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Ofori-Atta defends BoG: Ghana’s GDP Hits GH¢610bn … Up from GH¢219bn in 2016

By
JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, has disclosed that the size of our economy has doubled from a GDP value of GHS219.6b in 2016 to GHS610.2b as at last year.

The Minister made this known in a statement released yesterday in defense of the Bank of Ghana, over the GHS 60b loss in 2022.

“The size of our economy has also more than doubled from a GDP value of GHS219.6b in 2016 to an estimated GHS 610.2b by the end of 2022 and more pragmatically the number of active contributors on the SSNIT register has increased from 1.3 million in 2016 to over 1.8 million in 2022”, he said.

The Minister commended that the Central Bank has been prudent, strong, resilient and functioning efficiently.

“Our Central Bank’s assets have grown almost in tandem with the size of our financial sector and economy. From GHS53b in 2016, the Bank’s assets have grown by nearly one and half to GHS126b as at the end of 2022.

“The foundation has never been conspicuous – our revenue has more than doubled since 2016, with total revenue increasing from GHS32b in 2016 to GHS96.7 (end December 2022)”, he defended.

Citing a quote, he said “Banks are to the economy what the heart is to the human body. They cycle necessary capital through the whole and they are barely noticed until pressure, necessity or crises”.

Mr. Ofori Atta continued that all Ghanaians could attest to the progress made in digitization, infrastructure, the armed forces and police, public spending on education, agriculture (cocoa and PFJ), health and school feeding among others.

Spending on the education sector, which Mr. Ofori Atta indicated included the universities, second-cycle institutions and basic schools collectively constitute about 20% of tax revenue and include compensation, goods and services, and GETFund spending on infrastructure, while the health sector consumes about 8-10% of tax revenue, among others.

“However, the vision for and progress in social mobility and economic freedom is often in budget conflict with short-term macroeconomic volatility, where the activist roles of fiscal and monetary policy, and if blessed with a Keynesian benefactor or fiscal windfall, must be deployed to ensure that these gains are not eroded.

“This is especially the case, in instances where the volatility is mainly induced by cataclysmic events such as pandemics and geo-politics – the controls are often outside the remits of small open economies with independent central banks like Ghana”, Ofori Atta stated.

He continued to defend that the Bank of Ghana in managing its balance sheet issues currency, conducts foreign exchange operations, invests its own funds, engages in emergency liquidity assistance, conducts monetary policy operations and liquidity management.

Also, he asserted that BoG serves as a banker to Government, which role may include bridge financing to support budget, in line with the applicable laws.

“In essence, this makes the Central Bank balance sheet, in the long run, central to its operations. However, as many central banks, including Bank of Ghana, moved away from pursuing quantitative targets of monetary policy towards price targets, dominance of the Central Bank’s balance sheet as the key metric has waned in many economies and in academic literature as well”, the minister noted.

The finance minister added that the modern economic policy consensus is clear, thus the central banks can and run on negative equity and they can make losses to support economic recovery.These losses will not be counted as failure, as in commercial banks and enterprises.

This, he said, all and sundry must, in these extraordinary times, deploy all the instruments available and sail together through this odyssey and as such the call for citizens is not to be seen as punishing the Bank of Ghana for pitching up to support the greater public good.

The finance minister contended that the government’s debt operations that commenced in 2022 and executed this year, had a significant impact on Bank of Ghana’s balance sheet, while reducing the amount of money spent on interest payment for the Government.

“As of 2022, the Central Bank held about GHS42.3b of Government’s domestic debt, out of the total (domestic) debt stock of GHS194.3b. This debt holding, in addition to others, resulted in a loss impairment provision of about GHS48b for the Bank in 2022

“As indicated by the IMF, the BoG was the loss absorber for the debt exchange to ensure that in the light of the concessions to other domestic bondholders, its burden share of the debt exchange will enable the economy to still achieve the overall objectives of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which will ensure the NPV of the stock of public sector debt is halved from the then 105 percent of GDP (later recalculated as 89%) to 55 percent of GDP by 2028, thereby putting the country on a sustainable debt trajectory.

“As indicated by the Board of Directors of the Bank in their 2022 annual report, all efforts will be made to restore the balance sheet of the Bank in the medium term, continue to improve the efficiency of their operations and resort to the Government for recapitalisation over the medium to long term, if necessary. There is, therefore, no need for a direct attack on the leadership of the Central Bank”, he said.

