GB&F November 2015

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NOVEMBER 2015 / ISSUE 054 GH¢10.00

’s Ghana woes mic o n o c e spite e d n o linger rs of oil 5 yea ction produ

USA..........................................$5.00 UNITED KINGDOM.....................£3.00 EUROPE....................................€3.50 AUSTRALIA.............................AS5.00 CFA ZONE...........................CFA 2,000 OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES.US$4.00

Dr Kwabena Adjei:

Kasapreko King proves African ingenuity

THE FIRST BUSINESS READ IN GHANA

Follow us online at www.ghanabizfinance.com

CONTENTS ISSUE 054 / NOVEMBER 2015

24 Energy

Five years after Ghana hit the black gold in a celebratory mood, have the expectations of the citizens and government been realised? Lack of funds, high cost of living, unemployment and infrastructural deficit linger on.

the city and the continent. A recent three-day tour by African journalists revealed that Dubai means more business than Africa.

And so Dubai gains more.

48 SMEs & Microfinance

26 Science & Technology

Columnist Dr Nana Ama Browne Klutse explores the possibility of migrating from textbooks-oriented studying environment to e-education by using appropriate technological tools which complement the traditional classroom teaching and learning processes.

Front Cover: Dr Kwabena Adjei Group Chairman, Kasapreko Company Limited

6 Briefs

28 Word-For-Word

GB&F editor Ayuureyisiya Kapini Atafori pitched a rare interview with Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and the current Deputy Chairperson of the World Chambers Federation, who dilated on the 3rd Africa Global Business Forum recently held in Dubai.

Snippets of business and financial stories trending in Ghana, Africa and the rest of the world.

10 Economy

The second part of Roselyn Byrne`s analysis on Ghana`s past development plans could be useful to the crafters of the final 40-year National Development Plan document.

32 Cover

Kasapreko Company Limited (KCL) has broken barriers to become one of the worldrenowned and prestigious brands. At the forefront of the company’s unprecedented success story is the founder of KCL, Dr Kwabena Adjei, a great visionary businessman who started from a humble beginning and still maintains his humility, despite his considerable wealth.

14 A preview of the 2016 budget indicates that the expectations of various stakeholders may, or may not, be met in the budget.

18 Corporate Progress

Columnist J. M. Halm cleverly creates an exciting fable to illustrate the importance of good customer service, and the rewards that accrue to the company and its employees.

20 Finance

38 Industry

Ghana’s economy faces difficulties due to a falling currency, reduction in government revenues and rising debt. Industrialisation is touted by experts as one of the key means to counter these challenges to usher Ghana into prosperity.

SMEs will witness a massive boom when the Bank of Ghana gives the green light to an Islamic Bank to commence operations next year.

22 The world of foreign exchange

trading can be rewarding when appropriate skills and strategies are developed to take advantage of the market. This article looks at various forex trading systems and their efficacies.

40 Trade

Dubai has recently shown much interest in trading with, and investing in, Africa; leading to an increase in business between

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.

NOVEMBER 2015

Columnist Yaw Ohemeng Kyei’s examination of the reasons why microfinance companies fold up in Ghana is interesting. He discusses their failure to meet their obligations to depositors and their creditors and other variables.

50 Tourism

Branding tells a compelling story about a product, place or destination.

Destination branding serves as a powerful communication tool for informing tourists about the wonderful touristic opportunities in a country.

52 Business & Management

Ghana`s political landscape has been characterised by protracted politics of vindictiveness, jealousies and discontinuation of development plans. Columnist Yaw Asamoah observes that the time has come for Ghanaians to rally around the National Flag with the purpose of making the country great and strong.

54 Mining

The first ECOWAS Mining and Petroleum Forum and Exhibition (ECOMOF 2015) came off successfully in Accra with a reemphasis on the significance of implementing the African Union’s Africa Mining Vision.

56 Events

Visit conferences to be held around the world that interest you and your business.

57 Stats & Indices

Figures speak louder than words for Ghana`s economy.

