VP Bawumia launches bank-wide mobile money service, GhanaPay //STORY ON PAGE 3
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Rising fuel price: Save TOR from coma, IES tells gov’t By Benson Afful
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Tackling long-term unemployment challenges in Ghana
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No food shortage in Ghana - Deputy Agric Minister The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo has stated that it was not true that there was food crisis in the country. He said there was a clear distinction between food availability and pricing, stressing that Ghanaians were misconstruing the high prices of some foodstuff to mean food shortage. Mr. Addo made the statement while addressing the media on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Techiman, Bono East Region as part of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) six-day tour of five regions across the country. He explained that his outfit’s tour was informed by statements, especially in Accra and some big cities, that there was food shortage in the country. “Around this time of the year, food prices are high, but fortunately for Ghana since 2016 till now, there has been high stock of maize,” he noted. According to him, about 270, 000 metric tonnes of maize were available in about ten (10) satellite markets in the Bono East Region. However, Mr. Addo sympathised with farmers on the practice where buyers decide to shortchange them by giving them any price for their produce.
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A collective climate action Today, June 10, 2022, public and private sector institutions and all well meaning Ghanaians will partake in the president’s climate action initiative dubbed “Green Ghana” to plant tress across the length and breadth of this country. The 2022 edition of the Green Ghana Day was launched on 1st March,2022 by the President of the Republic under the theme ‘’Mobilizing for a Greener Future’’ with a target to plant at least 20 million tree seedlings nationwide. The Green Ghana Project is aimed at planting hard wood, which could be used for timber in 10-20 years. It is expected that this exercise will improve the vegetation and forest cover as over 80 percent of this cover has been destroyed by human activity, the minister said at last year’s tree planting exercise. The Ministry of Communications and
Digitalisation has announced to plant orange trees, decorative palm trees, coconut trees, mango trees, pawpaw trees and more at its enclave as well as other premises of the various agencies. The initiative forms part of the efforts by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR) and the Forestry Commission to encourage Ghanaians to plant more trees to preserve and protect the country’s forest cover and the environment in general. The effects of climate change are dire and consequential with rippling impact on every sphere of the economy as already being witnessed in the agrarian sector. We urge the general public to join the Green Ghana initiative as we seek to restore the nation’s ever depleting vegetation, protect the environment and take the fight to climate change.
Rising fuel price: Save TOR from coma, IES tells gov’t By Benson Afful
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Energy think-tank Institute for Energy Security says the astronomical rise in fuel prices requires of government to pay work towards reviving the Tema Oil Refinery, the state refinery now saddled with debt, from total collapse. The institute has therefore appealed to President Nana AkufoAddo to intervene to revitalize the refinery from its current state. “While the price of a gallon of diesel draws closer to Gh¢60, the Institute for Energy Security (IES) wishes to put the president on notice that “the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) is still in coma, requiring his urgent intervention to save the State facility which is saddled with over Gh¢400 million debt, from total collapse,” the IES said in its recent analysis. The institute said after close to six years of poor management of the vital state institution, the refinery sits idle and hopeless; losing out on the prospects of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, plus the potential of generating that synergy between the upstream and the downstream sectors of the Ghanaian petroleum industry.
Although the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic, and the Russian-Ukraine war somehow presents an opportunity for the country’s petroleum sector to exploit opportunities in the petroleum value chain, TOR sits idle, rusting away, it added. The energy analysts added that over the period, successive managements and boards of the refinery have literally failed to provide that vital leadership required to maintain and grow the refinery; particularly so, when the present government in January 2017 inherited a refinery that had cracked approximately 7 million barrels of crude between mid-2015 and end 2016. “A combination of bad sales and purchase agreements, poor facility maintenance, capacity under-utilization, operational inefficiencies, under-investment, carelessness, and incoherent policies, have diminished any hope that the refinery could run uninterrupted and even profitably. “At a time this nation needs it most, the refinery has ceased to play any meaningful role in
managing fuel price and supply risks, while pockets of fuel shortages are recorded with the price of fuel almost quadrupling in the past 6 and half years, stoking inflationary pressures on the entire economy, as Ghanaians will attest. “Unfortunately, the Energy Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh sits clueless, failing to provide a single strategic option to lift TOR out of its present condition while clamoring towards another refinery. Instead, it is reported that the Minister is uncooperative with TOR’s Management and Board decisions and strategic directions, a situation which would definitely generate another round of leadership failure at the State refinery,” the institute added IES therefore called on President Akufo-Addo to ensure the refinery’s management and board develop a comprehensive business strategy that ensures that TOR is operationally and financially viable, as developments on the international fuel market will continue to have a direct effect on the Ghanaian fuel market.
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No food shortage in Ghana - Deputy Agric Minister // Continued from page 1 “So it is totally false for people to sit somewhere and say that there is maize or food shortage in Ghana,” he stressed. He gave a firm assurance that the current government will do everything humanly possible to prevent hunger in the country. What is more, the deputy minister used the chance to debunk statements in certain quarters that the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme of the Akufo-Addo administration has failed. “In 2016, we use to see trucks loaded with sacks of maize from Niger come to Ghana because at the time we were experiencing a shortage. But ever since we started the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative in 2017 till now, records available at the Techiman maize market indicate that these same trucks from Niger come to buy
maize and other foodstuffs from the Techiman market to Niger,” he indicated. This, he said, was very significant, “because we are now producing far in excess to sell to other African countries.” Consequently, Mr. Addo admonished politicians to help reduce the political temperature in the country. “If we don’t have a very good political temperature in this country to allow farmers the space and peace of mind to go about their businesses, it will affect us all,” he cautioned. He was, however, optimistic that when farmers begin to harvest the new maize, prices of maize will naturally reduce to the benefit of Ghanaians. The Deputy Minister also visited cashew and cabbage farmers at Bonya. According to the farmers of
these crops, it was increasingly becoming difficult for them to find market for their produce. One of such farmers was Joshua Yaw Damashie, who lamented that he use to cultivate cabbage on a large scale “because I had buyers from Accra but due to transport issues there’s reduction
in my cabbage cultivation.” He appealed to the government to continue subsidising the prices of fertilisers. The deputy minister and his team will wrap up their tour with visits to Ashanti and Eastern Regions.
