APA – Accra (Ghana)
The call by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on African nations to take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to increase trade among themselves to ensure the prosperity of their respective countries is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged African nations to take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to increase trade among themselves to ensure the prosperity of their respective countries.
He said the trade area would lead to increase in intra-African trade by $35 billion and reduce external imports by $10 billion yearly.
It would also create more opportunities for the growth of small businesses with the potential to lift some 30 million people out of extreme poverty.
President Akufo-Addo was addressing the 7th African Leadership Forum in Accra yesterday which also coincided with the 60th anniversary celebration of the creation of the AU.
The forum is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1988 by former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, to help improve the quality of leadership in Africa while training the next generation of leaders for the continent.
It was organised by AfCFTA and UONGOZI Institute, an NGO, on the theme: “Promoting intra-Africa trade to unlock agricultural potential in Africa”.
The participants comprised leaders from various organisations on the continent, including a former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn; two former Presidents of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Patron of the ALF who is also a former President of Tanzania, Dr Jakaya Kikwete.
President Akufo-Addo said that a successful AfCFTA would mean Africa’s industrial exploits would be diversified from undue reliance on extractive commodities and foreign imports.
He added that the continent had immense potential for prosperity through agriculture, saying with 50 per cent of the people engaged in the sector, it had the potential to increase intra-African trade, meet local demands, grow GDP and create jobs.
The newspaper says that a task force is to be formed under the auspices of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and the traditional authorities to enforce the observance of the ban on drumming and noise-making in Accra.
The task force will comprise representatives from the local assemblies, the police within the jurisdiction, a representative of the faith-based organisations and the respective traditional councils.
Meanwhile, the faith-based organisations are to confine crusades, conventions and usual forms of worship to church buildings in the interest of peace and harmony.
These were agreed at an emergency meeting held yesterday under the auspices of the RCC at the seat of the Greater Accra House of Chiefs in Dodowa as tensions escalate over the observance of the ban on noise-making as desired by the traditional authorities.
A communique released after the meeting said a common committee of various interest groups has been proposed to monitor and manage issues around the observance of customs, traditions, festivals and worship in the Greater Accra Region.
All reports of infractions and infringements of a prescribed noise level during the period of the customary ban are to be referred to the committee, which has been given the powers of adjudication and compliance.
The committee will comprise representatives of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), the Regional House of Chiefs, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), faith-based organisations and the traditional councils.
The communique said the committee would exist for six months from May 25, 2023, to November 24, 2023, to present a permanent recommendation to the RCC regarding a lasting solution to matters raised by the current controversy.
The Ghanaian Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that Ghana’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme which took 10 months to be completed is one of the quickest to have happened to the country.
“Usually, the negotiations with the IMF take time, in fact, the 10 months which have been involved in the Ghanaian programme is one of the fastest on record because there is a whole lot of stuff we had to go through in terms of change of data, negotiations, and making sure the macro indices you are looking for are in the right direction,” he indicated.
President Akufo-Addo explained that all of these may take time, nevertheless, it was over and the IMF support programme would reposition the economy to regain macro stability adding that “economic indicators has started improving such as inflation and exchange rate.”
The Executive Board of IMF approved $3 billion Extended Credit Facility for Ghana, which will end in 2027 and this was as result of assurances from the country’s Creditors Committee under G20 Common Framework which includes China.
Speaking at the Third Qatar Economic Forum, the President pointed out that the country had to ensure data provided were accurate, whilst the macro indices were heading in the right direction.
According to him, now the IMF programme would provide the foundation for redirecting the economy, repositioning the economy to regain macro stability that had been lost.
President Akufo-Addo noted that to be able to have better control over important details like interest rate, inflation and then position the nation to be able to be back to international capital market which had been source of funding for the first three or four years of the government.
“The government is undertaking rigorous expenditure rationalisa¬tion, prudent spending to meet conditions set by IMF in order to access second tranche of the $3 billion bailout in six months resulting in the release of first $600 million to the Bank of Ghana.
The newspaper says that justice delivery came to a halt yesterday as the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) declared a nationwide strike over the non-approval of reviewed salaries and other allowances of its members.
JUSAG accused the government of not addressing the conditions of service and emoluments of staff members and warned that they would only call off the action if their concerns were addressed.
Because of this strike, the court rooms were closed to litigants, lawyers and other court users.
The Association, in a statement signed and issued by Samuel Afotey Otoo, president of JUSAG, Wednesday, announced the indefinite action and accused the government of consistent dishonesty in attending to the conditions of service of members.
“Colleagues may recall that the Government of Ghana introduced the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) in July 2022 for all public sector workers including staff of the Judicial Service due to the adverse economic condition the country was and is still undergoing,” he said.
He said “JUSAG submitted its proposal for review of salaries for 2023-2024 on October 31, 2022 to the Judicial Council for consideration in its advice to the President for determination in accordance Articles 149 and 158(2) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.”
“We have suffered enough. We can no longer bear it. An empty sack cannot stand upright. The National Executive Council of JUSAG, upon consultations with the Judicial Service Ladies Association of Ghana, Senior Staff Association (SSAJUG), Driver Association, Finance Staff Association, and all stakeholders who matter, hereby declared an indefinite strike,” Mr Otoo added.
GIK/APA