The address of the President Akufo-Addo at the 2022 May Day celebration on Sunday, May 1, 2022 and the report of marginal increase in the prices of petrol and diesel marginally at the pumps in the first pricing window beginning May 1 until May 15, this year are some of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said at the 2022 May Day celebration on Sunday, May 1, 2022, at the Independence Square in Accra that he was glad to be in the company of Organised Labour, especially to celebrate May Day, the day set aside to pay homage to those who fought the heroic battles that have made today’s ordinary things possible.
“I cannot begin this address without paying tribute to Organised Labour and its leadership for their invaluable contribution in helping to keep our country on its two feet at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Your co-operation has been a mark of patriotism, and I applaud you for that. Indeed, you continue to uphold the tradition of national engagement initiated by the legendary pioneers of Ghanaian trade unionism, Pobee Biney, Vidal Quist,
“Anthony Woode et al, through whose work and sacrifice we have inherited the free, independent Ghana in which we now live.
“With the ongoing vaccination campaign, which has seen some 14.2 million Ghanaians taking the jab, and with our continued observance of the safety protocols, despite the lifting of virtually all restrictions, we are beginning the process of returning our lives and livelihoods back to a marked degree of normalcy. I know that sooner, rather than later, we will be out of the woods completely.
“Secretary General, on the occasion of the 2021 May Day Celebration, I expressed the resolve of Government to win the fight against COVID-19. It was also my hope and expectation that we would celebrate this year’s May Day ceremony without masks,” he said.
The newspaper says that petrol and diesel prices are expected to go up marginally at the pumps in the first pricing window beginning May 1 until May 15, this year.
The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) is predicting that the prices at the pumps are expected to sell at GH¢ 9.538 per litre of petrol and GH¢ 10.829 per litre for diesel.
Comparatively, the average price then goes up by 19GHp per litre (1.94%) over that of the previous window, with petrol going up by 7GHp per litre, representing 0.7%, and diesel also being up by 32GHp per litre, representing three per cent.
This will bring the average price of petrol and diesel for the next window to be at GH¢10.183 per litre.
On the other hand, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is likely to be sold around GHȼ10.093 per kilogramme, showing a reduction of about 21GHp or two per cent over that of the previous window.
In a release copied to the Daily Graphic yesterday, it said the changes was reflective of the regular fuel price changes per window, changes to international fuel prices, the applicable dollar-exchange rate and the taxes on fuel.
“At the current average crude price of $104.56 per barrel, resulting in $1,057.44 per metric tonne for petrol and $1,138.33 per metric tonne for diesel on the international market, coupled with the exchange rate of 1$: GH¢7.8165 and the government’s tax rebate of 15GHp per litre still in place, COPEC is expecting the ex-pump prices of fuel for the next pricing window, from May 1 to May15,” the release said.
It said considering no sudden jerks in crude oil pricing, which could lead to changes in petrol and diesel prices on the international market, then the ex-pump prices were expected to be within the projected figures for the next window.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana is working to resolve all boundary demarcation challenges with Togo and Burkina Faso by the end of the year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has assured.
That, she said, was to help foster and enhance existing good relations with the two countries and maintain the principle of good neighbourliness espoused in the country’s foreign policy.
She said this when she delivered a lecture on the country’s foreign policy at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College as part of the College’s Senior Command and Staff Course 43.
The course had students drawn from the armed forces of 11 African countries comprising; Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Foreign Policy was a government’s strategy in dealing with other nations and actors with an international personality.
For years, Ghana has had disagreements with its three neighbours; Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire, over land and maritime boundaries.
In 2017, Ghana won a maritime boundary dispute with Côte d’Ivoire at a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
GIK/APA