Month: July 2024

Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Ms. Shirley A. Botchwey, has made an impassioned case for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to an audience of hundreds of business leaders in Namibia, and two southern African Presidents and members of their cabinets.

Speaking as a special guest at the opening of the Sixth Swakopmund International Trade Expo (SWAiTEX) Ms. Botchwey said: ‘It is our responsibility as leaders in government, industry, finance, SMEs, startups, regulation and civil society to harness our collective resources and capabilities towards an efficient market in trade and services, job creation, and prosperity for all Africans.’

The event in Swakopmund, 360km west of the capital, Windhoek, was attended by Presidents Nangolo Mbumba of Namibia, and Mogkweetsi Masisi of Botswana whose delegation included his Vice President Slumber Tsogwane and, in his own words, ‘half of my cabinet because we want to trade; we want to do serious business.’

‘The African Continental Free Trade Area is the beacon of
hope for Africa’s economic resurgence, Ms. Botchwey said, quoting the South African AfCFTA Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene. ‘We agree wholeheartedly, she added.

Resplendent in an African-print attire and hand-woven kente shawl over her shoulders, Ms. Botchwey, a former deputy trade minister, said Africans must make ‘African products our preferred products,’ while building partnerships regionally and across the continent to service the common market.

As a free trade area, connecting 1.3 billion people across 55 countries, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$3.4 trillion, she said the AfCFTA, which is headquartered in Ghana, promises immense new markets, accelerated industrialization and fresh investment opportunities.

The theme for the expo is ‘Efficient Connectivity and Resource Beneficiation for Sustainable Growth in Africa.’

Ms. Botchwey acknowledged that African economies were currently facing challenging headwinds, including cascading impacts on debt, energy, food security, cost of livi
ng, unemployment and climate crises.

However, she pointed out that ‘the transformative potential of the AfCFTA shows that we can overcome our challenges and build resilient economies.’

She said Ghana was pleased that creative initiatives were being introduced to expedite trading under the AfCFTA, including payments settlements.

She commended Namibia for recently joining an AfCFTA-Guided Trade Initiative with Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon.

‘This affirms your commitment and political will for meaningful trade within the African continent,’ Ms. Botchwey told President Mbumba who assumed office in February following the death of President Hage Geingob

The Guided Trade Initiative was established in 2022 as an interim measure to begin trade among interested parties, once they have met the minimum threshold for trading under the AfCFTA.

It is designed to test the Agreement’s capacity to function as envisaged, and indentify and fix imperfections.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signe
d in April 2023 between the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board to facilitate investment and trade flows between the two countries, under the umbrella of the AfCFTA.

Ms. Botchwey, a candidate for Commonwealth Secretary-General, has made trade and investment a major plank of her vision. Namibia, Botswana and Ghana are among Africa’s 21 Commonwealth countries. There are 56 of them altogether.

She said developing countries with overlapping memberships in multilateral institutions must work together consciously and strategically to change their marginalised status in global trade and governance.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The gari market in Koforidua is reeling from a severe shortage of cassava, leading to a sharp hike in prices. 

 This is sending shockwaves through the industry, leaving gari traders struggling to make ends meet. 

The traders/operators suffered poor sales last month due to a substantial price hike triggered by a shortage of cassava, a market survey conducted by the Ghana News Agency in the second quarter of 2024 has revealed. 

The decline in cassava supply has largely been attributed to farmers shifting their focus to other crops, leading to a scarcity of root vegetable. 

Ms Comfort Boateng, a gari trader, told the GNA that sales slowed down from April to June due to the price hike. 

She attributed the decline in sales to cassava farmers’ decision to shift from producing the crop to growing garden eggs and okra instead. 

Ms Boateng said many cassava farmers had switched to producing garden eggs and okra, adding: ‘We are in the season of garden eggs and okra cultivation, so most cassava farmers are now fa
rming garden eggs and okra.’ 

 ‘This has made the supply of gari reduce leading to price increment,’ he said. 

 She noted that they had previously relied on senior high school students, who were compelled to purchase gari to support their school meals, but sales from that market was also dwindling. 