58 Commodities

Know the prices of agricultural produce in selected markets, as researched and compiled by Esoko. linkedin.com/GhanaBusiness&Finance facebook.com/GBandF @ghana_business

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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

… to apply best practices to deepen democracy One may not be wrong when one makes bold to say the making and application of a Right to Information (RTI) Act has taken the longest time to materialise in the legislative annals of Ghana.

For about 16 years, Ghanaian politicians, on their own free volition, promised to give the people of this beloved country a law that will enhance, if not reinforce, good governance: transparency, accountability and responsibility. At present, that law is yet to be given to the people in whom primary political power is reposed by virtue of the 1992 Constitution and the franchise they wield to vote political parties and politicians in and out of power.

The RTI Bill being refined and fine-tuned by Members of Parliament (MPs), according to Hon. Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader, will become law in the first quarter of 2016. Knowing the all-importance of the law to all segments of the society, particularly the economy and business, and as advocates of real good governance, GB&F welcomes Bagbin’s announcement with joy and gratitude. We look forward to the day that the President will assent the legislatively-passed RTI Bill into a bureaucratically-gazetted RTI Act. But hold on. We have two fears. Fear that the Bill will not become an Act any soon; notwithstanding Hon. Bagbin’s assurance. Fear that the Act may not serve Ghanaians well to the standards that best practices require globally.

Thankfully, there are ways out of these fears. The first fear grew out of the disappointments that Ghanaians suffered after three governments undertook to offer them a legislation on right to information, but never delivered the pledge. RTI first became part of public discourse in 1999, leading to the drafting of the first RTI Bill in 2003 to operationalise Ghanaians’ right to information enshrined in the Constitution. Ever since, governments have drafted and redrafted Bills on RTI; sent, withdrawn and re-sent them to Parliament. The Kufuor administration dispatched the Bill to Parliament. But President John Agyekum Kufuor served his two four-year terms without the Bill being passed for him to assent into law.

The Mills administration, seemingly trying to outdo and undo its predecessor, took up the promulgation of the law with religious zeal. President John Atta Mills put the Bill before MPs. But the Bill was not passed before Mills passed away. President John Mahama took over, and being a communication professional and a historian, exhibited unrivalled enthusiasm in making history as the President who first brought the law into force. President Mahama and his Ministers kept on repeating that the Bill would be passed soon. But ‘soon’ never came till today. So GB&F is cautiously thrilled that he is bent on making history by making good his words in 2016 when Bagbin’s statement comes to pass.

The reasons for the delays and dilly-dallying on the part of the Executive and the Legislature in enacting an Act on RTI are discernably not far-fetched. Reason One: Political expediency borne out of fear that the Act will empower the governed to hold the government more accountable – a risk to possessing power which power-hungry careerists will move heaven and earth to avoid.

To the savvy and foxy politician, giving out the law is like handing over a dagger to a convicted murderer to stab you. So let us tarry with this law, they ponder and perform. Reason Two: Legal and legislative manipulation supersedes best practices. Governments attempted to give the people a weak law which will end up being ineffectual, allowing politicians and public servants to govern the way they want. Reason Three: Resistance to playing political puppetry with the law through civil society activism caused governments to redraft the Bill and resend it to the ‘National Assembly’ (why only District Assemblies without their regional and national incarnations?) several times.

Of all the civil society organisations that advocated the implementation of an effective and efficient law on right, and free access, to information in Ghana, the Coalition on RTI deserves tonnes of thanks from Ghanaians. Since its inception in 2003, the Coalition mounted animated advocacy campaigns against all the anti-free access to information clauses in the various Bills till today, when, at least, we can expect an Act that will further fertilise and deepen Ghana’s democracy which is underpinned by good governance.

That type of law can only be carved out of the African Union (AU) Model Law on Access to Information drafted at the 49th Ordinary Session of the AU Commission on April 29, 2011 in Banjul, Gambia, to guide Member States in adopting or reviewing access to information laws and provide uniform benchmarks for evaluating their effective implementation.

