Category: News

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Two Bretton Woods institution have called on all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from International Development Assistance (IDA) countries that request forbearance.

The World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) decision have become necessary due the Coronavirus outbreak, which is likely to have severe economic and social consequences for IDA countries to a quarter of the world’s population and two-thirds of the world’s population living in extreme poverty.

The call for suspension is expected to be consistent with national laws of the creditor countries.

“This will help with IDA countries’ immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak and allow time for an assessment of the crisis impact and financing needs for each country”, the institutions said in a joint statement issued last week.

“We invite G20 leaders to task the WBG and the IMF to make these assessments, including identifying the countries with unsustainable debt situations, and to prepare a proposal for comprehensive action by official bilateral creditors to address both the financing and debt relief needs of IDA countries,” the statement indicated.

The International financing institutions will seek endorsement for the proposal at the Development Committee during the Spring Meetings, which will be due from April 16 to April 17, 2020.

The World Bank Group and the IMF believe it is imperative at this moment to provide a global sense of relief for developing countries as well as a strong signal to financial markets. The international community would welcome G20 support for this Call to Action.

Finance Ministers across Africa in a statement, recently, called for a $100 billion stimulus package, including a suspension of debt service payments, to help the continent combat coronavirus.

Some US$44 billion would come from not servicing debt and they would also tap existing facilities in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Development Bank (AfDB) and other regional institutions.

Africa is facing the combined shock of coronavirus, which threatens to strain under-funded health systems, as well as a sharp drop in revenues due to plunging oil and commodities prices.

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Pressure is being mounted on the government by several keys groupings including; Ghana Medical Association, Minority in Parliament, traders among others, to consider a total or partial lockdown of the country amidst the growing cases of COVID-19 in the country.

A research fellow and doctoral candidate at the New York University College of Global Public Health has, however, advised that before a lockdown is implemented, the government needs to consider the socio-economic conditions of its citizens.

Ghana already has announced over 150 confirmed cases within a period of two weeks of recording the first two confirmed cases. The sudden spike in case incidence is as a result of the mandatory quarantine and compulsory testing for all travellers entering Ghana, as directed by the President. But the substantial number of the cases have been reported in the general population. As of 24 March, a total of 1,030 persons are under mandatory quarantine; samples from 863 of them have been tested, the Ghana Health Service explained.

“Before a lockdown is implemented you need to consider the socio-economic conditions that exist in the country. A lockdown without any social intervention policy to cushion the people is basically a starvation order” Kofi Quakyi stated.

Mr Quakyi also advised authorities to intensify contact-tracing which involves recruitment, training and cooperation with communication companies.

“Each person that’s not identified early could risk infecting many others if they’ve got the disease. We really should be thinking about the people who got into Ghana before we started mandatory quarantining, who might not have shown symptoms” he cautioned.

Meanwhile, some experts say it is imperative that government must allow a lockdown that is defined and matches our context.

An International Law and Governance analyst, Kwame Mfodwo said a lockdown is inevitable but the country cannot afford the situation considering the living standards of its citizens.

He also proposed that it can be maintained for more than three days or a week.

Also, the President for the Institute of Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), Mr Peter Bismark in a statement released, last week, stated that Ghana requires GH¢15 billion for 28 days’ total lockdown to sustain the economy and protect the lives of its citizens.

He said those who are calling for a total lockdown should note, that was not the best option for Ghana because should that happen, a the stimulus package of over GH¢15 billion would be needed for a 28-day lockdown.

“If it happens like that, it means that registered businesses and firms would have to shut down operations with employees going home, and go with salaries,” he said.

The president of ILAPI said the government would still have to ensure the continuation of salaries of public sector employment and provision of basic needs and other services, including electricity, essential services, water and food.

He said the informal economy would suffer from the lockdown because of loss of daily sales and income. The sector, he said, may not directly benefit from the emergency financial response but would reduce individual income and purchasing power.

According to him, since Ghana’s economy thrives on small and medium-scale enterprises, the government must spend more to support local businesses with some tax rebates, financial reliefs, refunds and social assistance.

