
<p>ACCRA, May 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s consumer price inflation accelerated to 23.6% year-on-year in April from 19.4% in March, the statistics service said on Wednesday, a recent record one economist said was &#8220;shocking&#8221;.</p>



<p>The West African nation&#8217;s latest inflation reading was the highest in 18 years and more than double government&#8217;s targeted band of 6% to 10%.</p>



<p>Prices for 295 of the 307 items analysed by the statistics service rose in April. Prices for imported items accelerated faster than locally produced items for the first time in 29 months, except in the case of locally produced food.</p>



<p>Transport costs, which include fuel prices, saw the largest increases, up to 33.5% from 17.4% in March. Diesel costs alone were up 90.9%.</p>



<p>&#8220;We were all expecting the diesel increases, and these are imported items,&#8221; government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told a news conference.</p>



<p>&#8220;But we need to look at it from the food and non-food perspective if we want policy to get a hold of the challenges we are having,&#8221; he added.</p>



<p>Food prices were up 26.6% from the previous month and nearly double the category&#8217;s 12-month average of 13.5%. Cereal prices were among the greatest contributors, continuing a trend that began with Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine in February.</p>



<p>Razia Khan, Standard Chartered Bank&#8217;s chief economist for Africa and the Middle East, said the spike was &#8220;shocking&#8221; and may pressure the central bank to further tighten interest rates.</p>



<p>&#8220;Failure to act soon could have far reaching implications, putting at risk any hopes for quick macroeconomic stabilisation,&#8221; she said.</p>



<p>Ghana&#8217;s central bank raised its main lending rate by a record 250 basis points in March, fearing that runaway inflation, compounded by a depreciating local currency and mounting national debt, could ignite a full-blown economic crisis.</p>



<p>The central bank&#8217;s monetary policy committee will meet from May 18 to March 23 to discuss further adjustments.</p>



<p>(Reporting by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Alex Richardson)</p>


Ghana lifts lockdown on key regions as COVID-19 cases reach 1,042

Ghana lifts lockdown on key regions as COVID-19 cases reach 1,042. shutterstock_422422516

Ghana’s consumer inflation spikes to ‘shocking’ 23.6% in April

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<p>After its Article IV Consultations with Ghana, the IMF says Ghana&#8217;s economic outlook is improving, even though risks remain.</p>


Gana100

IMF: Ghana’s economy improving, but risks remain

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<p>Italian oil major, ENI, has announced a significant oil discovery offshore Ghana, which is sited on the Eban exploration prospect CTP block 4. Meanwhile in Nigeria, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, says Nigeria will start exporting petrol in 2023. Sam Chidoka, Managing Director of Kairos Capital joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


ENI makes significant oil and gas discovery offshore Ghana

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<p>Ghanaian Fintech Zeepay has completed a $7.9million Series A funding round, which will be a combination of both equity and balance sheet funds. Andrew Takyi-Appiah Managing Director and Founder of Zeepay joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ghana’s Zeepay completes $7.9mn series A fundraise

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<p>Ghana has started its first fully digital national housing and population census as it moves to capture the exact number of populations for national development.</p>


Ghana goes digital on national census

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<p>Online marketplace, Jiji, has reached an agreement to merge with automotive trading platform, Cars45 as it seeks to firm up its online classified car buying and selling service on the continent. The deal which covers operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya will offer a new level of trade for auto buyers and sellers across the three countries. Soumobroto Ganguly, Chief Executive Officer of Cars 45 joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Online marketplace Jiji reaches merger agreement with Cars45

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<p>South Africa, the worst-hit African country, has announced a 14-day containment measure to curb the spread of a third wave of COVID-19 infection, after recording nearly 18,000 new cases of the Delta coronavirus variant first identified in India. The Delta variant was also confirmed in Ghana last week Thursday, raising concerns about a possible entrance into neighbouring countries like Nigeria. The Head, Risk Communication Division of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Dr Yahya Disu joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How prepared is Nigeria for a 3rd wave of  COVID-19?

