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Don’t smuggle subsidised fertiliser …President appeals, asks farmers to help stamp out the practice

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appealed to farmers to help the government address the incessant smuggling of subsidised fertilisers from the country to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire.

In a meeting with the Ghana Coffee Cocoa Sheanut Farmers Association at the Jubilee House, in Accra, last Friday evening, President Akufo-Addo condemned the act and urged farmers to help the government stamp out the smuggling of fertilisers.

“We take tax payers’ money to subsidise fertiliser. It is not correct that a few people, for their selfish interests, will take this which has been subsidised by the hardworking sweat of the Ghanaian farmer and go and smuggle it into Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire. It is not right”.

“When we do that, we are hurting ourselves because the fertiliser subsidy it is not coming from President Akufo-Addo’s personal pocket; I don’t have that kind of money; it is coming from the coffers of the state.”

“And then a few criminal elements, because they want to make more money, would then smuggle this across. If we are all eager and focused, we can stop it,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo said he read in the news that about 50,000 bags of fertiliser had been smuggled out of the country and indicated that although that figure had not been confirmed yet, there was an urgent need to stamp out the smuggling of subsidised fertilisers.

On government’s efforts to address illegal mining popularly known as ‘galamsey’ the President commended the farmers for their continuous support and pledged the government’s unwavering commitment to address the problem.

“Some people say that because of the anti-galamsey fight, I am going to lose the next election. Well, I don’t believe so. What I know is that I have a responsibility to Ghanaians today and tomorrow to make sure that galamsey is defeated.

“People are polluting our water bodies, people are devastating our landscape. If we allow them to continue, 10 years from now, we will wake up and we don’t have a country anymore. We can’t afford to let that happen,” he said. 

President Akufo-Addo indicated that the government was working closely with the Ivorian government to see how Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, producers of 65 per cent of the world’s cocoa, could get adequate value from the crop.

He said the two countries were working together to coordinate their marketing and production policies to ensure that cocoa producers got what they actually deserved in the entire value chain.

The President and the farmers discussed wide range of issues affecting their sector and promised the government’s commitment to help improve the cash crop production sector through legislations and policies.

BY YAW KYEI

Newspaper Headlines Monday 13th May 2019

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Govt to release $1bn for settlement of outstanding road debts - Amoako-Attah

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The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, has disclosed that, plans are far advanced for the Ministry of Finance to release one billion US dollars for the ministry to pay outstanding road debts and construct new roads, among other projects.

According to Mr Amoako-Attah, the ministry has decided to collaborate with the Ghana Cocoa Board to fund all cocoa roads and pay all outstanding road debts which government, for the past three years, has spent GH¢4billion on.

The move, he said, was government’s commitment to improving the road networks in the country which has remained around 39 per cent in good condition, 32 per cent fair condition and 29 per cent in poor condition over the last five years.

The minister was addressing participants at the opening of a three-day strategic management workshop organised by the ministry under the theme, ‘Ghana Beyond Aid: Strategies for sustainable investment and road asset preservation,’ in Kumasi.

Mr Amoako-Attah said because funding sources for road projects was limited, the ministry since 2017 had been embarking on a comprehensive project portfolio review to ensure that, projects were rationalised and adequately funded.

He noted that, since the toll booths fetched the ministry a very lucrative income, the ministry would embark on a rehabilitation maintenance management for three because they are potential of funding road projects.

Mr Ofori-Attah outlined projects like, 50 bridges on key trunk and feeder roads, Accra-Kumasi dual road, Kumasi ring road, Accra outer ring road, Tema-Akosombo road and hospital and Meridian roads in Tema to be taken up by various private investors.

He indicated that, as the government recognised the importance of good road infrastructure as a critical facilitator for rapid socio-economic development of the country, his administration would not deal lightly with saboteurs of road policies within and outside the ministry.

The Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, in a speech read on his behalf observed that one of the key growth poles in the government’s socio-economic development growth agenda was the need for the country to undertake massive, urgent and comprehensive infrastructure development to expand and transform the economy.

According to him, the theme for the occasion was timely, noting it was a bold step which would ensure a more strategic commitment in dealing with the problems associated with the road networks, irregular maintenance, and deterioration which limited the sector to provide the opportunity to enhance the country’s development process.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo indicated that, the current stagnated road condition was a wake-up call to the ministry since various reasons have been attributed to the situation which included overdependence on scarce public funds, delays in payments, weak contractor capacity supervision among others.