“As the market activities continue to drop and many Ghanaians are calling for a total lockdown, forward-looking fiscal and monetary measures are necessary to save the economy from impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic,” he stated

Mr Bismark said the exponential growth of the number of cases are already causing a progressive lockdown.

“With this development, businesses would close and physical activities would cease. Because of inexplicable barriers that the coronavirus crisis brings, people may be prevented from doing useful things for income and wealth creation.”

Consequently, The Vice-President of ILAPI, Mr Evans Badu Boampong has proposed some measures that the government need to put in place before considering a lockdown.

Among the measures are that the government must meet all the relevant business associations, including the manufacturing firms, to deliberate consciously on production capacity and job loss.

Insurance companies could not remain the same as our insurance premiums during lockdowns so the government again must meet the Insurance Commission as early as possible to make a readily available partial payment to their clients to support them in times of the panic.

“They should also provide exclusive premiums to their clients to support government health interventions,” Mr. Boampong said.

Salaries of workers should not be subjected to full tax deductions, suggesting that at least 50% tax refund should be given workers while Ghana Water Company should consider opening taps for those who are even owing bills to ensure there is a free flow of water to aid hand washing.

The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, through the Buffer Food Stock, Mr. Boampong said, should develop an outline system to supply food to underprivileged homes and also support companies in Ghana (both local and foreign) to change their structure of production to produce some essential goods to avoid shortages during the lockdown,” he stated.

Mr Boampong further suggested that, Ghana Grid Company Limited, Volta River Authority and Electricity Company of Ghana must ensure there was a continuous supply of power since most institutions would be working from home and that tariffs should be reduced.

With regards to the people who don’t even have a place to get locked inside, as Ghana’s housing deficit stands over 1.5 million, the government must advance plans to shelter some millions of Ghanaians in hotels, motels, and guest houses among others.

“As a policy analysis organisation, we make these proposals based on a careful study of other nations which have implemented lockdowns due to COVID19. And we believe that these measures should suffice, though not completely, in helping manage the situation of a lockdown,” Mr Boampong said.

Adnan Adams Mohammed

As Ghana and the world battles with the severity of the impact of COVID-1, the former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper is predicting that countries that exited the IMF may go back to the Bretton Woods institution if the outbreak of the coronavirus lasts longer.

The consultant at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that the COVID-19 outbreak is having a negative effect on the economy globally, a situation that may compel some countries that had exited the IMF to return to seek for help from the same body.

It could be recalled that after Ghana exited the IMF under the Akufo-Addo administration, Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta said the country won’t go back to the institution because sufficient macroeconomic gains have been made.

“The expectation of all of this is that we are consistently on top of the macroeconomics of the country, and making sure that we work within the budget, Parliament will have approved.

He indicated that the gains made have resulted in a rising and broad-based GDP growth momentum, with the economy growing by 6.1% (end Q3 2018 average); 8.1% in 2017; and 3.4% in 2016.

On what occasioned the IMF programme, he explained that in 2012 before the general elections, Ghana recorded a deficit of 11.5% of GDP – the highest deficit on record in the fourth republic – with the IMF calling for urgent measures to restore macroeconomic stability.

But Mr Terkper under whose watch Ghana went to the IMF, told Randy Abbey host of the Good Morning Ghana programme on Metro TV, Wednesday March 25, 2020 that: “We may see some of these countries going back to the IMF if the coronavirus continues.”

He further advised that Ghana needs to “Build our own basket through the petroleum revenue. That is the only way we can be a truly middle-income country.”

Meanwhile, Mr Ofori-Atta has told Parliament that the $100 million announced by President Akufo-Addo to fight coronavirus is not ready.

President Akufo-Addo in an address said the finance minister has been directed to make the funds available to respond to the deadly virus.

The amount, according to the President “is to fund the expansion of infrastructure, purchase of materials and equipment, and public education.”

But briefing Parliament about the fiscal impact of Covid-19 which has crushed the international capital market, Mr. Ofori-Atta disclosed Ghana has applied to the World Bank to tap into a $12 billion fast track Covid-19 facility and the IMF $10 billion facility to address the deadly virus.

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Ghana cashew nut production and farmers are likely to be hit with low sells as the coronavirus pandemic impacts severely on the economy of main buyers.

