Business24 Newspaper 9 March 2022 by Business24 Online

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

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NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

Oil rises as fears of Russian oil sanctions spur supply concerns

IFC, partner move to make West Africa textiles manufacturing hub

Di-Corp establishes West Africa sales representative in Accra

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The Ghana-China Business Chamber of Commerce has invested an additional $5 million as a credit line facility to support young Ghanaian business entrepreneurs.

Nearly 2.4bn women globally lack economic rights as men, report Around 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunity and 178 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent their full economic participation, according to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2022 report. MORE ON PG.3

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Let’s consciously perk up local interest in oil industry

PIAC analysis has shown that the discovery of oil wealth in the country has largely not impacted its economic fortunes with the state garnering a little over US$6.5bn of an estimated US$31.22bn of total revenue from the exploration of the commodity over the past decade. In 2010, the government unveiled the local content and local participation policy which sought to achieve a 90percent Ghanaian content and participation across the value chain of the petroleum sector within a space of 10 years. The state has also reviewed, updated and improved its institutional framework for the upstream oil and gas sector over the last decade to improve governance outcomes as well as to promote transparency and accountability. This has been done with a view towards managing the technical, environmental and social risks within the sector as well as maximising the fiscal revenues and local content, supply chain and wider industrial development benefits to the country. However, according to the oil revenue watchdog, 10 years after the country started producing oil in commercial quantities, not much has been done towards getting its people in an industry the requires a high technical expertise.

It is a fact that the non-active participation of Ghanaian firms and oil and gas professionals in the lucrative hydrocarbons sector is robbing the nation of millions of dollars as most of the sector’s revenue are shipped off the shores of this country. A country in dire need of revenue for developmental projects and other social interventions can no longer leave its highly-resourced and gainful sectors, specifically the extractives, in the hands of foreign investors. There must be that conscious effort to build local capital armed with the requisite expertise and competence to thrive in the oil and gas business and the time is now.

10yrs of Oil: Foreign investors still ‘own’ Ghana’s upstream sector continued from page 1

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Energy experts have argued that the country’s inability to involve it local investors in the oil sector can affect the benefit the nation will derive from its hydrocarbons. Clearly, after generating about US$31.22 billion of value from all of Ghana’s three producing fields,

in the last 10 years of oil, Ghana earned only US$6.55 billion in total petroleum receipts between 2011 and 2020, equivalent to 9.97percent of 2020 GDP. Regarding the breakdown of petroleum receipts by fiscal instrument, the PIAC report found

that carried and participating interest (CAPI) has by far generated the highest share for Ghana, accounting for 58percent or US$3.81 billion of the total US$6.55 billion revenue earned. This is followed by royalties at 25percent (US$1.64 billion) and then corporate income tax at 17percent or US$1.08 billion.

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Ghana, China business chamber supports entrepreneurs with $5m credit-facility This follows the offer of an earlier $20 million credit facility for young business people in the country to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the Ghana-China Business Chamber of Commerce. The initiative forms part of the continuous support of the chamber to young Ghanaians engaged in import and export business and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In an interview, the ViceChairman and Secretary General of the Ghana-China Business Chamber of Commerce, Liu Wenmin, said the support would help many young people in the country to grow their businesses. “We want business-oriented young Ghanaians to thrive and accelerate their determination to develop various businesses. “There are more than 10,000 Chinese factories ready to supply these young businessmen in Ghana as quickly as possible to enable businesses in the country to flourish,” he said. The Ghana-China Business Chamber of Commerce was established in 2003 to promote business and cooperation between

the Chinese and Ghanaian business communities. It aims to strengthen trade relations between the two countries and to bring together importers and exporters from both countries.

Oil rises as fears of Russian oil sanctions spur supply concerns Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent surging past $126 a barrel, as fears of formal sanctions against Russian oil and fuel exports spurred concerns about supply availability. Benchmark Brent crude futures for May climbed $3.07, or 2.49%, to $126.28 a barrel at 0756 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for April delivery rose $2.29, or 1.92%, to 121.69 a barrel. Russia is the world’s second-biggest oil exporter and ships out about 7 million barrels per day of crude and oil products combined. The United States, the world’s biggest oil consumer, may move on its own to ban Russian oil imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. However, Germany, the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil, has rejected plans for an energy embargo. Replacing the vast quantities of Russian fuel and oil in the market if they has raised supply concerns about oil traders, prompting the surge in prices

MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Nearly 2.4bn women globally lack economic rights as men, report In 86 countries, women face some form of job restriction and 95 countries do not guarantee equal pay for equal work. Globally, women still have only three quarters of the legal rights afforded to men -- an aggregate score of 76.5 out of a possible 100, which denotes complete legal parity. However, despite the disproportionate effect on women’s lives and livelihood from the global pandemic, 23 countries reformed their laws in 2021 to take muchneeded steps towards advancing women’s economic inclusion, according to the report. “While progress has been made, the gap between men’s and women’s expected lifetime earnings globally is US$172 trillion - nearly two times the world’s annual GDP,” said Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships. “As we move forward to achieve green, resilient and inclusive development, governments need to accelerate the pace of legal reforms so that women can realize their full potential and benefit fully and equally.” Women, Business and the Law 2022 measures laws and regulations across 190 countries in eight areas impacting women’s economic participation – mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pensions. The data offer objective and measurable benchmarks for global progress toward gender equality. Just 12 countries, all part of the OECD, have legal gender

parity. New this year is a 95-country pilot survey of laws governing childcare -- a critical area where support is needed for women to succeed in paid employment. A pilot analysis of how laws affecting women’s economic empowerment are actually implemented is also included, highlighting the difference between laws on the books and the reality experienced by women. The Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa regions showed the largest improvements in the WBL Index in 2021, though they continue to lag behind other parts of the world overall. Gabon stands out with comprehensive reforms to its civil code and the enactment of a law on the elimination of violence against women. Gabon’s score rose from 57.5 in 2020 to 82.5 in 2021. Globally, the highest number of reforms were made in the Parenthood, Pay, and Workplace indicators. Many reforms focused on protecting against sexual harassment in employment, prohibiting gender discrimination, increasing paid leave for new parents, and removing job restrictions for women. The Pay and Parenthood indicators have the lowest average scores in the index, but they have increased in the last year, rising 0.9 and 0.7 points, respectively, with average scores of 68.7 and 55.6. The gains in the Parenthood indicator have largely been around paternity leave and shared parental leave, but the low score highlights the need to accelerate reforms in this area.

“Women cannot achieve equality in the workplace if they are on an unequal footing at home,” said Carmen Reinhart, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. “That means leveling the playing field and ensuring that having children doesn’t mean women are excluded from full participation in the economy and realizing their hopes and ambitions.” Across the world, 118 economies guarantee 14 weeks of paid leave for mothers. More than half (114) of the economies measured mandate paid leave for fathers, but the median duration is just one week. In the past year, Hong Kong SAR, China—which previously provided 10 weeks of paid maternity leave— introduced the recommended 14-week minimum duration. Armenia, Switzerland, and Ukraine introduced paid paternity leave. Colombia, Georgia, Greece, and Spain introduced paid parental leave, which offer both parents some form of paid leave to care for a child following birth. Laws promoting paid leave for fathers can reduce discrimination in the workplace and improve work-life balance. Women, Business and the Law 2022 introduces pilot research behind two new areas: legal environment for childcare services and implementation of laws. A growing number of economies are investing in childcare to enhance children’s skills and recognize

unpaid care work by women, who often take on more caregiving duties. The pilot research analyzed laws in 95 economies and finds that most OECD high-income and Europe and Central Asia economies regulate public childcare services while in the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia regulations mandate the private sector or employers to provide care services for children of working parents. To make childcare more affordable and widely used, some countries offer financial support to parents or childcare providers. The research also looked at quality aspects regulated such as teacher-to-child ratio, maximum group sizes, training requirements for teachers, as well as licensing, inspections and reporting requirements for service providers. More evidence is needed on what constitutes good quality and what aspects of quality might determine parental uptake of services. This edition also explores the operation of Women, Business and the Law indicators in practice in 25 economies. An analysis of the laws’ implementation schemes reveals a substantial gap between legislation on the books and legal operation. Laws alone are not enough to improve gender equality; factors at play include not only their implementation and enforcement, but also social, cultural, and religious norms. These gaps will be further explored in future cycles of Women, Business and the Law reports.