He acknowledged that it was necessary to develop creative and innovative solutions to complement government’s efforts in sourcing for funds to construct additional roads, especially in the six newly created regions.

FROM FAUSTINA KWABEA OSEI, KUMASI

Wa-Bole Bamboi-Kumasi road to be fixed

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Plans are underway for the redevelopment of the Wa-Bole Bamboi-Kumasi road network which connects the southern part of the country to the north, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured.

In a meeting with the Wala Traditional Council at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, the President said the road had developed serious potholes which would be fixed under the road development programme for this year.

He said the goal of the government was to ensure that every region in the country benefitted from road projects to facilitate free movement of persons and added that no region would be left out or ignored.

On the deplorable state of roads in the Upper West Region, he said the government had taken notice of the situation and was in the process of addressing the problem.

President Akufo-Addo jabbed his predecessor, former President John Mahama, for his claims that he had fixed all the major roads in the country, adding that everywhere he went, the poor condition of roads was always the topmost priority of the people.

“We are doing our best to ensure that every region gets an improvement in its road condition,” he said and promised that road contracts would be distributed across the region. 

The President touched on the ongoing efforts to make the Wa and Bolgatanga campuses of the University for Development Studies autonomous and announced that the legal processes would soon be completed to make the universities autonomous.

In the same manner, he said the process of converting the Wa Polytechnic into a technical university would also be concluded soon. 

On health, he said in the month of June, the Minister of Health would visit Wa to ascertain the progress of work on the new Wa Regional Hospital.

He said efforts would be made to complete the hospital as soon as possible and urged the traditional leaders to take advantage of the health minister’s visit and discuss with him, pertinent issues relating to healthcare delivery in the region. 

Another issue that came up at the meeting was the development of the Wa Airport to facilitate air travel from the region to other parts of the country.

“The Minister of Aviation is talking to the airlines in Ghana to encourage them to use both the Wa Airport and the new airport in Ho. I believe that there is sufficient traffic for the airlines to use airport,” he said

President Akufo-Addo said discussions were currently ongoing and added that very soon, there would be some results from those discussions. 

The traditional leaders commended the government for introduction flagship progress in the areas of education, health, among others, and congratulated the President for working to ensure peace in Dagbon in the Northern Region. 

BY YAW KYEI

US hits China with higher tariffs, raising stakes in trade talks

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The United States pulled the trigger Friday on a steep increase in tariffs on Chinese products and Beijing immediately vowed to hit back, turning up the heat before a second day of trade negotiations.

President Donald Trump got a briefing from his trade negotiators after the first day of talks with the Chinese side on Thursday, but made no move to hold off on the tariffs — dashing hopes there might be a last-minute reprieve as the negotiations continued.

Minutes after the US increased punitive duties on $200 billion in imports from 10 to 25 percent, the Chinese commerce ministry said it “deeply regrets” the move and repeated its pledge to take “necessary countermeasures”, without elaborating.

Locked in a trade dispute for more than a year, officials from the world’s two biggest economies returned to the bargaining table late Thursday, led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Since last year, the two sides have exchanged tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade, gutting US agricultural exports to China and weighing on both countries’ manufacturing sectors.

Trump began the standoff because of complaints about unfair Chinese trade practices.

The US team met with Trump late Thursday night to brief him and “agreed to continue discussions” on Friday, the White House said in a statement.

US-China trade

Lighthizer and Mnuchin met the Chinese delegation for about 90 minutes Thursday evening and they had a working dinner with Liu.

“We hope the US and the Chinese side can meet each other halfway and work hard together to resolve existing problems through cooperation and consultation,” the Chinese commerce ministry said in a statement.

Despite optimism from officials in recent weeks that the talks were moving towards a deal, tensions reignited this week after Trump angrily accused China of trying to backpedal on its commitments.

“They took many, many parts of that deal and they renegotiated. You can’t do that,” Trump said on Thursday.

But he held out hopes of salvaging a deal.

“It’s possible to do it,” Trump said. “I did get last night a very beautiful letter from President Xi (Jinping).”

At the same time, he said he would be happy to keep tariffs in place. And he has threatened to extend the tough duties to all Chinese goods.

Michael Taylor, a managing director for Moody’s Investors Service, said the tariff hike “further raises tensions” between the two countries.

“While we believe that a trade deal will eventually be reached between the US and China, the risk of a complete breakdown in trade talks has certainly increased,” Taylor said.