China, which imports around 10 percent of global cashew nut production for consumption from Ghana, Ivory Coast and some other countries through Vietnam, is facing challenges of getting access to the nuts as Vietnam delays in selling off its existing cashew nuts stock to China due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infections.

If the situation persists, then Ghana’s Non-Traditional Export (NTEs) earnings are likely to reduce significantly this year as cashew is the largest NTEs earner after processed cocoa. Ghana’s 2018 NTEs statistics which saw a significant growth performance of 10 percent over 2017 was largely due to a 43.84 percent increase in exports of cashew nuts, mainly exported to Vietnam, from US$262.95 million in 2017 to US$378.21 million in 2018. The increase in the value of cashew exports alone to Vietnam amounted to US$115.26 million.

“Since Vietnam processes cashew to the tertiary level, some of the impact will be felt in the sector. However, measures are being looked at in order to curtail any possible major impact”, Director of Projects at Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Mr. Alexandar Dadzawa has indicated, adding that, “It wouldn’t be immediate, but it also depends on the intensity in the respective countries.”

The price of cashew has witnessed a sharp dive for the past few months on the world market as producers and traders rush to sell existing stocks as results of the devastating coronavirus pandemic. This has resulted in the slowdown of cashew trade as Vietnam begins looking for alternative markets aside China, since this year’s crop was ready for bulk shipments in February from both Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

In effect, trade experts have insisted that if Vietnam expects a slow market in China, the country will also be slow to buy raw cashew from Ghana. Vietnam has recorded more than 35 cases of the coronavirus after new infections from Europe.

Since Ghana’s NTEs sector recorded a blip in 2016, recording earnings of US$2.46 billion as compared to 2015 figure of US$2.52 billion, earnings in every year since then have seen a marginal increase over the previous year. For instance, the sector recorded US$2.56 billion, US$2.813 billion in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

With the impact of the coronavirus disease that has impacted heavily on international trade forcing many countries to issue business and trade restrictions, it is anticipated that the entire earnings in the NTEs sector will seriously be affected, most especially goods meant for export outside the continent.

Producers of cashew nut in West Africa are poised to become a dominant force in the global cashew value chain. In recent years, there have been a significant increase in the number of domestic processors investing in mechanized processing to improve quality, reduce costs of production and reduce the export of raw cashew, which currently stands at 90 percent of total export.

Consequently, cashew nut has been experiencing unfavourable market price, losing about 75 percent of its market price from 2018 till date.

Currently, a bag of raw cashew nuts (100kg) which was quoted at GH¢800 during the peak period in the 2018 season, has lost significant value to GH¢200 per the same bag, this is about 75% reduction in price.

The market situation is causing dissatisfaction among farmers in the main cashew growing areas of the country’s middle belt as it is not prudent for them to trade at the current price considering the high labour cost of picking the nuts as well as carting it to sales points.

“Buyers have expressed concern about the high moisture content of the raw cashew nut (RCN) and ‘low’ grade of the nuts”, Solomon Ameyaw, Secretary of Tain Cashew Union said to journalists at Seikwa in the Tain district of Bono Region. He noted that the buyers always hide behind flimsy reasons to manipulate the market.

“They raised these issues last year and farmers have taken it upon themselves to dry the nuts before selling, but it has not changed the posture of buyers,” Ameyaw said.

He said the buyers, mostly exporters, have the leeway to skew prices to the disadvantage of ‘helpless farmers’ due to the free market system. He attributed the cashew market manipulation to lack of a regulatory body to ensure fairness in the commodity trade, urging the government to fast-track establishment of the Tree and Industrial Crops Development Authority to salvage the situation.

Cashew cultivation in Ghana is largely a smallholder activity with the majority of farmers having an average farm size of between 0.8 – 2.5ha. More than 60,000 smallholder farmers are engaged in cashew cultivation in the country.

The government’s major objective in the crops sector project is to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of crops through access to improved technological packages for increased productivity and ensure sustainable management of the environment in crop production systems.

President Akufo-Addo, during his tour of the Ahafo and Bono East Regions, announced that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has completed its framing of the much-awaited tree and Industrial Crops Development Authority. The draft bill, he said, is expected to be laid in Parliament soon.