Ayuureyisiya Kapini Atafori Editor (+233 024 2385374)

NOVEMBER 2015

Mail to the Editor

Send your articles, comments and letters to the editor at editor@ghanabizfinance.com

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EDITOR’S SUITE

General Manager Josiah Spio-Garbrah jspiogarbrah@ghanabizfinance.com +233 264 510 396

MPs must give Ghanaians AU model-type Right to Information Act

About 12 million metric tonnes of food produced in Ghana is wasted annually. The causes of this food wastage are numerous and occur through the stages of production, processing, retailing and consumption. Dr John OdameDarkaw, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), made this known in Accra at a forum organised by the FDA to create awareness of the need to adopt healthy practices to ensure food security. It was on the theme ‘Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty - the Role of Food Security.’

Tough times for SMEs as public borrowing continues Ken Thompson, the CEO of Dalex Finance, has advised Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to prepare for a stormy business climate next year if government‘s borrowing continues.

Public debt reportedly reached US$83 billion last July. Thompson said the government is compelled to borrow from the domestic market, and this influences the increase in interest rate on Treasury Bills. “It is companies like Dalex Finance that lend to SMEs. The banks don’t do that. They would rather buy Treasury Bills so if the rates go up, the amount that we charge for our loans also goes up,” he said.

IMF: Public debt to hit 72% of GDP by year end Ghana’s public debt will by end of this year account for about 72 per cent of the total value of the economy, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its new fiscal monitor report. The report was released ahead of the IMF annual summit in Lima, Peru. The Ministry of Finance put the country’s public debt, as at last July, at around GHC83 billion, 62 per cent of GDP. The IMF’s report, which assesses the financial position of over 100 countries, forecast that Ghana’s public debt would increase to 70 per cent by the end of this year. The IMF has classified Ghana as a high risk of debt-distressed country.

Vodafone rewards 180,000 customers in ‘Yee Twi K ’ promotion

Vodafone Ghana, CIMG Telecoms Company of the year, will for the next 70 days reward over 180,000 customers nationwide with exciting cash prizes and airtime daily, weekly and monthly in its latest promotion dubbed, ‘Yee Twi K .’

At the launch of the promotion, Agnes Emefa Essah, Director of Marketing at Vodafone, said the ‘Yee Twi K ’ promotion seeks to give GHC100,000 to the ultimate winner.

Anglogold, Randgold to create 3,500 jobs through partnership The partnership between Anglogold Ashanti and Randgold Resources aimed at redeveloping the Obuasi mine is expected to create about 3,500 jobs. The group is hoping to commence operation by April next year. The two mining giants last month signed a 50-50 joint venture agreement involving an initial investment sum of about US$6 million to revive the mine. Residents in the area have, however, vowed to resist being sidelined in employment. Mark Bristow, CEO of Rand-Gold, assured that the entire business community of Obuasi would gain from the impending arrangement to revamp the mine.

NOVEMBER 2015

Kumasi businesses tutored on opportunities Businesses under the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kumasi have been exposed to a new environmentally-conscious concept that connects industries and creates business opportunities. The Ghana Industrial Symbiosis Programme (GhISP) supports industries to develop smarter ways of resource and waste management. Ghana is among three African countries to tap into the opportunity, which is supported by the Industrial Symbiosis Limited (ISL) UK and funded by the European Union (EU). James Woodcock, International Manager of ISL, led a workshop to introduce businesses in Kumasi to how to turn waste into resource to save money, create new business opportunities and improve their environmental performance.

SIC Insurance, RejemMoolman team up to develop property sector SIC Insurance Company Limited (SIC Insurance), Ghana and the Rejem– Moolman Consortium of South Africa announced a broad partnership that enhances SIC Insurance’s position in the commercial and retail property industry in Ghana, while significantly expanding Rejem–Moolman Consortium’s reach in Ghana and other key, high-growth markets in the West Africa sub–region. The new partnership is expected to spark further innovation in the property markets in Ghana by maximising the industry talents and resources at both groups.

The partnership is a strong strategic fit, leveraging the two groups’ respective strengths across three main areas.

