The report of President Akufo-Addo’s assurance to the global community of Ghana’s full commitment to increasing the country share of renewable energy in the energy mix is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has assured the global community of Ghana’s full commitment to increasing the country share of renewable energy in the energy mix.
Speaking at a High-Level Event on Sustainable Energy for All, organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies, on the sidelines of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, President Akufo-Addo stated that “we will continue to increase the share of renewable energy in our electricity generation mix, as well as explore the options of hydrogen gas and other clean energy sources to meet our energy needs”
According to President Akufo-Addo, “Energy transition has become a global responsibility for us all, especially in view of the impact of climate change, and the global energy crisis brought forth by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
With Ghana being a signatory to the Paris Agreement and other international conventions, which require the country to reduce her carbon dioxide emission levels, he indicated that it has become imperative for Ghana to develop plans and strategies toward the creation of a net-zero energy sector, whilst aggressively pursuing the nation’s economic development.
“Our updated Nationally Determined Contributions, under the Paris Agreement, affirm the country’s resolve to address the impacts of climate change and build a resilient economy for our people.
“Ghana’s position on energy transition is to continue the responsible exploitation of our natural resources for our development and transition at our own pace. The Government of Ghana is mindful of the actions of the developed countries in relation to energy transition, and their effect on us,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has allayed fears of the investing public, explaining that the objective of its latest directive on the use fair value/mark-to-market valuation method in valuing portfolios of collective investment schemes such as unit trusts and mutual funds, was to provide consistency in the valuation of assets and portfolios in the securities industry.
It said it was also to ensure that the portfolios reflect market values, as well as investors of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS).
“This is not a new valuation methodology, it is something that some of the market operators have been practicing, and we gave this directive because we want some uniformity in the marketplace.”
“What the directive means is that if you are already using that methodology to value your stocks in your portfolio, you have your quantity versus the price. So what it means is that you want to see the market value of those securities that you have in your portfolio. So it shows the prevailing market prices of the securities,” a Senior Manager at SEC, Anthony Dugbartey explained to the Graphic Business, following agitations by investors about what they see to be a ‘haircut’ on their investments.
He added that “it means that if you should sell bonds today and you sell at a discount, what value is the total bonds you are holding in your portfolio?”
“So when you exit, that is when you are likely to be affected by the directive. Otherwise, you don’t get affected because this will just be in your books. Even if you are holding bonds directly and you want to sell before maturity, obviously you will not get the full value of the bonds you are holding,” he said.
SEC directed fund managers, custodians and trustees to use fair value/mark-to-market valuation method in valuing portfolios of collective investment schemes such as unit trusts and mutual funds.
This new method, which took effect on November 1, 2022, is to make all investments reflective of prevailing market values on the capital market and will result in some changes in the value of clients’ holdings.
The use of the new method is due to the current market developments caused by the macroeconomic environment and its impact on underlying assets (particularly GoG bonds) which are currently trading at discounts.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), has called on government to introduce an import license policy to regulate the country’s imports.
An import license is a document issued by a national government authorising the importation of certain goods into its territory.
Nana Osei Bonsu, Chief Executive Officer, PEF said such a move had become critical as a measure to preserve some of the country’s forex and also prevent the influx of foreign made goods in the country’s markets.
Nana Osei Bonsu said the government must do all it could to strengthen the cedi and economy.
He was speaking to Citi Business News on the sidelines of the launch of the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit and Expo which will commence on December 7, and end on December 11, 2022 in Kumasi.
“People look at import license as a barrier but it is needed to justify why we have to allow you to spend our foreign exchange to import certain commodities. It is just to find ways to tell the authorities that this is needed in the country but when we have things that are available in volumes and people are still bringing them in and undercutting the price locally it does not enable the local people compete,” he said.
He said “The license will make people tell us why they need to import certain goods using our valuable and limited resources. It can also avoid the case where, for instance, you bring an amount of pillows that will not even be needed for the next ten years. Import license is needed, it shouldn’t be imposed. It will help us as a country limit our exposure to weakening the economy.”
The summit seeks, among other things, to bring together a minimum of 200 young entrepreneurs with established and existing businesses from across the length and breadth of the country under the theme “empowering youth enterprises for sustainable industrialisation.”
The four-day event will comprise presentations by carefully selected technocrats and professionals, panel discussions, focused group discussions, and question and answer segments, among other tools.
The newspaper says that the Board of Governors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has unanimously increased the bank’s authorised capital from $1.5 billion to $3.5 billion with effect from January 2023.
Anauthorised capital is the maximum amount of share capital that a company is authorised by its constitutional documents to issue to shareholders.
A statement issued by EBID and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the governors also called for the third tranche of the capital of the bank, which is in the sum of $438 million.
The Board of Governors, which comprises the ministers of Finance; and Planning and Development of the 15 ECOWAS Member States, took this decision at the just ended 10th Extraordinary Session on October 27 in Praia, Cape Verde.
Dr George Agyekum Donkor, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBID, said the decision by the governors was strategic, especially as the bank intensified its resource mobilisation and sought to position itself to help ECOWAS Member States to navigate the path to socio-economic recovery.
Outlining the justifications for the governors’ decision, he emphasised the need for the bank to improve leverage, capital adequacy, liquidity, and the overall risk-bearing capacity.
Dr Olavo Avelino Garcia Correia, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, and Minister for Digital Economy of the Republic of Cape Verde, commended the President of the Bank and his team for the remarkable performance and the eventual upgrade of the bank’s rating by both the Moddy’s and Fitch rating agencies.
He urged the management not to rest on its oars but strive to obtain investment grade in order to attract competitive resources for ECOWAS Member States.
EBID is a leading regional investment and development bank, owned by the 15 ECOWAS Member States.
These are Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
GIK/APA