We will protect your investment - NPA boss tells oil investors in Dubai The Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has invited oil investors in the United Arab Emirate (UAE) to take advantage of Ghana’s favourable petroleum market environment and invest in infrastructures in the country. He mentioned oil jetties, pipeline and distribution infrastructures, refineries and gas processing plants, storage and loading gantries as areas for grab by investors. Dr Abdul-Hamid who was speaking at an Energy Investment Forum organized by the Ministry of Energy on the sidelines of EXPO 2020 in Dubai, UAE, said the establishment of NPA removed restrictions on the establishment and operations of facilities, and importation of crude

oil and petroleum products. He mentioned that it has also created a reliable legislative and regulatory regime that has delivered for the country a downstream industry, whose contribution to the economy has grown more than four-fold, with private players – both local and international – forming a major part of the industry. Touching on why the need to invest in Ghana petroleum downstream industry, the NPA Boss said “our unique geographical position along the coast of West Africa, democratic stability and security require that we provide leadership in building an integrated infrastructure to serve the sub-regional petroleum industry.” Mr. Charles Owusu, the Chief

Executive of Petroleum Hub Development Corporation, on his part said government would provide both economic and regulatory incentives to investors such as corporate tax exemptions and waivers. “These waivers will cover import

duties and taxes and levies on machinery and equipment” he added. He also stated Ghana was ready to reduce corporate tax rate from 35% to 15% after a 10-year tax holiday for petroleum sector investors.

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IFC, partner move to make West Africa textiles manufacturing hub West Africa has an opportunity to build an integrated textiles value chain, creating thousands of better jobs and introducing innovative sustainable fabric production technologies, thanks to a new partnership announced today between IFC and DTRT Apparel Group, the region’s largest clothing manufacturer. Under the agreement, IFC will support DTRT to pursue the development of a sustainable fabric mill and the expansion of the garment manufacturing factory near its operating base in Accra, Ghana. IFC’s team will also explore the potential for the company to produce synthetic fibers and yarns—including from recycled materials—seeking to advance West Africa’s position as an increasingly competitive global textiles cluster. DTRT currently employs more than 3,000 staff—predominantly women—at its existing factory in Ghana, making it one of country’s largest private-sector employers. Despite challenging conditions brought on by COVID-19, the company retained all of its staff throughout the pandemic by pivoting to producing personal protective equipment to support Ghana’s frontline workers. The company increased its sales by 25 percent in 2021 relative to prepandemic levels in 2019. “Our experience with the pandemic taught us that Africa must and can depend on itself, and we are confident that we can build an integrated textile industry right here in West Africa to support that goal. IFC’s expertise will help us draw

that roadmap,” said Marc Hansult, DTRT’s Co-Founder and Co-CEO. Despite efforts to enhance local value addition, West Africa lacks an integrated textiles value chain and more advanced manufacturing processes. The agreement with DTRT is part of IFC’s strategy to create new markets, increased exports, and more and better jobs in the West African textiles sector. “Textile manufacturing has been

a creator of better jobs, a driver of exports, and the first rung of higher value manufacturing for many emerging market countries globally. West Africa has an opportunity to become the next global textiles and apparel manufacturing hub, tapping into a $1.5 trillion global market,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC’s Senior Country Manager for Ghana. “IFC is committed to supporting DTRT to make that vision a reality.”

West Africa is the sixth-largest cotton-producing region in the world. The region’s improving economic environments, affordable labor costs, improved and efficient ports, and short transit times to Europe and America markets combine to give the region significant comparative advantages relative to other regions globally.

President Akufo-Addo attends Dubai Expo President Nana Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo, left Ghana on Monday, March 7, 2022, to lead Ghana’s delegation to the Dubai Expo 2020. The Expo aims to forge new partnerships and inspire groundbreaking solutions across key industries worldwide. It also seeks to raise awareness about the worldwide issues that mankind faces. The Expoprovides several possibilities for networking and the promotion of international connections. Individual pavilions will be set up at Expo 2020, with countries exhibiting their unique cultures and technical innovations. President Akufo-Addo will deliver a statement on “Ghana Day”, scheduled for 8th March 2022; hold

bilateral talks on matters of mutual interest with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; participate in a Business Forum under the auspices of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC); and hold meetings with other investors interested in doing business in Ghana. The President was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey; the Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Keyerematen, and officials of the Presidency and Foreign Ministry. The President will return to Ghana on Thursday, 10thMarch, and in his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.

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Dredge Masters MD inducted into Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame The Managing Director (MD) of Dredge Masters Limited (DML), Captain Ansar Ahmed Khan, has been inducted into the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame Awards 2022 at the plush Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra. He was presented with a plaque in recognition of his induction into the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame. The induction of the MD of DML into the Hall Fame is in recognition of his significant contribution to especially Ghana’s environmental sanitation space. The awards which were organised by The Business Executive on Friday, March 4, 2022, and it was graced by top CEOs, chairmen and chairpersons. The Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame is a flagship forum of toptier executives conceptualised as a grouping of selected current and former chairmen and chairpersons, and overall top CEOs in Ghana’s business sectors who individually and collectively contribute to the growth of corporate Ghana. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ceremony, Captain Khan thanked the organisers for the honour done him, and edicated the

award to his family, Jospong Group of Companies ( JGC) and his staff members. He used the occasion to also express appreciation to JGC for its immense support for dredging and environmental sanitation in general. Earlier, in a welcome address, the

Chairman of Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame, Mr. Kwasi Abeasi, who was a former Board Chairman of Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), said the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame Awards recognises and celebrates the professional accomplishments of outstanding chairmen, chairpersons and

distinguished CEOs of the corporate community. Other inductees Among prominent personalities who were also inducted into the Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame were the current Chairman of HSOP, Dr. Derick Amoateng; President of Ghana Employers Association, Daniel Acheampong; Board Chairman of Norpalm Ghana Limited, Dr. Kwwme Sarpong, and; founder of Asanka University College of Design and Technology, Kwabena Asante Asare. The rest were the CEO of DHL Global Forwarding West Africa and Country Head for Ghana, Serigne Ndanck Mbaye; Chairman of Ruma Fertility and Specialist Hospital, Dr. Rudolf Kantum Adageba; General Manager of Ridge Royal Hotel, Mr. Samuel Obiri Oduman; Commissioner of Insurance, Justice Ofori, the reigning CEO of the year 2021 of the Ghana Leadership Awards, who is also the CEO of Envaserv Research Consult Dr. Emmanuel Lamptey; Managing Director and Chairman of MINECON Resources and Services Limited, Daniel Kenneth Bansah, and; Manager of Adjafash Company Ltd., Prince Williams.