“Today’s announcement with one of the industry leaders in South Africa, the Rejem–Moolman Consortium, is another solid step in our journey to leverage on our property assets and diversify our investment portfolios,” said Mike Hammah, SIC Insurance Board Chairman. Dr Kwame Okormansah Amuah, Chairman of the Rejem–Moolman Consortium, said “The partnership with SIC Insurance represents a powerful opportunity for the Rejem–Moolman Consortium to significantly expand our presence in Ghana, a vibrant and very important market, and extend to other parts of the West African sub-region over time.”

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GHANA BRIEFS

12 million tonnes of food wasted every year

ECONOMY

High expectations of 2016 budget as elections beckon … Will Mahama keep his promise on fiscal discipline?

BY KWEKU DARKO ANKRAH

It is now a national ritual that this month witnesses the reading of the 2016 budget.

Unlike the last three budgets, next year’s budget holds a lot more for Ghanaians. Public expectations of the budget are high, just as high as the political and economic stakes in Ghana where presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in November 2016.

Individual citizens, groups and external donors, especially the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expect the government to use the new budget to work magic to solve the myriad socio-economic problems.

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ublic interest in the 2016 budget is keen. The budget has engaged the attention of many stakeholders; and they are waiting to see if their concerns will be addressed in the budget. The Ministry of Finance (MF) held a stakeholders’ consultative forum and gathered the views of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the private sector and ordinary Ghanaians.

Representatives of Ghana Employers Association (GEA), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Peasant Farmers Association Ghana (PFAG), SEND Ghana, donor partners and other groups met the MF officials.

The officials who collated the views and expectations of the groups assured that these would be considered in the planning and formulation of policies for execution in the budget. In spite of the all-inclusive approach of gathering ideas and inputs, some economists are of the view that what matters most is whether the policies in the budget can be a spring board for sustainable national development and transformational growth in Ghana’s multi-dimensionally stratified economy.

As Ghanaians wait for the government to roll out pragmatic and transformational policies, projects and programmes in the budget, various groups have voiced out their expectations at the MF workshop. Ekow Afedzie, CEO of Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), tasked

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the government to relax taxes being charged on transactions pertaining to listing and others which have become a disincentive for attracting many local companies to list on the stock exchange. Adding its voice to the proposal for tax exemptions, reversal of certain taxes and offering tax holidays in the budget, the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) requested that the government should review the capital gains tax as the current regime is not suitable for acquisitions, consolidations and mergers which strengthen local businesses.

Agric given pride of place Agriculture must be given pride of place in the budget as the all-important sector is slumping year by year. The 2015 budget showed that the sector declined, despite contributing 21 per cent to the country’s GDP in 2014. Out of the total

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of GH¢44 billion budgeted for 2015, GH¢484.3 million, representing 1.1 per cent, was allocated to the Ministries of Food and Agriculture and Fisheries and Aquaculture Development. From three per cent of total budgetary allocation in 2009, it plummeted to 1.9 per cent in 2012, 1.09 per cent in 2013 and 1.07 per cent in 2014. Dr John Kwakye, a senior economist at Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), is of the view that appreciable allocation must be pushed into the agriculture in the budget to avert the sector`s further decline. Increment in the importation of foodstuff, including poultry products, into the country affects adversely food security, employment and the value the cedi, Dr Kwakye said.

“This explains why in 2014 US$1.5 billion worth of foodstuff was imported into the country. And it is likely we will import more foodstuff and poultry

NOVEMBER 2015

FINANCE

Forex Trading Strategies

in the Currency Market

BY MICHAEL LAMPTEY

In the World of Foreign Exchange (Forex or FX), there are a lot of trading skills and strategies one can develop to take advantage of the market. Forex trading systems are nothing more than a set of rules that traders use to arrive at their entry and exit points. Developing and using trading systems can help traders to earn consistent returns and limit risk at the same time. A look at the different types of trading strategies is required.

AUTOMATED TRADING: This type of trade is created by converting trading system’s rules into a code that a computer can understand.

The computer then runs those rules through the trader’s preferred trading software, which looks for trades that adhere to the rules set into the system.

Finally, the trades are automatically placed with the help of the forex broker.

This style of trading can also be said to

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be the using Robots or EAs (Expert Advisors) on the currency market.

as he happens to trade in the interest positive direction.