The proposed Authority will among others have the mandate to accelerate the production and marketing of tree crops including cashew, mango, rubber, oil palm and coffee. This is expected to enhance the country’s earnings from non-traditional exports.

Mr. Ameyaw also appealed to the government to ensure thorough implementation of the 10-year cashew development plan. According to him, implementers of the cashew blueprint “are sleeping on the job. Not much is happening in the area of grafting and distribution of seedlings to farmers so as to expand production”.

Cashews are in demand the world over and the market is growing. In days gone by, African countries used to export their raw cashew nuts and so forego the substantial income that can be generated by processing them. Nowadays there is more and more local processing going on.

 

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Ghanaians are struggling to manage the menace of illegal mining which has prolonged over decades but peaked in the last decade with the government setting an inter-ministerial committee and a task force to stop the nuisance activities.

Among the prices Ghanaians are paying for the menace is the Ghana water company publishing a timetable for treated water rationing that has affected large parts of the country due to heavily polluted river bodies from the activities of unregulated gold mining activities.

The Ghana Water Company, the nation’s water supplier, recently warned that their operations are hampered as sources of water for treatment is heavily polluted and it’s affecting their treatment plants and machines in parts of the Central, Western, Eastern regions and the northern part of the country.

It further estimated that, in the ten years from 2008 and 2018 there was a 50% loss of water available for treatment. This tells how critical the situation is with some officials predicting possible water import from neighbouring West African countries.

Again, the Center for Scientific and Industry Research (CSIR) in a report released in 2019 predicted that potable water sources are diminishing at a fast rate that the country faces a looming water crisis by the year 2030, if conditions continue to persist.

Scarier is the fact that there would be no treatable water source, either surface or groundwater by 2030, should the rate at which the country’s water sources are being polluted continue, the Water Research Institute (WRI) of the CSIR warned.

“There is the misconception that Ghana is 70 percent covered with water. Even with the abuses, water will not depart from Ghana but the quality cannot be guaranteed,” the Director of WRI, Dr Joseph Addo Ampofo said in an interview with us.

Dr Ampofo cautioned that the combined effect of the increase in temperature, evaporation and the pollution of the country’s water sources were plunging the country into severe water crisis that would make Ghana a Sahelian country.

Drinking water quality

The Water Aid UK in a report released in May 2018 stated that, Ghana has 1,000 children under five years old dying each year from diarrhoea, caused by polluted water. The lack of clean drinking water and sanitation systems is a severe public health concern in Ghana, contributing to 70% of diseases in Ghana due to unclean water and improper sanitation.

From pieces of jewelry, electronic manufacturing companies to dental rooms, gold and other precious metals are being used for various purposes. Gold has a positive impact on a nation’s GDP and it also creates job opportunities for the community.

The small-scale and illegal mining sector in Ghana employs more than a million people, and has popular appeal in a country where unemployment and poverty are rife.

In Ghana, the mining industry accounts for 5% of the country’s GDP and minerals takes up 37% of the total export with gold accounting for 90% of the mineral export. Ghana is the second-largest gold producer in Africa.

Notwithstanding the fact that the mining sector contributes to the government’s revenue, it also has serious negative impacts on the environment and to miners. The illegal mining sector in Ghana is plagued by several environmental and health problems. Several accidents have occurred and in some cases, this has led to fatalities in the mines. A few years back, at least 17 people were killed while mining illegally at a disused gold mine in Ghana’s central region. The ground caved in on the miners as they searched for gold deposits. 

Another serious impact is the health hazards as a result of pollution from gases, noise, dust and polluted water.

Field visit (Twifo Praso)

In our quest to gather firsthand information on the situation; Economy Times’s  Adnan Adams Mohammed and Ousmane Mohammed of Aljazeera TV visited Twifo Praso, located in the Central region stretched along the Pra river which is a popular mining community.

As we entered the popular mining town in one of the regions in the country, we saw a group of young men sitting under a tree for shade and buying time for the night to fall so they could go back to bed as they had no job or work to do. They shared their worries with us as some of them live testimony to the health hazards of illegal mining as they have a deformity on their hands due to working as miners.

