THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
An association of German companies and institutions active in Africa has hailed the re-election of Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo. In a press statement issued on Monday (14 December), Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. said Akufo-Addo’s victory at the country’s recent elections signals political continuity and creates security for companies doing business in the country.
“The re-election of incumbent Nana Akufo-Addo has confirmed the hopes of German companies operating in Ghana for a certain continuity in the current difficult situation in the country,” Afrika-Verein said.
“In the run-up to the elections, many company executives had expressed scepticism about a change [of government] amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
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In the event of a change of power, “relations with a new government would have had to be built up first and projects that had already been decided on might have been put to the test again. This would have tended to slow down economic development, which had just picked up speed again,” the group opined.
According to Ghana’s electoral commission, the 76-year-old Akufo-Addo was re-elected with almost 52 percent of the vote at the general elections, which took place on 7 December. His main opponent and predecessor in office, ex-President John Mahama, received around 47 percent of the vote.
Ghana is one of the most important partners of German companies on the African continent. The volume of trade has developed positively in recent years and investments by German companies also increased progressively during President Akufo-Addo’s first term of office, Afrika-Verein noted.
“The most important concerns of German companies to the new government are continuity, the reduction of bureaucracy, more reliability in directives and regulations, and the fight against corruption, the group said. “President Akufo-Addo has been given a chance by the voters to further improve the operating conditions for businesses,” says the association, which represents about 500 German companies active in African countries.
Femi Awoniyi
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