VP Bawumia launches bank-wide mobile money service, GhanaPay
The Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, launched the GhanaPay Mobile Money Service in Accra. The GhanaPay is the first bankwide mobile money service by universal banks, rural banks as well as savings and loans companies to individuals and businesses. The GhanaPay service, which operates like the existing mobile money service, with additional banking services, is opened to everyone with access to a mobile
phone (including a yam phone) with or without a traditional bank account. Speaking at the launch, Vice President Bawumia described the introduction of the GhanaPay mobile money service as “another groundbreaking initiative”, as the service, he added, further expands the government’s vision for financial inclusion to all Ghanaians through digital banking. “One of the biggest challenges that we faced as a country was the huge unbanked population. For a long time, over 70 percent of the adult population was unbanked. However, thanks to reforms in the payment channels, we have significantly reduced the unbanked population,” said the Vice President. “It is heartwarming to know that the banking sector is increasingly looking for ways to extend financial inclusion to all Ghanaians. It is clear that the entire economy is being
transformed to what I want to call from analogue to digital. The benefits of this transformation, which is literally sweeping across every sector of the economy, are enormous and we can readily see and experience some of the benefits,” he added. “Let me therefore commend the Ghana Association of Banks, GhIPSS and all institutions that from the very beginning, believed in this vision and have supported it all through to this point “At the rate at which Ghana is adopting digitisation, it is clear that in the near future, almost every part of our lives will be driven by digitisation.” While commending banks and other stakeholders for coming together to introduce the GhanaPay, Dr. Bawumia was optimistic greater financial inclusion will soon be achieved in the country through digital financial service. “I am particularly excited that the banks have closed their ranks and come together to introduce a shared electronic wallet, which has been christened GhanaPay. I see this as a huge avenue for banks to rapidly bring more people into the banking space,” “GhanaPay takes care of the bottlenecks associated with
opening of formal bank accounts, so the banks should be able to use the GhanaPay platform to massively reduce the traditionally unbanked population.” “I know we can bring it (number of unbanked Ghanaians) down further and one of the channels to achieve this is through digital financing services; that is leveraging the increasing adoption and usage of the mobile wallet because of its ease of use.” The GhanaPay, which is positioned between mobile money, offered by telcos and banking, offered by banks, can be downloaded on Google Play Store or on Apple Store. Just like the existing mobile money services, the GhanaPay, once registered, can be used to send and receive money to and from mobile networks and bank accounts. It can also be used to cash in and cash out, buy airtime, data, and also pay for goods and services through a GhQR merchant. By launching the GhanaPay mobile money service, Ghana has achieved another digital payment landmark by becoming the first country in the world to implement a bank-wide mobile money service.
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Tackling long-term unemployment challenges in Ghana Unemployment is an issue of critical concern to many countries. The phenomenon is both an economic and security issue due to the large number of capable young people who are without work and disposed to illegal activities. Bloomberg reports that the unemployment rate in Ghana has almost tripled over the past decade. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census by the Ghana Statistical Service, more than 13 percent of Ghana’s economically active population are out of work. Unemployment is an ageold problem that successive governments have tried to reduce its rate and consequential impact on the economy, but the dial has hardly shifted. From the implementation of the Ghana Worker’s Brigade, the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to the Youth Employment and Development Agency (YEDA), Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and the current Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), policy interventions have been short-term in nature and unable to address the problem in a comprehensive manner. Tackling the issue requires an approach that addresses the matter comprehensively. One of the arguments put forth as contributing to the unemployment situation in Ghana is the unresponsiveness of the education structure to current industry demands. The first step on this remedial journey is the provision of good quality and relevant education that do not only respond to the exigencies of today’s world, but also prepares the minds of young people for the future. Thankfully, interventions such as Free Compulsory Basic Education and now Free SHS are ensuring that our young people have access to the minimum basic education. Around the world around, the heads of some of the most successful companies - Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, AMD’s Lisa Su, Tesla’s Elon Musk have one thing in common: They’re engineers – they have had rigorous training in mathematical and scientific approaches to solving problems and are not shy to get
into the technical details of the product or service. From that perspective there is a strong push to rebalance our educational structure towards STEM subjects. The goal is for STEM to serve as a catalyst to enhance the abilities of countries to produce youth with strong technical and analytical capabilities that can develop home-grown technologies to would address uniquely African problems. Beyond developing a purposeful approach towards STEM education, African countries must also place emphasis on vocational learning and disabuse the minds of the youth that a university title and route are an assured path to attaining career success. Experts point to a correlation between youth experiencing vocational training and youth employment. This explains why the debate on the merits of converting Ghanaian polytechnics into technical universities continues with great intensity. It may be argued that the role and importance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a means of equipping our youth with technical skills isn’t new to us. Until the conversion of eight out of the ten polytechnics into technical universities, Ghana had one polytechnic in each of the ten erstwhile regions, named after the regional capitals, such as the Accra Polytechnic in Accra, and the Ho Polytechnic in Ho. After the show of conversion was over, the number of technical universities or polytechnics has stayed flat at ten over the last two decades. Meanwhile, the number of universities increased from just three in 1990 to 70 in 2014, with many of the new institutions focusing on the humanities and liberal arts programs. One may ask if we can attribute the difficulty in finding competent plumbers in Ghana, to the fact that we have not witnessed a rise in the number of polytechnics or schools for higher vocational learning in the country even as liberal arts universities keep springing up? Aside providing avenues for students to complete their national service engagements, the private sector must embrace apprenticeships for young people
as a more direct corporate social contribution to the society. This could be done alongside the monetary contributions that firms extend as part of their corporate social responsibilities. Government policy may also be geared towards establishing more technical schools to train JHS and SHS school leavers, and graduates with high demand technical skills sought after by industry and the society. It is only through such deliberate acts that the youth will be equipped with employable skills to match the requirements of industry, and provide a route to the job market for students not inclined to academic university courses. A look at other parts of the globe such as the UK and the US, where a National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is observed may illustrate this point. This is a convening of business leaders, career seekers, labor, educational institutions, and other critical partners to demonstrate their support for apprenticeship. The week-long celebration also provides apprenticeship sponsors with the opportunity to showcase their programs, facilities, and apprentices in their community. Such celebrations highlight the benefits of apprenticeship in preparing a highly skilled workforce to meet the talent needs of employers across diverse industries. Experience is indeed the best teacher, so we need not be afraid of experimenting. And as a popular story told of the inventor Thomas Edison goes, while he was working on creating the light bulb in his lab in New Jersey, USA, a visitor to the lab expressed sympathy to Edison regarding the failed experiments and the lack of results. Edison countered by saying: “I have not failed, not once. I’ve discovered ten thousand ways that don’t work.” This story illustrates why our talented youth need support to brainstorm and co-create as they embark on their entrepreneurial ventures. Solving practical problems requires funding, facilities, mentorship, and research centers to provide subject matter expertise on trends. In August 2019, Stanbic Bank Ghana launched one of its most significant Corporate Social