Di-Corp establishes West Africa sales representative in Accra Di-Corp, a Canadian manufacturer and distributor of down-hole consumables for the mineral exploration industry, says it now has a dedicated West Africa sales representative located in Accra, Ghana. The Di-Corp Accra representative will support existing and new customers in the region by providing an in-region contact who can coordinate the reliable delivery of high-quality drill rod, diamond tooling, core retrieval equipment, and drilling fluids – supplies that are integral as West Africa’s mining industry works to satisfy the growing global demand for metals used in renewable energy and electric vehicle production. “As mineral exploration increases across the region, mine operators and drilling companies are looking for every opportunity to improve the efficiency and productivity of their core drilling operations,” commented Di-Corp’s West Africa Sales Manager, Robert LaFontaine. “Drillers Edge drill rod by Di-Corp has been gaining a global reputation for quality, resilience, and longer drill string life even under the most difficult conditions. In fact, all our products are quality assured and field tested for performance. As companies look to replace mineral production with new sources of key metals, we’re here to help address

the growing demand for drilling supplies.” While establishing the company’s presence in Accra, Mr. LaFontaine will be backed by an experienced remote team that includes technical salespeople, drilling experts, engineers, and drilling fluids

program specialists – as well as a company history that goes back more than 60 years in the resource drilling industries. Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Di-Corp has manufacturing, distribution, and service locations in four Canadian

provinces, the United States, Mexico, and now Ghana, West Africa. Di-Corp also has an established international supply chain, plus a total of nine international distributors serving South America, Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East, and Australia.

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Emirates Flight Training Academy graduates its first international cadet The story of Bayan Al Turabi, Emirates Flight Training Academy’s first international cadet pilot to graduate, is one that celebrates women in aviation, and highlights the importance of female role models. Bayan’s inspirational journey as a cadet at the Emirates Flight Training Academy is a story of determination and success, and a testament of a ‘dream come true’. Watch here as Bayan shares her personal story and credits her sister (also a certified pilot) for giving her the confidence to look at a career in aviation. Growing up in Bahrain, Bayan lived in a house located between the airport and the sea, and that’s when her love story with travel and aviation began. Bayan’s family encouraged her and her siblings to aspire for, and achieve whatever they set their hearts on, telling them nothing is impossible. When asked about why she decided to become a pilot, Bayan had this sentimental story to share: “From a very young age, I had an extreme urge of wanting to explore the world. Since I had never met a female pilot growing up, considering a career in aviation was never an option for me. Until I witnessed my sister fly a plane as a pilot for the first time, hearing her voice through the PA presented a

new potential for me to combine my passion for travel, with an established career in flying. Seeing her earn her stripes along the way inspired and encouraged me to follow in her footsteps.” “I hope that by sharing my story, I can encourage more young women to consider aviation as their careers too, or at least let them know that they can reach for their own dreams and blue skies, if they set their hearts and minds on it.” On training at the Emirates Flight Training Academy and what made it unique, Bayan said: “The training programme at EFTA is different, as we don’t only train on single-engine piston aircraft, but also on jet aircraft, which is something not found in most pilot training academies. In addition to the 6 fully-motioned simulators, which provide you with a realistic experience of flying an actual plane, the EFTA instructors also give us tremendous support as they guide us through our trainings, shape our skills, and prepare us as up-and-coming Captains in the long run. I have also developed lifelong friendships with my cadet colleagues, extending beyond the walls of the academy.” Capt. Abdulla Al Hammadi, Vice President of Emirates Flight Training Academy said this about

Bayan and the Academy’s efforts in the world of pilot training: “EFTA is committed to providing opportunities for all the ambitious and enthusiastic youth to become pilots. Our academy offers a worldleading training programme for commercial pilots which is delivered by experienced instructors who come from all over the world. It’s not only about our advanced training methods and technologies, but also our inclusive learning environment that’s open and accepting of all qualified candidates. EFTA is proud

that our first international student to graduate is a very competent young female aviator. Bayan is smart, ambitious and diligent. I believe she has a promising future and lots of potential to contribute to the aviation industry. The reality is that the world is facing a worldwide shortage of pilots, and here at EFTA, it is our goal to contribute to the global aviation industry by grooming future generations of accomplished and ambitious pilots, from the UAE to the world.”

UGBS receives a cheque donation from Access Bank

Professor Justice N. Bawole, the Dean of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), together with some staff of the Business School, received a cheque donation from Access Bank (Ghana) to support a planned workshop on real estate management, a programme which the school intends to introduce soon. Professor Bawole expressed his gratitude to the Access Bank team for their immense support. He

acknowledged the relationship and partnership the school currently has with the bank. He added that as a way of showing their appreciation, the Bank could be given slots during the workshop so they can exhibit, present a paper, or make some input into the conversations. According to the Dean, this would give Access Bank some visibility for the support they’ve given to the Business School. The Dean further mentioned that

UGBS saw the need to introduce the Real Estate Management programme because of the challenges the real estate sector faces, even though it is a very booming sector in the country. Professor Bawole highlighted that they would employ the same approach they used when introducing the Clinical Leadership and Management programme. However, with this new programme, they are stepping it up a bit by organising a workshop,

where they would like to engage a lot of stakeholders. Mr. Richard Paddy, the Head of Educational Sector of Access Bank (Ghana), represented the Bank together with Ms. Grace Dsane of the Access Bank Legon Branch. Mr. Paddy thanked the Dean for allowing them to contribute to this laudable programme. He added that they will always be ready to support the Business School and the University as a whole. Mr. Paddy mentioned that aside from the investment opportunities the school has given them, if there are any assets that the school wants them to fund, they are always ready and willing to support them. The UGBS team present during the donation were Mr. Emmanuel PokuSarkodee, the School Administrator, the Assistant Registrars: Ms. Majorie Quist (Academic Affairs), Ms. Saratu Salifu (General Administration), Mr. Yaw Tsen Yeboah (Human Resource) and Ms. Nana Yaa Frimpong, from the UGBS undergraduate Academic Office.

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Women safeguard native seeds in Zambia

n the Luano region of Zambia, 65-year-old Anne Mutale started farming over 30 years ago in a village called Luwingu. Ms. Mutale grows a variety of organic crops such as maize, cowpeas, groundnuts, beans, sweet potatoes and cassava for food and income. “I cultivate these crops because of their nutritional values and ingredients in traditional meals,” she stated, adding that “I have been preserving the local seeds for planting the next season because they are an important part of our community’s health and nutrition.” Ms Mutale’s seeds are part of a special category of seeds which are fully managed and preserved by women custodians. They hold the potential to knock down invisible barriers and unlock access to greater economic and social freedom for rural women farmers, as they are free to decide how to manage the seeds, without having to ask for permission from male counterparts. These seeds are passed down from mother to daughter for many generations and provide them with economic agency and the ability to provide their families with a nutrient-rich diet. The passing-down of seeds from mother to daughter serves a

practical purpose as well: these are familiar seeds a daughter knows how to grow, cook and store. Through various roles, women custodians ensure that communities and regions are food secure, healthier, more dynamic, and able to contribute to the country’s economy. As a custodian of local seeds, Ms Mutale wants to pass knowledge on how to preserve seeds and food on to young girls in the community: “Young girls need to be taught how to farm, how to prepare the land, what to grow and how to preserve the seeds and food in order to have food security.” Such seed-preservation techniques include drying beans and leaves and using ashes and the smoke from cooking to prevent maize from rotting. Foster Bwalya, a farmer from the Lufwanyama District, Zambia, has also been promoting the use of local seeds since 1999. She collaborates with her neighbours, who have been providing her with local maize seeds for the past twenty years for cultivation. Ms Bwalya gives back to the community through the increased availability of nutritious food, economic development, and environmental preservation. By exchanging best practices

