News
Agric Bank disburses GH¢ to poultry farmers
Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), a leading indigenous bank, has begun the disbursement of funds to players in the poultry value chain in the country under its Poultry Value Chain Financing Programme (PVCFP).
The company yesterday released the first tranche of the facility; amounting to more than GH¢23 million to six companies in the poultry value chain in the Bono Region.
ADB last month announced a GH¢500-million package to support the local poultry industry to increase production in a bid to reduce the country’s import of poultry.
The package under the ADB PVCFP programme being rolled out in partnership with the Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana-Incentive-Based-Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) and Outgrower and Value Chain Fund (OVCF) is to boost local production of poultry.
Speaking at the ADB Poultry Value Chain Stakeholders’ Meeting in Accra yesterday, the Managing Director of ADB, Dr John Kofi Mensah said the ADB PVCFP was to support the government’s Broiler Revitalisation Programme, which is meant to increase the domestic production of poultry.
According to him, the local poultry industry held the key to addressing the perennial depreciation of the cedi if efforts were made to revamp the industry and increase local production of poultry.
“The Poultry Industry has the propensity to stabilise the cedi and boost the growth of the Ghanaian economy,” Dr Mensah stated.
Dr Mensah observed that the country annually imported more than $370 million worth of poultry products to meet the shortfall in demand, when same could be produced locally to save the country a lot of foreign exchange.
He said the country’s reliance on imports to meet its meat and poultry needs, was putting pressure on the local currency.
Dr Mensah said the country needed to produce 400,000 metric tonnes of meat annually to meet the country’s meat needs, but the players in the industry could onlyproduce 57,871 metric tonnes, leaving a huge deficit.
The ADB MD said his outfit was committed to helping the country reduce its reliance on imported poultry to meet the poultry needs of the country and it was in that direction that the ADB PCCFP was initiated.
He said the programme was meant to support all the players in the poultry value chain including hatcheries, producers, feed millers, processors and marketers.
Dr Mensah said the interest rate on the ADB PVCFP was not more than ten per cent to give financial relief to players in the poultry value chain.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto in remarks made on his behalf by his Technical Advisor, Emmanuel Krobea Asante, commended ADB for the role it was playing to support the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs and the Rearing for Food and Jobs Programmes.
According to the minister, ADB’s name was becoming synonymous with the Planting for Food and Jobs and the Rearing for Jobs and Food Programmes, since it was the bank that was mainly financing the two programmes.
Dr Akoto said the government was working with stakeholders to ensure that interest rate on loans disbursed to players in the value chain under the ADB PVCFP programme did not go above ten per cent.
The minister entreated the beneficiaries of the ADB PVCFP to pay back the loans to ensure the success of the programme.
Senior Agribusiness Specialist of GIRSAL, Mr Takyi Sraha lauded ADB for the initiative and said his outfit was proud to be associated with the programme.
He said his outfit was ready established to help players in the agricultural value chain de-risk their operations and increase their production.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of OVCF, Michael Kpormegbe said his outfit had so far released 50 million euros to support players in the agriculture value chain.
He said additional funds had been approved in the third phase of the programme to further support players in the agricultural industry in the country.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
News
Over GH₵80m was collected in betting tax, Amin Adam got it wrong – Finance Minister
Ghana’s Minister for Finance Ato Forson says the claim by former Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam that the erstwhile administration never implemented the betting tax is not factual.
Speaking at a new conference on Tuesday, March 11, shortly after the Finance Minister presented the new government’s first budget statement and abolished the e-levy, betting tax among others, the former Finance Minister said the NPP government never enforced the controversial tax on lottery and sports betting winnings.
Dr Amin Adam said it was deceptive for the NDC government to claim to abolish a tax that was never collected although the law was passed in 2023.
“Betting tax that they said they have abolished, we never collected Betting Tax. So to come and tell Ghanaians that you have abolished something that you have not implemented, is to deceive the people of Ghana.”
Responding to the claims in an interview with Evans Mensah on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday night, the Finance Minister said his colleague on the other side appears not to be on top of that issue.
“I don’t think he’s on top of that matter because my checks revealed that it was implemented in the second half of 2024. And my checks also reveal that year-to-date, the government of Ghana has collected over GH₵80 million from betting tax, so I don’t know what he’s talking about. It is not the fact. The fact on the ground does not support his assertion. Clearly, the betting tax was implemented,” he insisted.
News
Whoever created BoG’s GH₵53bn negative equity mess should be held responsible – Dr. Atuahene
Banking consultant Richmond Atuahene has called for accountability over the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) GH₵53 billion negative equity, insisting that those responsible for the mess must be held accountable.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, March 12, he called for those responsible for breaching financial regulations to be summoned before Parliament to explain their actions.
“There was a law that stated they should not exceed a 5% fiscal financing threshold, yet they went as high as 60%. This is a clear violation, and they cannot claim ignorance. The Governor, the Minister, and those involved must be held accountable for their actions,” he asserted
His comment comes after the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, advised BoG to explore internal cost-cutting measures instead of relying on taxpayer funds for a GH₵53 billion bailout to address its negative equity position.
Dr. Atuahene supported the Finance Minister’s stance that the government cannot afford to recapitalise the central bank at this time, given the nation’s fiscal constraints.
“Like the Minister said, you don’t create a mess and leave it for others to clean up. Whoever created this mess must take personal responsibility. When they engaged in the monetisation of fiscal deficits in 2021 and 2022, some of us warned them about the consequences, but they didn’t listen,” he stated.
Dr. Atuahene stressed that rather than relying on external funding, the Bank of Ghana should explore internal restructuring, cost-cutting, and asset sales, including a sale-leaseback arrangement on some of its properties, to raise the necessary capital.
He also highlighted the potential damage to Ghana’s international credibility if the Bank of Ghana remains in a financially distressed position.
“This affects Ghana’s credibility. BoG has correspondent relationships with the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve, and the African Development Bank. If it continues to operate in a capital-deficient state, international institutions may lose confidence in our financial system,” he warned.
Dr. Atuahene also criticised the central bank for insisting that it is “policy solvent,” arguing that capital solvency is more critical in this situation.
“You can claim policy solvency all you want, but if you are capital insolvent, it means you cannot function properly. BoG has been making losses year after year. They made losses in 2023, and they are making losses in 2024. How long will this continue?” he questioned.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
