The promise of a great time soon for Ghanaians by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and that in spite of the challenges confronting the country, the government was working hard to restore the country back on the path of progress and prosperity is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised Ghanaians of a great time soon.
He said in spite of the challenges confronting the country, the government was working hard to restore the country back on the path of progress and prosperity which it was charting prior to the advent of COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I ask respectfully, all of you, to continue to have hope of great times soon for our country. Government is working hard to restore our nation back on the path of progress and prosperity, a path of which our nation was charting before the onset of COVID-19, whose negative consequences have been further exacerbated by the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance in his Easter message to Ghanaians on Thursday, April 14, 2022.
Speaking on the essence of Easter, he said “Easter is the most important date on the Christian calender. It signifies the supreme sacrifice made for humanity by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ….,” adding that while it is great to partake in Easter festivities, the public should not let their guard down on the threat posed by COVID-19.
The newspaper says that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has started stakeholder engagements to review capital restrictions for foreign businesses which seek to operate in the country.
The process is expected to help position Ghana as the investment destination in the sub region.
The GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865) requires foreign companies which seek to partner local businesses to provide a capital requirement of US$200,000, while wholly foreign businesses which desire to operate are required to provide a capital of US$500,000.
For foreign businesses which want to do business in the trading space, the capital requirement is pegged at US$1 million.
For instance, over the years, there has been serious misunderstandings between Nigerian traders who have flooded the Ghanaian market and engaged in retail and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).
While GUTA uses the law in its present state as the basis for their rejection of the Nigerian traders and others from the neighbouring countries, the foreigners are adamant and also cite the ECOWAS regulations as their basis for trading in the country. In some instances, the arguments, some of which have resulted in clashes, have sparked diplomatic disagreements.
But speaking at the Access Bank/ AHK Economic Outlook event, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Yaw Amoateng Afriyie, described the present conditions as problematic because it is prohibitive against doing business in the country.
“It cannot be that in an environment where we are trying to be competitive, we continue to have equity restrictions. In any part of the world, those requirements are a significant amount of money and this cannot be an enabler for doing business,” he stated.
He said the GIPC would, however, consult broadly before removing what he described as capital restrictions.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Total petroleum revenues from Ghana’s three oil fields increased by 17.5 per cent from $666 million in 2020 to $783 million in 2021 due to higher crude oil prices, the Public Interest Accountability Committee (PIAC) has revealed.
In its 2021 Annual Report on the management and use of petroleum revenues, it said this was despite a 17.7 per cent decline in annual crude oil production from 66,926,806 barrels (bbls) in 2020 to 55,050,391 bbls in 2021.
Launched in Accra yesterday the report said the decline in production was notwithstanding the rebound of economic activities in 2021, after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
The release of the 11th annual report is in fulfilment of Section 56 of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011 (Act 815) which mandates PIAC to monitor and evaluate the management and use of Ghana’s petroleum revenues by the government and stakeholder institutions.
Presenting the highlights, PIAC Chairman, Professor Kwame Adom-Frimpong, said the average achieved crude oil price of $69.18/bbl by the Ghana Group in all fields was higher than the government’s benchmark price of $54.75/bbl.
He said Jubilee Field contributed half of the total output, even though production reduced by 10 per cent from the 2020 output (30,424,539 bbls) while the Tweneboa, Enyenra, Ntomme (TEN) Field’s production declined by 32.7 per cent from 17,802,536 bbls in 2020 to 11,978,064 bbls in 2021.
According to the report the SankofaGyeNyame (SGN) Field recorded its fourth full-year production, with a reduced output by 15.8 per cent from 18,699,731.01 bbls in 2020 to 15,736,846.10 bbls in 2021.
The newspaper says that the Greater Accra Regional Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCOI) Maud Anima Quainoo, has urged foreign students in Ghana to consult the outfit and attain relevant permits in order to study in the country without challenges.
According to Mrs Quainoo obtaining permits through middlemen or unauthorised sources could have dire consequences on their education if they did not get the right permits.
“We always advise foreign students to consult the GIS to gain residence and study permits to stay in the country peacefully. But usually, they rather pass through different channels and charged exorbitant fees,” she stated.
She was speaking at this year’s Wisconsin International University College (WIUC-Ghana)’s Embassy Forum held in Accra on Tuesday as part of efforts to educate foreign students and address their concerns as far as studying and living in the country was concerned.
She explained that, there were conditions for staying in the country, and for students it was essential to acquire residence and study permits which were easily accessible at the GIS.
GIK/APA