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with local women’s organizations, she has been able to preserve seeds that had been passed down to her from her grandparents. “The significance of preserving seeds cannot be ignored, because they hold the power to restore species, promote biodiversity, and enable ecosystems to adapt to an everchanging world,” she states. Healthy seeds are the source and strength of plants and animals that are central to community food systems; however, unreliable storage facilities and a lack of standard seed banks often lead to the loss of seeds because of inadequate preservation techniques. The establishment of seed banks at communal and national levels is therefore necessary to help provide support for local seed custodians like Anne Mutale and Foster Bwalya to rebuild local seed systems for increased food security and the preservation of genetic diversity. “If we had a seed bank, people would be able to come here, get a cup of seeds for free, cultivate them, and later on give us that cup of seeds back – and we would then be able to give it to another person, and so on,” advocates Ms Bwalya, “For as long as seeds will remain the basis of all foods consumed, their preservation must not be underestimated.” This year’s International Women’s Day aims to recognize the contributions of women and girl leaders and change-makers around the world who are fighting for sustainability in the face of the ongoing climate crisis. Women such as Anne and Foster. On 9 March, the FAO Regional Office for Africa will pay special tribute to African rural and indigenous women and their contribution to climate action and sustainable agrifood systems transformation through an interactive online dialogue with leaders from the African Women’s Collaborative for Healthy Food Systems and Enda Pronat. The virtual celebration will highlight, through stories such as the ones above, how rural and indigenous women are actively promoting healthy food systems through agroecology, regenerative approaches, and indigenous foodways for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life - leaving no one behind.

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Chamber of Mines/Inspire Today support girls in rural schools The Ghana Chamber of Mines under its Purple Peach project partnered an NGO Inspire Today to mark this year’s International Women’s day with rural girls. The donation was to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Beneficiary schools were Mepe, Dadome, and Juapong schools in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region. Girls in Akrofu in the Sokode district of the Volta Region also received support from the team. The girls were provided with sanitary pads, bathing soap, rollons, shaving sticks and educational materials. Founder and CEO of Inspire Today, Etornam Sey, stressed on the need for government to review the 20 per cent tax on sanitary towels so that the rural girl can afford it. She stressed the need to urgently address the issue of period poverty as this deprives most girls’ access to quality education. ‘The estimated cost of one pad in Ghana averages to about GHS 5.

Organizations that support healthy menstruation management, like Inspire Today, believe the Ghanaian government should remove the tax on these materials’. Many Ghanaian advocacy groups have proposed grassroots manufacturing initiatives for menstruation materials as an economically and environmentally sustainable solution. We believe that manufacturing menstruation materials on the ground would reduce costs and increase accessibility for these vital products.’ she explained. Inspire Today foundation is a network organization nurturing a nationwide movement of female leaders through a concerted effort at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5. International Women’s Day marked on 8th March is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.

ADB opens 87th branch in Takoradi

The Agricultural Development Bank PLC (ADB) as part of its corporate strategy has opened a new branch in Takoradi, Western Region making it the 87th branch of the bank nationwide. The new branch located within the Takoradi Market Circle area is in response to the growing business population and a heed to calls from customers of the Bank for a branch in the area for the convenience of doing business. At the opening, the Managing Director of the Bank, Dr. John Kofi Mensah said the opening of the new branch was part of the aggressive branch expansion drive of the Bank.

“We are determined to establish our presence in several towns especially the New Regions and also Communities where agribusiness is a core business so as to help inculcate the habit of savings in our citizens,” he said. Dr. Kofi Mensah indicated that the expansion drive was also part of the Bank’s commitment to promote financial inclusion by establishing branches closer to them with custom-made made products and services. According to Dr. Kofi Mensah, the new branch has specialized Trade and Agribusiness Desk to assist in the easy facilitation of loan support for Small and Medium Enterprises

within the region. He reiterated the commitment of the Bank to prioritize the agribusiness sector and indicated its readiness to support Companies and Organizations especially under the government’s IDIF program in the region with loans to expand their business and create jobs. The Western Regional Minister, Hon. Kwabena Okyere-Darko in his remarks commended the Bank for its decision to open a branch within the business center of Takoradi and was optimistic it will serve the financial needs of the people. He further commended ADB for its commitment towards the several government agricultural based

initiatives especially 1D1F, Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and Jobs and also the fertilizer subsidy program. The Essikado Omanhene, Nana Kobina Nketiah V who was the Chairman for the occasion urged the Bank to remain focused on its core mandate of agribusiness financing. Nana Nketiah V indicated that a growth in the agricultural sector will positively contribute in solving the numerous unemployment problems in the country. According to him, though the Bank has since 2017 refocused on its core mandate of agribusiness financing, they must module special loan packages for the youth for agribusiness. “Opening a branch especially in this Market Circle Area means the Bank is making effort to bring banking closer to the ordinary Ghanaians and this I must say is highly commendable,” he said. The Essikado Omanhene urged the Management of the Bank to have special products and services especially for the market women so that they can also expand their businesses. The establishment of the Market Circle Branch brings to four (4) the number of ADB Branches in the Western region.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Inspired by Ashesi, the African Development University sets new example in the Sahel

ears before Kader Kaneye enrolled for his Master’s Degree in 2016, he had already decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his career. Having grown up in Niger, Kaneye was among less than 1% of his peers to have gained a university education; today, tertiary enrolment in Niger is approximately 4% of the country’s 24 million people. He had closely followed the work and seen the impact of another West African institution - Ashesi University and its founder. In Kaneye’s mind, the Sahel needed institutions like Ashesi, built for the unique context of the region’s needs and opportunities but committed to similar principles of educating ethical, entrepreneurial leaders. Based on his own experiences with high impact education, Kaneye understood the difference it could make in Niger. In 2017, with an old building donated to help launch the university and a dedicated group of volunteers and partners, Kaneye and his co-founder Meredith Segal decided to establish the non-profit African Development University in Niamey. Their mission is to educate young people in the Sahel to become ethical leaders with the requisite knowledge, skills, and commitment to create the future of their nations. The university has nearly 300 students, with 70% receiving scholarships and two-thirds of all students being women. In 2020, it became the first in the Sahel to join the Mastercard Foundation’s Scholars Programme network - a group of highimpact universities worldwide working with the Foundation to prepare young people to lead meaningful careers and transform the most underserved communities. In under five years, the African Development University, one of nine universities in Niger, has quickly gained a reputation for transformative education. Kaneye credits a lot of the African Development University’s success to the support he received from the Education Collaborative - a significant programme led by Ashesi University to support universities like his grow and thrive in Africa. The programme was started in 2017, around the same time as the African Development University, to harness the collective work of higher education institutions in Africa for the continent’s transformation. The African Development University:

