The call by President Akufo-Addo for Africa to invest more in its own instruments for financial crisis management and the maiden edition of the Expo Ghana on July 14 at the Canary Riverside Plaza Hotel in London, United Kingdom are some of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that President Akufo-Addo has said that Africa must invest more in its own instruments for financial crisis management.
Addressing the Boma of Africa Festival on the ongoing global economic turmoil last Sunday, he noted that the current international instruments for resolving those crises lacked input from smaller economies.
Speaking in his capacity as the African Union (AU) Champion of Financial Institutions, the President expressed concern about how smaller economies, many of them in Africa, often suffered the harshest consequences during global downturns though they contributed the least to the causes of those upheavals.
The Boma of Africa festival is a series of insightful convenings to drive the African integration agenda through a strategic high-level engagement between the continental governance institutions, represented by the AU Commission, and the African private sector, represented by the AU’s strategic partner AfroChampions.
The Boma was instituted in response to a decision in 2019 by the AU Heads of State that a date in early July of every year should be set aside to mark and celebrate the effort to realise African integration.
Convened at the highest level, the Boma festival seeks to move beyond mere deliberations and instead to delve deep into actions; actions that can inspire Africans in various fields such as science and technology, education and creative arts to hone our talents for our common good.
The AU Commission, in partnership with AfroChampions Initiative – a public-private partnership designed to galvanise African resources and institutions to support the emergence and success of the African private sector – hosted the Boma of Africa on the theme: “Taking stock of the Africa Century”.
The theme sought to explore the global shifts and continental developments shaping Africa’s quest to become a powerful global force by 2063.
Held virtually, the Boma for Africa involved the participation of heads of state, chief executive officers (CEOs) of global corporations, and other world leaders.
The newspaper says that the maiden edition of the Expo Ghana will take place on July 14 at the Canary Riverside Plaza Hotel in London, United Kingdom (UK).
The expo, which is an initiative modelled on the Ghana Exim Bank Tuesday Market aimed at creating awareness for Made-In- Ghana products and harnessing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) potential for exports.
The Expo Ghana is part of the Destination Ghana Campaign and Ghana Party in the Park, the biggest Ghanaian festival in the UK, which comes off on July 16.
Speaking ahead of the expo, Mr Dennis Tawiah, the Chief Executive Officer of Akwaaba UK, organisers of the expo, said the one-day event would foster business relationships between Ghanaian businesses and the UK market.
“The expo will showcase Ghana-made products to the UK audience with the aim of promoting its patronage and also creating business relationships between UK and Ghana-based entrepreneurs.
It will provide an engaging platform for promoting greater cultural diversity in the UK, as well as raising the profile of Ghana,” he said in an interview.
There would be seminars held where industry experts would share best practices, offer their services, and other expertise in helping Ghana-based SME with getting their products into the UK mainstream market.
Participating exhibitors will be given the opportunity to exhibit their products at Ghana Party in the Park, taking place at Cockfosters, London on Saturday, July 16th, 2022.
The Graphic also reports that the Mid-Year Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government and Supplementary Estimate for the 2022 financial year in Parliament has been postponed to July 27, 2022.
The review is in pursuance of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
The Majority Leader and the Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, last Thursday, July 7, 2022 announced that the review was expected in Parliament on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.
He said this when he presented the Business Statement for the eighth week beginning Tuesday, July 12, 2022 and ending on Friday, July 15, 2022 to the House.
But on Tuesday morning, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explained that due to the meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) currently ongoing, which involves the Minister of Finance and his team, the review has been postponed two weeks further.
It cannot be held next week because the Speaker of Parliament has also indicated that he will not be available hence the postponement to July, 27, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs explained.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame, has therefore, urged his colleagues to make themselves available for the presentation.
In view of the high cost of living, including food and transportation in the country, it is the expectation of the honourable members of the House that the Finance Minister will use the opportunity to announce some relief measures the government is putting in place to cushion Ghanaians.
GIK/APA