According to the President of the Association, Dr Joseph Obeng, data on the Free Trade Area is scanty hence, depriving traders of knowing the advantages of AfCFTA. Dr Obeng, addressing the press during the week intimated that AfCFTA will only be successful if African countries solely trade in goods manufactured in their country of origin to prevent dumping.

AfCFTA Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, said AfcFTA has the potential to increase intra-African trade by 22 percent of total trade by 2023 following this agreement.

A statement issued and signed by Mr Raphael Ahenu, the Acting National Convener of CWG, noted market statistics had shown global demand for cashew products, particularly the kernel was increasing year on year and underlined the need for the industry to be streamlined through formulation and implementation of pragmatic policies.

Then statement assured CWG commitment and willingness to partner key stakeholders, especially Tree Crops Development Authority, GIZ and Olam, to help improve on the nation's cashew sector and enhance foreign exchange earnings on the crop.

The IMF said Ghana continued to be classified as high risk of debt distress.

On the banking sector, the IMF said the directors noted that the financial sector cleanup had made the sector more resilient but stressed that banks' growing holdings of sovereign debt created risks and crowds out private sector credit.

The Ghanaian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade travelled to Abuja to try to resolve diplomatically the issue of closure of Nigerian borders, and to seek safe corridor for ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme exports from Ghana, all to no avail.

Among other corrective measures, the Committee on Foreigners in Retail Trade, comprising representatives of various regulatory agencies and institutions in Ghana, was tasked with the responsibility of conducting inspections of retail shops in designated commercial districts in both Accra and Kumasi to ensure compliance with retail trade laws and regulations.

The sector Minister, Alan Kyerematen said the conclusion of the agreement with the Strategic Investor, Park Agrotech Limited would enable them to commence operations at the factory.

Mr Kyerematen further stated that the Ministry has instructed the Transaction Advisor and Park Agrotech to ensure that the Conditions Precedent to the Concession Agreement and a Road Map for the opening of the factory was finalized by the end of August to enable operational activities to commence before the end of this year.

Scores of dealers in poultry products though debunked the suggestion that the problem was due to the outbreak of bird flu in some parts of the country, attributed it to scarcity of chicken and eggs even before the outbreak, and faintly admitted that bird flu might have insignificant impact.

The traders told the Ghana News Agency during the midweek, GNA-Tema market survey conducted in major trading centres in the Tema Metropolis on the impact of the bird flu on chicken products.

The price of five sizable tubers of Cassava, which was sold for GH¢3.00 was now being sold at GH¢5.00.

The price of plantain have however gone down with a bunch of plantain which was sold for GH¢50, now going for GH¢35.00, with six fingers of plantain moving from GH¢10 to nine fingers for the same GH¢10.00 while the prices of garden eggs and pepper inched up slightly.

The Chamber said employing electronic tolls collection system would halt the occasional thievery cases, reduce the pressure at the tollbooth and save commuters from inhaling carbon emissions.

Mr Amoah stated that with the proposed electronic system, which was seamless would be easy for the government to implement toll increment and give the Finance Ministry the room to plan what to do with the revenue.

Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Commissioner-General of the GRA. The GRA and the Registrar-General's Department in collaboration with the National Identification Authority started the exercise effective April 1, 2021, where the Ghana card Personal Identification Number will replace the TIN of individuals issued by the GRA for tax identification purposes.

The First Vice-President said the Chamber had identified three issues that needed the attention of the Commissioner-General, which were the delay in refund application, requirement to pay 30 percent of a tax assessed during tax audit before a taxpayer could make any objection to the assessment and lack of clear procedural rules in the application of some provisions in the tax laws.

Naa Dromo is expected to show up at the GRA office on July 23, 2021 at 10 am.

Naa Dromo Korankye-Ankrah, the daughter of Ghanaian preacher, Rev. Sam Korankye-Ankrah, is expected to report to the Ghana Revenue Authority office today at 10:00am as part of a tax compliance program.

