However, the Bank indicated that the poverty effect of energy price increases was higher than food prices.

This was because the energy impact was fully passed through household income, while the negative impact of high food prices was partially offset by increases in household income from net sellers.

“In Africa, the additional number of people falling into extreme poverty due to energy price inflation is estimated at 10.2 million, bringing the combined poverty effect of soaring food and energy prices to about 15 million people,” the bank noted.

This was contained in the Bank’s 2023 West Africa Economic Outlook report, which noted that the region’s average poverty rate increased by 10 percent between 2019 and 2022.

It was also observed that relative to the counterfactual scenario, the international poverty rate based on the US$ 2.15-a-day poverty line increased in nine countries in West Africa.

The average household welfare decreased in 12 of 14 countries, accounting for an average real income loss of 0.82 percent in the region, “with poorer households suffering systematically larger welfare losses.” AfDB stated.

“The fall in real household per capita income due to high global food and energy prices has impacted household welfare and exacerbated poverty and inequality in African countries,” AfDB reported.

It cautioned that protracted increases in prices of food and energy would have long-term consequences for prosperity in many African countries, exacerbating issues of poverty and inequality.

The Bank encouraged African governments to have assertive monetary, fiscal, and structural policy action to address the effects of rising inflation and subdued growth.

The AfDB called for increased support for a pro-growth structural transformation to sustain rapid, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

At the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February to March 2022, crude oil prices increased by about 20 percent, from $93.5 barrels per day (bpd) to $112.4 bpd and averaged $102.8 bpd between March and October 2022 in Africa.

Wheat price rose by about 28 percent, from $364.9 per metric ton (mt) in February 2022 to $446.5 per mt in March 2022, and has averaged $427.2 per mt between March and October 2022.

Similarly, fertilizer prices also surged by about 22 percent, from $ 547.1 per mt in February 2022 to $ 668.9 per mt in March 2022 and $624.9 per mt on average between March and October 2022.

Source: GNA

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The ceremony recognised Hollard Ghana’s exceptional commitment to CSR and its impactful efforts in renovating the school for the benefit of the community.

The renovated school now boasts structural refurbishments of the roof, ceiling, floors, windows, and doors. Hollard Ghana also revamped the toilets and library, created a sick bay, and painted the block of four classrooms and the dining hall. The courtyard was beautified with AstroTurf, creating a conducive and safe environment for the children in preschool at a cost of over ¢250,000.

The staff, fondly called Hollardites, played an active role in the Al-Waleed CSR project. They volunteered to paint the school and raised funds to stock the library and sick bay. The result was a remarkable transformation, restoring the almost-dead facility to rival any modern Montessori school.

Commenting on the essence of the recognition, Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo, the Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Hollard Ghana, described the win as a testament to the insurance company’s aim to treat everyone with care and dignity.

“Our commitment to innovation extends beyond the insurance products we offer. We believe in fostering positive change by creating lasting impacts in the communities in which we operate. This win indicates the group’s unwavering dedication to empowering future generations. Our purpose of enabling better futures drives our CSR efforts to create a sustainable future for the communities.”

“Receiving this honour is evidence of the dedication of our team in bringing about positive change in the lives of the children at Al-Waleed Basic Comprehensive School. The school is among several CSR projects Hollard Ghana has embarked on to achieve exceptional, sustainable, and inclusive growth in Ghana.

Some of these projects are our flagship thought leadership initiative H.Insured, a Streetwise Finance Literacy series all about insurance, events, and a column in the BFT written by Hollardites. The H.Insured platform seeks to demystify insurance by taking insurance to the people in a jargon-free conversation and supporting public institutions like the Police Service and Ambulance Service, to mention a few”, she added.

The Al-Waleed Basic Comprehensive School was constructed in 2005 with support from Prince Al-Waleed of Saudi and Former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kuffour, had experienced a significant decline over the years due to a lack of maintenance funding. The school’s kindergarten block was in disrepair and unsafe for preschool children between the ages of two to five years.

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The partnership is expected to scale up youth and women-led MSMEs, increase jobs, drive revenue, and contribute significantly towards the reduction of environmental footprint.

it will also help to access climate financing schemes and increase financial inflows from climate funding channels to support Ghana’s efforts to turn climate commitments into actions.

Through this partnership, UNDP and UBA Ghana will co-develop and implement a suite of innovative programmes and mechanisms to strengthen the institutional capacity of UBA Ghana to access climate financing schemes including the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The Managing Director of UBA Ghana and Regional Chief Executive Officer of UBA West Africa, Chris Ofikulu, highlighted the significance of the partnership and pointed out that the partnership is a welcome development as UBA Ghana specialises in providing innovative financing to businesses including SMEs.