A Case Study For Effective Collaboration in African Higher Education With Africa’s youth population continuing to snowball, high-quality universities and other educational institutions are needed more than ever to teach the skills and leadership necessary to make the most of this opportunity. At Ashesi, the consensus was resounding. Rather than replicate our model in other places, partnering with other universities to increase access to quality education would be more impactful for the teaching and learning outcomes needed across the continent. “It’s not that Sub-Saharan Africa is not working intently to scale up access to access to higher education; it is,” shared Ashesi President Patrick Awuah, speaking at a TED Conference in 2018. “What is not being done yet, is the scaling up of quality and effectiveness. The way we teach is wrong for today. It is even worse for tomorrow, given the challenges before us. And yet, the size of Africa’s educational challenges is too large for any one institution to tackle. The continent will need exemplary institutions of learning, clustered in East, West, Central, North and South Africa that serve as beacons to others; that are uncompromising in achieving quality in teaching, research and innovation; and that act as magnets for our best and brightest to stay on the continent.” Some 159 institutions have participated in Education Collaborative activities to date, with 116,000 students being the direct beneficiaries of reforms and programmes focused on strengthening learning and career outcomes. Thanks to a significant partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, the Education Collaborative aims to have reached over 1,000,000 students by 2030 - an ambitious goal for all stakeholders involved. The African Development University has been one of the early beneficiaries of the Collaborative’s mentorship programmes, focused on helping new universities find the expertise, teaching and administrative support, and funding resources needed to start strong. Reaching one million students by 2030: the future of the Education Collaborative Over the next decade, the Education Collaborative’s work will focus on supporting three outcome areas within education:

the teaching of entrepreneurship skills, ethics and leadership, and career and employability support. Member institutions in the Collaborative will include these outcome areas in their strategic priorities and contribute to developing shareable insights and expertise across the network. To engage more effectively with institutions across the continent, the Education Collaborative will also establish hubs in various regions across the continent, with West and East Africa being the first regions to launch them. Hubs will be co-led by a selected group of Education Collaborative partners in the region who will commit resources and expertise to support others in developing and improving outcomes. The Education Collaborative’s East Africa hub, started in 2021, was led by eight partner universities. University leaders present at the launch of the hub were Paul Swaga (President, Davis College, Rwanda), Prof. Robert Gateru (Vice Chancellor, Riara University, Kenya), Eric Saulo (Director, Advancement and External Relations, Strathmore University, Kenya), Prof. Samuel Gudu (Vice-Chancellor, Rongo University, Kenya), Prof. Daniel Mugendi (Vice Chancellor, University of Embu, Kenya), David Mutabanura (Executive Director, Cavendish University, Uganda), Dr. Bonn Jonyo (Principal Research Officer, United States International University – Africa (USIU), Kenya), and Prof. Baylie Yeshita (Vice Chancellor, Kepler, Rwanda). “What we have achieved in the last five years could have taken twenty years if we did not have the support of Ashesi and the Education Collaborative,” shared Kaneye during a welcome event for his university’s first class of Mastercard Foundation Scholars. “When we started, we just wanted to help solve a problem, but we didn’t have the tools and network. We kept hearing the same language from many others: we will help you; when you need anything, reach out to us. But when we did, no one answered. Ashesi and the Education Collaborative were the ones that answered. They answered, and they came here to build with us. Without imposing their learnings and ideals on us, this has helped us define our path and tailor a solution in higher education that works for the Sahel region.”

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

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Women in TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is the procedural process of instruction that prepares students for skilled work.

BY PROF. SMILE GAVUA DZISI

he skills taught range from various aspects of industrial work to skilled craftsmanship, handicrafts among many others. TVET is popular in many countries because of its affordability and expedited completion. This type of education may focus on teaching workplace skills for immediate monetary returns. The issue of gender inequalities has been harped on for decades. Yet, across society, the lip service lingers, accounting for the yawning gender gap and the rather slow progress in the key area of TVET. Biases There are many biases that have hampered the efforts of gender advocates and sponsors who have been pushing for equality. The social orientation of many people towards female TVET is that women may be preparing for hard labour jobs they are not suited for when those women choose some courses such as construction and engineering. This is quite pronounced in developing countries where many people still see women as weak and unable to fit in some high-energy roles. Biases have been found in many places where policy inconsistencies, from central government, state governments and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have hampered equality in TVET or demotivated aspiring sponsors. This has been so in many countries in Africa and Asia. The curricula in schools of many countries are at variance with what policymakers tout as equality in TVET. The curricula do not reflect the penchant towards equality. The course content and the practical components may be restrictive to female entrants into TVET. Teachers and instructors render their teaching as if every student is the same; there are no differences of attention in teaching and learning. Even if equality is worked into school curricula, its practice is not inculcated early enough, and this inhibits gender equity in TVET. SDG 4 According to the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, a considerable increase in women’s participation in the labour market could increase global GDP by $12 trillion by 2025. The Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG 4), as contained in the UN’s Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, posits the dire importance of vocational education and training and increasing the number of youth and adults who have the required skills for employment and decent jobs; and stipulates this in 10 targets.

This SDG also seeks to eliminate gender disparities and ensure equal access to all levels of education and training. As communities put equity concepts, career and life planning in their TVET curriculum early on, the girl-child learns to appreciate the subjects early in life. National policy National policy initiatives have been known to promote equality in the US, UK, Sweden and many other successful countries. Regrettably, in many African countries, the story of TVET and girls is a story of double agony; girls and women remain marginalised and TVET remains an afterthought and an appendix to nobler disciplines. In Ghana, some gains have been made in terms of consciousness about gender biases and how these can be addressed. However, in practical terms, we have not seen much of consistent policy translating into breaking the bias, and much of our touted achievements in this area borders on tokenism. After nearly five years of implementing the allimportant Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, Ghana recently announced an extension of the policy to cover TVET. It is expected that national strategic planning will create a communal framework to advance this cause with gender equity and encourage all stakeholders to run with the vision. Ghana must seize the opportunity to make this work across various sections of our national socio-economic life. Human resource Human Resource (HR) departments of organisations should break these far-reaching biases by giving equal opportunities to all genders to be recruited into technical roles. Recruited workers are guaranteed equal pay for the same work done, and all workers also assured of the same promotional and development prospects regardless of their gender. Continuous education can break many of the biases. Gender champions, women’s groups and organisations that handle education and gender can lead the national discussion on promoting equality for sustainable development. Next to education is legislation. Legislation which gives both genders equality in enrolment, access and work in technical and vocational roles without fear of suppression. This will reduce stereotyping. The legislation alongside education and sensitisation will also destroy

attitudes and misconceptions that confront equality. The issue of what constitutes appropriate career choices and sex roles will be replaced by the resolve that even women can choose any career because they have the interest and ability to deliver, and not because their being women restricts them from certain careers. Some of the limitations are internally selfimposed based on cultural messages girls receive. Family influences affect vocational enrolment and career choices. It is strange that teachers, counsellors and fellow students who should be at the forefront of driving equality rather work against it. Also allied to the work of HR departments and their impact on equality is that hostile work environments can discourage enrolment of females to TVET. National policy and labour/ trade unions should address the issue of technical roles and their work environments. Mentorship Mentors and role models have significant contributions to make to break every bias in equality of TVET. Gender advocates and TVET practitioners could mainstream mentoring in their work. Mentors will remove the barriers very quickly. Role models will generate interest and commitment from students in prospects that years of education might not do. Increased interest in technical and vocational skills will leverage a pool of talents for our industries in ICT, engineering, construction and other areas and also promote the economic and social development in our communities. If we must reach sustainability tomorrow, the time to remove all the barriers to equality is now. The biases must be completely defaced if there will be some sustained equality. On this occasion of International Women’s Day, all of us stakeholders must work hand in hand to prioritise TVET, especially among girls and women and reward TVET jobs appropriately. Let us act beyond the rhetoric. Together, let us break the biases against girls and TVET; we all will be winners and humankind will be better for it.