Kofi (not real name), who had his finger almost cut off while working at a mining site, narrated how government’s fight against illegal mining in Ghana led him to Cote D’Ivoire to continue with the same mining.

The former miner shared some of the advantages and disadvantages of illegal mining. “The mining work has a lot of advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages are that I was able to provide money and other needs of my family back home in the Volta region. I was able to cater for three of siblings’ education to the Senior High School (SHS) until the government decided to enforce a total ban on a small scale and illegal mining in the country.

Some of the disadvantages are that because it is an illegal work we are doing, the police harass us almost all the time and in the course of we running away from the Police some miners do fall in the muddy pits full of wastewater. Those who cannot swim do die while others do get severely injured.”

At the mining site

On our journey to the mining site, we passed through a dangerous jungle forest with an unmotorable road. It was a struggle to get to the hidden place where illegal mining activities take place. The miners chose this hidden place in an attempt to outwit the anti-illegal mining task force made up of the military and police.

A clear link of the mining activities having serious consequence on the environment, economic trees (cocoa, plantain), fishing and the water body was identified as we followed the chain from the running polluted water from the improvised machine washing the gravels back to the Pra river.

We saw the heavily polluted river body (river Pra) which is one of the sources of water for treatment by Ghana Water Company in the Central and Western regions. Also, children under 15 years old were sited engaging in sand wining activities from the banks of river Pra worsening the pollution. They sell the sand for building construction purpose as a source of income.

At the mining site, where we met few youths engaged in the routine activities in the mining for gold. They refused us to capture their faces due to fear of being identified and chased by the anti-illegal mining taskforce.

We saw a ‘pumping machine’ drawing water from the river Pra for the mining process (washing of the gravels and gold dust/sand). This water after it is used for the washing is directed back into the river Pra to worsen the polluted nature of it.

At the end of the process, we were shown the quantity of gold (a quarter of a karat) they got from the whole day activities which could be sold for about US$120 to be shared by 5 workers.

Joe,  had one of wrist amputated while he was working on mining site in 2017 without benefiting from any insurance package nor compensation from the owner of the company he was working for. During our visit at a mining site, we met him busily working with only one full arm. He narrated his situation and reservations about the mining work to us.

“There are no decent jobs for the uneducated and poor youth in this town and the country at large. If we had some form of vocational, technical and artworks skills training opportunities available to us by the government, it would have been better for us.  But the government is not helping us, yet, harassing and depriving us of our daily bread from working at the mining sites.

“When you look around in this, there are many youths among the population, due to the unavailability of jobs for them, some have resorted to stealing with some allegedly being involved in armed robbery. But I do not want to be that type of person that is why I struggle to work even with my one hand. The government should help us”, he pleaded.

At Komenda Raw Water Intake Station and Treatment Plant

The shortage of treated water supply was manifested as the people resorted in using borehole water. In the film are some children pumping to pull water for household use. We also saw some children bathing in a stream heavily polluted and unsafe for their health.

At the Ghana Water Company raw water intake station, situated along the river Pra downside from Twifo Praso where we witnessed illegal mining activities taking place, we saw evidence of how mercury and cyanide have deposited on the surface of the water being pumped to the treatment plant.

At the water treatment station located in the Komenda Edina Municipality, we met the workers busily monitoring the routine process of water treatment. We could see how the heavily polluted water source was severely hampering smooth operations as they had to regularly open the down pumps to allow muddy water to pass away.

CSOs concern

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and the Minerals Commission are currently validating a proposed amendment to the mining laws of Ghana. They recently held a workshop organised for civil society organisations within the mining sector to make input in the validation process.

Nasir Alfa Mohammed, Policy Advocacy Advisor at the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) told Economy Times at the sideline of the workshop that, the challenge associated with the small scale and illegal mining can be tackled easily when there is sincere political will by the politicians and policy implementers.

Several attempts have been made to speak to the Minerals Commission and Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to know what the government says about the ongoing illegal mining despites government policies to stop illegal mining proved unsuccessful.

Adnan Adams Mohammed

A member of parliament has challenged the government’s intent to go to the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for funding to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19) as he draws the government’s attention to the use of the Contingency Fund allocated in the budget.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta briefing Parliament last week on the nation’s preparedness for the pandemic noted that the government was yet to write to the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a grant.