He said, “Collaborating with UNDP demonstrates UBA Ghana’s commitment to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on providing custom financial solutions and growth opportunities for businesses of all sizes to facilitate inter–and-intra-African trade”.

He explained that the businesses will also receive a tailored programme of service support and capacity development in areas including corporate governance, branding, marketing, financial support, and product design/development to enable easier access to markets for their products and services.

They will also be supported with energy efficiency audits and remedial actions to minimise their carbon footprints.

The UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, Dr. Angela Lusigi, said, “The UNDP is working to influence the flow of resources towards development by encouraging investors and businesses of all sizes to embed the SDGs and Climate action into their analytics, decision making and business practices,” she added.

The UNDP boss explained that the MOU will promote Inclusive, Resilient, and Green Entrepreneurship, by leveraging UNDP’s expertise in working with MSMEs and innovators, and UBA Ghana’s expertise in supporting businesses.

UBA Group is the leading financial institution in Africa with its extensive network of 1000 branches in 20 countries in Africa and over 31 branch networks in Ghana.

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This was as part of the Emancipation Day Celebrations at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, Trinidad and Tobago.

The 1st of August is celebrated as Emancipation Day, to commemorate the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade from 1526 to 1867 which saw many Africans shipped to Trinidad and Tobago and other parts of the Caribbean.

In recent times, there have been calls from both countries to go beyond the cultural and historical similarities to build deeper trade relationships between the two countries.

Mr. Dzoboku’s presentation was on the topic, ‘Accelerating Opportunities to Achieve our Full Potential’ as part of a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Robert Le Hunte, Executive Director for the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, Inter-American Development Bank.

In his delivery, he proposed some solutions to the current issues that are hindering the TransAtlantic Trade Relations between Ghana and the Caribbean from achieving our full potential.

These include the need to improve market information across both regions, provide direct air and shipping transportation, access to free entry of goods and services as well as the need for Governments to deal with double taxation and the high tariffs on imports and exports of goods and services.

He also proposed that investors could leverage the financial conduit created by Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) through Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC and explore the opportunities.

“At Republic Bank, we firmly believe that partnerships between Trinidad and Tobago and Ghanaian businesses can create a win-win situation. Looking at Africa’s population of 1.46bn and land size of 30.4 million km2, as well as being the same people, just separated by an ocean, trade between the two regions should be over billions and not the current $378m being recorded. As trailblazers, we are committed to advocating this economic renaissance”, Mr. Dzoboku added.

The symposium was opened by Khafra Kambon, Doctor of Humane Letters (h.c.), and the Director of Regional and Pan African Affairs of the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago.

Other speakers included Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister for Trade and Industry, Trinidad and Tobago who gave the welcome remarks, and Mrs. Stacy Adams, Vice President, Investor Services, InvestTT.

Nana Otuo Siribuo II, Juabenhene represented the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as the special guest of honour.

Panel

On the panel was Mr. Yoofi Grant the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotions Centre (GIPC), who presented Ghana as a destination of opportunities and open for business.

Mr. Charles Zwennes, Director of Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC, also spoke on the similar cultures and values shared by the two countries.

Mr. Ghent and MS Wright-Paul representatives from Caribbean Airlines touched on the possibility of the operationalization of a direct flight from Trinidad and Tobago to Ghana, and Mr. Hayden Alleyne the immediate past President of, the Shipping Association of Trinidad and Tobago, shed light on the development of a shipping line to aid the seamless transportation of goods and services between both countries.

Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) with its over 186 years in banking in 2015 took a major step to make a major Diaspora Investment in Ghana and eventually became the majority Shareholder in the then Ghanaian Bank, HFC Bank now Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC due to Ghana’s stable emerging market environment.

Since then, Republic Bank Ghana which has proven to be successful organized four Trade Missions from the Caribbean to Ghana to establish and strengthen trade ties between the two countries but, has faced many challenges which the Managing Director seized the opportunity to address at the symposium.

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This comes after Benin and Burkina Faso closed their land borders over the coup in Niger.

The traders have since been waiting for over a week and hoping that the borders will be opened for the over 75 trucks full of onions to reach Ghana.

Their hope, however, dwindled as the days keep going by, and there is still no sign the borders will be opened.

On the back of this, the onion sellers whose trucks got stranded in Burkina Faso and Benin are now returning to Niger.

According to the traders, they are now using Nigeria as an alternative route for their produce to arrive in the country.

Speaking to JoyNews, the Chairman of the Accra Onion Sellers Association, Alhaji Masawudu Salisu stated that the traders are likely to lose a substantial quantity of the goods due to being stuck at the border.

“We don’t know what to do because right now. If all the goods in the trucks have perished unless we take them to the refuse dump. Nobody will gain what they put inside, nobody will gain. Everybody will lose everything”, he said.

