Press spotlights IMF’s position that Ghana’s economy showing signs of stabilization, others

APA – Accra *Ghana)
The position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the Ghanaian economy is showing signs of stabilization is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed confidence in the Ghanaian economy, saying that it is showing signs of stabilization.
However, the IMF also noted that there are still challenges that need to be addressed.
In a statement at the conclusion of a recent visit to Ghana, IMF staff team leader Stéphane Roudet said that inflation has softened, international reserves have increased, and the exchange rate has become less volatile.
He also said that the authorities have made progress in meeting key commitments under the Fund-supported program.
However, Roudet also noted that there are still challenges that need to be addressed, including high unemployment, a large informal sector, and a weak infrastructure.
He said that the government needs to continue to implement reforms to address these challenges.
“During the visit, we discussed recent macroeconomic developments. Against a complex global economic backdrop, the Ghanaian economy is showing signs of stabilization, with softening inflation, an increase in international reserves, and a less volatile exchange rate,” Mr. Roudet said.
“We also took stock of the authorities’ progress in meeting key commitments under the Fund-supported program. These will be formally assessed in the context of the first review of the Extended Credit Facility arrangement, which is expected to be undertaken in the autumn. In discussing progress on the debt restructuring operations, we reiterated that timely restructuring agreements with creditors are essential to secure the expected benefits of the Fund-supported programme.
The newspaper says that four veteran media experts have kicked against calls to review the 1992 Constitution to give more powers to the National Media Commission (NMC) to regulate and sanitise the media space.
The experts are the Chairman of the NMC, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh; a former Chairman of the NMC, Kabral Blay-Amihere; a communication consultant, Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, and the Editor of the Daily Insight, Kwesi Pratt Jnr.
They said allocating such powers to the NMC could be counterproductive, would stifle free speech, curtail the independence of the media and its role in the country’s democratic dispensation, and take the country back to the days of censorship and governmental control of the media.
Speaking at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Constitutional Review Seminar in Accra last Tuesday, the four were of the view that one of the best ways to sanitise the media and improve standards was continuous self-regulation by media organisations and journalist bodies such as the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
They said the current mandate of the NMC to set and promote the highest journalistic standards through mediation and dialogue was the best option, as a “barking” NMC was better than a “biting” NMC in a democracy.
The comments by the four media personalities followed continuous calls by many individuals, including some journalists, for the NMC to be given the teeth to bite and bring to book errant journalists and media houses that work unprofessionally and use their platforms to promote divisions, encourage moral decadence and cause social upheavals.
After many criticisms about the poor standards, in 2016, the NMC through Parliament enacted a law which required media owners to seek content approval from the NMC before publication.
However, the new law was declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court following a suit filed by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA).
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson has said the alternative livelihood programme rolled out by her outfit to cushion fishers during the close season will be upscaled to cover over 8,000 fishers this year.
The alternative programme apart from directly supplying all affected persons along the entire value chain of the industry with household support, would also introduced them to other economic activities.
The alternative livelihood included; training in masonry, carpentry, dressmaking, hairdressing, electronics and auto engineering.
Mrs Koomson disclosed this in Accra yesterday when she took her turn at the bi-weekly Min-ister’s Briefing organised by the Ministry of Information.
This closed season is scheduled between July 1 and August 31, 2023.
The artisanal and inshore fleets would observe theirs from July 1 to July 3 while that of industrial trawl vessels would have theirs from July 1 to August 31.
Mrs Koomson said all the necessary consultations with all stakeholders in the fishery industry had been done before the announcement.
She said the closed season was introduced as a recovery strategy to restock the country’s depleting stocks and the strategy was based on scientific recommendations.
She explained that the closed season had been implemented since 2017 with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mrs Koomson indicated that during the 2022 closed season, the ministry distributed 20,000 25kg bags of rice and 8,333 cartons of cooking oil to support fishers during the closure in order to mitigate the impact of the closed season on fishers and processors.
“The ministry also supported fishers with 6,000 bundles of wire mesh, 20,000 basins, 1,710 chest Freezers and 1,150 subsidised outboard motors,” she added.
The newspaper says that the President and Founder, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Dr K.Y Amoako, has called on the government to prepare and initiate strategies to transform the Ghanaian economy.
He said the next two and a half decades between 2025 and 2050 would remain critical moments for the transformation of Ghana.
Dr Amoako, who made the observation in Accra on Wednesday during the 5th Made in Africa Leadership conference, a Pan-African leadership enhancement conference for African leaders, said 2025 would mark the beginning of the second quarter of the 21st century and the period the new government would assume power in the country.
The two-day event, organised by the Breakfast Club Africa (BCA) Leadership on the theme ‘Making Africa work for Africans: collaborations and partnerships’, was attended by Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors and captains of industry from about 19 countries.
Dr Amoako, who had worked with the World Bank and United Nations for several decades, said Ghana had achieved a lot and was a champion of Pan-Africanism and integration of Africa.
However, he said there was much to be done to address poverty and promote the socio-economic development of the country.
Dr Amoako said in line with the development agenda of Ghana for the next 25 years, the ACET had developed a programme to seek the inputs of the various political parties and stakeholders on the social, political and economic policies of the country.
Dubbed Compact with Ghana, Dr Amoako said the programme was to engage the various political actors and stakeholders to seek their views on policies for the development of the country.
Dr Amoako said his vision for a united and prosperous Africa would require economic, social and political transformation of African economies.
He called for effective and transformative leadership to promote the development of the African continent.
The Board Chairperson of the BCA Leadership, Madam Charity Chanda Lumpa, who spoke on leadership, said it was critical for the development of Africa, saying effective leadership required resilience and adaptation.
She said leaders should not be autocratic and should have the ability to understand and be empathetic to the emotions and needs of their subordinates.
GIK/APA