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<p>Ghana has set a very ambitious target of $3billion in Foreign Direct Investment for 2021.</p>


Ghana targets $3bn in FDI flows for 2021

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<p>Ghana’s economic growth slowed marginally to 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year when compared with the 3.3 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2020. Courage Kingsley Martey, a Senior Economist at Databank says the general picture for 2021 favors a recovery above the pandemic growth level but most likely below pre-pandemic growth levels. He joins CNBC Africa for more on Ghana first quarter economic performance.</p>


Ghana’s economy slows marginally to 3.1% in first quarter

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<p>Having opened her high commission in Ghana just before the covid-19 pandemic, Rwanda is looking at tapping into the west African nation&#8217;s growth in fields like tourism, investment and the education sector. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Fiona Muthoni had a conversation with Rwanda&#8217;s Ambassador to Ghana, Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira on the plans to deepen collaboration between the two countries.</p>


Rwanda-Ghana partnership: What’s in it for Kigali?

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<p>As more and more countries in Africa embrace the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, Rwanda and Ghana seek to explore opportunities in trade, tourism and investments with each other.</p>


Rwanda

Rwanda, Ghana seek to deepen tourism, trade & investment

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<p>The World Bank says cocoa prices have been broadly stable in the past eight months with global production for the current season projected to be nearly 5 per cent higher than the 2019-2020 season. Meanwhile, Ghana is making progress on its processing efforts as they look to build a vibrant domestic chocolate industry. Edward George, Independent Commodities Expert joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Ghana reinforces processing to boost cocoa returns

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<p>The Bank of Ghana has cut its prime interest rate by 100 basis points to 13.5 per cent at its 100th policy meeting which was concluded today. Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Ernest Addison says consumer inflation will remain within the bank&#8217;s target band of eight per cent plus or minus two percentage points. Joining CNBC Africa for a post analysis of the decision is John Gatsi, Dean of the School of Business at the University of Cape Coast.</p>


Ghana cuts prime interest rate by 100 basis points to 13.5%

<p><em>Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.</em></p>
<p>African Union Member States (55) reporting COVID-19 cases (4,812,313), deaths (130,025) and recoveries (4,351,816) by region:    Central (172,873 cases; 2,781 deaths; 159,001 recoveries): Burundi (4,650; 6; 4,198), Cameroon (77,982; 1,270; 72,926), CAR (7,085; 97; 6,665), Chad (4,927; 173; 4,742), Congo (11,658; 153; 10,591), DRC (31,386; 782; 27,654), Equatorial Guinea (8,476; 113; 8,146), Gabon (24,365; 150; 21,791), Sao Tome and Principe (2,344; 37; 2,288)    Eastern (647,406; 12,678; 536,199): Comoros (3,949; 146; 3,719), Djibouti (11,523; 153; 11,354), Eritrea (4,022; 14; 3,812), Ethiopia (270,944; 4,139; 235,850), Kenya (170,041; 3,124; 116,018), Madagascar (41,184; 828; 40,028), Mauritius (1,356; 17; 1,181), Rwanda (26,878; 352; 25,542), Seychelles (11,145; 40; 9,936), Somalia (14,647; 768; 6,717), South Sudan (10,688; 115; 10,514), Sudan (35,289; 2,600; 27,949), Tanzania** (509; 21; 178), Uganda (45,231; 361; 43,401)    Northern (1,453,109; 43,808; 1,276,107): Algeria (128,198; 3,586; 89,292), Egypt (259,540; 14,950; 190,254), Libya (184,815; 3,116; 171,279), Mauritania (19,407; 462; 18,377), Morocco (518,458; 9,135; 506,443), Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (739; 46; 691), Tunisia (341,952; 12,513; 299,771)    Southern (2,066,519; 64,531; 1,933,721): Angola (33,607; 745; 27,529), Botswana (56,313; 831; 50,494), Eswatini (18,587; 672; 17,855), Lesotho (10,825; 326; 6,434), Malawi (34,323; 1,154; 32,598), Mozambique (70,697; 835; 69,232), Namibia (54,268; 807; 50,053), South Africa (1,654,551; 56,293; 1,551,520), Zambia (94,430; 1,275; 91,443), Zimbabwe (38,918; 1,593; 36,563)    Western (472,406; 6,227; 446,788): Benin (8,058; 101; 7,893), Burkina Faso (13,424; 166; 13,248), Cabo Verde (30,122; 261; 28,163), Côte d&#39;Ivoire (47,195; 301; 46,591), Gambia (5,990; 178; 5,767), Ghana (93,775; 784; 91,853), Guinea (23,110; 161; 20,840), Guinea Bissau (3,760; 68; 3,511), Liberia (2,179; 86; 2,033), Mali (14,262; 516; 9,559), Niger (5,409; 192; 5,080), Nigeria (166,254; 2,071; 156,546), Senegal (41,296; 1,138; 39,932), Sierra Leone (4,140; 79; 3,128), Togo (13,432; 125; 12,644)Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).</p>
<p>Media files</p>
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Coronavirus: African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 29 May 2021, 9 am EAT

