The report that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has maintained the policy rate at 14.5 per cent on the back of rising inflation and uncertainties in the global economy is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has maintained the policy rate at 14.5 per cent on the back of rising inflation and uncertainties in the global economy.
This is the second time the BoG has maintained the policy rate (the rate at which the BoG lends to commercial banks) since it hiked it by 100 basis points from 13.5 to 14.5 per cent in November last year.
This was contained in a statement issued by the BoG yesterday after the 104th meeting of the MPC in which the Committee deliberated on recent global and domestic developments and how they have shaped macroeconomic conditions and assessed risks to the inflation and growth outlook.
The Committee said the rising inflation, the difficult global economic conditions and the need to boost growth and bolster investor confidence informed the decision to maintain the policy rate.
It said notwithstanding the strong recovery in the global economy for 2021, growth momentum was projected to slow in the near-term reflecting unrelenting supply chain bottlenecks, rising input costs and pandemic-related uncertainties.
The statement said the global price pressures intensified in 2021, primarily due to sharp increases in energy prices, rising demand pressures, and the persistent supply chain disruptions and as result headline inflation across several Advanced and Emerging Market economies rose above targets and those price trends had triggered reversals of the accommodative policies put in place to stimulate recovery from the pandemic.
On the domestic front, the statement said inflation had risen beyond the Bank of Ghana upper band limit of ten per cent, indicating that after falling to 7.5 percent in May 2021, inflation increased throughout the second half of the year, ending December 2021 at 12.6 percent.
It explained that the upward trajectory of inflation in the second half of 2021 reflected food supply challenges, rising crude oil prices, and some pass-through effects of exchange rate depreciation in the last quarter.
The newspaper says that the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr Meshal Alrogi, has reiterated his country’s commitment to offering scholarships to eligible Ghanaian students to further their education at the universities in that country.
The Ambassador announced this at an international conference, organised by the Islamic Council for Development and Humanitarian Services (ICODEHS) under the theme: “The Contribution of Arabic language to the development of African civilisation,” in Accra.
It is recalled that the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has in 2021 announced, through the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, that the government of Saudi Arabia would increase the annual scholarship opportunities to Ghanaian students to 159.
Ambassador Alrogi indicated that the revelation of the Glorious Qur’an in the Arabic language, set the tone for the unity of purpose of all adherents of Islam from all parts of the World.
The Arabic language, according to the Saudi Ambassador, was a pillar of cultural diversity of humanity, adding that “It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, spoken in all parts of Africa, including Ghana.”
He said “For centuries, Arabic language was the common ground, the connector that reflected the richness of human existence and provided access to numerous resources. The assertion that Arabic language has impacted Africa’s civilisation cannot be disputed”.
Mr Alrogi said “the three most important learning centres in the Golden Ages of Islam were located in Africa: Timbuktu, Qairawan and Azhar. Some sources such as UNESCO cite al-Qairawaan as the oldest university, or oldest continually operating higher learning institution in the world.”
He said Arabian scholars were administrators of the old Ghana kingdoms, adding that the natives of West Africa who studied Arabic served in various positions in many palaces of African Kings as scribes, medical doctors and teachers.
Mr Alrogi said research showed that the Ashanti army, which invaded the Fante State in 1807, had “an Arab medical staff” with the responsibility for recording casualties and attending to the wounded.
This “Arab medical staff” were Muslim scholars, who were of West African ethnic backgrounds, who could speak Arabic.
Dr Abdul Samad Abdallah, senior lecturer and the convener of Arabic and Islamic studies in the Asia Institute of the University of Melbourne, Australia, indicated that the Arabic language had been an integral part of African civilisations from time immemorial.
The Graphic reports that the government has said that there is no official mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy in Ghana.
According to the government, although its position with regards to COVID-19 vaccination is backed by data, “there is no current mandate requiring mandatory vaccine rollouts within the country.”
This was contained in a letter dated January 18, 2022, in response to a petition from a group of doctors opposed to government’s rollout of an extensive vaccination programme as one of the effective means of reducing the transmission of COVID-19.
The letter written by the Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, noted that the vaccination exercise had become necessary because “there was a clear evidence of the public health impact of vaccination in terms of infections, hospitalisations, deaths prevented and improved health outcomes that cannot simply be brushed aside.”
Meanwhile, in another letter to the Presidency, the doctors raised further concerns about the vaccination programme, noting that government’s response that the vaccination rollout was not mandatory, was in contradiction to directives by the Ghana Health Service.
Data from the Ministry of Health show that as of January 27, 2022, 3, 543,312, representing 17.7 per cent of the population had been fully vaccinated, while 7,221,427, representing 36.1 per cent of the population had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The data also shows that 1,161 persons had received first booster dose.
The newspaper says Coconut Farmers Association of Ghana (CoFAG) has called on the government and other relevant stakeholders for support to enable members to expand their farms.
That, according to the association, would make it possible for its members to employ more workers and generate funds for themselves and the country as a whole.
The specific areas of support requested are funding, extension services and a vehicle to undertake the association’s activities.
These were contained in an address read by the National Vice-President of the association, Mr Bismark Gyeeku, at the Eastern Region
Delegates Conference of the CoFAG held in Koforidua, earlier this month.
The event, held on the theme: “Coconut Farming, Solution to Galamsey and Rural Poverty,” was attended by delegates from across the region.
It was held to deliberate on matters affecting coconut production with the view to finding solutions.
GIK/APA