Initiatives - the SB Incubator. This was to provide business advisory, coaching and mentorship, and market access facilitation and networking opportunities to aspiring entrepreneurs and startups in Ghana. Located at Silver Star Tower, the SBIncubator also offers world class coworking spaces. Through the bank’s Staff Volunteer Mentorship program, the bank’s staff offer their expertise and time to members of the SBIncubator Community. Although COVID impacted engagements in 2020, the bank hosted forty-seven (47) capacity building sessions that impacted 2,498 participants. We also hosted fifty-two (52) coaching and mentoring sessions, 11 of which were held physically prior to the lockdown period. This translates into 44 one-on-one sessions and 8 group coaching sessions. In total, 380 SMEs and start-ups were directly impacted through these training programs. We also established and consolidated our partnerships with 18 strategic entities to create more value for the entrepreneurs. These partners include the likes of Reset Global People, the Israeli Embassy in collaboration with Haim Gil-Ad, Ashesi Venture Incubator and the World Economic Forum Road to Davos Discourse among others. The importance of Africa’s youth to nation building cannot be overemphasized, given their numbers. In Ghana, the youth population was estimated at 10 million in 2017, making up 35% of the country’s population. As posited above, the responsibility for ensuring that they contribute effectively to nation-building is a collective one, that lies with policy makers, educational and corporate institutions, parents, and the youth themselves. The implications for any country in not fully developing the potential of its vibrant youth population, could be dire, possibly leading to economic losses, armed conflict, social upheaval, and political instability. One of the routes for tackling this is possibly STEM education. Kojo Akoi-Larbi Manager, Communications – Stanbic Bank Ghana
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Chief of Army Staff pays working visit to Consolidated Bank Ghana To cement the relationship between Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd. (CBG) and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for future collaborations, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah has paid an official visit to CBG at its Head Office in Accra. Receiving the Major General and his team, the Managing Director of CBG, Daniel Wilson Addo said his outfit was delighted to have them. “On behalf of the Board, Management, and Staff of CBG, I officially welcome you to Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd. This is a particularly auspicious day in the history of CBG to have you here with us today. We have heard of your illustrious career, and we are glad to be associated with you”. “CBG is a 100 percent Government owned bank which was formed in 2018. In the space of four years, we have grown to assume a pivotal role in Ghana’s economy focusing our energies on the growth of businesses, particularly SMEs and Corporate. We are the second largest bank
in Ghana in terms of branch distribution with 114 branches. CBG is very much focused on a digital agenda and our key plan for the next three years is to build a strong digital foundation architecture over the branch networks we have. We are a very good corporate citizen, and over the years, we have worked with the security services such as the Police Service but not much with the Ghana Armed Forces. Thus, we are looking forward to cementing the relationship we have with Ghana Armed Forces”, Mr. Addo added. On his part, Major General
Thomas Oppong-Peprah noted that the GAF and CBG needed to work together. “The world is changing and security in the world is vital at this point for the development and growth of every nation. And so, we have moved from the traditional way of providing security to dealing with cyber security, terrorism, fraud, hacking into systems and others. Monitoring events in our neighboring countries, we have realized that these activities are growing and expanding and as a result, we have also revised our security methods. Some of the measures include
Human security to assist organizations in providing appropriate support to reduce the impact of these threats on society”. “It is imperative for us to work together because one of the key areas we have realized we need to assist more is the financial sector. There is the urgent need for collaboration in terms of sharing ideas, provision of traditional security such as escort duties for bullion vans and others”, he said. Daniel Wilson Addo assured the Major General that there will be more collaborations between CBG and GAF. “CBG is able to assist the Armed Forces with tailor-made solutions to meet the needs of the Armed Forces. We have a strong transaction team and efficient lending platform which disburses loans to individuals within 48 hours. We are looking forward to do more business with you and extend our loan services to other regions and new recruits. Once again, we are delighted to have you”, he concluded.
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School Feeding Programme, matters arising: Caterers deserve better Dr Clement Apaak Last Monday, June 13, marked the start of the sixth week since caterers under the School Feeding Programme placed on record, their plight to government on their inability to continue to render services, while government decisions continue to erode their meagre savings spent to sustain the programme. Strike These caterers have since embarked on an industrial action to register their protest of unfair treatment meted out to them by government. This action was meant to bring to the notice of heads of the concerned ministry and agency of the above raised issues. To bring it to the attention of the reading public, the purpose of the school feeding programme, housed under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, is to increase school enrolment, attendance and retention. The programme is also meant to reduce hunger and malnutrition among pupils in addition to enhancing domestic food production, especially in deprived and rural agrarian communities across the country. Sad but legitimately, the caterers, engaged to provide these services, have been on strike for the past six weeks now. Legitimate demand The legitimate demands of these caterers are simple. They demand an immediate payment for the feeding of pupils for 68 days at the current rate of Ghp 0.97 per child per day; and they also want an increment of the allocation from Ghp 0.97 per child per day in the light of the high cost of food items. According to the caterers, they contracted loans from various financial institutions, or took supplies of food items on credit from suppliers to meet their contract to feed these pupils. Thus, the immediate payment by government is meant to pay off those debts and sustain
their credit-worthy status. Their situation is exacerbated by their creditors who are on their necks each day and night. In addition, at the current rate of Ghp 0.97 per pupil per day, it is practically impossible for them to prepare a decent meal at the prevailing current economic conditions. Accordingly, the caterers have a legitimate case. What decent meal can be provided at Ghp 0.97 in Ghana today; with this high cost of living and with galloping inflation, particularly the exponential growth rate of inflation on food items, at these dizzying levels? Impact The absence of such service providers has affected school attendance; because the absence of these caterers is directly related to the attendance of pupils, especially those in the lower primary, in schools in rural, deprived and poor communities. In other words, several numbers of the 1.69 million pupil-beneficiaries of this programme delivered through these caterers, who were fed before the curtailment, brought about through the strike action, are currently not attending school and may not return, if government does not address the pending issues raised by these service providers. It beats my imagination the posture of government towards addressing this urgent matter. Budgeted The budget for the School Feeding Programme was contained in the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, which was debated, considered and approved by the representatives of the people. Release of public funds for any unbudgeted and unapproved project to the detriment of budgeted and approved programmes like the school feeding, cannot be tolerated in any democracy, and we must not tolerate same. The government must quickly honour its obligation to pay the
