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MARCH 2016 / ISSUE 058 GH¢10.00
Will the Accra Marine Drive Project be completed?
e v a w i r Af act r t n o C sy r e v o r Cont
Margins
envisions global presence
USA..........................................$5.00 UNITED KINGDOM.....................£3.00 EUROPE....................................€3.50 AUSTRALIA.............................AS5.00 CFA ZONE...........................CFA 2,000 OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES.US$4.00
THE FIRST BUSINESS READ IN GHANA
Follow us online at www.ghanabizfinance.com
CONTENTS ISSUE 058 / MARCH 2016
of the electricity distribution system and achieve universal access to power by 2020.
40 SMEs & Microfinance
22 Science & Technology
Front Cover: Moses Baiden CEO of Margins Group
A summary of business and financial stories which occurred in Ghana, Africa and the rest of the world.
10 Economy
Roselyn Byrne concludes her three-part article on why government should set regulations to control how church finances are accounted for and assess them for taxation. HFC Bank is steering a revolution in banking, and it is paying off for the rebranded leading financial institution and its customers.
14 Corporate Progress
Many business leaders know what keeps customers satisfied and doing that very thing is what business success means, argues columnist J.M. Halm. Good managers realise that a customer who buys a good or service expects satisfaction.
16 Finance
In this last instalment of the article on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), the integration of Ghana’s exchange with others in West Africa is as one of the tools that the GSE is applying to strengthen the capital market.
18 Energy
The Ghana Energy Development and Access Project aims to improve the operational efficiency
With the building of the largest certified ultra-modern state-ofthe-art factory in Sub-Saharan Africa for producing secure documents and cards, Margins Group Company Limited is set to achieve its objective of going global soon.
30 Conference
13 Banking
The fourth Ghana Economic Outlook and Business Strategy conference brought many leading government officials, captains of industry, policy- and decisionmakers, industrial experts, politicians, foreign businesses and investors, and the diplomatic community to discuss how Ghana can fast-track its industrialisation.
34 Agriculture
Inadequate access to quality extension services has resulted in the inability of smallholder farmers to improve productivity, earning them low income.
36 Communications
The selection of Afriwave Ghana Limited to run the first Interconnectivity Clearing House for the telecommunications sector has been dogged by controversy. Some individuals and groups alleged that the National Communications Authority (NCA) did not follow the right procedure to award the contract to Afriwave; but the NCA disagreed.
38 AfricaOnline Ghana launches its
new Radwin Network in Accra to offer superior, reliable and highspeed broadband for its corporate clients.
Find us online at www.ghanabizfinance.com All information contained within this magazine is the property of Ghana Business & Finance and is not to be used without written authorisation from the publishers. Although every effort is made to ensure the correctness of information submitted for publication, the magazine may inadvertently contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Ghana Business & Finance assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this publication or other documents that are referenced by or linked to this publication.
MARCH 2016
42 Tourism
24 Cover
6 Briefs
Glass is a useful material which contributes significantly to the development of many areas of human endeavour. In this piece, columnist Dr Nana Ama Browne Klutse and her guest writer, Dr Charles Kofi Klutse, urges Ghana to utilise glass for development.
According to columnist Yaw Ohemeng Kyei, some of the reasons for the collapse of local SMEs include lack of succession planning, partisan politics, lack of capital and investment in technology, and apathy and lack of networking. To leverage the potentials of city tourism, the government has renewed the plan to start the US$1.55 billion Accra Marine Drive project. After several attempts to do so failed, will the sea frontage ever be transformed into a world-class facility?
45 Events
Visit conferences to be held around the world that interest you and your business.
46 Business & Management
Five instructive ideas, columnist Yaw Asamoah suggests, could make the National Health Insurance Scheme more efficient and effective in its role as the largest social protection initiative.
48 Perspectives
Worldwide, customer service plays a vital role in forming the perceptions of organisations and individuals, and knowledge management is crucial in doing that. But in Ghana, not all organisations understand the importance of customer service.
50 Automobile
Jaguar XE and Land Rover Discovery Sport offer an experience of a life time for customers to engage with professional sales executives.
53 Stats & Indices
Figures speak louder than words for Ghana’s economy.
54 Commodities
Know the prices of agricultural produce in selected markets, as researched and compiled by Esoko.
