The approval of some major reliefs by President Akufo-Addo as part of efforts to recover the economy and set it back to its pre-COVID-19 levels is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has sanctioned some major reliefs as part of efforts to recover the economy and set it back to its pre-COVID-19 levels.
The reliefs include the opening of the country’s land borders, the easing of general COVID-19 restrictions and measures to arrest the depreciation of the cedi.
There are also measures to tackle rising fuel prices occasioned by the global economic turmoil brought on by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and measures to address the persistent rise in the prices of goods and services.
The reliefs were sanctioned at a crunch three-day Cabinet retreat that took place at Peduase in the Eastern Region over the weekend.
In a tweet last Thursday, the Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, disclosed that the essence of the retreat was to enable the government to proffer solutions to ease the burden on Ghanaians.
“In the coming days, details will be announced, including when and how the borders will be opened, the removal of some testing protocols, shoring up the currency and further cutting expenditures while assuring growth,” the minister told journalists on the sides of the retreat.
It is expected that, in the coming days, President Akufo-Addo, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, other sector ministers, as well as the Bank of Ghana, will provide details on the reliefs and which sectors will experience expenditure cuts.
The reliefs are also expected to answer questions being posed by economic watchers on how the government will respond to current global economic challenges.
The newspaper says that the government has placed emphasis on technical and vocational education as a major pillar of national development.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made the declaration, said empowering vocational and technical educational institutions would help produce market-ready graduates.
He said if key stakeholders paid greater attention to technical and vocational training, where the skills essential for the contemporary economy might be developed, the economy would be radically transformed.
Speaking at the 92nd Speech and Prize-giving Day of the St Augustine’s College in Cape Coast last Saturday, the President insisted that the government was on course with the necessary investments in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions to provide students with holistic education in their respective fields, well cut for the job market.
“The strategy is to expand technical and vocational opportunities at both secondary and tertiary levels and thereby strengthen the linkages between education and industry, as well as empower young people to deploy their skills and employ themselves and others,” he stated.
The event, which was on the theme: “Redefining education delivery in a technological age: The role of St Augustine’s College”, was sponsored by the 1997 Year Group of old students
Present was the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, and the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan.
President Akufo-Addo stated that as part of the government’s objective to make TVET a basic pillar of the educational sector, second-cycle technical institutions were being overhauled.
The Ghanaian Times reports that former President John Mahamaha urged the government to reopen the country’s land borders, to facilitate socio-economic activities.
He said the long closure of the borders has significantly affected economic activities along border communities.
In a Facebook post calling for a review of the government’s COVID-19 restrictions, the former President said the ongoing deliberations by the government concerning the reopening of the borders “is long overdue and must be done without further delay”.
“The long border closures have devastated the economy of our border communities. Government’s announcement that it is deliberating at Cabinet about a possible opening of our land borders is long overdue. Let’s open the land borders now!” Mahama said.
He also called for the scrapping of the $50 mandatory COVID-19 test at the Kotoka International Airport
The Minority Caucus in Parliament had also earlier called on the government to open Ghana’s land borders to allow for the free movement of persons and goods.
President Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo on March 22, 2020 announced the closure of the country’s land, sea and air borders as part of measures to reduce the importation of the dreaded coronavirus disease.
The air borders were opened on September 1, 2020, and subsequently the sea borders.
The newspaper says that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bui Power Authority, Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, has called on institutional investors, private financiers, and the global energy market leaders to partner the Bui Power Authority to achieve the net zero target by investing in solar power plants.
The investment, he said, would help through the installation of Solar PVs and hybridisation to diversify the country’s energy mix and augment the country’s power generation.
Speaking at the Powering Africa Summit in Washington DC, USA, under the theme ; “Capital Flows Underpinning the Energy Transition”, Mr Dzamesi said: “BPA is seeking partnerships to develop additional solar power plants which will be tied to the development of hydro in Ghana.”
Mr Dzamesi, assured the investors that the Bui Power Authority did not renege on its contractual obligations.
He said investing in the solar sector in Ghana would help diversify their investment portfolios and generate better returns on their investment.
The Powering Africa Summit organised by EnergyNet Limited and which started in 2015 is tailored to support stakeholders of the US Government, by bringing together institutional investors, private financiers, service and technology providers from North America and Africa with ministerial and governmental participation from countries across Africa to drive energy developments on the continent.
GIK/APA