 The market survey found that the price of a 20kg blue bucket upped from GhS38 in May to GhS45 in June.  

The price of a-one kilogramme weight of gari (olonka) has also shot up from GhS35 to GhS40, while a margarine cup has increased from GhS5.00 to GhS6.00. 

 Madam Abena Mansah, a gari processor, in her 60s, noted that despite Ghana being a major producer of gari, the selling price continued to rise due to the increasing costs of other commodities.  

 ‘These days things are expensive, so we also have to increase the price of Gari. The firewood we buy to fry the milled cassava is expensive now.’  

 ‘Processing Gari is a tedious work to do and selling it at a cheaper price in this economic crisis where price
s of every commodity are on the increase will be a loss to us.’ 

 She appealed to the government to provide farmers with the necessary farming equipment, such as tractors and cutlasses, and farm supplies, particularly for cassava, at  subsidised rates to sustain gari production. 

Gari, a staple food made from cassava, has been a popular choice for many people in Ghana and beyond due to its affordability and ease of preparation.  

As one of the cheapest food products on the market, it is a common item purchased by students in boarding houses, households, and many institutions such as the prisons. 

From a nutritional perspective, research conducted by Adunga Bayata of the Jimma Agricultural Research Centre reveals that gari is a good source of carbohydrate, protein, calories, potassium, phosphorus, fiber, vitamin C, ash, and fat. 

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader of Parliament, said the ‘Ghana Standards Authority Pricing of Cement Regulation 2024′ will not be withdrawn.

On Tuesday, Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond, the Minister of Trade and Industry, laid a Legislative Instrument (LI) on the Floor of Parliament to address the country’s escalating cement prices.

However, Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, is said to have advised Mr Hammond, the Minister of Trade and Industry, to withdraw the LI to address some concerns that could lead to the legislation’s defeat in court because the parent Act was against price control.

In response, Mr Afenyo-Markin told the Parliamentary Press Corps that the Minority’s and sector players’ concerns about price regulation had been addressed prior to the laying.

He said: ‘After their deliberation, they came out with a report signed by the Chairman of the Committee. The content was to the effect that if the Trades Minister will take into consideration all the amendments, then they are no
t opposed to it.’

‘Now true to his word, Hon. K.T Hammond incorporated every single amendment proposed by the Subsidiary Legislation into the new LI before same was laid.’

‘The LI, which was previously brought to Parliament was changed. Every amendment which was proposed by the Minority was factored into the new LI: so, the question is: why must the Minority come the next day to attack government?’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM), in collaboration with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), has organised a trainer’s workshop for stakeholders in the private sector. 

The participants included farmer organisations, exporters, processors, buyers, enterprise federations, women’s organisations, chambers of commerce, and microfinance institutions.

Representatives from PARM donors and their projects, as well as its partners, also participated in the three-day event, which aimed to build the capacity of participants in risk management through a holistic approach, risk assessment and prioritisation by value chain and evidence-based risk tools and strategies, and monitoring and evaluation.

The training programme also featured interactive exchanges and group work, which allowed PARM and its partners to share best practices for managing risks in key value chains and explore synergies in the agricultural sector.

Miss Francesca Nugnes, the Capacity Development Specialist at PAR
M, and a trainer underscored the relevance of the programme, adding that it would help the private sector to plan the allocation of their resources in the midst of crises.

‘Essentially, planning and managing agriculture risk gives the private sector the ability to plan and manage how they will allocate resources and derisk any investment done. The objective of the training is to have a better view of agriculture risk, be aware of the risk, and learn how to manage it. We have done this in collaboration with agencies from Italy, and we have engaged all the private sectors along the value chain on how they can address the risk in their sectors.

This training programme has a lot of impact due to the synergy it creates between the private sector in the agriculture value chain,’ she said.

She also noted that the training programme also allowed the private sector to create partnerships with other countries, especially Italy. 

Mrs. Georgina Koomson, the Chief Executive Officer for Provident Farms, said the traini
ng programme would help her company diversify its operations.

She said the training also afforded her the opportunity to leverage her experiences and share them with other colleagues from different organisations.

Source: Ghana News Agency