caterers and increase the cost of feeding per pupil as soon as possible. This is what the government was given the mandate to execute with the GH¢881 million captured in appendix six, page 272, of the 2022 Budget Statement and
Economic Policy under the School Feeding Programme. The writer is the Member of Parliament, Builsa South and Deputy Ranking Member, Education Committee
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Republic Bank marks Green Ghana Day Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC joined Ghanaians to celebrate the National Tree Planting Day dubbed the ‘Green Ghana Day’ as part of the government’s initiative to plant 20 million trees and in
fulfilment of the Bank’s CSR under SDG-13 – Climate Action. The tree planting exercise was done at the African Union (AU) Square where Republic Bank has adopted for greening
and beautification as part of its sustainable development goals. Commenting on the tree planting exercise, Mr. Joseph L. Ashong, General Manager of Commercial and Retail Banking explained that Republic Bank as a corporate entity is deeply concerned about the environment and climate change issues. “In 2020 our parent company, Republic Financial Holdings Limited signed on to the UN Principles of Responsible Banking and one of the key SDG areas Republic Bank signed up to is SDG 13 - Climate Action, to contribute its quota to environmental sustainability issues” he said. “We are aware of the benefits that comes with greening and that makes us passionate about this project of tree planting and greening as a remedy to save our climate and our world”, Mr. Ashong added. “As a Bank, we believe in protecting lives and influencing the communities we serve. We do this through what we call the Power to Make a Difference (PMAD), which is a focal part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We recently adopted the AU Square for greening and beautification
as a sign of our commitment to keeping our environment green, safe and fresh,” Mr. Ashong SAID. The Metro Director for Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA), Mr. Daniel Kingsford Adams who was present at the tree planting exercise expounded on the benefits of tree planting and greening. According to Mr. Adams, tree planting has become crucial and Republic Bank’s gesture of adopting one of the Green areas within the capital is a laudable gesture that requires commendation. He assisted Mr. Ashong to plant a number of trees within the AU Square. Present at the tree planting exercise at the AU Square were Mr. Tetteh Mamah, Head, Human Resources, Republic Bank and Mrs. Genevieve Aboney, Manager, Marketing and Communications who also planted trees in fulfilment of the National Green Ghana Day agenda. In support of the exercise were members of staff from Republic Bank and the project partners from Mullen Lowe.
New Food Safety Policy aims to build resilient system to safeguard consumers By Eugene Davis Government has launched the 2022 National Food and Safety Policy (NFSP) in Accra with a goal to build a resilient system that assures safe and suitable food to all consumers. The key objectives of the NFSP are to strengthen food safety governance in Ghana, strengthen institutional coordination and collaboration for food safety, promote and ensure harmonization, synergy, and enforcement of laws and regulations on food safety in Ghana. Speaking at the commemoration of the World Food Safety Day and launch of the National, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, indicated that the key objectives have been translated into a 5-year Strategic Action Plan which clearly outlines the strategies and corresponding costed activities that will be undertaken to ensure that this National Food Safety Policy is effectively and efficiently implemented. Moreover, a comprehensive stakeholder mapping exercise has also been undertaken to
identify and assign clear roles and responsibilities to all relevant stakeholders within the food value chain, he added. According to him, the health sector cannot do it all alone and that all the other sectors (both public and private) have significant roles to play in addressing the health needs of the people holistically. “We are also taking a cue from the WHO’s “Health-In-All-Policies” and “One Health” approaches which enjoin all sectors to give prime consideration to health (human, animal, and environmental health) in their planning activities. To this end, permit me to issue a call to action to us all to work in a multi-sectoral approach and consider food safety issues when formulating our plans, programs, and interventions.” Statistics from WHO Fact Sheet on Food Safety, an estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420 000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years.
Furthermore, a total of US$ 110 billion is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in lowand middle-income countries. The CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Mimi Delese Darko stated the launch of the policy will not only improve food safety, enhance living standards, encourage tourism, increase trade in food products. A Deputy Local Government and Rural Development Minister, Collins Ntim, lauded the policy and revealed that government also at the local level has developed food safety guidelines for Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs). He explained that the Local Governance Act (2016) allows the minister to guide MMDAs in the development of bye-laws which
enjoins them to enforce the laws on public health and food safety through health officers of their respective assemblies for the safety of persons in their area of jurisdictions. “It is our hope that both documents will be implemented collaboratively to ensure that Ghana achieves food safety for all and also prop up foreign exchange earnings and exportation of products that meets the standards of international markets.”
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FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
Conscience of Parliament By Ahumah Ocansey
“Our MPs should understand they were voted into Parliament to do business of the people since they are not representing themselves.” “It is important we get it clear for them to understand it is their duty to always be there unless they are in their constituencies dealing with other issues, but not showing up just because they do not feel like it.” – Professor David Abdulai, Senior Advisor, Africa Parliamentarians Network against Corruption. The Speaker of Parliament and members are invited to read and comment on this article, in the interest of the public. One. Is it true or false that when bills are submitted to Parliament, the organisations requesting the passage of a specific bill must add money to be shared among committee members before they discuss the bill, otherwise, no show? Two. When Parliamentarians absent themselves from sittings, what is done to them? Three. Is it right or wrong for persons to be elected to Parliament, and for them to treat Parliament as an additional money-making enterprise, while they pursue their own business? Do they serve the nation or not? Four. When Parliamentarians receive the common fund for their constituencies, do they inform their constituencies of the disbursement of the money? And who audits the fund? Five. Is it shameful or not for Parliamentarians to be present in Parliament without contributing to debates, because they do not fully understand the issues being debated, and neither could they express themselves in the official
English language? Six. Is it right or wrong for Parliament to unilaterally decide how much they must be paid, or the quantum of allowances to be given them, without regard to prevailing national conditions of other Ghanaians? And, is there no other entity to moderate what Parliamentarians fix for themselves? Seven. Would Parliamentarians admit or deny that Ghana’s Parliament has had no impact whatsoever on the deteriorating environment of filth and neglect spreading throughout the country, regardless of the government of the day? New life Ghana’s democratic and parliamentary governance had a new life in 1992, with our present Constitution. No doubt several laws have been enacted through the work of Parliament, and that have provided the impetus for whatever good is derivable from those laws. The matter of interest to me as a Ghanaian is what I perceive as a selfish, acquisitive intent to make money in Parliament, rather than the altruistic intent of serving the people to better their lot. In other words, Parliament is losing the quintessence of its existence in the context of national development. According to a news item in the Ghanaian Times of Friday, March 18, 2022, lack of quorum in Parliament on March 17, 2022, and March 10, 2020, disabled members from debating and approving two different credits from the German Government for various projects in the country. Altogether, the two facilities are worth 50 million.
