The pledge by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that his administration is ready to improve the automobile policy it introduced based on the feedback it gets from industry players who are doing business in Ghana with it is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said his administration is ready to improve the automobile policy it introduced based on the feedback it gets from industry players who are doing business in Ghana with it.
He said this when he received a delegation from ISUZU Motors, led by Billy Tom, ISUZU Motors, South Africa president, South Africa, at the Jubilee House in Accra last week.
The ISUZU South Africa boss paid a courtesy call on the President to formally inform him that together with MAC Ghana, its local partner and authorized distributor of Isuzu vehicles in Ghana is set to commence the local assembly of their vehicles soon.
The delegation also included associates of MAC Ghana – Ronor Motors, an indigenous Ghanaian automobile company, headed and run by Ghanaians.
“We have been very motivated about trying to establish a vibrant automobile sector of our economy. It led us to propagate and define an automobile policy which I have no doubt you are aware off, in order to be able to situate and provide you the contest, both for fiscal, legal and every other details as to what it will mean to establish a plant or establish a facility her in Ghana” President Akufo-Addo said.
“I’m hoping that the policy that we have put out is what led you and other investors in the automobile industry to find Ghana attractive and that it forms part of the reasons you decide to come here (Ghana).
The newspaper says that GCB Bank PLC has signed a $13.7 million credit pact and a one million Euro grant agreement to support local businesses towards the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
The agreements and projects are part of the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance (SUNREF) Ghana, aimed at promoting investment in sustainable energy and environmental protection among private sector players in developing economies.
Under the agreement, GCB and SUNREF will continue to offer competitive loans and technical assistance for structuring green investment to companies, organisations, individuals and households.
The Managing Director of GCB Bank PLC, Kofi Adomakoh, signed the agreement on behalf of the bank while the French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Ave; the Head of Cooperation, European Union Development, Mina Massimo; and the Director of AFD, Africa Department, Christian Yoka, signed for their respective institutions.
The SUNREF programme seeks to mobilise Ghanaian financial institutions, including GCB, to finance private sector investments in green technologies.
GCB and other financial institutions will provide green loans and investment grants (up to 10 per cent of the loan) and technical assistance to finance small and medium-scale renewable and energy efficient projects.
In his speech, Mr Adomakoh highlighted the importance of the agreement and partnership in protecting the climate and promoting clean energy.
“For us at GCB PLC, sustainability is a matter of survival. It is for a rethink of how we deploy our capital and resources to achieve growth beyond our generation. Our partnership with AFD is a demonstration of our commitment to this cause,” Mr Adomakoh said.
He said Africa needed support and with the right kind of funding the continent would make progress in the promotion of energy efficiency.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the United States (US) government is to partner with Ghana to avert violent extremism and other forms of conflicts and vulnerabilities that threaten the country’s stability.
The country and four other Coastal West African states; Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, and Benin are beneficiaries of a 10-year US Strategy aimed at preventing conflict and promoting stability in some countries worldwide.
Under the $100 million global initiative, the US would collaborate with various governments and civil society on an integrated regional approach to prevent conflict, promote resilience and stability, and advance economic growth.
The US Assistant Secretary of State Bureau of Conflict and Stabilisation Operations,Anne A. Witkowsky, interacting with some selected journalists at the US embassy in Accra on Friday, said the strategy, announced by the US presidency last month, would not involve the deployment of the US military to the region.
“This initiative is not about military presence. This initiative is about partnering with these five countries and other countries to examine together what we can do to prevent conflict, and in this case, with particular perspective on the spread of violent extremism and other spread of sources of instability in these countries, and there are different ways of doing this,” she clarified.
Her visit to Ghana, the first since she assumed the position, was to enable her to dialogue with stakeholders on the plan.
The partnership comes at a time Ghana is battling threats of terrorism and had initiated an anti-terrorism campaign ‘See something, Say Something’ to draw citizenship support to foil this danger that is hampering peace in the region.
According to MsWitkowsky, it was notable that the government had stepped up preventive action to address this threat in the near term, but a long-term preventive approach that takes a “whole society approach”, such as the partnership, was key in addressing such threats.
The partnership, she said, would examine the broad drivers of instability in a long term, in not only security but other underlying drivers of conflicts including economics, governance, human rights, youth unemployment, and corruption as they all play in promoting stability.
The newspaper says that Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has urged the governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to review the regulations of the African Development Fund (ADF) to enable it to enter the capital market to raise funds to support member countries.
According to him, increase funding to members countries of ADF would help improve build back the various African economies from the damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and improve infrastructure and health facilities.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the AfDB 2022 Annual General Meeting which just ended in Accra, DrBawumia said the AfDB should fast track the reforms to enable the ADF raise more funds as part of the 16th replenishment window of the AfDB.
“The African Development Fund must prioritise the issuance of bonds to raise capital to accelerate the continent’s development,” he said.
The 2022 AGM held in Accra from 23rd to 27th was on the theme “Achieving climate resilience and a just energy transition for Africa.”
The five-day programme, among others, discussed the need to increase funding for climate change, promote agriculture, infrastructure development, enhancing development and security, and promoting gender equity.
Dr Bawumia who delivered the closing keynote address charged the African Development Bank (AfDB) to lead the efforts to build back the African economy from the damaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I hope the Bank will rise to the occasion to help Africa rise over the challenges facing the continent,” he said at the closing ceremony of the 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the AfDB.
The Vice President said, he was hopeful the AfDB had the right leadership skills set to help the industrialisation agenda of Africa and integrate Africa to the world economy.
Dr Bawumiasaid Africa’s growth was projected to dwindle to 4.1 per cent from 6.1 per cent in 2021.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted negatively on the global economy increased Africa’s debt levels due to huge investments made by the various African countries to contain the disease, thus endangering macroeconomic stability of the continent.
GIK/APA