The four-day retreat at the Presidential Lodge in Peduase to discuss the economy, take stock of programmes and chart a path for growth and the fears expressed by the General Agricultural Workers Union that an International Monetary Fund programme will further worsen the plight of the players in the agricultural sector dominate the headlines of Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that the government has held a four-day retreat at the Presidential Lodge in Peduase to discuss the economy, take stock of programmes and chart a path for growth.
The retreat, the second this year, which had almost all members of government present, started last Friday and discussed the various flagship programmes, how to communicate government programmes effectively and the reason for accessing International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes.
The retreat, according to our sources, also reviewed the cost-cutting measures announced at the last Cabinet meeting in March this year and assessed their performance which, according to the figures, were yielding some dividends.
All members of government and appointees took part in the retreat. They included all ministers and deputies, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives; chief executive officers appointed by the President and presidential staffers.
The newspaper says that the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) has expressed fear that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme will further worsen the plight of the players in the agricultural sector.
According to the union, the existing level of challenges within the agric sector was enormous enough to ground the sector, adding that a Bretton Wood programme will worsen it.
The General Secretary of the union, Mr Edward Kareweh, in an interview with the Graphic Business, said the sector could shrink to the point where it could barely cater for the needs for people.
Already, he said, the majority of Ghanaians who are under the poverty line are in the agric sector, and noted that going to the IMF would further constrain government policies to support the sector.
“It means that the sector will be further hard hit. Because the government itself has shown that its programmes within the agric sector are not sustainable, they are reducing the subsidy and are also reducing the quantum of inputs that will go under the subsidy. So, it is going to be a disaster for this country and it is unfortunate that government has led us to this point,” he said.
Consequently, he said the union is totally opposed to the government’s decision to seek support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mr Kareweh explained that labour would not be able to deal with the structural and fundamental changes that may come with an IMF programme.
In an interview with the Graphic Business on July 4, he said the solution to the country’s economic challenges did not lie with the IMF, stressing that what was required is for the government to be self-disciplined.
The Graphic also reports that the Workers Union of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has embarked on a sitdown strike, grounding the movement of vessels from the anchorage to the various receiving terminals at the Port.
The agitations followed what they said was the Authority’s failure to ensure the implementation of a 20 per cent container retention agreement between it and the Meridian Port Service (MPS).
The workers who converged at the Marine Block where the movement of vessel activities are undertaken as early as 5 am prevented their counterparts at the unit from towing five vessels – four of which were to dock at the MPS Terminal Three facility and one to the GPHA Terminal II for cargo deliveries.
The Workers Union of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has embarked on a sitdown strike, grounding the movement of vessels from the anchorage to the various receiving terminals at the Port.
The agitations followed what they said was the Authority’s failure to ensure the implementation of a 20 per cent container retention agreement between it and the Meridian Port Service (MPS).
The workers who converged at the Marine Block where the movement of vessel activities are undertaken as early as 5 am prevented their counterparts at the unit from towing five vessels – four of which were to dock at the MPS Terminal Three facility and one to the GPHA Terminal II for cargo deliveries.
The Ghanaian Times says that major cocoa buyers have agreed to pay a premium and back a price floor on cocoa sold by Ghana and Côte d’Ivoireas part of an agreement reached last Friday to combat poverty among farmers.
Cocoa industry players will back a fixed “living income differential” (LID) of $400 a tonne on all cocoa contracts sold byCôte d’Ivoire or Ghana, two top global cocoa producers.
Buyers will also pay a country premium that will enable cocoa regulators in both countries to reach a target floor price of $2,600 per tonne which should allow farmers to earn a minimum of 70 per cent of the target floor price.
Signatories include Hershey (HSY.N), Mars, Blommer Chocolate, Nestle (NESN.S), Sucden, Mondelez (MDLZ.O), Touton, Barry Callebaut (BARN.S), Cargill, Ferrero, Olam and Ecom Trading.
Both countries have struggled to achieve that price target, prompting the Cote d’Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative (CIGCI) to work with the industry on a price mechanism.
“Companies in the cocoa value chain have met with the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana to renew support for the LID as a starting point towards the pathway to achieving living incomes for farmers,” the CIGCI and both countries’ cocoa regulators said in a joint statement.
Touton Chief Executive Patrick De Boussac said the company was trying to improve pay for farmers.
“What we have signed for today is a better remuneration for planters,” De Boussac said.
Yves BrahimaKone, chief executive of the Ivory Coast Cocoa and Coffee Council, said companies had been dragging their feet on LID commitments, hindering efforts to make the industry more sustainable.
“The aim of the pact is to allow all actors in the cocoa value chain to play their role and respect their engagements,” he said.
GIK/APA