The minister indicated that the country has no funds available as at now for the emergency preparation in the wake of COVID-19 spreading rapidly with 16 confirmed cases as at press time on Friday, last week. He said, “We have not set aside US$100 million. In fact, we don’t have a US$100 million to set aside, we are now trying to source some money from the IMF and World Bank.”

His statement was a sharp contradictory to what President Nana Akufo Addo told the nation in his second televised address on the government’s preparedness to contain the pandemic. President emphatically stated that US$100 million has been made available to be used as an emergency fund.  He said, “at my prompting, the minister for finance has made available cedi equivalent of US$100 million to enhance our Coronavirus preparedness and response plan”.

“Has the Minister of Finance based on Article 177 of the Constitution made provision in the 2020 Budget for Contingency Fund? If the answer is yes, how much is currently the amount in the Contingency Fund?”, James Klutse Avedzi quizzed in a short write-up shared on social media platforms, last week, right after the finance minister appeared before them.

The MP further asked, “Why has the Minister not brought any request to Parliament for approval to use the Contingency Fund to fight the Coronavirus?

“If the answer to the initial question above is NO, why didn’t the Minister comply with article 177 of the Constitution?

“Finally, in the event that the World Bank and the IMF fail to support Ghana with the US$100 million, how is the government of Ghana going to fight the Coronavirus pandemic?

Article 177 (1) of the Constitution of Ghana states: ‘There shall be paid into the Contingency Fund monies voted for the purpose by Parliament; and advances may be made from that Fund which is authorized by the committee responsible for financial measures in Parliament whenever that the committee is satisfied that there has arisen an urgent or unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists to meet the need.’

 

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Tullow Oil Plc’s 2019 Audited Financial Report posted a combined loss. The Company’s loss after tax alone stood at US$1.6 billion for the group in 2019. Revenue was US$1.68 billion while gross profit was US$759 million.

The loss in the business has triggered the suspension of dividends while the year 2020 capex has been lowered to US$350 million.

According to the report, the group is being restructured to create an effective and efficient organization.

“As such, there will be a 35% headcount reduction”, Dorothy Thompson, Executive Chair, Tullow Oil plc, said in the financial report. Adding that, “This has been an intense period for Tullow as we have worked hard on a thorough review of the business which has led to clear conclusions and decisive actions.

“We are focused on delivering reliable production, lowering our cost base and managing our portfolio to reduce our debt and strengthen our balance sheet. Even with recent events in oil markets, Tullow’s assets remain robust: we are a low-cost African oil producer, with a strong hedging position, substantial reserves that underpin our business and a high potential exploration portfolio.”

The Group’s areas of potential investment to maintain long-term production and reserve recovery have been identified at both Jubilee and TEN.

On the outlook, the oil giant said the 2020 free cash flow forecast of $50-$75 million is at $50 per barrel.

However, 60% of 2020 sales revenue has been hedged with a floor price of $57 per barrel.

It concluded saying Jubilee Oil in Ghana is performing well after gas processing facility upgraded, increased gas offtake agreed, and sea-water injection capacity-optimized.

Adnan Adams Mohammed

Traders in the country have given the general public about two months to prepare for a possible shortage of goods due to the outbreak of the coronavirus which will eventually lead to hikes in prices of goods.

President of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng said, about 60% of traders do physical travelling to the open market in Asia to buy their goods.

“These people are not travelling at all. So they’re not going to bring in any goods and so if there is a shortage of goods now, until the time that this epidemic is contained, they will not be able to restock for the next couple of months. So it all indicates that by the middle of May, we are going to face some shortage. And because of demand and supply, prices are going to go higher.”

GUTA had earlier advised its members to defer any plans to travel to China until the disease is brought under control.

In a press statement, the Association said its members should find other means of transacting business other than travelling to that country until the outbreak is brought under control.

GUTA also admonished its members who have returned recently from or are returning from a trip to China and its environs to visit the nearest hospitals for diagnosis immediately they feel any symptoms.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has suspended temporarily foreign travels for all public officials.

According to the government, this constitutes measures it has taken to prevent the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.