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GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
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Editor Ayuureyisiya Kapini Atafori editor@ghanabizfinance.com Senior Staff Writer Kweku Darko Ankrah kdankrah@ghanabizfinance.com Columnists Jerry Halm Yaw Asamoah Dr Nana Ama Browne Klutse Yaw Ohemeng Kyei Contributors Martin Luther C. King Oppong Baah Anthony Sedzro Kennedy Addai Kuffour Adnan Adams Mohammed Design & Production Manager Benjamin Tetteh btetteh@ghanabizfinance.com Circulation & Subscription Ernest Awo subscription@ghanabizfinance.com Editorial Committee Prof. Paul N. Buatsi Prof. Kwame Addo Ms Johanna Awotwi Mr Gaddy Laryea Mr Ray de Bono Mr Nana Robert Mensah Mr Frederick Alipui Ms Dede-Esi Amanor-Wilks Ms Nana Spio-Garbrah Office Location Ghana Business & Finance African Business Media House No. 7 Lamb Street (off Farrar Avenue) Adabraka, Accra, Ghana Mailing Address P. O. Box O 772, Osu, Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 302 240 786 Fax: +233 302 240 783 enquiries@ghanabizfinance.com Brand Advisor Dmax Studios in Malta, EU. (www.dmax.tv) Credits GNA Daily Graphic radioxyzonline.com Mergermarket Group ghanabusinessnews.com
myjoyonline Bloomberg citifmonline Corporate Council on Africa
Ghana Business & Finance magazine is published by
… EC must sit up; parties mustn’t stampede Commissioner As many may have noticed before the end of last year and in the last two months of this year from a conspectus of political occurrences, the electoral politics of Ghana is literally on a high octane. It is just too early. But the political temperature in Ghana is getting heated, ahead of the November 7 presidential and parliamentary polls, the sixth since the country adopted constitutional multi-party democracy in 1992. The Electoral Commission (EC) performs a central and critical function when executing its constitutional mandate of conducting credible, free and fair elections. In carrying out its main function of conducting and declaring all national elections, the EC comes into direct contact with the political parties whose major objective is to possess power and use it to govern (and at times misgovern) the people. Doing business thrives in a stable, safe, secured and peaceful political environment. For the business community in Ghana to remain mute when a significantly sensitive issue like the preparations for the impending General Elections has been partly mishandled by the EC, and is being manipulated by the political parties to suit their partisan interests smacks of misplaced priority at least, and of sheer lethargy at worst. Where are the voices of AGI, GNCCI, GEA, GUTA and their ilk? Like the EC, the parties, voters and civil society, the business community is a major stakeholder in the development of electoral democracy in the country. So what rationality informs the Ghanaian business community to divest itself from involvement in governance (not party political) affairs like ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections? Frankly, the business community’s position is understandable in the currently polluted, overly partisan situation in this election year. But should the business community wait till trouble brews and escalates before it lets its voice be heard? By the time conflict breaks out, the voice of business would be unheeded as it would be drowned in primeval irrational thinking and action; and great harm and destruction would have been done. The implications of disputed elections in the post-poll era in Africa are dire as life and property have been imperilled and terminated in some countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya. That is why GB&F finds it necessarily pertinent to comment on the current goings-on at the EC and the interactions with, and reactions of the parties with respect to the recent preparations towards the conduct of elections late this year. GB&F begins its commentary on the premises that important Independent Constitutional Bodies like CHRAJ, NCCE and EC must be supported by all stakeholders to perform their functions. After the victory of the NDC in the 2012 presidential election was contested at the Supreme Court by the main opposition NPP and lost, there has been bad blood between the EC and the NPP. Before venerable EC Commissioner Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan retired on June 15, 2015, he had to endure fierce vilification from prominent members of the NPP. Today, some members of the NPP who insulted Dr Afari Gyan now laud one of the doyens of elections in Africa. Immediately President John Mahama appointed Dr Afari Gyan’s successor, Charlotte Osei, the NPP seems to have transferred its hatred for Dr Afari Gyan to this comely lawyer without her formally assuming the position yet. The NPP’s thunderbolt came when the party vowed to vote with a new voters’ register which it charged the EC to