The Call by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the Spanish business community to consider Ghana as the investment destination of choice in West Africa and the Minister of Energy’s call on the World Bank to continue its support for the country’s energy sector are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on the Spanish business community to consider Ghana as the investment destination of choice in West Africa.
He said the country had, over the years, carved a niche for itself as the most peaceful and investment-friendly nation in the sub-region.
“As most of you know, Ghana is a haven of peace, security and stability; indeed, the safest country in West Africa where legitimate investments are protected.
We have witnessed, through the ballot box, three peaceful transfers of power from one political party to another in the 28-year period of the Fourth Republic,” the President told the Spanish business community in Madrid yesterday as part of the “Focus Africa 2023” Conference in Madrid, Spain.
Spain’s presence in Africa in terms of business is minimal, compared to some other European countries.
It is for this reason that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said his country wanted to “turn this decade into the decade of Spain in Africa”.
President Akufo-Addo said during his first term in office, 2017 to 2020, the government worked to correct the fundamentals of the economy which were all pointing in the wrong direction.
“We have, over the period, put in place measures needed to reduce the cost of doing business, improved the business environment and made the economy not only one of the most business-friendly in Africa but also one of the fastest-growing in the world,” he added.
The newspaper says that the Minister of Energy, Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, has urged the World Bank to continue its support for the country’s energy sector since it plays a significant role in that area as a development partner.
At a virtual meeting, the minster observed that, for instance, the prices of gas were too high and that they needed to be addressed, if the country was to make progress in its industrialisation agenda, of which energy played a major role.
The meeting touched on many areas including the activities of the Ghana Energy Sector Transformation Initiative Project (GESTIP), support for the Ministry of Energy as well as challenges pertaining specifically to the gas and power sectors.
The Country Representative for Ghana, Mr. David Vilar, led the World Bank team at the virtual appraisal meeting.
Dr. Prempeh noted that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) inability to account for 31 per cent of the power it received was a matter of concern.
He said it would become necessary at some point to introduce reforms, alongside renegotiating with Public Utility Regulatory Commission’s (PURC) for utility tariffs.
The development objective of the GESTIP for the country is to strengthen the capacity of the energy sector to implement sector reforms, and improve energy sector planning and coordination in Ghana.
The GESTIP project has five components, which include management of energy sector financial flows; sector planning and coordination; energy access; natural gas; and project management.
The management of energy sector financial flows component will assist in addressing the financial viability of the energy sector by improving revenue management at the sector level.
The Times reports that a three-day capacity building workshop to streamline operations in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry has ended in Takoradi with a task to LPG managers, service providers and pump attendants to maintain standards and professionalism to avoid occupational hazards and maximize returns.
The workshop, under the auspices of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), follows a stakeholder meeting in November 2019 to discuss the training and certification of all LPG operators along the supply chain on international best practices.
It aimed at bringing all service providers under a regulatory regime to enable them to secure appointment letters, obtain insurance cover and improve on their working conditions under the Collective Bargaining Agreements.
It was attended by service providers, officials from the EPA, staff from the Land and Spatial Planning and Usage, the Ghana National Fire Service, Factories Inspectorate Division and the media.
Mr. Samuel Otu Larbi, an LPG Consultant and Managing Director of Solution Solved Ltd, who took participants through combustible -related activities of LPG operators and consumers, said the absence of a manual on the use of gas cylinders had been factored into the training to broaden participants’ scope on the usage of gas cylinders, to avoid fire outbreaks and damage to lives and property.
GIK/APA