CARRY TRADING: Carry trading is one of the simplest strategies for currency trading where a trader buys a high interest currency against a low interest currency. For each day that he holds that trade, the broker pays the trader the interest difference between the two currencies, as long

DAY TRADING: Day trading is about buying and selling currencies over a very short period, typically one day. This type of trading works well for people who have a forex plan and wish to stick to that, and nothing else but their plan.

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NOVEMBER 2015

ENERGY

Ghana’s oil woes linger on with little hope in sight

BY MASAHUDU ANKIILU KUNATEH

On December 15, 2010, many Ghanaians welcomed the commencement of the production of oil in commercial quantities in a celebratory mood with the expectations that the oil would enhance revenue generation and job creation, and thus significantly improve Ghana’s economy. But for five years now, these expectations are dimmed. The better living conditions, jobs and good infrastructure that they had expected are yet to materialise.

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his is because the oil production and the utilisation of revenues from it appear to be going in the way that Ghana’s gold and similar minerals and other resources have gone. The country’s record in managing mineral revenues after nearly a century of mining gold offered no solace. Ghana’s Jubilee Field currently produces an average of about 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), far from the projected 120,000 bpd. Ghana has earned US$3 billion from its oil since the beginning of commercial production. According to the petroleum receipts report released by the Ministry of Finance, the money was from the country’s share of crude oil that was exported and taxes paid by companies operating in the field.

About US$1.2 billion was to be used to finance projects outlined in the 2015 budget, the report stated.

The state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Authority (NPA) received US$908.28 million, 30 per cent of the total revenue. The Stabilisation Fund and Heritage Fund, collectively known as the Ghana Petroleum Funds, received US$589.19 million and

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US$243.42 million respectively. In the first half of 2015, however, both funds received no inflows, compared to US$150.55 million and US$64.52 million that they received respectively in the same period in 2014. At the end of last June, the Ghana Petroleum Fund had US$484 million. Out of this amount, the Stabilisation Fund, which is meant to stabilise the economy in times of external shocks, had about US$233 million, while the Heritage Fund, an inter-generational fund, had US$250 million. Also, in the first half of this year, the government grossed US$213 million as total receipts from crude oil exports as against US$519 million in last quarter of 2014.

Nothing much to boast of Despite these modest revenues, Ghana has nothing much to boast of. Its economy is struggling. The government

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had to resort to help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF predicted that the country’s economic growth would be 3.5 per cent by the end of this year. As a result of the deep fall in the price of oil in the international market, the government had to revise its revenue projections in a mid-year budget review.

When oil was discovered, the public, experts, economists and civil society actors were worried that Ghana would be afflicted by the resource curse which affected many resources-endowed African countries.

The resource curse derailed Africa's oil and mining industries as decades of extraction and exportation saw only a few getting richer and a majority getting poorer. The resultant economic distortions caused by improperly managed resource wealth hardly enabled governments to set aside money

NOVEMBER 2015

COVER

Dr Kwabena Adjei: Kasapreko King proves African ingenuity This great visionary businessman started from a humble beginning and still maintains his humility and gentility, though he is a tycoon and prime mover of Kasapreko Company Limited (KCL). The down-to-earth manner that the KCL founder naturally interacted with his subordinates and the GB&F team was baffling during the two-day tour of the latest and best multi-million dollar state-of-the-art facilities for producing beverages in Ghana and Africa.

GB&F Editor AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI conversed with Dr Kwabena Adjei, the Group Chairman of KCL, who gave a good account of his company as leaders in the manufacturing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. He exclusively reveals that KCL has invested about US$21.5 million in new state-of-theart machinery which will produce its specially-unique soft drinks and two mineral water brands in December.

GB&F: KCL has chalked impressive success in its 26 years of operations.

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How did it start?

Dr Kwabena Adjei (KA): Kasapreko Company Limited was born out of a vision to provide quality and affordable drinks for the Ghanaian consumer.