– Tariffs increase –

The renewed tensions roiled global stock markets this week and unnerved exporters, though Chinese stocks closed sharply higher on Friday.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (L) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wait to greet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for trade talks

Liu said on his arrival in Washington that the prospects for the talks were “promising,” but warned that raising tariffs would be “harmful to both sides,” and called instead for cooperation.

“I hope to engage in rational and candid exchanges with the US side,” he told Chinese state media.

“Of course, China believes raising tariffs in the current situation is not a solution to the problem, but harmful to China, to the United States and to the whole world.”

The higher duty rates will hit a vast array of Chinese-made electrical equipment, machinery, auto parts and furniture.

But due to a quirk in the implementation of the higher tariffs, products already on ships headed for US ports before midnight will only pay the 10 percent rate, US Customs and Border Protection explained.

That could effectively provide a grace period for the sides to avert serious escalation.

An anti-China protester (C) yells at a pro-China demonstrator outside the Office of the United States Trade Representative as US and Chinese officials hold tariff negotiations in Washington

“While we are disappointed that the stakes have been raised, we nevertheless support the ongoing effort by both sides to reach agreement on a strong, enforceable deal that resolves the fundamental, structural issues our members have long faced in China,” said business lobby the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

The US is pressing China to change its policies on protections for intellectual property, massive subsidies for state-owned firms, and reduce the yawning trade deficit.

Derek Scissors, a China expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said the two sides had clashed over how much of the final trade agreement should be enshrined in a public document, something Beijing has long resisted.

“What the Chinese step-back primarily says is they don’t want to publicly acknowledge that their existing laws, especially on IP, are flawed,” he told AFP.

Washington is counting on the strong US economy to be able to withstand the impact of higher costs from the import duties and retaliation better than China, which has seen its growth slow.

While American companies complain of lost export markets, disrupted supply chains and higher costs, the US continues to see steady growth and falling unemployment.

A Chinese central bank advisor told state-run Financial News that Trump’s tariff hike and Chinese retaliation would lower economic growth by 0.3 percentage points.

It is “within a controllable range”, the advisor Ma Jun said.

 

Source: AFP

‘Ghana can lose 5,276,770 jobs through ban on plastics’

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The Ghana Plastic Manufacturers Association (GPMA) has said an outright ban on the use of plastics can lead to the loss of about 5,276,770 jobs, representing 18.2 percent of the Ghanaian population.

It has, therefore, called for stringent collaborative efforts to manage the country’s public waste in a much sustainable manner for socio-economic growth.

“We want the government to avoid the tendency to make rush interventions without thorough scientific and economic analysis of facts and figures on the plastic industry in Ghana,” President of GPMA, Ebbo Botwe, stressed at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday.

He said there was clear apathy on the part of duty bearers in enforcing regulations binding the plastic industry, adding that resorting to a ban was a lazy approach in dealing with plastic waste.

According to Mr. Botwe, despite making it mandatory for plastic manufacturers to add an oxo-bio additive to their products to check plastic pollution and ensure degradation, little had been done to ensure compliance from foreign manufacturers as the spotlight had always been on local manufacturers.

He said, “From November 1, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) consistently made sure GPMA members conformed to the production of oxo-bio flexible plastic packaging, which made us incur an additional operational cost of about 27 percent.”

Mr. Botwe indicated that 62 percent of plastic bags (take away carry bags), films and sheets on the market were mostly imported from China, which were not oxo-bio compliant, but EPA had failed to enforce the directive “to ensure that should a plastic waste end up in an open environment, it is able to degrade or biodegrade”.

He said the activities of foreign nationals did not only hurt the plastic industry, but contravened the country’s laws on retailing by foreigners, and asked the government to rather consider banning all imported plastic flexible products.

“We have the capacity to manufacture here in Ghana, so why should the local plastic industry be made to bear the consequence of plastic waste generated from imported plastic products?”, Mr. Botwe asked.

Expressing worry over the sideline of the GPMA in drafting the soon to be the outdoor policy on plastics by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), the president of the association, said members were ready to work with all relevant stakeholders to reduce plastic pollution in the country.

Mr Botwe said the passage of a legislative instrument on recycling Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles in the country, the setting up of a Plastic Levy Fund Authority and the release of the 10 percent environmental excise tax, could save the industry and address plastic waste in the country.

There has been growing public sentiment in recent times over the need to ban plastics in the wake of staggering filth and pollution in the country.

Consequently, the government through the sector Minister, Professor Frimpong Boateng, on March 21, 2019, announced that a policy and implementation plan to trigger various actions on the use of plastics was ready for cabinet consideration.