Without a quorum, the work of Parliament is stultified. Article 102 of the Constitution states: A quorum of Parliament, apart from the person presiding, shall be one-third for all Members of Parliament. Sometimes, when we watch proceedings in Parliament, we see an almost empty house. Where have the members gone to? Are they on a “frolic of their own”? If so, must this be allowed to continue? I say nay. Ghanaians must call their members to order! The Speaker of Parliament is also helpless. Professor David Abdulai, Senior Advisor, Africa Parliamentarians Network against Corruption, has advocated the use of a biometric attendance system in Parliament to curb absenteeism by legislators. The House must go beyond that and discuss and prescribe the discipline to be enforced against absentee members. Above law It appears parliamentarians see themselves as above the laws of the nation and think they are answerable to no one. We have to remind Members of Parliament (MPs) that the power with which they entered Parliament is not native to them, but a borrowed power! The power is adventitious. When it pleases us to remove it, they would fall back to where they were before they entered Parliament. Parliamentary democracy places the citizenry in a position to impact the outcomes of debates. If parliamentarians won’t inform their constituencies of happenings in Parliament, at least, those who know what is going on could make contributions through
articles, while professional organisations and NGOs also state their opinions. Of the questions asked above, a salient one that must be confronted relates to the qualification to enter Parliament. What qualifications must a person have for Ghanaians to elect him into Parliament? Article 94 (1-5) of the Constitution gives details of the requirements that qualify a person to enter Parliament. Some are that he must be 21 years and above, be a resident of the constituency, must not be a criminal, and so on. Opinion My opinion is that since Parliament exists to make laws and discuss policies of the government, those elected into Parliament must, at least, have university education, and should be mature enough to know the work of Parliament. Age 35 to 40 is good enough, not less. It is a waste of money for members to be in Parliament without understanding issues and being able to express themselves in the official English language. This article is to make Ghanaians aware that we must all be vigilant in promoting and securing the best interests of our nation. Ghanaians must be aggressive in evaluating the work of Parliament. The notion of some parliamentarians that they are superior to the electorate must be disabused. We must keep them on their toes, and let them know their power comes from us! The writer is a lawyer. E-mail: akwesihu@yahoo.com
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FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
Ghana participates in the NordicAfrican Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (NAFM) in Helsinki The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Hon. Kwaku AmpratwumSarpong (MP), led Ghana’s delegation to the 2022 Nordic-African Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (NAFM) held in Helsinki, Finland from 13th to 15th June, 2022. Other members of Ghana’s delegation included Ghana’s Ambassador to Finland, H.E. Mrs. Jennifer Lartey, Director for the Europe Bureau, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Mrs. Matilda Alomatu Osei-Agyeman, Deputy Director at the Office of the Deputy Minister, Mr. Charles Osei-Mensah, Minister Counsellor and Head of Chancery, Ghana’s Embassy in Norway, Mr. Charles KwakyeMarfo and Counsellor for Political and Economic Affairs, Ghana’s Embassy in Norway, Mr. Arthur Mills. The Foreign Ministers’ meeting is an annual event that serves as an opportunity for an open and informal dialogue between African and Nordic countries on avariety of foreign policy and
global issues related to peace and security, investment and trade and avenues for realising the potential of the youth. The 2022 NAFM was held under three thematic areas namely peace and security, sustainable societies and co-operation in multilateral fora. During the Forum, Ghana made several interventions on peace and security in the West African sub-region, maritime security and Ghana’s role as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that in Africa, activities of Terrorist Armed Groups/Violent extremist Organizations (TAGs/VEOs) have become more widespread, frequent and deadly with their underlying dynamics growing increasingly complex and posing high risks to coastal countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin. To address this challenge and to prevent situations of conflict, he suggested the need to strengthen Early Warning Systems (EWS) by
creating a system that constantly collects, monitors and analyses data that alerts decision makers of the potential outbreak, escalation and resurgence of violent conflicts. He further added that identifying Early Warning Systems alone are not enough to stop conflicts. He indicated that it could only be useful if it is strongly linked to Early Response Mechanisms including preventive diplomacy, mediation, peace-making dialogues among others and also noted that the gap between Early Warning and Early Response is what has often escalated crises situations into violent conflicts. On the margins of the Meeting, Ghana held three (3) bilateral meetings with Finland, Norway and Sweden. Discussions centered on further deepening the cordial relations that exist between Ghana and the three (3) respective countries. During the meeting with Finland, both countries discussed the need to collaborate on a wide range of areas including
circular economy, sustainable development, peace and security issues, climate issues, education (particularly TVET) and health. The highlight of the bilateral meeting between Ghana and Finland was the signing of an MoU to establish political consultations in the areas of circular economy, clean technology, agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, energy, digitization, education, health, among others. The Deputy Minister noted that the signing of the MoU which comes on the heels of the passage of Finland’s National Africa Strategy was timely as it provided the framework for the two countries to engage in transparent dialogue and interaction and move relations between both countries forward in the spirit of friendship and cooperation. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, H.E. Mr. Pekka Haavisto signed the MoU on behalf of Finland while Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong (MP) signed on behalf of Ghana.
| COMMENT/ANALYSIS
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
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Don’t raise the Eurozone’s public-debt limit By Ahumah Ocansey In February 2020, the European Commission announced that it would present a plan for reforming the eurozone’s economic governance, including the rules for public debt. After a lengthy postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project is now back on the table, amid widespread calls to give governments more leeway, for example to finance climateprotection spending. But, in view of the already high levels of national debt and rising inflation, this is the wrong way to go. Fiscal policy coordination should instead focus on reallocating public expenditure and thus on increasing its quality rather than its quantity. Any reform of the eurozone’s fiscal rules must start by considering the worsening economic conditions in Europe in recent years. The pandemic caused public debt to rise to more than 150% of GDP in Italy and 185% of GDP in Greece. When the debt of the Next Generation EU pandemic bailout fund is included, the ratio rises to 155% for Italy and 190% for Greece. Moreover, rising energy prices and the Ukraine war are delaying the recovery and further straining Europe’s public finances. Many countries are taking measures to help vulnerable citizens cope with rising energy costs and are increasing defense expenditure. Germany, for example, recently decided to spend an additional €100 billion ($105 billion) on armaments, financed entirely by new public debt. Moreover, annual eurozone inflation rose to a record 8.1% in May, largely because of surging energy and food prices. Core inflation, which excludes these prices, is now nearly 4%.
