APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana has maintained the policy rate at 29.5 per cent is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana has maintained the policy rate at 29.5 per cent.
Although inflation has seen a decline since the beginning of the year, the central bank maintained the rate due to global underlining uncertainties.
The policy rate is of keen interest to businesses, signals the rate at which the Central Bank will lend to commercial banks.
It also subsequently influences average lending rates on loans to individuals and businesses.
In addition, the newspaper reports that banks in Ghana posted losses totaling GH¢8 billion in 2022, according to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison.
Dr. Addison said this was a result of the domestic debt exchange programme, which saw the participation of all the 23 bank’s operating in the country.
The Governor said the banks results for the first four months of the year was, however, showing signs of recovery.
The newspaper says that the Ministry of Trade and Industry is considering the development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within the Tema Port to boost trade volumes in the country.
SEZ is an industrial zone created within a specific geographical location to attract foreign investment and spark technological advancement.
Businesses operating at SEZs benefit from additional economic advantages including tax incentives and the opportunity to pay lower tariffs.
SEZ also helps to increase export levels for the country and other countries that supply it with intermediate products.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, during a working visit at Meridian Port Services (MPS) in Tema, explained that SEZ within the port enclave was a viable initiative that would propel the government’s industrialisation agenda.
Mr Hammond led a delegation from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) to tour the KIA and also the Tema Port.
The visit enabled the minister and his delegation to familiarise themselves with the operations at KIA and Meridian Port Services Limited (MPS), particularly trade facilitation related activities such as cargo scanning and the status of deployment of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).
The minister walked through to the scanning facilities at the cargo import and export sections located at Aviance Ghana, Swissport and Customs Unit at the cargo village and interacted with some staff of the agencies.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has organised a two-day policy dialogue in Koforidua with focus on promoting gender equality and empowering women to contribute effectively to the food system transformation agenda.
Held on Sunday, the forum aims to foster inclusive and en¬gaging discussions among various stakeholders, particularly Members of Parliament, to address the challenges faced by rural women in the agricultural sector and promote gender-responsive legislation, policies, and investment plans.
Agriculture and agricultural investments are considered crucial for addressing poverty, food security, nutrition, gender equality, and women’s empowerment in Africa and has attracted high-level policy commitments and investments towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Irrespective of this commitment, there is a significant gap in translating these efforts into tangible development outcomes for rural women and their communities; a gap which hampers the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the ECOWAS Regional Agricultural Investment Plan for food security and nutrition (RAIPFSN).
Evidently, in Ghana, women account for 50 per cent of the agricultural labour force and pro-duce nearly 70 per cent of food crops but significant gender and social inequalities persist, particularly among rural women.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Charles Abani, said in order for gender equality and women’s empowerment to drive Ghana’s economic growth, it is essential to enhance the capabilities of key stakeholders, including the legislative branch of the government.
“This entails adopting transformative strategies and bringing about a comprehensive transformation of existing structures such as discriminatory social norms, customs, values, and exclusionary practices, as well as laws, policies, procedures, and services,” he added.
This platform, the FAO Representative in Ghana, Yurdi Yasmi, said has been designed to equip the stakeholders on the subject matter for the benefit of the greater population.
“By learning from the experiences and knowledge shared at this event, parliamentarians will be better equipped to design gender-responsive legislation, policies, and investment plans to build on Ghana’s successes so far,” he said.
The newspaper says that with immediate effect, the government has lifted all COVID-19 restrictions at the country’s ports of entry.
As such, pre-departure testing for COVID-19 and all other tests at Ghana’s entry points are no longer a requirement, so, has the health declaration form for international travellers been suspended.
These were contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, following the announcement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 5, 2023 that COVID-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
According to the international health body, globally, there are decreasing numbers of deaths and hospitalisations with high levels of population immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Consequently, although the disease remains a global health threat, countries could now transition from emergency mode to managing COVID-19 alongside other infectious diseases.
Giving an update on Ghana’s situation, Dr Kuma-Aboagye noted that over the past five months, there has been a sustained decline of COVID-19 cases.
“As of May 15, 2023, there were only 18 active cases none of which is severe or critical. The only COVID-19 death in 2023 was in January,” he said.
Among other significant successes chalked in containing the disease, the GHS said, it would however not relent in ensuring operational readiness in responding to any possible surge.
“Ghana has had outbreaks of Marburg Virus Disease, Lassa Fever, Monkey Pox, Measles and Yellow Fever since the declaration of COVID-19 as a PHEIC.
The health systems in the country have maintained sufficient capacity in the midst of these threats. The Ministry of Health and the GHS, with support of our partners, will continue to ensure operational readiness and flexibility to respond during surges of COVID-19 while maintaining other essential health services and preparing for the emergence of new variants with increased severity or capacity,” the Service assured.
Nonetheless the D-G maintained that measures including surveillance, COVID-19 vaccination drive and adherence to general safety measures would have to continue.
GIK/APA
Press spotlights Bank of Ghana maintaining policy rate at 29.5%, others
