Ghana’s gross foreign assets stand at US$5.7 billion- BoG

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express

Bank of Ghana (BoG), the regulator of the banking industry has announced that Ghana currently has gross foreign assets of US$5.7 billion which can sustain the country for a period of 3.4 months of imports.

According to the central bank, there are other inflows which expected to beef up to the US$5.7 billion reserve.

Dr. Kofi Wampah, the Governor of the central bank announced this at a news conference after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) review of the state of the economy.

The governor stated that the central bank was expecting US$800 million from cocoa inflows into the country. He also mentioned US$50 million from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

“With all these coming into the country in addition to the regular monthly inflows such as gold export, cocoa and manganese among others to our reserve will be better for months,” said the governor.

He said for the first 10 months of 2015, the overall balance of payments position, as measured by the change in net international reserves, worsened to a deficit of US$378 million, compared with a surplus of US$181.6 million for the corresponding period of 2014.

“The current account balance for the first nine months recorded a deficit equivalent to 5.4 percent of GDP,” said Dr. Wampah.

He said fiscal consolidation remains on track because for the first nine months of 2015 the overall budget balance registered a cash deficit of 5.1% of GDP which is within the programme target of 5.7%.

“Maintaining the fiscal consolidation efforts would complement the tight monetary policy stance for the attainment of the medium term inflation target. This would, in turn, help create conditions for long term sustainable growth,” he added.

Comments

Shortage of weighing cards hit major hospitals in Accra

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express There is scarcity of Child Health Records Book (weighing cards), in some major public hospitals in the capital, information reaching the Daily Express indicates. Checks by this paper revealed that while some of the hospitals have being encountering the shortage for about a year now, others started experiencing it six months ago. In place of the Child Health Record Book (weighing card), the nursing mothers are given a single card on which information of children are recorded on it. Those hospitals identified are the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle Bu Polyclinic, Kaneshie Polyclinic, Adabraka Polyclinic and the Ridge Hospital. At the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the nursing mothers are given yellow cards in place of the weighing cards. The Public Relations Secretariat at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital said such information has not come to their notice and for that matter they cannot comment on it. “We do not have some

90 African Journalists entertain by Disney Africa

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong- Daily Express Mauritius Disney Africa welcomed 90 journalists from across Africa to their first ever showcase to media from the continent, at this year’s Multichoice Africa Content Showcase Extravaganza. On Thursday 3 September, guests received a Disney Movie ticket which gained them entry to the special outdoor screening, set under the stars on the lawns of the idyllic Outrigger Beach Resort in Mauritius . After receiving their own Disney picnic basket and blankets, full of delicious treats and filling food, the guests made their way to the seating area, replete with comfortable chairs and loungers. Once the Disney fans were settled, the vast outdoor screen lit up and the evening’s festivities were well under way. A welcome speech by Deirdre King, Head of Marketing for the Walt Disney Company Africa, preceded the screening of two animated shorts. The first, the Academy Award-nominated Get a Horse, featured Disney favourites like Mickey, Minni

ABL launches chibuku super in Bolgatanga

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong sarpong007@gmail.com Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) has officially launched the Chibuku Super drink at Bolgatanga in the Upper East region with the aim of reaching a lot of customers. Mr. Thomas Nii Ponku, Supervisor in charge of Chibuku Super at ABL told Daily Express that the management decided to launch the Chibuku Super drink in the Upper East region because they’ve realized it is similar to a traditional drink in the region. “Chibuku is like a well developed pito, a traditional drink made from fermented millet or sorghum in the Northern part of Ghana. So the idea is to provide them with similar drink,” he added. Mr. Nii Ponku disclosed this when members of the Institute of Finance and Economic Journalists (IFEJ) toured the facility of ABL to acquaint themselves with the expansion project at the factory. He mentioned that after a feasibility study, they realized there is a potential market for the product in the northern part of Ghana

SARPONG'S BLOG

Search This Blog