposes to use GH¢1 billion each year to catalyse an ecosystem to create one million jobs.
In partnership with its development partners, the government will raise another GH¢2 billion to support the same cause.
Local banks have also agreed on a package that will result in increasing their small and medium enterprises (SMEs) portfolio up to GH¢5 billion over the next three years.
Speaking with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a post-budget engagement with the leadership and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, last Saturday, the Finance Minister said: “The government is making the most extensive attempt in its history at kick-starting the entrepreneurial state.”
“Over the next three years, the government will commit up to GH¢1 billion annually for the YouStart initiative, while the development partners and financial institutions will complement government funding with close to GH¢2 billion and GH¢5 billion, respectively.
This is a clarion call for a ‘new deal’,” he added.
This week, the Finance Minister is continuing with the stakeholder engagements and will meet with the National Union of Ghana Students to discuss further details of the rollout.
The two-day workshop in Ho facilitated extensive dialogue among MPs, the Ministry of Finance and other key stakeholders on the principles and critical issues of the 2022 budget.
The Graphic also says that a wholly owned Ghanaian company has delivered the first Ghanaian-owned, Ghana-flagged supply vessel to Ghana’s premier offshore operator, Tullow Oil Ghana, to support the country’s upstream oil and gas activities.
The vessel— Flag Confidence — registered in Ghana and flying Ghana’s flag, is 71 metres long and 19 metres wide.
It was delivered by Flat C Marine Offshore to provide hold-back support during oil export operations at the calm buoy and deck cargo supply services to both of Tullow’s Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) systems — Kwame Nkrumah and John Evans Atta Mills.
It is expected to boost local content drive to guarantee Ghana’s dominance in the local oil and gas production space.
It would also deliver multiple liquid and dry bulk cargoes from beneath deck without cross contamination and in a timely fashion, with a fully indigenous Ghanaian crew, trained and with the requisite capability and a safety management system in line with recognised global marine standards.
At the inaugural ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Energy, Mr Andrew Agyapa Mercer, said the government had been a strong advocate of the participation of local companies in the country’s upstream oil and gas sector.
GIK/APA