The writer is the first female Rector of a Polytechnic in Ghana, a former Vice-Chancellor of Koforidua Technical University and the consultant on the CoL/ATUPA Project to increase girls’ and women’s participation in STEM-TVET in Africa. Email: smiledzisi@gmail.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Zoomlion deploys over 400 workers to clean Central Region for Independence Day Celebration Waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has disclosed that it deployed over 400 personnel to ensure the Central Region, which hosted the 65th Independence anniversary parade, was clean. According to the company, its personnel started work from Kasoa to Cape Coast where they engaged in painting of road kerbs, cleaning the environment as well as hoisting flags on the main roads from Kasoa to the Cape Coast stretch. Speaking to journalists during the Independence Day parade on Sunday, March 6. 2022, in Cape Coast, Central Region, the Public Jobs Manager of Zoomlion in the Central Region, Robert Kingsley Ayemi, said his team which started work before the 6th Match, will continue to work even after the event to ensure that the Cape Coast Sports Stadium, the venue of the event and its surrounding communities, were always clean. “We deployed over 400 YEA personnel on every street in the region right down from Kasoa. Even after the clean-up exercise, we were painting kerbs along the road, hoisted flags from Kasoa through to Winneba, Mfantsiman, Yamoransah and then to Cape Coast,” he said. Mr Ayemi indicated that prior to

the event, the National Committee tasked to see to the successful running of the event charged his outfit to make sure the venue and the entire region were clean, adding that the 65th Independence Day celebration was marked in a clean environment. “Before the start of the event,

the National Committee met with Zoomlion to handle waste management issues at the venue and the region. We initially began with series of clean-up exercises at the Central regional capital, Cape Coast, where our personnel were mandated to pick every liter on the floor, and this is how we achieved

success during the event,” he explained. Zoomlion will be working hand in hand with the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly to ensure that the venue is clean even after the event, Mr. Ayemi assured.

Izwe Savings & Loans earmark GHc150m for SMEs Izwe Savings & Loans Plc has earmarked GHc150m to support the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector this year. This commitment aims to strengthen the resilience of specific sectors and enhance their capacity to grow and create employment in the economy. SMEs remain a critical sector of the economy. Building resilience amid COVID-19 remains a challenge for most SMEs to resolve. The Government statistician Professor Samuel Kobina Annim asserts that “COVID-19 has undoubtedly had a devastating impact on households, businesses and the local economy in Ghana” As a development oriented financial institution, Izwe Savings & Loans Plc is poised to work together with SMEs in identifiable segments as such wholesalers and retailers in the building materials, beverages, frozen foods, spare parts, secondhand clothing, pharmaceuticals, stationery, healthcare, education, agriculture, and transportation subsectors. The Chief Executive Officer,

Raymond Kwakye Bismarck, reiterated that, “analysing the continuous impact of COVID-19 on SMEs, we have come to the realisation that it is important to do our bit as a business with the resources, facilities and know how

to help businesses get back on their feet because without them the economy suffers.” Izwe Savings and Loans Plc is a subsidiary of the Izwe Africa Group, which is headquartered in Mauritius and has operations in South Africa

with subsidiaries in 3 other African countries, Zambia, Kenya and Ghana. After 10 years of doing business in Ghana, Izwe has 10 retail outlets and currently seeking approval for 2 more branches in Tema and Kasoa as well as 4 sales centres in 8 regions of Ghana. The company proudly employs over 200 staff over 500 trusted agents across the country. Izwe has been able to provide educational support to 138,166 people; enhanced the home and family lives of 88,142; helped 25,421 businesses to grow in three, years and helped 21,360 people save for their future. In the past year alone, Izwe has supported 285 SMEs. The impact of this support on businesses has been great hence the need to extend this support to all SMEs who need it. With support from the Izwe Africa Group, whose successful track record remains undoubted across Africa, Izwe indeed one of the most promising, trusted, and respected financial institutions in Ghana.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

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Ghana’s food-insecure population more than doubled between 2009 and 2020 – GSS report

BY DR. PETER TAKYI PEPRAH

he 2020 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA), implemented by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in collaboration with Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), with financial and technical assistance by World Food Programme and Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations revealed that 11.6 percent (3.6 million) of the Ghanaian population is food insecure relative to 5 percent (1.2 million) of the population realised in 2009. This indicates that food insecurity has worsened among the Ghanaian population over the period, thus, more Ghanaians have very limited access to sufficient and nutritious food for active and healthy life. The proportion of the population that is food insecure differs across place of residence. Food insecurity is more pronounced in rural than in urban areas. While 2.8 million (78%) of the population who are food insecure live in the rural areas, 800,000 (22%) live in urban areas. In addition to the population that is food insecure, 2.1 million people nationwide were identified to be vulnerable to food insecurity. They were not food insecure at the time of the survey, however, their food consumption patterns were barely above the acceptable minimum. This means that their food security situation is likely to deteriorate during shocks such as increased food prices, sudden price fluctuations, reduced income of a household member, loss of employment of household member, late rains/drought or heavy rains and floods among others. From the survey results,

COVID-19 pandemic (63.8%) was a major shock experienced by Ghanaians within 12 months preceding the survey, which had adverse effects on their consumption patterns. The number of persons who are food insecure that has increased from 1.2 million to 3.6 million between 2009 and 2020 requires immediate intervention to avoid further increase and future chronic food insecurity, mass hunger, and undernourishment among the population especially, mothers and children in the country. Food insecurity has multitude of underlying factors that influence each other. These factors cannot be addressed discretely but in tandem with all stakeholders to achieve maximum success. It is important to note that, lack of attention on chronic food insecurity could translate to a high degree of vulnerability, to famine and hunger. For strategic intervention, it was recommended that identified groups are given social support, free agricultural extension services to improve household food production and reduce the risk of food insecurity. There is also the need to enhance household socio-economic status through appropriate interventions measures that can detect deterioration in people’s food security, health, and nutrition status at an early stage for targeted interventions to promote food

security. Further, there must be policies to promote food production to ensure that food is available throughout the year and that the food could be accessed and transported from wherever it is produced and fully utilized by the population, all year round. This can be achieved if we intensify irrigation and mechanisation schemes to support large and small-scale farming to engender all-year-round food production. The current policy on subsidy of agricultural inputs under the Planting for Food and Jobs programme should be re-packaged to target food and cash crop farmers and agro-pastoralists in food insecure areas. Similarly, promotion of crop diversification, intensification and extension should be encouraged in the country. Nutrition education and Social Behavioural Change Communication at the community level should also be promoted to increase the consumption of locally available nutritious foods. It is expected that capacity strengthening of staff of MOFA and Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Service to collect and monitor food security situation quarterly will be encouraged to promote food security. Dr. Peter Takyi Peprah (CFSVA Project Coordinator, Ghana Statistical Service).

MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

Libya suspends the implementation of gender equality agreement The Libyan Transitional Council of Ministers headed by Abdelhamid Dbeibah has suspended the implementation of an agreement with the United Nations on gender equality. The decision was taken on the eve of International Women’s Rights Day at a government meeting last Sunday. According to the official statement, the suspension was taken “as a precaution in view of the conflict of some of its articles with the provisions of Islamic sharia (law).” However, Houriya Tourmal, the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, who has been widely criticized by the Islamists, made it clear last October when the agreement was signed that “national law takes precedence in the event of a contradiction. This has step sparked widespread controversy among Libyans and

fears that this could contradict Libyan legislation and laws, as well as religious values. A new government was sworn in before parliament last Thursday and its leader Fathi Bachagha is working to oust the incumbent executive in Tripoli. As Libya faces a major institutional crisis, Prime Minister Dbeibah, who has been removed from office by parliament, is stepping up efforts to boost his popularity so that he can stay in power.

