The report that the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has expressed disappointment at the recent downgrade of Ghana’s economy by two international credit ratings agencies is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has expressed disappointment at the recent downgrade of Ghana’s economy by two international credit ratings agencies.
The APRM, which has the mandate from the African Union (AU) Assembly to support African countries in the area of credit ratings, said ratings actions by Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch was unnecessary and risked worsening the confidence decline in the economy.
In a statement reacting to the actions of the agencies, the continental body described the downgrades as one of the “unjustified negative rating actions in Africa since the beginning of 2022.”
It said the actions were “unwarranted and contrasting the continent’s economic recovery efforts from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is compounding the complexity of driving the economic recovery process and making current fiscal measures ineffective,” the statement said.
The statement was in response to the recent downgrade of Ghana by two of the three international credit rating agencies.
S&P and Fitch lowered Ghana’s long-term foreign currency sovereign rating down further into junk grade, from B- to CCC+ with negative outlook and B- to CCC respectively.
The APRM, which prides itself as undertaking routine analyses of rating actions assigned by international credit rating agencies on African countries, said, it has noted with concern the increase in the number of negative rating actions against African countries by the three international rating agencies.
The APRM said Ghana’s downgrade was the latest such rating actions in which the country’s long-term foreign currency sovereign rating was lowered further into junk grade.
The newspaper says that a global investment and research firm, Goldman Sachs, has predicted that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) will raise its policy rate by 200 basis points (bp) on Wednesday when it concludes an emergency Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting called to respond to the current economic challenges.
The firm said in a research update issued on August 16, 2022 that the central bank would raise the rate from the current 19 per cent to 21 per cent in an attempt to calm the turbulence in the foreign exchange (FX) market and help ease inflationary pressures.
It said the cedi had so far lost more than 50 per cent of its value and a rate hike could help ease the pressure.
The seven-member MPC, chaired by the Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, last stayed the rate at 19 per cent in July 2022, citing the need to stimulate growth at a time when inflationary pressures were easing.
The Goldman Sachs update was in response to an earlier notice from BoG that it will undertake an emergency MPC meeting Wednesday (August 17, 2022) to review recent developments in the economy.
The notice, issued last Monday, said the meeting would conclude with the announcement of the decisions of the committee.
In its research update, Goldman Sachs said the meeting came after an acceleration in the pace of depreciation of the cedi in the past two weeks.
It said the local currency lost almost 10 per cent of its value to the United States (USA) dollar in the past two weeks, amounting to a cumulative 50 per cent currency depreciation year-to-date.
“In our view, inflation and financial stability risks, stemming from this FX weakness, combined with the challenging domestic financing environment for the government, which has led the BoG to begin monetising the deficit have prompted the call for this meeting.”
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr George Mireku Duker, has said that Ghana is planning to exploit its lithium deposits with the advent of clean technology,
According to him, Ghana has a historical spodumene (greyish-white substance) source of lithium deposits that is largely unexplored.
Mr Duker said: “Currently, Atlantic Lithium Limited is actively exploring for lithium in the Central Region of Ghana. The company has tenements covering an area of 684km² and has confirmed the historical spodumene deposit.”
He announced these at the 7th University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa Biennial International Mining and Minerals Conference, which opened on Tuesday, at Tarkwa in the Western Region.
It was on the theme “Innovations in mining and mineral processing; expanding the frontiers of mining technology”.
Mr Duker said government was committed to achieving its policy on the integrated aluminum, iron and steel industries.
He said bauxite and iron would not be exported in raw form, but, developed along the value chain in Ghana to benefit Ghanaians.
Mr Duker said government had enacted the Integrated (mining to finished products) Aluminum, Iron and Steel Corporation (GIADEC, Act 976, 2018 & GIISDEC, Act 988, 2019), to achieve that purpose.
The GIADEC, he said, was at various stages of execution on its four projects, including the Ghana Bauxite Company expansion works currently ongoing at Awaso with further exploration activities.
Mr Duker said an indigenous strategic partner, Rocksure International, had been given the mandate to exploit bauxite deposits at Nyinahin and strive to set up a refinery.
He said “Project three, is at the conclusion of a competitive investor selection process whiles project four, w involves the revival of VALCO. Several partners are similarly being engaged towards the setup of the refinery.”
Mr Duker explained that the establishment of GIISDEC by an Act of Parliament, 2019 (Act 988) was also to promote and develop an integrated iron and steel industry in Ghana.
The newspaper says that Vodafone Ghana is rolling out 300 4G LTE sites and 3G sites in several communities across the 16 regions of Ghana by the end of October this year.
This represents a 30 per cent increase in the current network capacity.
The move is in line with the company’s commitment to creating an inclusive digital society in the country as part of its purpose-led agenda.
Speaking in an interview on the project, Patricia Obo-Nai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, said “indeed, increased access to the internet is inextricably linked to the growth and the socio-economic wellbeing of the nation. “
“This is why we continue to invest in our network to ensure that we provide best-in-class coverage and customer service for Ghanaians in every corner of this country, leaving no one behind. We believe that by granting access to every Ghanaian, they can take advantage of digital advancement and its limitless possibilities,” she said.
Vodafone Ghana has completed more than 50 per cent of this significant network improvement, which is already promoting equitable digital growth and enhancing online activities in various communities.
Additionally, Vodafone Ghana is increasing the capacity of its existing mobile sites to meet the growing demand for data usage and services. These will also improve coverage, network stability and provide a great connectivity experience for customers.
Over the period, Vodafone has invested in its network to provide greater reliability and seamless data and voice services for its customers and businesses nationwide.
These include an extensive fibre infrastructure rollout to provide seamless ultra-high-speed fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity for its customers at home and work.
GIK/APA