With a staff of five at the time of inception, we continued to work hard to achieve our vision. Twenty-six years down the lane, this vision has evolved into a global one fuelled by passion and a drive to succeed. It has always been my dream to succeed because it is often said that Africa is the poorest continent despite our abundant natural resources. How long should we let

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this to continue? It takes one man to change things. The black man can make a difference! I can’t say that I can change everything, but it is said that brighten the corner where you are. We are using Kasapreko to showcase the Ghanaian and African ingenuity. We can change the situation, and should not depend on the multinationals to do things for us. Dependency is a bad mind-set that Africans have, and Ghanaians’ sense of acquisition seems to be limited. We don’t dream big. In our villages, our farmers behave like lions. When a lion get its prey and eats, it will not hunt until it is hungry. But the White people go beyond that and accumulate a lot of wealth for themselves and posterity.

What legacy are we leaving behind? If you have more money you can give some to society. But if you can’t get enough for yourself, wife and children, how can you help the society?

If you dream big and God blesses you, give some to society. My motivation is to showcase to Ghanaians that we have been on the touchline for far too long, and it is high time that we played a bigger role. This motivates me to do what I’m doing now. The moment you NOVEMBER 2015

INDUSTRY

Industrialising Ghana without strong policies is impossible

BY ANTHONY SEDZRO

The Ghanaian economy faced one of its difficult periods this year due to a falling currency, reduction in government revenue and a rising debt. Some experts have explained that one of the key ways to counter these challenges is for Ghana to industrialise. But how has Ghana’s industrialisation policy fared?

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ndustrialisation refers to a process in which a country transforms itself from a primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of large-scale goods and services.

In Africa, industrialisation, which loosely is equated to manufacturing, has accounted for only 10 per cent of the continent’s GDP in the last decade, according to the KPMG 2014 Manufacturing Report. Comparatively, that means Africa produces 1.5 per cent of the world’s manufacturing output.

As the first Sub-Sahara African countries to attain political independence, Ghana started off with industrialisation as one of its key development priorities. The first ever industrialisation policy was laid before parliament on March 11, 1964

by President Kwame Nkrumah. Titled the ‘7 Year Development Plan,’ it was meant to transform and speed up the colonially structured economy to an industrial one, with the state as a major actor. President Nkrumah explained it as one which “embodies a long view of the path which should lead to a self-sustaining economy, based on socialist production and

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distribution. An economy balanced between industry and agriculture, providing a sufficiency of food for the people, and supporting secondary industries based on the products of our agriculture.” This blueprint formed the basis of the many industries established

by President Nkrumah to develop the newly independent country. A key part of Nkrumah’s development policy was the building of the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam to provide the energy needs of the industries to be built.

In the immediate postindependence era, Ghana embarked on an import-substitution industrialisation policy, with the active involvement of the state. The development of the manufacturing sector was thus spearheaded by the state, with support from multi-national companies such as United African Company (UAC), and a few emerging Lebanese and Indian industrialists.

Reliant on imports From the 1980s to the present, successive governments have pursued trade liberalisation policies which have seen the economy become

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reliant on imports in all sectors. The current administration has made socio-economic transformation and industrialisation a pre-condition for the attainment of its long-term goal of a per capita income of at least US$3,000 by 2020. The Ministry of Finance envisages that “to transform the economy and deliver an average growth rate of 8% per annum in the medium-term will require an accelerated industrial development.” The broad policy vision that would drive development was the National Industrial Policy which was launched in June 2011 by the then Trade Minister, Hannah Serwah Tetteh.

The industrial policy instrument has been categorised into four thematic areas, namely: Production and Distribution; Technology and Innovation; Incentives and Regulatory Regime; and Cross-cutting Issues.

Key development objectives of the policy include expansion of productive employment in the manufacturing sector; and promotion of agro-based industrial development and ensure spatial distribution of industries to achieve reduction in poverty and income inequalities. Hannah Tetteh

NOVEMBER 2015

TRADE

Special News Feature

Dubai means business in Africa

‌ But what’s there for the continent?

BY AYUUREYISIYA KAPINI ATAFORI, back from UAE

When 10 journalists from six different African countries met, listened to and asked five leaders and representatives of top internationally-reputed companies in Dubai, the econo-commercial and financial heartland of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the most prosperous countries in the Gulf of the Middle East, many questions, it became clear that the business community in the city means business in Africa.