Africa’s top business cities

A 2022 research report published by Statista Global Business Cities has ranked Egypt’s Cairo as the top business city in Africa. The reports assess economically relevant cities from around the world based on the most relevant data for decisions at the corporate level coupled with population size and GDP. The index is based on a number of sub-indices: The dimension

“Economy” examines the economic strength and the level of development of the respective city. The “Business environment” component focuses on infrastructure and logistics. “Society” analyses population development and the areas of education and standard of living. The “Charisma” dimension highlights aspects such as tourism, culture and the environment.

Cairo performed well on Operational Environment: While the city’s overall ranking of the 200 analyzed was just 176, Cairo is in place 113 for this category. Both an ancient city and a modern metropolis, Cairo is one of the largest cities in the Middle East and remains well-suited for exploring Egyptian culture. Moreover, the city has developed into an important modern business city, and its GDP

is higher than the regional average. Algiers, Johannesburg and Casablanca also rated strongly in comparison to the other African cities. Johannesburg, ranked 176th overall, was strongest in the subindex Society. The Statista Global Business Cities Report ranks the most important business cities from around the world based on the most relevant data for business decision-makers.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

African nations reiterate commitment to accelerate the achievement of SDGs The Eight Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 2022) ended on 05 March 2022, with the adoption of the Kigali Declaration on good practices and solutions to enhance implementation of the sustainable development goals in Africa. Adopted by all 54 member states in attendance, the Kigali Declaration urges African countries to link mutually reinforcing policies for sustainable development and COVID-19 recovery to ensure inclusive emergence from the pandemic. The document calls on African countries to leverage new tools, innovative solutions, and technology, including through enhanced partnerships with the private sector, academia, nongovernmental, civil-society, and other stakeholders to build strong, agile, sustainable, and resilient national statistical systems. It also highlighted the need for countries to leverage the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) to support the development of regional value chains, citing the case of minerals used in the production of batteries and electric vehicles as an example.

In her closing remarks at the event, which took place from 3 to 5 March, Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), explained that the main purpose of the meeting was to review Africa’s progress and catalyze actions to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals. The meeting was also meant to achieve consensus on urgent priorities for action, which are captured in the Kigali Declaration to be presented at the high-level political forum in New York. Ms. Morsy noted that through rich

interactive debates and experiencesharing, delegates “collectively met the objectives” of the gathering in Kigali. On way forward, she said Africa needs to urgently deliver progress on the five SDGs on which the forum was focused, notably Goal 4 (quality education), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 14 (Life Below Water), Goal 15 (Life on Land), Goal 17 (partnerships). For his part, Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, and ARFSD 2022 Bureau Chair, Uzziel Ndagijimana, called on member states to intensify efforts towards the achievement of the

2030 Agenda and Africa’s Agenda 2063 “for the benefit of our people or countries.” He cited the diversity of participation at the forum, the enthusiastic commitment, and the momentum observed during the deliberations, as an assurance that “Africa can achieve its development goals.” The forum also witnessed the launch of the Alliance of Entrepreneurial Universities in Africa and the African Technology Development and Transfer Network. Niger and Cote d’Ivoire expressed interest in hosting the next forum, which will take place in West Africa in March 2023. The ARFSD bureau will undertake consultations to decide which of the countries will host the event. ARFSD 2022 was organised by the ECA together with the government of Rwanda in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and other United Nations agencies. The forum took place under the theme “Building forward better: A green, inclusive and resilient Africa poised to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063”

Standard Chartered announces changes to its board Standard Chartered PLC (the “Company”) today announces the appointments of Shirish Moreshwar Apte and Robin Ann Lawther as independent non-executive directors to its Board of Directors with effect from 4 May and 1 July 2022 respectively. Both directors will be put forward for election by shareholders at the 2022 Annual General Meeting. On appointment, Shirish will join the Audit and Board Risk Committees and Robin will join the Company’s Remuneration and Board Risk Committees. Subject to regulatory approval, both Shirish and Robin will also become independent nonexecutive directors of Standard Chartered Bank. Shirish Apte is a former banker with a deep understanding and significant experience of financial services, most notably across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Central and Eastern European regions, having spent over 30 years in senior executive positions with Citibank, where he focused on corporate and investment banking, and risk management, and managed commercial and retail

banking businesses at country and regional level. Shirish also brings considerable global non-executive experience across the financial services sector. He is currently the Chairman of Fullerton India Credit Company Ltd, an independent non-executive director and member of the Risk & Compliance and Audit Committees at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, an independent non-executive director at Singapore Life Pte Ltd and an independent non-executive director of Keppel Corporation Limited, where he is a member of its Audit and Board Risk Committees. Shirish also sits on the board of Pierfront Capital Mezzanine Fund. Previously, he was Vice-Chairman at Fortis Healthcare Limited and an independent non-executive director at IHH Healthcare Berhad and Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA. Shirish qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, England and Wales. Robin Lawther also brings significant experience of the financial services industry with a broad background across investment banking and commercial

banking, having spent over 25 years at JP Morgan Chase in a number of senior executive positions. Robin has valuable executive and nonexecutive experience across global markets and has considerable understanding of regulatory and governance issues. Since 2014, Robin has been an independent non-executive director of Nordea Bank Abp, the largest Nordic Bank,

and is currently a member of its Remuneration & People Committee. She is also an independent board member of Ashurst LLP, a nonexecutive board member of UK Government Investments and a member of the advisory board at Aon. Previously, Robin served as a non-executive director on the board of M&G plc from 2019 to 2021.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

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Explaining Europe’s reaction BY DIEGO GAMBETTA, STEPHEN HOLMES

hat explains Europe’s dramatic, costly, and even revolutionary response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Germany’s newfound commitment to rearmament, which for decades would have caused an international outcry, has been widely applauded. And with traditionally neutral Finland and Sweden now considering joining NATO, the Alliance suddenly looks anything but “brain dead.” Even Switzerland has abandoned 500 years of neutrality to impose financial sanctions against Russia – and, while jaws dropped around the world, Swiss public opinion took it in stride. Most startling, perhaps, was the announcement by the Netherlands and other European states that they would send weapons to help Ukrainians kill Russian troops, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s snarling threat that any country intervening in his “special military operation” would pay a grisly price. European outrage at Putin’s war is not limited to governments. Four out of five German citizens support Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to help arm Ukrainians. The current surge of solidarity in European civil society has refuted the Putinistas’ bare-chested rhetoric that effete debauchery had incurably sapped Europe’s fighting spirit. Fundraising initiatives to help Ukraine are mushrooming everywhere. Countries often labeled as xenophobic, such as Poland and Hungary, are receiving Ukrainian refugees with open arms. The Ukrainian flag and its colors are now visible across the continent, from web pages to painted pets to soccer stadiums. Europe has displayed more unity and resolution in the last ten days than it has in the last ten years. But why? Democracies, as Alexis de Tocqueville argued almost two centuries ago, tend to be slow in reacting to aggression. Once provoked, however, they have a capacity to mobilize militarily that autocracies can only envy. For years, European capitals reacted indecisively to Putin’s maskirovka playbook of cyberattacks, fake news, assassinations, electoral manipulation, and funding of extremist parties and populist candidates. Since 2007, Russia has worked assiduously to destabilize Europe and divide it against itself. Europe’s governments barked but failed to bite. Even the annexation of Crimea and the engineering of a violent separatist movement in eastern Ukraine – overt acts of war and