He gave an indication that products such as plastic bags, straws, plastic cutlery among others could be banned to protect public good and development.

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH

Salvation Army teacher murder: Police nab another suspect

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The Police have arrested one more suspect in connection with the murder of the teacher of Salvation Army School in Asiakwa in the Eastern Region.

The suspect, Ezekiel Boadu, aged 19 was arrested based on intelligence in Accra and will be arraigned in court for the charges of conspiracy to murder and murder.

His arrest brings the number to four out of the six teenagers who allegedly beat George Somuah Bosompem to death at Asiakwa.

They have been remanded into police custody by the Kibi District Magistrate Court to reappear on May 14, 2019.

Confirming his arrest, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ebenezer Tetteh said the first four, Richard Anani,18, Emmanuel Mireku,18, Philip Okodie,18 and Paul Boadu, 19, were remanded into police custody to help the Eastern Regional Police Command to apprehend two more suspects, now on the run.

He said they were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder at the court’s sitting on May 7, 2019, presided over by Alice EfuaYirenkyi.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwaakye Daffour, commiserated with the family of the late George Somuah Bosompem, former headteacher of Salvation Army Basic School who was assaulted to death by his students.

The minister assured the family and the community of maximum security, adding that police are working tirelessly to arrest the other suspects on the run. 

He also urged members of the community to volunteer information on the whereabouts of the two other suspects now at large to ensure that they all faced the full rigours of the law.

He urged the police to beef up security in the area through regular patrols.

The late Somuah Bosompem died at the St Joseph’s Hospital in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region where he was rushed to after being allegedly mercilessly assaulted by six young men, two of whom are on the run.

Following his death, the police arrested the four who appeared before the court on May 7, 2019.

Activities at the Salvation Army Basic School has come to a halt following the news confirming the death of the late George Somuah Bosompem, which led to his death at the St Joseph’s Hospital in Koforidua on May 3, this year.

The school has subsequently been shut after the incident.

It is not clear when classes would resume as pupils are said to be traumatized and teachers fear for their lives.

FROM DAVID KODJO, KOFORIDUA

Be creative in accessing funds to achieve SDGs targets - UN President urges govt

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The President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces has urged the government to be keen on leveraging private sector support to implement targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Expressing concern over the huge financial gaps member countries continue to grapple with in carrying out the development goals, the President asked the government to be creative and innovative in accessing funds to achieve set targets.

“Financing remains a huge challenge for the SDGs. Globally we need about seven trillion dollars annually to implement the development goals and we really need to be serious about engaging the private sector, making them accountable and responsible if we are to make progress on the UN goals.”

Ms. Garces was speaking at a meeting with the High-Level Ministerial Committee (HLMC) on SDGs in Accra yesterday to review the country’s efforts at internalizing the SDGs.

Chaired by the Minister of Planning, Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, the meeting briefed the UN President on strategies, achievements and possible opportunities the country could tap into to attain the 2030 agenda.

Highly impressed over strides made by the country to ‘own’ the UN goals, Ms. Garces challenged the government to show much commitment in engaging international financial institutions indicating that “it is our interest to work hard with funds accessed and pay back to sustain the cycle.”

In a presentation, Dr Felix Addo-Yobo, Deputy Director of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) pointed out linkages between government initiatives such as the Free Senior High School, Planting for Food and Jobs and One District, One Factory, among others.

He said initiatives taken by government including an independent audit report on SDG activities, SDG budget tracking tool, investment fair, an indicator baseline report and multi-stakeholder partnerships set Ghana on the right footing to achieve the goals by 2030.

According to Dr. Addo-Yobo, the country’s subjection to a Voluntary National Review (VNR) process this year, was indicative of its determination and commitment to better the lives of the citizenry by following through the SDGs to the letter.

Special Advisor to Presidency on SDGs, Dr Eugene Owusu noted that President Akufo-Addo was focused on six key priorities to deliver on his mandate as co-chair of the eminent group of advocates on the SDGs.

He mentioned efforts being undertaken in the area of building macroeconomic stability, strong institutions, innovative financing, stronger partnerships among others to promote transparency and accountability on the SDG agenda.

Dr Owusu used the medium to thank the UN on the extension of President Akufo-Addo’s role as co-chair of the eminent group of advocates on the development goals.

On his part, Prof. Gyan-Baffour, the Minister of Planning, signaled the support of the HLMC to drive policy direction in the implementation of the SDGs for socio-economic growth.   