The European Central Bank has therefore decided to end its extremely expansionary monetary policy in the summer and to start raising interest rates. Interest rates in the financial markets have been rising since the beginning of the year. Given this background, how should Europe’s fiscal rules be reformed? Public debate focuses on the ceilings of 3% of GDP for a country’s current budget deficit and 60% of GDP for its public debt. One popular idea is to raise the public-debt limit to 90% or 100% of GDP on the grounds that many eurozone countries have no realistic chance of reducing their debt to 60% of GDP in the foreseeable future. Other proposals would exempt climate-related public investment or spending from the cap on budget deficits. More generally, critics argue that the rules are too inflexible because they fail to account adequately for the situation of individual member states and the purposes for which debt is used. But the debt and budgetdeficit ceilings have long had only symbolic significance for the monitoring and coordination of macroeconomic policy in the eurozone. At the core of Europe’s economic governance are the negotiations within the framework of the “European Semester.” Member states regularly report on their economic-policy plans, and the Commission then makes countryspecific recommendations. While the current rules are not too rigid, they have two other weaknesses. First, the process of fiscal surveillance based on them has become so complex that the public no longer understands it. Consequently, there is little public
pressure on national governments to comply. Second, decision-making power regarding economic policy and public debt ultimately lies with national governments and parliaments. The Commission’s most recent European Semester implementation report, from the pre-crisis year of 2019, showed only a minority of eurozone countries complying with its recommendations. Yet, despite the shortcomings of Europe’s public-debt rules, abolishing them altogether would mean throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The rules remain a useful point of reference for the discussion and coordination of national policies. Scrapping them would encourage governments to pay even less attention to fiscal sustainability and pan-European considerations in taxing and spending decisions. It will not be easy for eurozone member states to reach a consensus on the basic direction of fiscal policy in the coming years. But several factors argue against expanding governments’ scope to issue debt in order to address challenges such as climate change, digitalization, and the Ukraine war. First, rising inflation shows that fiscal policymakers – in contrast to a few years ago – can no longer rely on abundant production capacity to support higher government spending. Today’s significant supply constraints mean that increased public expenditure crowds out private spending to a greater extent than before and thus contributes much less to economic growth. Second, the era of loose monetary policy is over for now. Inflation is currently rising even faster than nominal interest rates.
But if central banks are serious about fighting inflation, they will have to raise real interest rates significantly. This will make government debt more expensive. The focus on reducing inflation also means that central banks have fewer opportunities to prop up highly indebted countries through government bond purchases. Convincing private investors that public debt will remain under control is thus becoming more important again. Third, issuing additional debt in order to finance green investments would be more acceptable if these investments led to higher tax revenues in the future. But many such projects – like providing public buildings with new heating systems that run on electricity instead of oil, phasing out internal-combustion-engine cars and trucks in favor of electric vehicles, and replacing coal-fired power plants with wind turbines – substitute existing capital. These are important expenditures that help to mitigate climate change, but, because they do not generate additional economic growth and tax revenues, they should not be permanently financed by debt. The central task of eurozone fiscal policy is to restructure expenditure by reducing or at least freezing public spending that may be useful but is not essential. The structure and thus the quality of public finances is already a relevant criterion in the context of fiscal policy coordination and should be given much greater weight. The eurozone’s forthcoming economic governance reform should not aim to change the fiscal rules, but rather the way governments manage them.
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| NEWS
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
Ahwoi & Adu-Gyamfi siblings unveil collective biography titled ‘The Children of House No. D13 South Suntresu Kumasi’ The Ahwoi and Adu-Gyamfi siblings have officially outdoored their collective biography titled ‘The Children of House No. D13 South Suntresu Kumasi’. The book was unveiled at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra with several business leaders and politicians in attendance. The Children of House Number D13, South Suntresu, Kumasi, is a collective biography of the life stories of the eight children of Madam Maye Charlotte Hudson, also known as Esi Tutuwa but known to some people as Esi Nkwagye and to the people of South Suntresu, Kumasi as Mrs. Ahwoi. The ‘Ahwois’ principally is the collective name of three brothers - Ato, Kwesi and Kwamena - who have played prominent roles in Ghana’s recent history, but the siblings also include five girls, Ama, Adoma, Efua, Naana and Sister Aggie, who also played their part in these thrilling stories in their own unique ways. Reviewing the book, Ex-
Chairperson of the National Media Commission (NMC), Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng lauded efforts of the late Mrs. Ahwoi, nee Maye Charlotte Hudson,the person whose presence permeates the story. “Indeed, the matriarch is effectively the ninth subject of the eight children’s biographies,” he said. The book achieves the purpose of showing the “remarkable togetherness and the mutual support system that enabled the children of House No. D13, South Suntresu, Kumasi, to overcome the many hurdles along their individual paths in life as being due to their mother, Madam Maye Charlotte Hudson (Mrs. Ahwoi). To make such a collective recollection of personal histories work, all parties involved must be willing to take the effort seriously; equally crucial is the necessity to respect everyone’s personal history as meaningful, which this book has done. It would be right to describe it as an exercise in literary democracy! Not every book project results
in a good book, but this one did because the project’s heart is a fantastic story. And at the center of that excellent story is the life of these eight people, who represent human development against all odds. Dramatis personae in order of appearance- from the wombAto Ahwoi, Kwesi Ahwoi, Mrs. Ama Twum, Kwamena Ahwoi, Mrs. Ama Adoma Bartels-Kodwo, Mrs. Efua Bram-Larbi, Theodora Naana Adu Gyamfi and Mrs. Agnes Appiagyei-Dankah. Theodora Naana Adu-Gyamfi passed away at the age of 28 and so her role ends early except in passing references. However, it is worth recalling that before she died, and in an act that exemplifies the major theme of this book, Naana secretely transferred all the money in her own bank account into that of her six-year-old niece, Abena Tutuwa Ahwoi, the daughter of her brother, Kwamena. The structure of the narrative, which makes it possible to flow, is simply to follow the fortunes of these siblings sequentially in turn
through the main phases of their development. The person whose presence permeates the story is the matriarch - Mrs. Ahwoi, nee Maye Charlotte Hudson. There were readings of favorite excerpts from the book by Mrs. Agnes Appiagyei-Dankah (nee Adu- Gyamfi); Mrs. Efua BramLarbi (nee Ahwoi); Mrs. Ama Adoma Bartels-Kodwo (nee Ahwoi); Kwamena Ahwoi; Mrs. Ama Twum (nee Ahwoi); Kwesi Ahwoi; and Ato Ahwoi. The event was chaired by Professor Dora Edu-Buandoh, Immediate past Pro-ViceChancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC); with the keynote address delivered by Professor Kwesi Botchwey, Former Minister of Finance; and the formal book launch performed by Dr. Joseph SIaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies. The book ‘The Children of House No. D13 South Suntresu Kumasi’ was published by DigiBooks Ghana Ltd.
