The Second Joint Meeting of Intergovernmental Committees of Senior Officials and Experts for North and West Africa has opened with the call for investment in food security and energy transition on the African continent.

Madam Ngone Diop, Director of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Office for West Africa said, “achieving food security and energy transition is instrumental to realising the SDGs in North and West Africa.”

The Director, speaking at the opening of the three-day meeting, said the move required the ambition to scale up high impact- investments, alliances with a wide range of regional, national, and global actors and a call for Action.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-regional Offices for North and West Africa in partnership with the government are hosting the meeting from November 1 to November 3, 2023, in Accra.

The joint meetings provide opportunity for cross regional fertilisation, sharing of expertise, experiences, and innovative solutions to food and energy security challenges and of critical importance is of the meetings are a stepping stone to galvanise countries’ efforts to accelerate the SDGs, halfway to the deadline of achieving the global goals by 2030.  

She said countries needed to act now to deliver the SDGs promise for equitable, inclusive sustainable development for All, leaving no one behind.

She said West Africa boasts of vast renewable energy potential that could be harnessed to cover unmet power demand and achieve universal access to electricity while transitioning to a low-carbon growth path.

Dr John Kumah, a Deputy Minister for Finance, said Ghana’s commitment to sustainable development and addressing climate change through the adoption of the National Energy Transition Framework was a shining example of the positive steps the country was taking toward a more sustainable future.

The Minister said as part of the updated Nationally Determined Contributions, Ghana was poised to have approximately 24 million tonnes of carbon credits available for transactions on the compliance market by 2030.

He said the country underscored the dedication to reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

“We believe that green businesses and green jobs not only benefit our environment but also offer enhanced financial and social returns compared to traditional “business-as-usual” investments,” he added.

He said as a Continent “we must recognize that the challenges we face today require adaptable and forward-thinking approaches.”

He said ECA had been playing a pivotal role in establishing high-level platforms, such as the High-level Working Group on the Global Financial Architecture to elevate Africa’s voice and enhance coordination on critical issues. 

He reiterated the commitment of Ghana to ensuring that due consideration was given to Africa’s voice, position, and common interest in global sustainable development issues.

“ECA is also fully committed to support its member States to a just, fair and equitable transition to renewable energy to ensure energy security and access to energy for all,” he added.

Madam Zuzana Brixiova Schwidrowski, Director of the ECA office for North Africa, said the AfCFTA “amid the cascading crises, the food and energy security in North and West Africa experienced major setbacks.”

She said between 2019 and 2022, almost 25 million additional people suffered from undernourishment in both regions combined.

She said the goal of the meeting was to propose recommendations that would facilitate just and sustainable food and energy transitions.

“This will require accelerated transition to renewables and reforms that promote investment and job rich growth in key sectors, especially energy and agriculture,” she added.

The United Nations anticipates global economic GDP to increase by 2.3% in 2023 and 2.5% in 2024, meaning they will remain below the average growth rate of the two decades prior leading up to the pandemic (3.1 per cent).

In Africa, growth rates are expected to experience a slight decrease, from 3.5% in 2022 to 3.4% in 2023, before returning to 3.5 per cent in 2024.

However, they are likely to remain well below the 7 per cent growth rate needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

In West Africa, for example, economic growth is estimated to have slowed to 3.9 per cent in 2022, down from 4.4 per cent in 2021. It is expected to further decrease to 3.8 per cent in 2023 before rebounding to 4.2 per cent in 2024.

Similarly, North Africa is experiencing relatively weak economic growth given its economic potential. While growth rates in North Africa declined from 5.4 per cent in 2021 to 3.1 per cent in 2022, projections suggest that growth rates will remain moderate in 2023 and 2024, ranging between 3.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent.

The Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) has challenged the government to ensure an eight to 10 per cent annual growth for the country.

That, the Institute said, would be ideal for accelerated and sustainable development in the country, making businesses thrive, individuals enjoying good standard of living, and government raking in more taxes and other revenue.

Professor Peter Quartey, Director, ISSER, said this in Accra at the 32nd annual State of the Ghanaian Economy Report for 2022.

The report also had a review of Ghana’s economic performance up to the third quarter of 2023.

Speaking on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate for 2022 and third quarter of 2023, he said: “Ghana’s economy has shown signs of recovery and it’s likely to grow by about 3.0 per cent by end of 2023, all things being equal.”

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the event, he said: “Three per cent is not the best though better than the 1.5 per cent projection. What we need to accelerate the growth process is to grow between eight and 10 per cent.”

Prof Quartey explained that with a growth rate of less than eight or 10 per cent, “you cannot improve the livelihoods significantly. So, let’s grow at a much higher rate, then the poor can feel the macroeconomic growth in their pockets.”

Ghana in 2011 recorded a GDP of 13.6 per cent, largely on the back of strong performance of industry, which had a 36.2 per cent growth rate in that year.

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) attributed the growth to the inclusion of crude oil production in the mining and quarrying sub-sector.

However, the major cocoa and gold exporting country, has since 2011 recorded fluctuating economic growth.

In 2019, the World Bank, described Ghana as the world’s fastest-growing economy, but its economic performance, a year on (2020) hit 2.5 per cent, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

The Economics Professor explained that an eight to 10 per cent would be a “decent growth rate that will spur the Ghanaian economy, and make the government also see tax to revenue increases.”

“If our population is growing about 2.8 per cent per annum, in net terms, it’s only 0.2 change that you’re adding. That will not affect or move many people out of poverty,” Prof Quartey noted.

He urged government to cut expenditure, be disciplined with 2024 election expenses, and create an enabling environment for businesses by ensuring that inflation and interest rates were kept low, and taxes reduced.

Dr James Asare-Adjei, a former President, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), indicated that the current economic challenges required that hikes in interest rate as well exchange rate and inflation pressures were contained to ensure stability.

“Interest rates are off the roof, so, if you’re borrowing at 40 per cent, what kind of business are you going to run to repay your loan? He quizzed.

“We look forward to a budget with a more practical outlay that will go to help in solving some of the key problems in the economy and make businesses grow. A situation where businesses can plan for three or six months or a year, so that, all cost can be projected,” he said.

He urged ISSER to work together with other institutions, including the media, to track national budget and policies, and help keep government in check in fulfilling their promises and constitutional mandate.