Duker charges mining coys to deepen local content  

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admin
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George Mireku Duker, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Responsible for Mines

Mr George Mireku Duker, the Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resource has implored mining companies to make deliberate and concerted efforts towards deepening their relationship with the various mining communities by up scaling their local content participation and undertaking developmental projects in those communities.

Addressing the media during a working visit to Kibi Goldfields Limited in Eastern Region yesterday, Mireku Duker reinforced the belief that mining companies are more likely to enjoy smooth and successful operations if they put the development and growth of the communities and residents within their catchment areas at the heart of their operations.

He is of the firm conviction that mining companies should not only be interested in generating revenue and profits from the resources deposited in the communities, but also make the growth of the communities and the locals a priority.
This, he reckoned, would create a mutually satisfactory relationship between the communities and the companies and create the ideal conditions for the companies to thrive.
By executing developmental projects in areas such as health, sports, education and youth development, Mireku Duker believes “the companies will be performing their fiduciary duty to the communities as well as the government”.

The Deputy Minister also mentioned that a deliberate attempt at growing Ghanaian giants in the industry will ultimately create a situation where qualified Ghanaians will hold key and strategic positions in leading mining companies in the world.
He charged the management of Kibi Goldfields to undertake developmental projects in the Kibi and its environs.

He cited, for example, that the inner roads in the community and others nearby could be given facelifts by the company as part of the Corporate Social Responsibilities.
The company, in a presentation by outlined some major projects they have executed in the communities and promised to switch up their CSR activities following Mireku Duker’s counsel.
The mining company also enumerated how the company had consistently adhered the requirements and conditions detailed in its operational license.

The visit by Mireku Duker and his team from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and the Minerals Commission forms part of his activities to improve the relationship between the government and the companies and also ensure that large and small-scale mining companies in the country are operating in accordance with the mining laws of the land.

2 canoes capsized at Ada, 11 fishermen feared dead

By
JOHN BEDIAKO
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Ada beach

Eleven (11) fishermen are feared dead when two canoes capsized in the early hours of Thursday at Azizanya Volta Estuary, Ada, in the Ada East District of the Greater Accra Region.

Information gathered by The Chronicle indicates that, the incident occurred when the two canoes were returning from a fishing expedition.

It was also gathered that the sea had been rough since dawn of Thursday September 14, 2023 making it extremely difficult for the boats to sail back to the shore.

During the turbulence, the two boats, from Ada and Anloga respectively, were trapped at the estuary (Kewunor) by two heavy storms that emanated from the sea and the Volta Estuary simultaneously, leading to the disaster.

National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) officials at Ada confirmed the disaster to the media.

From neighbouring Akplabanya coastal area in Ada West District, reports were that due to the turbulence the fishermen have to navigate to Tema Fishing Harbour to land safely.

AG counsels ADISCO students to stay away from drugs

By
NAABENYIN JOOJO AMISSAH
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The Attorney General addressing the students

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, has said that the use of hard drugs has the potency to completely destroy the lives of brilliant students and further ruin their future.

According the AG, many brilliant young students who developed deep interest in illicit drugs while they were in school, crushed their future as they did not live to fulfil their aspirations.

The students listening raptly to Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame

Mr. Dame has, therefore, advised students in the second cycle institutions to completely stay away from the use of hard drugs, and other related social vices that could adversely affect their dear lives and ruin their future.

The Attorney General gave the advice at the Adisadel College in Cape Coast during a day’s seminar for the students on illicit drugs, under the theme: “Prevention of the use of illicit drugs; The Youth Our Future”.

Speaking as the Special Guest of Honour for the event, Mr. Odame, who is an “Old Boy” of Adisadel College, counselled the gathered students to be disciplined and take their studies seriously.

This, he indicated, was the surest means through which they could have the full benefit of their stay at the school, and come out to be useful citizens in the country when the mantle of leadership falls on them.

Using his personal life as a classic example, Mr. Dame stated emphatically that complete abstinence from the usage of illicit drugs, right from his boyhood days at the college, had been part of his success story today.

He stated categorically that illicit drugs had absolutely nothing useful to add to the life of any serious student, who desired to climb the ladder of education to progress in life.