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<p>Vantage Capital say they are at advanced stages of raising their fourth Mezzanine Fund with a target of between $300 million to $400 million. The Africa-focused fund manager with over one billion dollars in funds raised since 2006 has investments across countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Cote d’ Ivoire and Ghana. They recently provided $23 million in debt funding to PickAlbatros Hotels. David Kornik, Partner at Vantage Capital joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Vantage Capital eyes 4th Mezzanine Fund

<p><em>Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.</em></p>
<p>The African Centre for Statistics (ACS) at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Tuesday hosted a webinar on the need to improve relationship between producers of statistics and the media in order to enhance end user experience.</p>
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<p>“Data generated by producers of official statistics are critical for planning, decision making, monitoring and evaluation of public policies. The media, therefore, is an essential vehicle to ensure that such data is transmitted and shared with all stakeholders,” said ACS Director, Oliver Chinganya.</p>
<p>The session was organised in partnership with AFRISTAT, INSEE, ONS-UK and PARIS2,  under the theme “Media Engagement in Official Statistics: How and Why?”</p>
<p>Kenyan journalist, Wanjohi Kabukuru, deplored the fact that some National Statistical Offices (NSOs) make it difficult and sometimes impossible for journalists to access official statistics. </p>
<p>Mr Kabukuru urged NSOs to aspire to be primary sources of data rather than deny access for journalists who end up getting the same information from secondary sources &#8211; usually international organisations &#8211; to which NSOs furnish data. </p>
<p>“When you give data you control the narrative,” he added.</p>
<p>Speaking for the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Paul Seneadza, a GSS public relations staff, said his institution has a well organised structure for engaging with media and that they consider journalists as ‘essential partners’. He noted, however, that some journalists need training to enhance their ability to distill and disseminate data.</p>
<p>In the same vein, Rebecca Jakeway, ONS-UK’s Communications Advisor spoke on the importance of user engagement, citing the media as their &#39;most important stakeholder’</p>
<p>“Our work is worthless if it doesn’t reach the end user. The media has a crucial role to simplify data in a way that the general public can understand,” she stated.</p>
<p>A presentation on ‘sample tactics for media engagement in official statistics’ was made by </p>
<p>Joseph Ilboudo, Chief of Statistical Development at the ACS, who highlighted the need to “remove barriers to entry and promote a relationship of trust between NSOs and journalists.”</p>
<p>He said, “ensuring that users get a pleasant, open and informative first experience will pave the way for future engagement.”</p>
<p>Mr Chinganaya expressed hope that the media will “help enhance statistical literacy among citizens with a view to increasing demand and eventually for governments to begin investing more in data, innovation and technologies for data collection and dissemination.”</p>
<p>The ECA director pointed out that ACS and its partners are ready to support in developing and implementing a user engagement strategy. “We have already started with a few countries, and we hope more countries will engage and follow suit.”</p>
<p>A similar webinar targeting French speaking journalists has been scheduled for 8 June 2021.</p>
<p>Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).</p>


Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) engages media as partners in data production and sharing