A breathtaking aerial view of Dubai - a port city which is the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates

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NOVEMBER 2015

Country of origin, product-country image The cultural and heritage cues in Ghana’s museums can stamp an alert for country of origin, product-country image, madein country and country image effects because they help in creating impression on the visitor, and position Ghana well.

These subliminal nods will impact the thinking and behaviour of visitors in favour of Ghana as country stereotype, place identity and place characteristics, leading to the mental concept of Ghanaian-ness. The concept of country of origin comes to mind when Germany is automatically related to Benz cars; Finland to Nokia phones; and Silicon Valley to technology hub. In the same vain, Ghana has highlife music, kente and cocoa to imprint on visitors’ mind.

Destination branding through communication make a country’s image work for its economy and its citizens. Unlike products, brands managers of most destinations are faced with the daunting task of positioning and marketing the same things that others are having in terms of attractions, accommodation, packages, human resource, food and other services. This notwithstanding, if destinations are strategically promoted through communication, the social and economic benefits are obvious. Investment is another crucial factor that creates a solid and healthy future for the destination because they help make the brand strong, long-lasting and resilient to risks. The investment in most of the slave forts and colonial castles has created jobs for Ghanaians, and brought in foreign exchange for the country.

There is the need for the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to co-operate and complement each other’s work through their marketing approaches to build the ideal brand for the destinations. At present, most of the MDAs are functioning in isolation and this is militating against the umbrella brand, Brand Ghana, that the country is building.

This calls for integration to develop, manage, and leverage the brand equity to develop clusters in order to establish a critical mass with credibility. The clusters should be seen as a subNOVEMBER 2015

brand of the ultimate brand. A typical example is Ghana West Coast Destination Management Areas in the Western Region which has coastal communities like Butre, Busua, Akwedae, Cape Three Points and Princess Town. The integration should have a responsible co-ordinator. This will facilitate obligation in destination marketing management and development which will create proper working relationships among the entities in the tourism sector and the MDAs.

In branding a place, company or product, it is important to have a strategist who understands the nuances of brand communication and how to mix the various components to send the right message to the right audience at the right time. The strategist acts a specialist who can determine the health status of a brand just as a doctor diagnoses maladies in people. These brand whispers, like horse whispers, are important to the creation, development and maintenance of a place brand because they help to identify the changes in the brand which otherwise may be overlooked by others. It seems Brand Ghana is not proactively playing this role. Brand Ghana must employ strong strategic leadership skills to be successful.

The writer is a corporate and place brand consultant, member of the Institute of Place Management (IPM), affiliate member of UNWTO, tourism researcher, visual communicator and a Commonwealth Executive MBA holder. Contact: 0208248808 / 0233248808; and niitelus@gmail.com

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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TOURISM

position its destinations through active and effective social media communications. This will help market the country’s destination brands. It is necessary to caption Ghana’s heralds with triggers of warmth, insightful adventures, fantasies and smiles; to make readers constantly to be excited about visiting Facebook pages and walls, websites; and read tweets and emails because brand managers have subconsciously created pleasantness and habituated their minds to expect nothing but boundless ecstasies, thrills and good tidings. This will give the brand a sense of today’s personality and tomorrow’s professionalism; making it timeless.

The fibre of Ghana is its culture and heritage. Sadly, many of Ghana’s political figures cannot see the impact an organisation like the Museums and Monuments Board as a strategic communication tool. Museums hold important keys to where and what the country’s people have been, where they are now and where and how far they can go as a people. All these are manifested in the creative arts, scientific inventions and discoveries. Politically, the leaders can consciously give information to foreign delegations that call on them through visits to museums and heritage sites for them to understand who Ghanaians are as a people and how foreigners can fit into the national fibre. Places like Asomdwee Park, burial site of George ‘Paa’ Grant in Axim, 28th February Road and others must be given face-lifts because they say more about the country’s past and present than words. Political leaders are ambassadors of Brand Ghana and the various destinations within the country.

Hence the need for them to communicate strategically the destination brands since their communications are more likely to cross borders, and potentially to bind people and cultures together more quickly and effectively.