Mr. Dame, who had been accredited as Ghana’s youngest Attorney General since the inception of the current constitutional dispensation, gave a chilling account of how some of his brilliant school mates at Adisco took to drugs and destroyed their lives.

“For students, your main purpose is to stay on straight and…, which is to study your books and imbibe all the other healthy practices, such as sports and what have you. If you think that you are bored there are a lot of things that you can resort. Entertainment definitely cannot come in the form of drugs,” he said.

The event was organised by the POS Foundation, which is a leading Human Rights Institution operating in the areas of Criminal Justice, Access to Justice, Law and Policy Reforms, Women Economic Empowerment and Youth Development.

The Executive Director of POS Foundation, Mr. Jonathan Osei Owusu, indicated that the scenario where young people often developed a huge passion for the use of illicit drug was predominant among students, and youth in general.

In his view, the use of drugs by the youth, urgently called for critical measures to sensitise them on the dangers of drug abuse, and the need for complete abstinence from all illicit drug-related activities that could collapse their ambitions.

This, Mr. Owusu explained, necessitated the engagement which was facilitated by his foundation to education the students about the dangers of illicit drugs and its impact on their lives.

“We were in Koforidua Sec Tech and today we are in Adisadel College basically to talk to young people to take their studies seriously and run away from drugs which will eventually ruin their future. That is what we came to do,” he stated.

Officials from the Narcotics Control Board and other relevant agencies took turns to address the students on the dangers of hard drugs.

Sammy Adongo promises to use agriculture to transform New Juaben North

By
ISAAC AKWETEY-OKUNOR
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Mr. Samuel Adongo, the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for New Juaben North

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for New Juaben North Constituency in the Eastern Region, Mr. Samuel Adongo, has promised to turn the constituency into an investment center.

According to him, there were many investment potentials within and outside the constituency that could inject a new economic, social and political advancement if well-tailored strategies were put in place.

According to the candidate, agribusiness contributed greatly to economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction in some developing countries, and that he would collaborate with foreign investors to elevate and strengthen the agriculture sector in the municipality, and the country at large.

Addressing the press after a unity walk, which was heavily participated by party sympathisers and other personalities from the arts and entertainment space, Mr. Adongo revealed that the party would put measures in place to revive the agricultural sector as it contributes to national income.

The young NDC parliamentary candidate, with a strong statistical background, indicated that there was a huge amount of land in the constituency that could be used for agricultural purposes to create sustainable food production in the country.

He said that his office would effectively work with the Koforidua Prison Service to help produce food to serve the Senior High Schools and other institutions in the constituency, through the use of the inmates on the farms.

“We will use inmates to do large scale farming in the constituency to provide food needs for the country,” he told the press.

Mr. Samuel Adongo stated that, despite the fact that the constituency had become the relatively personal property of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), his relationship with the constituents and contributions to the holistic development of the area gave him hope of winning the seat.

He continued that he had what it took to turn around the constituency if given the nod, adding that the party would effectively manage the economy and affairs of the state after winning Election 2024.

The Eastern Regional Organiser of the NDC, Mr. Hackman Kabore, accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of its plans to transfer people from unknown places to participate in the 2023 limited voters’ registration exercise in some selected constituencies in the region.

According to him, the NPP was planning to use some unconventional political strategy to transport people from other communities to register in the strongholds of the NDC in the region in an effort to gain political advantage.

Mr. Kabore said the district offices of the Electoral Commission would turn into a war zone if the NPP pursued its plan to bus people to participate in the limited voters’ registration exercise.

The Regional Organiser urged the party members to be vigilantes with the 2023 limited voters’ registration exercise to help overturn the plans by the NPP, as he urged all supporters of the party to participate in the exercise.

Editorial: Ghana Premier League is back; let’s embrace it

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admin
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Editorial

Barring any last minute changes, the much anticipated 2023/2024 Ghana Premier League season would commence today, Friday, with an opening game between Real Tamale United and Accra Hearts of Oak at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale.

At the launch of the season in Koforidua, the president of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku made a mouth-watering announcement with regards to prizes to be won by the eighteen participating clubs.

According to president Okraku, the winner for the league, which would be sponsored by betPawa, would walk away with a staggering GH¢500,000. He further announced prize monies of GH¢200,000, GH¢100,000, GH¢80,000 GH₵70,000 and GH¢60,000 for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively.

The Chronicle in a previous editorial praised the FA for coming out with such impressive rewards and additional packages such as marketing and TV rights for all the clubs.