<p><em>Content provided by APO Group. CNBC Africa provides content from APO Group as a service to its readers and does not edit the articles it publishes. CNBC Africa is not responsible for the content provided by APO Group.</em></p>
<p></p>
<p>Today, climate activists marked Africa Day by staging protests at Total’s petrol stations. The protests took place in Benin, Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. The protests highlighted Total’s human rights violations, greenwashing strategies and climate inaction.</p>
</p>
<p>Total is involved in controversial projects across the continent, notably the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and the Mozambique Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) project that have witnessed displacement of local communities from their ancestral land as well as several human rights abuses other issues that have been called out by activists and frontline communities.</p>
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<p>Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan activist, said:<br /> “We cannot drink oil. This is why we cannot accept the construction of the East African Crude oil pipeline. It is going to cause massive displacement of people, destruction of ecosystems and wildlife habitats. We have no future in extraction of oil because it only means destroying the livelihoods of the people and the planet. It is time to choose people above pipelines. It is time to rise up for the people and the planet.”</p>
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<p>Andre Moliro, DRC activist, said:<br /> “Total’s fossil fuel developments pose grave risks to protected environments, water sources and wetlands in the Great Lakes and East Africa regions. Communities have been raising concerns on the impact of oil extraction on Lake Albert fisheries and the disastrous consequences of an oil spill in Lake Victoria, that would affect millions of people that rely on the two lakes for their livelihoods, watersheds for drinking water and food production.”</p>
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<p>Landry Ninteretse of 350.org said,<br /> &#8220;At a time when the international scientific community is telling us that the world cannot absorb any new fossil fuel developments if we are to tackle the climate crisis, Total is still pushing for the construction of highly controversial pipelines such as the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and the Mozambique LNG that threaten to destroy the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people, while affecting a great portion of diverse ecosystems and adding millions of tons of carbon emissions yearly.”</p>
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<p>Earlier in the year, more than 260 African and international organisations sent an open letter (https://bit.ly/3fjfi0D) to 25 banks urging them not to finance the construction of the EACOP. Total issued statements on its website describing its environmental and social risk assessment and mitigation strategies for the EACOP and Tilenga oil extraction project as “rigorous” (https://bit.ly/2SrCUr6) and claiming to act “responsibly and transparently” (https://bit.ly/3wwNCuZ) on the social and environmental issues related to the projects.</p>
<p>The #StopEACOP Alliance went ahead to issue a statement (https://bit.ly/3vonX7Q) clarifying several misleading figures presented by Total such as the number of oil wells to be drilled within Murchison Falls National Park, and the number of project-affected people for Tilenga and EACOP.</p>
<p>Total seeks to position itself as a climate leader but chooses to ignore the massive climate risks posed by going ahead with its fossil fuel projects across Africa.</p>
<p>Distributed by APO Group on behalf of 350.org.</p>
<p>For interviews and additional information contact:<br /> 350Africa.org<br /> Christine Mbithi<br /> Email: christine.mbithi@350.org<br /> Telephone: +254725906695</p>
<p>Media files</p>
<p></p>


Ghana

Ghana’s consumer inflation spikes to ‘shocking’ 23.6% in April

IMF: Ghana’s economy improving, but risks remain

ENI makes significant oil and gas discovery offshore Ghana

Ghana’s Zeepay completes $7.9mn series A fundraise

Ghana goes digital on national census

Online marketplace Jiji reaches merger agreement with Cars45

How prepared is Nigeria for a 3rd wave of COVID-19?

Ghana targets $3bn in FDI flows for 2021

Ghana’s economy slows marginally to 3.1% in first quarter

Rwanda-Ghana partnership: What’s in it for Kigali?

Rwanda, Ghana seek to deepen tourism, trade & investment

Ghana reinforces processing to boost cocoa returns

Ghana cuts prime interest rate by 100 basis points to 13.5%

Coronavirus: African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 29 May 2021, 9 am EAT

Vantage Capital eyes 4th Mezzanine Fund

Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) engages media as partners in data production and sharing

Hundreds protest against TOTAL across Africa

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Ghana

Ghana’s consumer inflation spikes to ‘shocking’ 23.6% in April

IMF: Ghana’s economy improving, but risks remain

ENI makes significant oil and gas discovery offshore Ghana

Ghana’s Zeepay completes $7.9mn series A fundraise

Ghana goes digital on national census

Online marketplace Jiji reaches merger agreement with Cars45

How prepared is Nigeria for a 3rd wave of COVID-19?

Ghana targets $3bn in FDI flows for 2021

Ghana’s economy slows marginally to 3.1% in first quarter

Rwanda-Ghana partnership: What’s in it for Kigali?

Rwanda, Ghana seek to deepen tourism, trade & investment

Ghana reinforces processing to boost cocoa returns

Ghana cuts prime interest rate by 100 basis points to 13.5%

Coronavirus: African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 29 May 2021, 9 am EAT

Vantage Capital eyes 4th Mezzanine Fund

Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) engages media as partners in data production and sharing

Hundreds protest against TOTAL across Africa

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