The appeal by President Akufo-Addo to traditional leaders and Ghanaians to exclude partisan politics in the fight against the destructive illegal mining activities in the country which is popularly known as ‘galamsey’ dominates the headlines of Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that President Akufo-Addo has asked traditional leaders and Ghanaians to exclude partisan politics in the fight against the destructive illegal mining activities in the country, which is popularly known as ‘galamsey’.
He said whereas the government was not against mining in the country, the government would not tolerate any destructive mining activities such as galamsey.
For him, it was the responsibility of all Ghanaians to help protect the country’s environment from destruction, hence the need to take partisan politics out of the fight against galamsey.
President Akufo-Addo made the remarks when he addressed the National House of Chiefs on the scale of the impact of illegal mining on the country’s environment and the need for all to contribute to the fight against the menace in Kumasi in the Ashanti region today, Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
The meeting was also attended by all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
President Akufo-Addo called for the collaboration of the chiefs in the fight galamsey, pointing out that the fight against galamsey “can only succeed if it a truly national battle.”
For him, “No one seeks to exploit [the fight against galamsey] for political gains as we saw in the last election.”
“The progress of our country depends on all of us, all citizens of Ghana, all fellow Ghanaians, pulling together to defeat this existential threat to our future,” the President noted.
The newspaper says that the Parliament has failed to be an effective check on the Executive arm of government, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and a Deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, have said.
But while Mr Iddrisu attributes the failure of Parliament to extreme partisanship and the extensive powers granted the Executive by the 1992 Constitution, Mr Tuah-Yeboah is of the view that the legislative body has the necessary powers to be effective but has failed to utilise them.
The third panellist was Victoria Barth, a private legal practitioner and lecturer at the GSL.
All three panellists were members of the 2002 Class of the GSL.
The colloquium was on the theme: “Parliament as a Countervailing Force for Effective Governance in Ghana: Challenges, Prospects and Recommendations”.
The two were among a panel of three lawyers at a colloquium to mark the 20th anniversary of the 2002 Class of the Ghana School of Law (GSL) which was moderated by the Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, himself a member of the 2002 Class of the GSL.
It was attended by two Justices of the Supreme Court, Justice Nene Amegatcher and Prof. Justice Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu; the Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu; a former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye; the Director of the GSL, Yaw Oppong, and many students of Law.
According to Mr Iddrisu, the 1992 Constitution had indirectly made the President a monarch, with so many powers to the extent that Members of Parliament (MPs), depending on the government in power, performed their functions to please the President.
However, for Mr Tuah-Yeboah, Parliament was equally powerful, if not more than the Executive, as it had the power to remove the President and censure ministers; therefore, any failure on the part of Parliament should be placed at the doorstep of the legislative body.
“No one is denying Parliament the power to check the Executive, but perhaps it has failed to do so from its own doing,” he said.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the government has increased the cocoa producer price by 21 per cent for the 2022/2023 cocoa season.
By this, a tonne of the commodity would now be sold at GH¢12,800 from GH¢10,560 per tonne.
This translates into GH¢800 per bag from the GH¢660 for the just ended cocoa farming season and takes effect from October 7, 2022.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, announcing the new price in Accra yesterday said the Producer Price Review Committee considered a range of factors before arriving at the new price.
The new pricing regime, he said, underscored government’s commitment to the cocoa sector in particular and the agricultural sector in general.
“The 21 per cent rise in the producer price of cocoa is a testament of government’s resolve to ensure farmers earn a decent income and make cocoa farming ulcerative,” he said.
Government, Dr Akoto said, would continue to implement initiatives to build robust, resilient and sustainable cocoa industry where cocoa farmers and their communities would thrive.
According to Dr Akoto, the rates and fees for all stakeholders in the supply chain have been also been approved.
“These include the buyer’s margin, haulier’s rate, warehousing and internal marketing costs, as well as fees for disinfection, grading and sealing and scale inspection.”
To enhance productivity, Dr Akoto said government would continue to support farmers through the pests and disease control programme and rehabilitation of diseased farms.
“Government will also assist cocoa farmers by making the requisite inputs such as fertilisers available for farmers to buy to increase productivity,” he said.
He assured that the COCOBOD had made available funds and related logistics for a smooth take-off of the 2022/2023 main crop season.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that the World Bank has classified Ghana as a high debt distress country as it projects the nation’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 104.6 per cent by the end of 2022.
According to its October 2022 Africa Pulse Report, Ghana’s debt was expected to jump significantly, from 76.6 per cent a year earlier, amid a widened government deficit, massive weakening of the cedi, and rising debt service costs.
It is also forecasting debt to GDP of 99.7 per cent and 101.8 per cent of GDP in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
The size of Ghana’s economy is estimated at about $72 billion, whilst it is expected to spend about 70% of revenue this year to service its debt.
The report is coming at a time the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are conducting a Debt Sustainability Analysis on the country. A country which is highly debt distressed is unable to fulfil its financial obligations and therefore debt restructuring is required.
“Debt is expected to jump in Ghana to 104.6 per cent of GDP, from 76.6 per cent a year earlier amid a widened government deficit, massive weakening of the cedi, and rising debt service costs.
The country’s debt is expected to remain elevated at 99.7 per cent and 101.8 per cent of GDP in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
“Tightening of financial conditions globally along with the fall of the domestic currency widened the sovereign spread by 233 basis points since December 2021,” it said.
“As a result, the country lost access to international markets,” the report mentioned.
The World Bank further stated that Ghana needed $1.5 billion in assistance from the IMF, which could help to shore up public finances and regain access to credit markets.
It added, “Nevertheless, despite the negotiation with the IMF, investors remain nervous about the country’s debt sustainability.”
These concerns, it said, were expressed by the country’s local and foreign currency ratings downgrade from B-/B to CCC+/C, adding, “as a result, despite the news, the cedi fell further with ripple effects on inflation”.
GIK/APA