BY ABIGAIL ANNOH

Ghana to attain World Skills International membership status

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Barring any last minute hitch, Ghana would in August 2019, become a member of World Skills International.

World Skills International is the global hub of skills that raises the profile and recognition of skilled people through the competition and show how important skills are in achieving economic growth.

If granted, Ghana, which is at the last lap of preparations for its membership status, would become the 81st nation of the global skills community.

At a meeting held in Accra, Wednesday, May 1, 2019, the President and Chair of the Board, World Skills, Simon Bartley, told Ghanaian skills experts that Ghana had only a step more to become a member of the group.

This step involves the selection of officials and Technical Delegates and their roles and responsibilities that will be expected of them at World Skills International General Assembly Meetings.

“Ghana will be the youngest member, joining as an Associate Member and will vote during the second round at the General Assembly Meeting in Kazan, Russia, in August 2019,” Mr. Bartley told the skills experts from diverse backgrounds.

The Executive Director of the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), Dr Fred Kyei Asamoah, told journalists in an interview after their engagement with Mr. Bartely that the idea of Ghana becoming a member of World Skills International was to follow up on what President Akufo-Addo talked about as Ghana being the center of excellence for technical and vocational education and training.

“Our membership at the World Skills International will mean that we will be competing with all the youth in the world about the latest or current skills that is in the world so that we don’t just fall behind. The World Economic Forum talked about almost ten jobs that are going to be vanishing from the surface of the world.

“So being a member of World Skills means that Ghana will be competing not only within Ghana or Africa but competitive on the job market as far as the world is concerned,” he noted.

According to him, all documentation coupled with the TVET transformation agenda; Cabinet approval for all TVET institutions to be re-aligned to one Ministry, ensuring standardization in the country’s TVET sector, the facilities that the government is putting in to support the upgrade of all TVET institutions, and the establishment of new TVET centers of excellence have made it possible for Ghana to join the World Skills International as a member.

“We believe that our membership to the World Skills competition within the next ten years should be able to change the face of skills development in the country.

The Group CEO FC Beauty College, Grace Amey-Obeng, commenting on the move initiated by the country said their experiences at the zonal, national and international levels, especially, the competition in Kigali, Rwanda, where a student of FC Beauty College won Silver in Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, gave the country a lot of hope and also confirms that “we are on the right track” to joining World Skills International.

She was confident that Ghana competing at World Skills International would help bring it up to global standard, stressing that “Ghana joining will change  the face of TVET because hitherto, we assume that technical and vocational education is for school drop outs.

“But the kind of high standards that the World Skills International brings to bear on skills training and development, believe me, we can only add value to the skills that are required for industries to grow,” she stated.

BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI     

Show maturity, shun violence…Sports Minister urges fans

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Mr. Isaac Asiamah, Minister for Youth and Sports has urged football fans to show maturity and stay away from violence and hooliganism at match centers.

Speaking at yesterday’s commemoration of the Accra Sports Stadium May 9 disaster, Mr. Asiamah said, 18 years was enough for fans to grow and realize the need to desist from all forms of violence at match centers.

“Let us assume that, when the disaster occurred in 2001, fans were not matured and did not understand the need to be civil but after 18 years, it should be obvious for all to realize the effects of such a disaster and never allow it to happen again,” he stated.

On a sad note, however, the Minister expressed worry that, there are still reported cases of violence at match centers in recent times which does not speak well of Ghana’s football.

“People are still misbehaving at match venues after all these years. The fans must be responsible and stay away from such actions,” he stated.

He added that the Government would collaborate with stakeholders to crack the whip on supporters guilty of initiating and engaging in violence at match venues.

Spectators, he said, are very important in football and their actions and inactions go a long way to affect the game in positive and negative ways.

The Minister said fans and players must begin to see their opponents as partners in football and accept every outcome in good faith.

Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Prof. Peter Twumasi added that “it is as if we have forgotten the unfortunate incident that occurred in 2001 following recent cases of assault, vandalism, and indiscipline on the part of fans and club officials.”

“I again condemn these unfortunate incidents and to further send a strong message to all hooligans that the Authority will deny those found guilty of such acts access to our facilities,” he stated.

Chief Executive Officers of Accra Hearts of Oak, Mr. Frederick Moore, and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, George Amoako all pledged their commitment to ensuring that supporters were disciplined at match centers.

Dignitaries took turns to lay wreaths at the stadium disaster monument at the entrance of the stadium while supporter unions sang in commemoration of the day.

BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE

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