The Ahwoi and Adu-Gyamfi siblings with some dignitaries at the launch of the book
| FEATURE
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
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New word for old habits By Elizabeth Ohene I have discovered a new word. Well, it is new to me, but I find that it is a word that is supposed to have been in use since 1974. Just tells you how blissfully ignorant one can be. The word is WHATABOUTERY. Yes, it is a word alright and even though it can’t be found in my old, trusted, dog-eared dictionary that sits on my desk, my phone assures me it is an English word. Here are definitions offered of three variations of the word in sentences. Whataboutery is deployed by people who are themselves accused of a charge, and who wish to distract rather than defend themselves – it is a misdirection of the guilty. Whataboutism: blame can be accepted without some fingerpointing immediately following it but, especially online, it is all whataboutery. Whatabouteries: there was always the lurking suspicion that the promised new approach could not be sustained and that old whatabouteries would inevitably surface. Now that you have seen examples of how the word is used, here is the official definition of WHATABOUTERY: it is a noun, and it is defined as the technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counter accusation or raising a different issue. All too often, the definition continues, well-intentioned debate descends
into whataboutery. I have no idea how I have managed to operate all these years without such an important word in my lexicon. To borrow from Nigel Warburton, the British philosopher whose article introduced the word to me, all current political debate seems to be hinged on whataboutery. You try to talk about the events that have gripped the whole world, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the answer is what about the long history of American and British imperialism around the world? What about the US going into Iraq? Or as someone put it, to understand what is going on,
wherever Russia appears, put America and wherever Ukraine appears, put the Middle East. This presupposes, of course, that I understand what the Americans went to do in Iraq or that I agreed with the invasion of Iraq. It presupposes therefore that whatever reasons I would have had for agreeing with that event, I could use the same reasons to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I am not sure how helpful the reference is for those who opposed the invasion of Iraq, but by the time you get to that, the debate would have moved on and it would be taken you have been adequately silenced.
Every day when you listen to political discussions in this country, you realise nothing is judged unless it can be compared with what someone or some other group did or said some time ago. Now that we have this unforgiving Internet, if I am accused of stealing, all I need do is find an example of an opponent stealing. I could have stolen from the orphanage and my opponent could have stolen a makeup bag, once the word steal appears, we are in whataboutery territory and I am free to move on. Nigel Warburton writes that whataboutery rests on the false premise that wrongdoing is mitigated if others have done something similar and that accusers need to be innocent of the crime of which they are accusing others. He points out that liars can sometimes tell the truth and those who are immoral or even those who engage in criminal activity are not necessarily precluded from pointing accusing fingers at other’s wrongdoing. It will be useful if we would just try and judge current events without getting into whataboutery. I notice that past actions, accepted generally at the time to be wrong, are now being justified on the basis that something similar is currently being done.
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| NEWS
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
The struggles of content creators – A founder’s viewpoint By Kayode Adebayo From a hobby to a big-time career, content creation has become a vital part of the social media marketing that few people envisaged. The art of content creation transcends location, age, race or identity, yet it relies on these and more, for it to be impactful. As consumers of content, it is difficult to fully appreciate the struggles creators go through to produce the various content with relevant messaging. Creative Block There are so many different challenges that hinder content creators. Every content creator has their peculiar struggles. The most common amongst them all is referred to as the Creative Block. Creatives will, particularly, find this position very familiar as it is a stage that seems to confront most creatives. Creative Block can last days, weeks or even months. When it occurs, creators find it almost impossible to create content. At this point, creators would usually take a break from work to do other things such as exercising or meditating to overcome it. To jump this hurdle, some creators say reading inspires them while others believe in sleeping their way to creative recuperation. Procrastination As a content creator, there is also the tendency to procrastinate depending on one’s concentration capabilities. Procrastination delays meeting deadlines, cannibalises productivity and makes you believe in the illusion of abundant time. In the midst of all of this, one needs to dig deep within oneself to be motivated and disciplined to be productive. Some of the best ways to overcome procrastination are to, primarily, understand the reason for deferring tasks. Then, schedule one activity each day with clear deadlines and rewards. In between the big activity, one can execute low priority activities as a break from the big activity. Successful outcomes of projects bring satisfaction and invigorate content creators to produce more, eliminating delays and procrastination. Generating content consistently Every successful content creator has to be consistent both in messaging and output. Once a community of audience is built, you cannot afford to disappoint and that scares many content creation enthusiasts. Unfortunately, 60 per cent of marketers say that this is their biggest content marketing
difficulty. In this digital age, content has become easier to publish with many platforms and tighter competition for audience attention. A major reason content creators struggle with content is the unavailabilit y of a content strategy. Having a defined content strategy will help to guarantee that your content is prioritized and is communicated to your audience in the best way possible. To structure your content production, develop a content calendar for the next six months as part of your content strategy, and start monitoring your competitors’ output. This will provide you with a baseline for how much material you’ll need to develop to have an effect in your market. C o n s t a n t Criticism Anything you say or do, some people would criticise you and such is life. As a content creator, you will be judged on everything you produce, language, message, appearance, talent, quality of content, sound and so on. There is no way to prevent this. As an individual, you must be aware of the distinction between constructive and negative criticism. On paper, it may appear simple, like ABC, but tackling it requires a strong intellect. While some people may use criticism to motivate themselves, for the most part, others take offence to it. The best way to approach criticism is to acknowledge it. Acknowledging them does not always imply that you agree with them. For instance, you can say “Thanks for the feedback, I truly appreciate it”. You have the option of simply
acknowledging their critique and moving on or applying it to your work. Monetisation The surge in content creators from developing or third world countries is providing an outlet for young creators to express their ideas and creativity. It has, over the years, transformed into another career option for young, creative, entrepreneurs. Terms and conditions for monetising content on the leading streaming platforms are crippling to the potential income generation capabilities of content from third world countries. Few platforms that monetise content originate from third world countries. One of such is the Ckrowd platform which offers greater support for global content creators who can now receive revenue in foreign and local currency simultaneously
for the same content. This will provide greater visibility and increased global appeal to creators in the Diaspora and emerging markets, where local based revenues are often ignored when discussing monetization; http://www.ckrowd.com platform created by Ckrowd Africa Tech & Solutions. Not everyone is cut out for content creation. Consider the type of content you would like to see and produce it. Be bold; content creation can be entertaining for those who patiently learn the craft. So, experiment and figure out what works for you, and the specific platform to reach your audience. Take time to absorb what you observe in the environment around you and save any ideas you think you could turn into something useful.