violations of international law – ultimately met with grudging acquiescence. The world’s failure to anticipate Europe’s fierce reaction to the invasion arguably stems from the assumption that a peaceloving European public could never perform a dramatic volte-face and renounce its tepid reaction to Putin’s previous assaults on the rules and norms of decent, civilized international behavior. And yet that is what it did. Sheer horror at the stomach-churning images of the barbarism of the assault, and the suffering of so many innocent civilians on European soil – evoking the trauma of World War II – no doubt helps explain the response. But it was COVID-19 that paved the way. For starters, Europeans are now used to crisis government, huge public expenditures in response to emergency conditions, and the closure of international borders. Two years of extreme public-safety measures have readied the public for exactly the type of radical overnight shifts that governments are now making in response to Russian aggression. Moreover, and somewhat at odds with this factor, the European public has been nursing an intense craving for a return to normality. With the COVID-19 crisis seemingly (although perhaps not) drawing to a close, Europeans were expecting that they could work, study, and party the way they did in early 2020. But just as these hopes were taking root, Putin’s war of choice has plunged all of us back into a state of emergency. Unlike the pandemic, this latest shock to our lives was not a natural event, but instead the intentional plan of a twisted, vengeful, and violent man who has replaced Europe’s thinning viral cloud with a gathering atomic one. In this sense, Russia’s calculated crime of aggression was hopelessly ill-timed. Deliberately thwarting rising expectations, as Tocqueville would have predicted, is a sure recipe for enraging citizens of democracies and galvanizing their will to fight. These two factors, reinforced by sympathy for the victims, have created a public mood, and indeed public pressure, that has at least temporarily freed European governments from the fear of a pacifist backlash against their

decision to respond uncompromisingly to Russian aggression. Overwhelming public support gave them the latitude they needed to act swiftly and with unprecedented tenacity. But pandemic-related dynamics alone cannot explain why Europe’s leaders reacted in such a bold, decisive way in the face of credible Kremlin threats. The reason must be that they are profoundly shaken and afraid of what Russia might do next if it takes over Ukraine. Russia has already effectively annexed Belarus and strongly suggested that it will place nuclear-armed missiles on the Polish and Lithuanian borders, and perhaps in Kaliningrad, from where they could reach all European capitals within a few minutes. It now seems to be positioning itself to extract all manner of concessions from European governments faced with populations that, while eager to support Ukraine, would presumably balk at the risk of nuclear war. Governments’ reasonable fear of losing political support in case Putin resorts to unnerving the European public with nuclear brinkmanship may explain the alacrity with which they have been willing to supply weaponry to Ukraine, an undoubtedly hostile act that defies Russian warnings. The risk of provoking Putin now presumably is preferable to confronting Russia later, after it had successfully managed, in a worst-case scenario, to break the will of Ukraine’s defenders. It is evidently in Europe’s interest to keep Russian troops tied down in a relentless insurgency – if not an open war – until the fierce sanctions now cratering Russia’s economy erode the invaders’ ability to sustain a prolonged occupation. In the meantime, we can ask if the increasingly ill-fed, poorly supplied, and unmotivated Russian soldiers will persist in slaughtering their brethren and razing their cities. Might not some of them at least be tempted to march back east to settle accounts with the bloody-minded autocrat who sent them to fight a senseless war?

MONDAY, FEBRAURY 14, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022

AFRICAN LEADERS AND THEIR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS MUST ENGAGE LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO IDENTIFY, DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENT THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS

Greening African cooking By Brian Malika

s the world races to meet the goal of net-zero carbon emissions, most regions are focusing on the energy sector. But in Sub-Saharan Africa, cooking fuel poses a bigger challenge. If Africa is to achieve its emissions-reduction goals, Africans must find a clean, affordable way to prepare food. More than 80% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa use charcoal, kerosene, or firewood to cook. These fuels produce black carbon, one of the biggest contributors to climate change after carbon dioxide. And they do more than harm the planet. The household pollution caused by traditional cooking fuels contributes to more than 500,000 premature deaths annually in the region. It also leads to stunted growth and increased risk of respiratory infections in children under five. And, with Sub-Saharan Africa’s population growing 2.7% annually, the problems associated with cooking fuel will worsen until a safer, cleaner option is found. Several new fuels have been proposed, from bioethanol to electricity produced from solar panels. But to determine the best alternative, those who use the fuel must be part of the discussion. People will not use a greener cooking fuel unless it is affordable and easy to access.

So-called design thinking is one way to include their views. This approach, used successfully in many developing-country contexts, relies on collaboration between project managers, engineers, and local communities to find the right solution for a particular problem. In Brazil, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) used design thinking to create jobs in remote villages that are on the front line in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. WWF team members engaged local leaders to determine how residents could be employed to conserve endangered forests through the use of traditional resource-management techniques. Likewise, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization coordinated with indigenous peoples on a white paper that describes how traditional production methods offer a platform for sustainable food systems. Leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa can draw on these cases to engage communities in the search for cleaner sources of cooking fuel. Some experiments already are taking place. A youth group in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, recycles biodegradable food waste to make a form of cooking fuel that produces no carbon-dioxide emissions. But residents noted that the biogas production produces a foul smell during the fermentation process – a serious problem in this heavily populated area. The residents suggested

putting natural odor eliminators like vinegar around fermentation areas. The Africa Biogas Partnership Program shows how a good idea could be made better through design thinking. This program offered rural households biodigesters to turn waste into cooking fuel. While the program successfully reduced fuel consumption and cases of respiratory illness, many farmers who relied on financing to buy the biodigesters could not repay the loans on time. The biodigesters improved the quality of life for the farmers and their families, but they did not contribute to additional income. The inclusion of farmers in the program’s development might have identified this problem in advance and prompted development agencies to create a grant program to offset the upfront expense. Affordable, green cooking fuel will benefit Sub-Saharan Africa in another way: its production can provide jobs for the millions of young Africans about to enter the workforce. The number of Africans under 24 is projected to increase by nearly 50% by 2050. Every year for the next decade, up to 10-12 million young Africans will enter a labor market that currently can accommodate only 3.1 million of them. The number of people employed globally in the renewable-energy sector has grown steadily in the past decade. The industry offers opportunities for both skilled and unskilled labor and has a better gender balance than traditional energy production. But, while 12 million people were employed in green energy production in 2020, only 2.5% of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2050, Africa’s population is expected to double – totaling a quarter of the world’s population. Cities will account for more than 80% of the increase – and most of these people will inhabit crowded slums. With the right initiatives, green energy can be a source of hope for the urban poor. In rural parts of Africa, solar panel installation is creating new jobs. In urban settings, investment in industries like biogas production can reduce carbon emissions and increase employment opportunities. African leaders and their international partners must engage local communities to identify, design, and implement the right solutions to the problem of widespread use of dangerous cooking fuels. The health of Africa’s people – and of the planet – requires nothing less.

Published by Business24 Ltd. Nii Asoyii Street, Mempeasem. East Legon-Accra, Ghana. Tel: 030 296 5297 | 030 296 5315. Editor: Benson Afful editor@business24.com.gh. +233 545 516 133.