The plant, commissioned in 2016 by former President Mahama has remained closed for years, following some technical challenges.

Speaking to the media after answering questions from the MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem, Samuel Atta-Mills, the minister disclosed the Indian government pledged financial support to replace the faulty equipment to ensure resuscitation of the factory.

Speaking to Kasapa News at an engagement on impending delocalized ECOWAS meeting next week at Winneba, leader of Ghana's delegation to the sub-regional parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin stated all unfair trade practices in both Ghana and Nigeria must end.

There is an existing law that bars foreigners from retail trade - and Ghanaian traders do not want the Nigerian traders in the markets.

In all, the country's oil and gas sector scored 78 out of 100 points in the 2021 index improving by 11 points since the 2017 RGI. Strengthened resource governance is underpinned by improvements across both the index's value realization and revenue management components, it said.

It further scored the Ghana Stabilization Fund a full 100 points on governance, owing to new disclosures of assets and asset classes.

Out of the 278 1D1F companies, 58 are fully owned by youth groups who have been mobilized by Government and supported with seed funding to establish their own state-of-the-art agro-processing factories in 58 districts, under what is referred to as the Enable Youth 1D1F Initiative supported by African Development Bank and International Fund for Agricultural Development.

REGIONAL BREAKDOWN OF 1D1F PROJECTS. Mr. Speaker, since the inception of the 1D1F Initiative, Parliament has granted approval for exemptions from import duty for the importation of Machinery, Equipment and Industrial Raw Materials to 37 1D1F Projects made up of 14 existing projects being expanded or upgraded, and 23 new projects.

The bank today paid GH¢14.152 million to the Government of Ghana as a dividend for the 2020 financial year.

The GH¢14.15 million dividend paid represents an increase of 25 percent over the GH¢11.321 million paid to the government in the 2019 financial year.

Dr Ofori indicated that the NIC would collaborate with the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Union of Traders Association to ensure compliance of the Marine Insurance, which enjoined importers to buy insurance locally for their imported cargoes.

The Commissioner of NIC stressed that Nigeria and Kenya strictly went by their Marine Insurance laws and ensured that any goods entering into the two countries had local insurance covering them, saying same must be applied in Ghana.

Dr. Prempeh, who is also the MP for Manhyia South, made the call when he received the head of the Consumer Protection Agency, Mr. Kofi Kapito, at his office during a courtesy call on him.

The Minister noted that in the absence of vibrant consumer protection groups, the intellectual arguments seem lost, adding that in other countries, daily items such as food, clothing, drinks and services, among others, are strongly protected by powerful advocacy, which means the consumer knows where to turn if he or she is not satisfied by particular goods or services.

70% also believe that the cost of testing is a significant barrier to travel, while 78% believe governments should bear the cost of mandatory testing.

Provided a confirmatory rRT-PCR test is administered for positive test results, WHO guidance sees Ag-RDT antigen testing as an acceptable alternative to PCR. And, where testing is a mandatory requirement, the WHO's International Health Regulations state that neither passengers nor carriers should bear the cost of testing.

The amount spent on airfare for evacuees from the UAE, China was $463,118.

The total expenditure that was borne by the government on the quarantine for 650 evacuees from the UAE was GHC3,500,000, 517 persons from China was GHC4, 725,000, 506 persons from West and Central Africa; GHC2,156,000 whiles those from Europe and other parts of Africa totaled GHC 13,006,000.

According to the President of the Association, Dr Joseph Obeng, data on the Free Trade Area is scanty hence, depriving traders of knowing the advantages of AfCFTA. Dr Obeng, addressing the press during the week intimated that AfCFTA will only be successful if African countries solely trade in goods manufactured in their country of origin to prevent dumping.

AfCFTA Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, said AfcFTA has the potential to increase intra-African trade by 22 percent of total trade by 2023 following this agreement.