produce. The Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) and other stakeholders supported the call for the new register. The Justice Crabbe Committee was set up to sort out the need for a new voters’ roll, after majority of the parties and civil society organisations at an EC-organised forum in Accra on October 29, 2015 de-emphasised a new register, and emphasised a cleansing of the current register. The report of the committee rejected the NPP’s proposal. Yet the NPP still insists on a new roll. As if ill-fated, the EC, in reacting to the NPP’s request for a new register, made a few faux pas which it is not wise to mention here. Based on GB&F’s logic of collective support for independent bodies like the EC, we posit that the NPP and other organisations which want a new register should have co-operated and collaborated with the EC to straighten up the flaws. Rather the antagonists used the EC’s goofs as an opportunity to tear it into shreds. The NPP’s schadenfreude was obvious. This further poisoned the relationship between the two electoral stakeholders. The quietus appears to have come for the NPP and the other parties as the circumstances surrounding the mandate and composition of the 18-member Elections Steering Committee were not above board, allowing the parties, especially the NPP, to lambaste and discredit the EC and the committee. GB&F urges the EC to put its house in order. In this polarised atmosphere, GB&F appeals to the parties not to stampede the Commissioner and the EC as they prepare for the November polls. The EC can only organise open, impartial and transparent elections with the support of the parties and other stakeholders. Ensuring incident-free polls is a collective responsibility of all segments of the polity in Ghana.
Ayuureyisiya Kapini Atafori
Mail to the Editor
Send your articles, comments and letters to the editor at editor@ghanabizfinance.com
Editor (+233 024 2385374) MARCH 2016
GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
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EDITOR’S SUITE
General Manager Josiah Spio-Garbrah jspiogarbrah@ghanabizfinance.com +233 264 510 396
Ensuring credible, free, fair & peaceable elections
Coca-Cola, a global leader in the nonalcoholic beverage industry, has begun efforts to integrate its multiple campaigns in an attempt to popularise its iconic product in the world and the Ghanaian market. The firm has collated creative ideas from 10 different agencies across the world for the new campaign dubbed ‘Taste the Feeling,’ to replace ‘Open Happiness.’ Speaking at the unveiling event in Accra, Rodolfo Echeverria, Coca-Cola’s Vice President-Global Creative, Connections and Digital, said Coca-Cola has turned to be a very important icon in the world, and the firm wants to market the variants of the products as one brand via the new campaign to be rolled out in the first quarter of 2016.
Airtel Ghana named 2015 change maker Airtel Ghana, a leading telecommunication service provider, has been named Change Maker Company of the Year for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in 2015 under the International category for Social Impact through Employee Engagement within its parent company, the Bharti Group. Airtel Ghana received the highest honour (Gold) for its significant and farreaching efforts to integrate social responsibility across its products, services, operations and its innovative employee CSR initiative. Commenting on the recognition, Hannah Agbozo, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director at Airtel, said CSR has been integral to the business strategy and culture at Airtel, and the award, which has been won for a second consecutive year, “speaks to the dedication of our employees to making a difference and driving positive impact in the communities where they work and live.”
uniCredit promises to increase SMEs financing uniCredit Ghana Limited, one of the leading savings and loans companies in Ghana, has taken a bold step to ensure that Ghanaian SMEs are free to focus on their businesses instead of worrying about sourcing funding for their growth and expansion. unicredit has a generous fund for SMEs development. Samuel Sakyi-Hyde, CEO of uniCredit, said the firm believed in supporting SMEs to deliver the much-needed growth in the economy, adding “we have set high targets for ourselves to partner them adequately for growth.”
Chinery-Hesse listed among 15 Black STEM Innovators Herman Chinery-Hesse, a software entrepreneur and co-founder of theSOFTtribe, has made it to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields as a global thinker. ChineryHesse, who started theSOFTtribe in 1991 with no start-up capital but only his personal computer and teaming up with another computer wizkid, Kwamena Bolton, quickly turned theSOFTtribe into one of the biggest technology companies in Ghana which offer a variety of software services such as payroll management, airline ticketing and booking.
