This follows the completion of the placement of qualified of Junior High School (JHS) graduates into Senior High Schools by the Computerized School Selection Placement System (CSSPS) on September 30.

[contextly_sidebar id=”EQ75ojD5GTPxgKLCHY70qJAl9MM5AfYy”]”All heads have also been requested to provide full updates of their current situation in terms of furniture, teaching and learning materials, etc. This is to inform and guide management in its decision and immediate actions required to ensure full implementation of the free Senior High School Programme,” a statement from the GES said.

The Computerized School Selection Placement System initially encountered some challenges, with error notices greeting some BECE graduates who had been trying, since September 1, to access the website for self-placement.

But the government said these problems had been addressed, following the setting up of a new website.

The original website for the self-placement, www.myjhsresult.net, now contains a link that directs users to the new website, www.cssps.gov.gh.

The issues with the CSSPS began following the Ghana Education Service’s (GES) announcement of an extension for the placement of BECE candidates after it emerged that over 100,000 qualified candidates had still not been placed.

The GES asked qualified students who were not placed to go online, and select an option available during the window which was eventually extended five times.

Free SHS: Angry parents of stranded students petition Minister

Over 50 parents last week petitioned the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, at the Regional Coordinating Council over what they term as the refusal of school authorities to provide their wards with boarding accommodation.

The parents, who have been traveling to and fro from Tema, Kumasi, Kasoa, Accra, Afram Plains and Savlugu in the Northern Region, say they have had to abandon their work to follow up on these issues for their wards.

The implementation of the Free SHS this September for first year students, has put enormous pressure on the facilities of most schools across the country. Some heads have improvised to accommodate the numbers, but others simply cannot take anymore.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The measures come after a thorough review of the controls the central bank introduced in February this year to halt the depreciation of the cedi.

The earlier measures limited access to foreign exchange and restricted local trade transactions to the cedi.

Under current regulations, foreign exchange and foreign currency account holders are required to provide documentation for transfers outside Ghana and are only able to withdraw up to the equivalent of US$10,000 for travel abroad.

That restriction is expected to be relaxed and foreign currency account holders will no longer need to show proof of travel in order to withdraw from their foreign account.

A source at the BoG told the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity that businesses that provided services for non-resident Ghanaians would quote their prices in cedis but could collect dollars.

Another measure that is expected to be relaxed is the prohibition of offshore currency transactions by resident Ghanaian companies.

Again, the restrictions that require exporters to collect and repatriate in full the proceeds of their exports to their local banks within 60 days of shipment are also expected to be relaxed.

BoG under pressure

The BoG came under heavy criticism from some economists and business concerns over the imposition of the foreign exchange regulations which were intended “to streamline the collection and repatriation of export proceeds to Ghana”.

Addressing the opening session of the recently held three-day National Economic Forum at Senchi in the Eastern Region, the President had called on the BoG to review the forex restriction in order to reduce the hardship on businesses.

Meeting with businesses

According to the source, the BoG had earlier planned to allow foreign exchange withdrawals of up to US$20,000 by foreign exchange account holders but had to maintain the US$10,000 withdrawal on the advice of the business sector.

But since the introduction of those measures, the cedi had declined by more than 20 per cent and is now trading against the dollar at more than GH¢3.

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This year’s loan deal, which is estimated to be US$1.8billion and the highest Cocobod has raised in two crop seasons, will be used to purchase beans during the 2014/2015 cocoa harvest.

“This year we are expecting a bigger crop in terms of value because the price is higher than last year. It is going to be more than 50 percent higher than last year, so at least the second half of the year looks a lot better than what we have in the first half. I believe that we will see stability going forward,” Dr. Wampah said in an interview with the B&FT.

The local currency has fallen rapidly in the first four months of the year after Ghana’s current account deficit worsened to unsustainable levels and the fiscal deficit remained high at 11 percent of GDP.

Major import industries such as car dealerships have borne the brunt of the currency’s slide, which has also pushed up inflation to a four-year record while damaging business confidence.

The Governor said the cedi has seen some stability over the past few weeks, and that the BoG is still monitoring the impact of its extraordinary policies to stem its steep decline.

The latest of the policies, announced last month, was an increase in the cash reserve requirement of banks from 9 percent to 11 percent of deposits. It followed an earlier hike in the central bank’s policy rate and tighter regulations on the use of foreign currencies in domestic transactions.

“We will review [the measures] at our next meeting and see how developments are. Based on that, if we need to take any additional action, we will,” said Dr. Wampah.

Asked whether further tightening of monetary policy is on the cards, he replied: “I can’t tell if there will be further tightening. It is not a decision by me alone but a committee that will meet and review all the issues”.

The BoG’s next monetary-policy meeting is likely to take place in June.

Last year’s cocoa syndicated loan of US$1.2billion will purchase 850,000 tonnes of cocoa beans in the ongoing season which began in October 2013. Cocobod had previously estimated an output of 830,000 tonnes.

Source: B&FT

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