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Ghana to begin production of Covid-19 vaccines as Nissan sets assembly plant for 5,000 vehicles yearly

Published

3 years ago

March 30, 2022

President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana in his State of the Nation Address in parliament on Wednesday said the country will start producing its own COVID-19 vaccines by January 2024.

A National Vaccine Institute would be established to lay out a strategy for the West African country to begin the first phase of commercial production for the jabs, he said without providing further details.

“A bill will shortly be brought to you, in this House, for your support and approval for the establishment of the National Vaccine Institute,” he said.

The development comes after the President announced on Tuesday the opening of sea and land borders on Tuesday, 2 years after he announced the closure of borders to the West African country in the wake of the global pandemic – Covid-19.

The World Health Organization says Ghana has so far vaccinated over 14 million people with a single dose and over five million fully vaccinated – 16.3% of the population.

As a testimonial to its automotive development policy to encourage investment, president Akufo Addo announced that a new assembly plant with the capacity to assemble 5,000 new vehicles per annum has been established by Nissan in the eastern port city of Tema, which is currently producing Nissan and Peugeot brands of vehicles for the Ghanaian and West African markets.

The multinational, JAPAN Motors Trading Company (JMTC) had confirmed the president’s announcement in an earlier update on its official website. “…has been approved to begin producing the all-new ‘Built of More’ Nissan Navara at its brand-new, state-of-the-art assembly plant in Tema, outside the capital Accra”.

The new plant is different from the Navara production facility which is in Accra, the capital of Ghana, that is 100% Ghanaian operated by the Japan Motors Trading Company (JMTC), which invested the US $3 million into its construction, following Ghana’s drafting of its automotive development policy to encourage investment in the sector.

According to the World Bank, Ghana’s rapid growth was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the March 2020 lockdown, and a sharp decline in commodity exports. The economy had grown at an average of 7 percent in 2017-19, before experiencing a sharp contraction in the second and third quarters of 2020.

The economic slowdown had a considerable impact on households. The poverty rate is estimated to have slightly increased from 25 percent in 2019 to 25.5 percent in 2020.

With the recent wave of declarations Ghana’s economy is projected to recover gradually over the medium term, thanks to commodity price growth and strong domestic demand.

Related Topics:covid-19 vaccines Featured Ghana

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

11 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

VenturesNow

Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

11 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.