Mr. Salisu further explained that they are using a different route to get the rest of the supplies to Ghana through Nigeria.

“Some of the trucks have moved back to Niger so that they can go offload the goods over there again. They are coming gradually from Nigeria to Ghana. Right now, we don’t have onions in Accra.” Mr. Salisu added.

Background

After the coup in Niger, onion traders in Ghana are grappling with potential losses due to supply tracks becoming immobilised at the borders of Burkina Faso and Benin.

A substantial quantity of onions, valued at over GHs200 million have been trapped at the borders of Burkina Faso and Benin, a direct consequence of the closure of land borders.

This predicament has triggered concerns regarding potential shortages and subsequent price surges.

The delay in the transit of more than 75 supply tracks has stirred apprehension among onion importers.

These merchants fear that they may not manage to recoup their initial investments made in procuring the goods.

One trader bemoaned the situation, saying, “It’s been almost a week now, and all the onions have perished in the vehicles. By the time they arrive here, we won’t have any salvageable onions left.”

The once-thriving Agyen Kotoko onion market now stands with empty storage facilities.

“We have over 75 cars standing on the border and it has affected our business. Since you can see the market, it is empty simply because of the coup”, another trader added.

The Peasant Farmers Association is calling on the government to take advantage of the situation to shore up local production of onions to avert such a crisis in the future.

“For us, the farmers, we think this is a golden opportunity, my only appeal to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is that they should try to support us with the seeds, with the water supply system, and with the knowledge. Once we do that, we will be able to increase our current yields of 10 metric tons to 35 metric tons that Nigeriens are doing because our lands are more fertile than those lands,” the Association’s President, Charles Nyaaba said.

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Also, Ghana had a $1.8 billion trade surplus with the United States in 2022, the US Embassy in Accra has disclosed.

According to the Embassy, “Trade in services is also strong and growing. With the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) trade preferences, Ghanaians can export more than 6,500 products to the United States duty-free.”

The United States government continues to support economic development as Ghana’s top development partner.

In 2022, U.S. bilateral assistance to Ghana totalled over $150 million with programs in health, economic growth, agriculture, education, human rights, governance, and security.

Last year, the U.S. government also provided over $32 million in agricultural assistance in Ghana.

More recently, the U.S. Development Finance Corporation announced new support for $25 million in financing for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural sector in Northern Ghana.

Supporting digital economic development, the United States recently announced a $300 million investment in data centres in Africa, including Ghana.

Find more details below;

Two-Way Trade:

• Value of U.S.-Ghana two-way trade in 2022: $3.7 billion
• Ghana exports to the United States in 2022: $2.7 billion
• Major Ghanaian exports to the United States include crude oil, cocoa (bean, paste, and butter), apparel, rubber, and cassava.
• The United States is Ghana’s fourth largest export market.

U.S. Exports to Ghana in 2022: $1 billion

• Major U.S. exports to Ghana include cars, machinery, paper products, plastics, medical devices, fertilizers, and agricultural goods.
• Ghana is the United States’ third largest export market in Sub-Saharan Africa behind South Africa and Nigeria.

Business and Investment:

• More than 100 U.S. companies and brands operate in the Ghanaian market, investing locally and employing Ghanaians.  U.S. investment in Ghana is concentrated in energy, mining, agro-processing, healthcare, ICT, consumer goods, and food packaging. 
• Ghana’s tourism industry continues to grow, generating $2.4 billion in 2022.  Americans are now the largest number of international visitors to Ghana, accounting for roughly 100,000 visitors per year.   
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) from the United States totalled $421 million in 2021.  In 2022, Ghana received $1.5 billion in FDI from all sources.

In a related development, the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Commercial Service, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ghana (AmCham), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C. will co-host the U.S. – Ghana Business Expo from August 10-11, 2023 at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. 

The event will prioritise opportunities to form new partnerships between U.S. and Ghanaian companies.

source: myjoyonline.com

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A statement issued by Tullow on Wednesday (9 August) said the extension is a major boost to its operation.

“Tullow is pleased to announce that it has gained approval from the Government of Gabon for the extension of several of its Gabon licences to 2046.

“The licence extensions increase the value of Tullow’s resource base through the addition of c.5mmbbls net 2P reserves that will deliver c.100% 2P reserves replacement in Gabon this year.”

“This activity is in line with the Group’s strategy to focus on its high-return production assets in Africa and unlock value through optimisation of its non-operated portfolio. The extensions reflect the future potential of the reserves and resources across the Gabonese assets and the longevity of the Tchatamba facilities as a core hub for Tullow,” the statement said.

Tullow Oil plc is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland, with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom.

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Dubbed the 2023 UN High-Level Political Forum #HLPF side event, the forum was held at the UN headquarters on July 17 and had representatives from UNICEF in attendance.