As announced by president Okraku during the launch, one of the main reasons for the astronomical increase of the prize monies was to among other things make the local league more competitive.

The Chronicle couldn’t agree more with the FA, since in our sincerest view the competitiveness of the league is a major contributory factor to get supporters to the league centres during matches.

Additionally, it is our view that a highly competitive local league would ensure that there would be worthy champions who could showcase our game and make Ghana proud at the continental level.

This is because in recent times, Ghanaian clubs do struggle to go past the first round or the preliminary stages of continental engagements or hardly get to the money zone of the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) club competitions.

In fact, the rate at which our local clubs use to get knocked out easily at CAF club competitions could lend credence to the fact that the standard of football in Ghana has fallen.

As a result of the seemingly uncompetitive nature of the league, local based players hardly get call-ups into the national teams as that has become a preserve for foreign based players.

However, players from the local league in the past could easily be called into any of the national teams, including the Black Stars.

Of course, there are several factors accountable for why handlers of our national teams snub the local players, with the lack of quality in the league often standing out.

It is in the light of this that the paper wholeheartedly supports any move by the FA and all stakeholders to make the local game more exciting, interesting to watch and highly competitive.

This, we believe, would presumably trigger the interest of international scouts in our local players, as was the case years ago.

We, therefore, want to call on the FA, the organisers of the league, and all other interest groups and stakeholders to collectively work together to ensure that the league would be competitive. as the FA president stated.

They must ensure that all other components necessary for making the game attractive and competitive would be addressed prior to today’s opening game and sustained throughout the season, as done elsewhere.

We cannot call on supporters to troop to league centres to watch local games when the matches are alleged to be compromised with already made results.

For nothing at all, the left back of reigning champions, Medeama’s Abdul Fatau Hamidu and their top striker Jonathan Sowah, who had the opportunity to play for the Stars in the international friendly game against Liberia gave good accounts of themselves.

In our view, the two have justified that given the opportunity and with the necessary encouragement, the local players could also equally play for the Senior National Team.

We wish all the clubs well in the new season and hope that players would give good reasons and justifications for their inclusion into the national teams.

Addressing the Impact of the Niger Coup on the Onion Supply Chain: An Urgent Call

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admin
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Opinion

The recent coup in Niger has led to disruptions in the onion supply chain, particularly affecting Ghana, a major importer of onions from Niger.

According to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, about 80 percent of the onions consumed in Ghana are imported, largely from Niger and Burkina Faso. Forty-three percent of this import is said to originate from Niger alone. Due to the informal nature of onion trading activities within the subregion, the value of onion imports in Ghana is estimated at varying figures but is said to be around GH¢502 million or more.

The closure of borders and the imposition of sanctions by ECOWAS have raised concerns about potential onion shortages and in fact, price increases, which are already being experienced on the local markets.

A check from local markets indicates that a maxi sack of onions which used to sell for around 800 to 900 cedis now sells for 1500 cedis, almost a 40 to 46 percent increase in price, just a month after the coup. Local importers have reported huge economic losses as their onions are rotting away due to the border closures and disruptions in transportation through already dangerous and unpredictable roads.

The loss of income and jobs to importers, third-party logistics or truck owners, drivers, loaders, wholesalers and retailers needs both short-term and long-term measures by policymakers and all other stakeholders, not only within the onion value chain but within the entire agriculture value chain in Ghana.

For immediate action, policymakers in the agriculture sector need to engage in diplomatic efforts with ECOWAS and other relevant regional bodies to establish protocols for the free movement of critical goods and traders during times of crisis.

This does not only serve the interests of Ghanaian onion supply chain actors but also protects all the actors on the Niger side from economic vulnerabilities. Coups and subsequent sanctions that come with them can introduce multiple complexities that can undermine the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other trading agreements to foster trade and movement within the sub-region.

As a national effort, the following short- to long-term “Emergency Food Resilience Strategy” measures could be considered in addressing this challenge.

