VenturesNow

Cocoa producers in Ghana worry about prices, child labour

Published

2 months ago

November 1, 2024

A “living income” for farmers is one of the major environmental and social concerns that Ghanaian cocoa growers listed in a complaint they submitted to state regulator, Cocobod, on Thursday.

Thirty farmers signed the complaint, which also expressed worries about the world’s second-largest chocolate producer’s ongoing use of pesticides, child labour, and deforestation.

As a condition of a $600 million syndicated loan arranged by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2019, it will test a grievance mechanism developed by Cocobod.

According to its mandate, Cocobod has extensive authority over the regulation of pesticide distribution, cocoa marketing, and farmer prices.

“The AfDB sought to address precisely the type of environmental and social issues identified in this petition when it mandated the creation of the…grievance mechanism,” the complaint, seen by Reuters, said.

Studies showing that just a small percentage of Ghanaian farmers make a decent wage from their cocoa were highlighted in the producers’ complaint.

“Cocobod must require companies to pay farmers a higher price…a living income,” it said, adding higher prices were also “an essential first step towards eliminating child labour”.

According to the farmers, Cocobod must also enforce firms’ deforestation pledges, guarantee that their supply chains are open to the public, prohibit the sale of hazardous chemicals, and promote agricultural sustainability.

VenturesNow

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

Published

9 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

9 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.