It also brought together several countries, including Uganda, to share their experiences, successful strategies, and best practices as well as legislative initiatives to help realise SDG Six.

The forum also discussed the implementation techniques, among others, that have been successful in improving WASH service delivery.

Ghana committed

Addressing the gathering, Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Harold Agyeman, emphasised Ghana’s commitment to achieving SDG6 and its interlinkages with the other goals.

A Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Chinnia Amidu Issahaku, noted that the ministry was putting efforts into capacity development to address issues of water quality within the water service delivery chain.

He stated that data on WASH services have recently improved, particularly with the incorporation of the WASH component in the 2021 Population and Housing Census.

Data is currently available for both urban and rural areas to ensure a well-informed policy and decision-making on water and sanitation.
Despite these gains, Ghana will still need more funding to expand already-existing facilities towards achieving the goal by 2030.

He made this statement to deepen already existing and new collaborations with all key stakeholders across the globe.

The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, was hopeful that discussions on WASH delivery services would be sustained and strong partnerships would be built to support one another in building resilient WASH systems for sustainable deliveries.

Prof. Gyan-Baffour, who led Ghana’s delegation to the forum, indicated that implementing viable WASH strategies should no longer follow the business-as-usual approach.
The Director of the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP) at the University of Sussex, Professor Joseph Alcamo, shared evidence on how policy coherence remains critical in achieving synergies across the SDGs while minimising potential duplications and wastage.

Prof. Alcamo, who is also an expert in Environmental Systems Science, said the SSRP, in its research, had observed that synergies among the different SDGs could be exploited to simultaneously achieve multiple goals and likely save on costs of implementation.

“An important strategy for gaining efficiency is to take an integrated approach to SDG implementation that maximises the synergies among the goals and minimises their trade-offs,” he emphasised.

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Often referred to as “minerals of the future”, green minerals are metals and other mineral resources that are needed to support the transition to clean energy technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

A wide range of minerals that fall under the umbrella of green minerals include bauxite, cobalt, copper, lithium, granite, manganese, and nickel.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon.Samuel A Jinapor said this in an interview with the media on Thursday, 3rd August, 2023 that Cabinet approved the policy on July 27, 2023 after a rigorous interrogation.

Hon. Jinapor noted that the new policy would insist on a higher level of local participation in the green minerals value chain as opposed to the 10 percent vested interest the state had currently in mining entities.

He added that the overarching goal of the new policy was anchored on the principle that the exploitation of green minerals must benefit Ghanaians who were the true owners of the resource.

The Minister stressed that the policy was also focused on putting in place incentives and measures to attract the needed investments, adding that stabilisation clauses, development agreements, and other measures would be put in place to give investors the comfort to put their resources in the sector.

He indicated that, aside from green minerals such as bauxite, manganese, granite and cobalt, Ghana has discovered commercial quantities of lithium, especially at Ewoyaa in the Central Region.

Hon. Jinapor explained that contrary to reports that some licences had been issued for mining lithium, the government had not given out any licences.

“No person or company has any permit or licence to mine or exploit lithium. The licences that were granted were for exploration, which is different from exploitation”, he emphasized.

The Minister said, although the next stage was to mine the mineral resources, government’s focus was to put in place the policy framework before moving into mining.

Globally, it is estimated that the lithium industry alone is valued at US$ 11 billion at the mining stage, with the value of the industry at the highest end estimated at US$ 7 trillion.

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In December 2022, the board of Afreximbank approved US$1.5 billion funding to enable member states of the Caribbean community that had ratified the partnership agreement with Afreximbank to tap into the bank’s various financial instruments.

As of July 2023, 11 out of the 15 CARICOM member states had signed the partnership with Afreximbank.

The financing will be targeted at supporting critical economic sectors aimed at boosting the development of trade-enabling infrastructure, as well as enhancing trade and investments between Africa and the CARICOM member states while providing support to small and medium enterprises. The bank has also committed to increase the credit limit to US$3 billion.

Benefits
The Afreximbank CARICOM Office will support the implementation of the partnership agreement between Afreximbank and CARICOM member states aimed at expanding trade between the two regions. This move cements Afreximbank’s efforts to promote and develop trade between Africa and the Caribbean, in line with its Diaspora Strategy and the African Union’s designation of the African Diaspora as Africa’s sixth region.

Speaking at the event, Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of the board of Afreximbank, said that the establishment of the Afreximbank CARICOM office remains critical to facilitating operations of the bank in the Caribbean community.

He said it will bring Afreximbank’s products and initiatives closer to the business community and ensure that the bank rapidly ramps-up operations to promote stronger relations with the governments in the region toward the pursuit of mutually identified priorities.

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