MARCH 2016
Tigo builds ultra-modern data centre
GHANA BRIEFS
Coca-Cola unveils ‘Taste the Feeling’ campaign
Tigo Ghana, the award-winning telecommunication entity, has put up a US$5.1 million new ultramodern data centre right behind its headquarters in Accra to house all of its network infrastructure with adequate room to host and store data for other companies. This is also to ensure that all customer data are properly stored and managed in full compliance of Ghana’s Data Protection Act (Act 843). Speaking at the official opening, Ron Reddick, the Chief Technical and Information Officer at Tigo, said the three-tier facility has a rack capacity of 110 which can provide the necessary infrastructural space for Tigo’s many customer-oriented projects.
UMB out with 3 new insurance products
The Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) has expanded its bancassurance products offering by introducing three new insurance products: UMB Family/ Accident Insurance, UMB Motor Insurance and UMB Households/ Homeowners Insurance. The products, which are guaranteed by Phoenix Insurance Company, were launched at a ceremony at the UMB Head Office at Airport City in Accra. In an address, John Awuah, the CEO of UMB, stated that as a “customer centric bank,” UMB had over the years focused on developing products that made a real difference to the lives of its customers. The new insurance products, Awuah said, were further demonstration of this fact.
GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
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CORPORATE PROGRESS
The customer satisfaction equation:
Improving performance or lowering expectations? BY J. N. HALM
Customer Satisfaction = Performance Expectations
A few days ago, I decided to have ‘waakye’ for brunch-I believe many readers would appreciate that feeling, especially those who had, at one time or the other, caught the ‘kobolo’ bug. That feeling for some good old ‘waakye’ grabs you so tightly that you have no choice but to hit the road in search of the irresistible rice and beans combination. Pretty soon after I set out, I came across a 21st century ‘waakye’ seller. You know, the kind who has the food in a huge food flask inside a glass cage with everything so neatly arranged. I got attracted immediately and my expectations shot to a high. This must be good, I thought to myself.
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bought as much as I thought would satisfy my hunger and went back home to feast. However, I was bitterly disappointed with the ‘performance’ of the food. I believe it had to do with the ‘pepper’ or sauce. One thing I know is that ‘waakye’ is all about the pepper. This woman’s pepper just did not meet the standard of those I had enjoyed growing up in the suburb of Dansoman in Accra. I must add that the we’le’ or tendered cow hide was also quite disappointing. (Readers can think the worse of me at this time, but it’s all good!). In short, my expectations had not been met and I was a very dissatisfied customer. I have no plans of paying that woman any visits in the future.
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Customer Satisfaction Many business leaders would agree that knowing what keeps customers satisfied and doing that very thing always is what business success is all about. Good managers realise that a customer, who makes a purchase or patronises a service, comes into that transaction with a certain expectation. A customer will never be satisfied if the performance of the product or service does not meet that expectation. If the performance of the product of service offering equals the customer’s expectations, that customer walks away satisfied. When the product’s (or service’s) performance exceeds expectations, customers become very happy. This is a basic understanding that I am sure that every
GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
business person knows. What this relationship indicates is that to keep customers very satisfied, a business must do one of three things: It must either work to make certain that the performance of its offering (products and/or services) exceed customers’ expectations. The business can also work at lowering the expectations of customers about its offering so that customers are satisfied with the best that the business can offer. Lastly, the business can work at lowering expectations whilst at the same time improving its performance. Lowering Customer Expectations Of all the three options, I believe the easiest one for businesses is the
MARCH 2016
ENERGY
Digging into Ghana Energy Development and Access Project BY KWEKU DARKO ANKRAH
Last year, Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Senator and aspiring 2016 Democratic presidential candidate in the United States (US) introduced a bill that would make it easier for lowincome families to take advantage of solar power and access electricity easily and cheaply. The bill, later to become the Low Income Solar Act, debuted on the same day that the Obama Administration announced a similar programme aimed at installing 300 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in federally subsidised housing by 2020.