  1. Diversification of supply:As a short-term measure, onion importers in Ghana need to be encouraged to diversify their sources of onion supplies by exploring trade partnerships with other ECOWAS member states if possible. Diversified sourcing rather than overdependence on Niger could build resilience in the chain in case there are other kinds of shocks that may threaten the disruption of the onion supply chain. Importers could consider alternative sourcing from the top ten largest onion-producing countries in Africa like Egypt which ranks 3rd globally and the likes of Nigeria, Sudan and Algeria among others.
  2. Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement:The Ministry of Food and Agriculture needs to bring together key stakeholders, including government officials, research institutions, farmers’ associations, agricultural extension services and private sector entities, to undertake a needs assessment for the crop to allow for collaborative efforts to develop homegrown solutions to boost local production. According to research, disruptions within supply chains are not necessarily a bad thing but can sometimes lead to innovations and Ghana needs to leverage this.
  3. Resource Allocation for Research and Local Production:Necessary financial, technical, and human resources for the research and development of high-yielding onion varieties are crucial at this point to enhance productivity, quality and post-harvest handling. We must not just produce but also bear in mind that onions from Niger are preferred by consumers in Ghana due to their low moisture content, size and extended shelf lifespan as compared to the variety produced locally.

The government can leverage private sector partnerships to support research institutions with the necessary infrastructure development and capacity building to make this happen. The provision of incentives to support local onion farmers should equally be a priority, considering the number of jobs to be created among value chain actors.

The recent coup in Niger has highlighted the vulnerabilities within the onion supply chain and underscored the importance of building resilience for both local onion production and regional trade under the AfCFTA protocol.

By diversifying trade partners, investing in local production, developing emergency resilience strategies, engaging in diplomatic efforts, and promoting research and capacity building, Ghana can mitigate the impact of disruptions and contribute to the success of food security which has been under threat with climate change and recently emerging coups within the sub-region.

By Kekeli Adonu writes

Source: citinewsroom.com

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.

90% of senators distracted by court cases -Kingibe

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admin
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Ireti Kingibe

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Ireti Kingibe, on Wednesday, raised concern over the ongoing election petitions cases at the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal which, she said, were distracting lawmakers from effectively performing their duties.

According to her, for the past eight weeks that the National Assembly has been inaugurated, 90 per cent of the senators have been completely distracted by NAEPT.

She also pledged to work with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for the development of the nation’s capital.

The federal lawmaker elected under the platform of the Labour Party representing the FCT, said this while speaking with journalists in Abuja.

While applauding the Tribunal for affirming her victory for the FCT Senate seat, she expressed reservations about some of the court verdicts across the country, saying the appellate court must correct some abnormalities.

When asked about what the 10th National Assembly had done so far since its inauguration, she said court cases had affected legislation.

Credit: punchng.com

 

Suspected cable thief electrocuted in Anambra

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admin
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The corpse of the suspected cable thief benn brought down

A yet-to-be-identified man has been electrocuted near the Faculty of Education building, close to the Department of Economics of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State.

The suspected cable thief was said to have finished cutting a cable from a high-tension pole before he was electrocuted as power was suddenly restored by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company.

It was gathered that the incident occurred late on Monday.

The lifeless body was discovered dangling on the high-tension pole on Wednesday morning where employees of the electricity distribution company were seen evacuating the corpse from the pole.

As of the time of filing this report, electricity distribution officials, policemen, and officials of the safety department of the university were still retrieving the lifeless body of the suspect from the electric pole where he was suspended.

An official in the university who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to do so, said, “We came this morning and found the body suspended from the electric pole at a transformer point in the area of the new Faculty of Education building, close to the Department of Economics.

“Evidence showed he was almost done cutting a high-tension cable before electricity was restored by the EEDC and he got electrocuted.

“EEDC officials, policemen, and officials of the Safety Department of the university were on the ground as the body was being retrieved around 11am today (Tuesday). I witnessed the retrieval but wish to remain anonymous.”

Credit: punchng.com

Appeal Court Reverses Elumelu’s Victory In House of Reps seat dispute

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admin
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Ndudi Elumelu

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, has set aside the judgment by the National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba which declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the last election for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State.

In two judgments, the appellate court declared Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party (LP) as the winner of the election.

It faulted the tribunal for voiding Okolie’s election and proceeded to dismiss the petition filed by Elumelu before the trial tribunal on which the voided judgment was given.

The Court agreed with counsel to the Labour Party, Mahmud Magaji, that contrary to the finding of the tribunal, Okolie was duly nominated and sponsored by his party and that he resigned his appointment as a Senior Special Assistant to the Delta State Government as required by the Constitution.

Credit: channelstv.com

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