The declaration by the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo that it was not true that there was food crisis in the country is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo has stated that it was not true that there was food crisis in the country.
He said there was a clear distinction between food availability and pricing, stressing that Ghanaians were misconstruing the high prices of some foodstuff to mean food shortage.
Mr. Addo made the statement while addressing the media on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Techiman, Bono East Region as part of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) six-day tour of five regions across the country.
He explained that his outfit’s tour was informed by statements, especially in Accra and some big cities, that there was food shortage in the country.
“Around this time of the year, food prices are high, but fortunately for Ghana since 2016 till now, there has been high stock of maize,” he said.
According to him, about 270, 000 metric tonnes of maize were available in about ten (10) satellite markets in the Bono East Region.
However, Mr. Addo sympathised with farmers on the practice where buyers decide to shortchange them by giving them any price for their produce.
“So it is totally false for people to sit somewhere and say that there is maize or food shortage in Ghana,” he said.
The newspaper says that the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has told Parliament that Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is not running away from accountability as some members of the Minority Members of Parliament (MPs) claims.
The explanation follows the failure of the Finance Minister to go to Parliament on Thursday to answer questions asked of his Ministry’s activities.
According to the Majority Leader, the Finance Minister had indicated to him on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 that answers he needed from the technocrats with respect to expenses on COVID-19 were dumped at his house last night, for which he would need some time to read through before facing Parliament.
He said the Finance Minister therefore wanted Parliament to reschedule his appearance for next week Wednesday, June 22, 2022 to enable him to come before the house and answer to questions with respect to all expenses made on COVID-19.
The Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim had demanded of the leadership of the Majority, why questions requiring answers had been taken off from the order paper (Parliament timetable) which meant the Finance Minister had once again failed to appear before the house on Thursday.
Adding his voice to the issue, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu said the minority was demanding for accountability in the interest of the Ghanaian people, so the Finance Minister needed to come and account for an amount of GH¢9.7 billion COVID-19 expenses.
Haruna Iddrisu added that he hoped there would not be another excuse next week and that Parliament needed to step down all transactions and businesses coming from the Finance Ministry until Ken Ofori-Atta came to account for the COVID-19 expenses.
The Speaker, Alban Bagbin in his ruling on the matter, directed that the Finance Minister must appear before the house next week, Wednesday, June 22, 2022 to give account of how the COVID-19 money was utilised since the outbreak of the pandemic and also answer some 16 questions by MPs which are standing against his ministry.
Mr. Bagbin said until the Finance Minister appears before the House, all matters related to COVID-19 loan facility agreement laid before Parliament are suspended.
The Ghanaian Times reports that a signing ceremony to finance the establishment of a tractor and a backhoe loader in Ghana was yesterday signed between the Ministry of Finance and the Export and Import Bank of India.
The project, which also involved the construction of an assembly plant to fabricate agriculture implements, would be executed by Action Construction Equipment (ACE) Limited of India which would ensure the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.
It would cost 24.9 million dollars with the completion date set within 18 months after the signing ceremony yesterday.
Delivering a short statement before the signing, Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, said it was very significant that the project was taking off as the world grapples with food insecurity due to post COVID-19 challenges and the Russian Ukrainian war.
He said it was therefore important that such a project was taken off, not only to mechanise farming to ensure food security in the country but also to create employment in the country.
Mr. Ofori-Atta said it was hoped that the project would form the basis for mechanised farming to diversify the economy for accelerated development, adding that small and marginal skill farmers would get access to mechanical farming equipment.
He commended the EXIM bank and the Indian government for the numerous support to the country over the years which has concretised the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The newspaper says that the United States (US) Department of Commerce has projected the value of trade between Ghana and US to double in the next two years.
Currently, the value of trade between Ghana and U.S stands at $2.7 billion.
“We have a strong commercial relations. I’m hoping that we can take that $2.7 billion or somewhere around that range, and double it in just a matter of two or three years and then double it again in just a few years after that,” the Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Commerce, Don Graves said at the US-Ghana Business forum in Accra on Thursday.
The forum, organised by the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce Ghana, was the 3rd High-Level meeting between US and Ghanaian government officials and businesses on the official visit of Mr Graves.
It aimed at deepening diplomatic and commercial partnerships between Ghana and the United States for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
It was on the theme “Leveraging AfCFTA to promote US-Africa Commercial Partnerships.”
Mr Graves said the US was committed to being a strong, long-term, and stable partner to Ghana in ways that were “mutually beneficial and devoid of exploitation.”
Through this partnership, he said, the US aims to expand trade and investment between the U.S. and Ghana while creating jobs and sustainable growth in both countries.
With a globe recovering from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said US President Biden was committed to supporting agricultural investment, increased fertiliser, and energy production to meet the challenges of both countries.
He said there was a need for the two countries to find ways to work together and invest in more resilient supply chains and cooperate to reduce inflation as a key driver toward recovery.
Mr Graves said the US saw opportunities for further engagement in sectors of mutual priority including infrastructure, health care, healthcare systems, ICT, and climate resiliency, as well as workforce training and capacity building to stimulate the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Through the partnership, he said, the US could support Ghana’s One District/One Factory programme by engaging U.S. firms to provide technology and high-quality infrastructure that alleviate the dangers of climate change.
“This could serve as a good foundation for Ghanaian economic growth and prosperity while simultaneously combating long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns,” he said.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, said the longstanding Ghana-US partnership had been beneficial with Ghana getting 13 Foreign Direct Investment projects across the country last year.
He said Ghana was the best investment destination on the continent while it was ready to build economically viable partnerships as well as leverage AfCFTA for the socio-economic development of the country.
GIK/APA