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he Sanders bill is touted by policy pundits as offering the impetus to Obama`s programme by providing US$200 million in Department of Energy loans and grants to help offset the upfront costs associated with installing solar panels on community facilities, public housing and low-income family homes. In Ghana, a similar equalopportunity and unfettered access to electricity initiative had been rolled out since 2007. The Ghana Energy Development and Access Project’s (GEDAP) cardinal objective is to improve the operational efficiency of the electricity distribution system and increase the population’s access to
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electricity. Ghana is seeking, through the successful execution of GEDAP, to achieve universal access to electricity by 2020. GEDAP commenced under President John Kufuor`s New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, and inherited by late Professor John Evans Atta Mills` National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. Currently under President John Mahama`s NDC administration, GEDAP is in its third phase, though it was originally scheduled to come to completion in mid-2015. There has been some implementation of the Phase I and Phase II of GEDAP. The extended Phase III will end in 2017. The GEDAP secured US$60 million from the World Bank last year for the implementation
GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
of the Phase III. The government`s energy policies are tuned in sync with GEDAP objectives to ensure effective execution of the projects that will usher Ghana into efficient and sustainable energy use by all by 2020. The 2015 energy outlook performance revealed that as at the end of the last quarter of 2015, about 550 communities were energised or connected to the national grid. The Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) constructed and commissioned 2x 7.5 MVA 34.5/11kV sub-station at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale and Kotokrom in Sunyani to improve the quality of supply to its customers. The Tamale Airport sub-station was
MARCH 2016
COVER
Margins
envisions global presence BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI
The Ghanaian company has morphed since its birth 25 years ago in a room at No.7, 7th Ringway Estates at Osu in Accra with an investment of US$100 and has cast it tentacles in several African countries. Now, the company envisions a global presence in the near future. And there seems to be no turning back for the company in chalking that goal.
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he multinational company, built on four major platforms, has a presence in seven countries and is run by an international multi-cultural team working within a stimulating environment, and benchmarking the best global practices. The team is focusing on a dynamic and inspiring global vision of delivering systems, services and products, facilitating and ensuring security in identity and transactions. With the building of the largest certified ultra-modern state-ofthe-art factory in Sub-Saharan Africa for producing secure documents and cards situated at Spintex Road in Accra, Margins Group Company Limited is working hard to achieve a global presence of its offerings of excellent, world-class services and products.
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GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
MARCH 2016
PHOTO GALLERY
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Ghana Economic Outlook & Business Strategy Conference (EOBS 2016) at Tang Palace Hotel, Accra 1. Participants listening attentively during proceedings at EOBS 2016 2. H. E. Lulama Xingwana, South African High Commissioner to Ghana 3. From left: Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah (standing), David Ofosu-Dorte (AB & David), Kwabena Agyekum (CIMG), Dr Henry Alhassan (EDAIF) 4. Participants at one of the sessions of EOBS 5. A participant talking to Nico van Staalduinen, MD of the Ghana Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and Culture 6. H. E. Sun Baohong, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, talking to Dr Abu Sakara, former CPP flagbearer 7. David Ofosu-Dorte, Founder of AB & David law firm, interacting with Dr Kwabena Adjei, Kasapreko Group Chairman
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COMMUNICATIONS
Afriwave
contract controversy:
Any need for clearing house? BY ANTHONY SEDZRO
In November last year, the National Telecommunications Authority (NCA) announced that Afriwave Ghana Limited has been selected to run Ghana’s first Interconnectivity Clearing House (ICH) for the telecommunications sector. But the award of the contract to Afriwave has been dogged by controversy.
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GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
MARCH 2016
PERSPECTIVE
Efficient customer service through knowledge management BY YVONNE OHUI MACCARTHY
Customer service is one element of business that cannot be ignored by a serious organisation. Excellent delivery of services and products wins the day. It is evident that in some parts of the world where customer service plays a vital role in forming the perceptions of organisations and individuals, and eventually becomes a winning strategy when planned and executed well, knowledge management (KM) is crucial.
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n Ghana, however, not all organisations understand the importance of customer service. Some companies see every activity that enhances customer service as an extra expense out of their budgets, while others make efforts to train and retrain their employees in order to put them in the best position to offer excellent customer service. Most Ghanaian organisations which put an effort into
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ensuring that their frontline staff offers excellent customer service somehow limit it to the basics of customer service. It is important to note that customer service is dynamic and the content of training and strategies for ensuring effective customer service have evolved over the years. One emerging trend that most reputable organisations known for effective customer service follow is
GHANA BUSINESS & FINANCE
efficient KM within and outside the organisation. One service that is fast gaining a foothold in the customer service management is KM. A recent study shows that 70.1 per cent of companies are institutionalising KM in one way or another into their core business processes. Let us look at what KM is and how an organisation can get ahead in customer service through KM. So just what is KM? It is popularly MARCH 2016