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| NEWS
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
Rotary organizes forum to end child marriage in Ghana On AU Day May 25, 2022 Rotary District 9102 in partnership with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly organized a capacity building and empowering session for selected Queen Mothers at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly in Accra Central. The event geared in line with the celebration of the British Monarch’s Platinum also highlighted women’s achievements in Ghana, increasing knowledge, creating awareness and understanding of women issues globally and empower queen mothers. The queens program was held under the theme: “Empowering Queen Mothers for Sustainable Development. The Mayor of Accra, Hon. Elizabeth Sackey in her welcome address encouraged all queen mothers to support the fight against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the drainages of Accra during this year’s raining season. She introduced the hashtag #BorlaInGutterMustStopNow. Madam Cecilia Senoo, Founder and Executive Director of Hope for Future Generation, in her keynote address on the Role of Queen Mothers in addressing GBV & Empowering the Community for Sustainable Development said Queen mothers are very important in the traditional authority system in many Ghanaian communities and their title conveys a rank of authority within our communities. With such power, our queen mothers must work with other stakeholders in the community to eliminate or reduce gender-based violence (GBV). “Some of the reasons why women and girls are abused include social norms that say that if he beats me, he loves me and belief in some cultures that it is okay to abuse a woman. Many women are not economically empowered so the implication is that they stay in abusive situation for financial stability”. She further stated that when queen mothers help in empowering women, support women’s ability to seek redress, and support them in addressing the barriers to their socio-economic development, women are in the position to contribute meaningfully to the political, economic, and social fields of our country. And when community members like queen mothers are empowered to serve as informal law enforcers, educators, and counselors it leads to lasting and sustainable results. Baptista Sarah Gebu, the Executive Director of ProHumane Afrique International in her
presentation on Gender Based Violence: Child Marriage, Global and Regional Trends encouraged all queen mothers to be aware of the many gender based violence issues and help stop child marriages now. She mentioned that globally 12 million girls marry before age 18 each year which is almost one every 2 seconds. “If we don’t take action now, more than 150 million girls will be married before age 18 by 2030” Other remarks were made by the representatives of the British High Commissioner, the Caretaker Minister – Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on assessing government policies and programs to support sustainable community development; the Ghana Enterprise Agency on economic empowerment
of women through business enterprises setups. Naa Ayeley Ncbaatse I, the Queen for youth and children under the auspices of the Ga Stool also took turns to add their remarks. There was an open forum addressing strengths and
weaknesses of queen mothers in carrying out advocacy roles. Present at the event were members of the planning committee, Rotarians, Rotractors, queen mothers and staff of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
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| ADVERT
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
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| NEWS
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
AirtelTigo to reward customers with new promotion Telecommunication firm AirtelTigo will reward its customers with over GH¢1 million in the newly launched “To Gu Me So” Reloaded Promotion. The promotion is a target-based initiative designed to reward customers with weekly cash prizes. A press release issued by the telecommunications firm in Accra on June 8, said the promotion would run from June 6, 2022, through to middle of September 2022 and thousands of customers across the country will be rewarded weekly. The Chief Marketing Officer of AirtelTigo, Atul Narain Singh, in the release said last year, with the introduction of AirtelTigo “To Gu Me So”, customers’ lives were made better after they received cash prizes, call minutes and data. It said this was evident in
the testimonials received from customers all over the country. “Based on feedback from our customers and the success of last year’s To Gu Me So, we are excited to introduce to you today, a reloaded version of the promo dubbed “AirtelTigo To Gu Me So Reloaded” with the aim of rewarding thousands of customers in the course of the promo,” it said. Promo detail The Chief Sales Officer at AirtelTigo, Abubakari Halidu, said in the release that, “Customers will be assigned two weekly targets, including AirtelTigo Money (ATMoney) and voice/data usage. He noted that customers must dial *500# to check their targets, do more ATMoney: Cash transfers, payments and cash withdrawals, make more calls, browse more,
buy more bundles and subscribe to value-added services to meet their unique targets to earn tickets to enter the weekly and grand draw. “It is important to note that this promo is for AirtelTigo prepaid customers who are 18 years or above. Since this promo is based on chance, we are working with the Gaming Commission of Ghana to provide a reliable and
transparent method of selecting winners in weekly and grand draws. “The promo will reward customers every week with cash prizes till the end of the promo in September when the grand cash prizes of GH¢125,000, GH¢50,000 and GH¢25,000 would be awarded to the overall winner, first and second runners-ups respectively.”
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| MARKET REVIEW
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING - JUNE 10, 2022 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS Q3, 2021 GDP Growth
7.0%
Average GDP Growth for 2021
5.4%
2022 Projected GDP Growth
5.5%
BoG Policy Rate
19.0%
Weekly Interbank Interest Rate
19.82%
Inflation for February, 2022
27.6%
End Period Inflation Target – 2022
8.0%
Budget Deficit (% GDP) – Dec, 2021
2.6%
2022 Budget Deficit Target (%GDP)
7.4%
Public Debt (billion GH¢) – Dec, 2021
391.9%
Debt to GDP Ratio – Dec, 2021
78.0%
STOCK MARKET REVIEW The Ghana Stock Exchange strenthened for the week on the back of price gain by 1 counter. The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) gained 0.76 points (+0.03%) to close at 2,551.74 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 8.52%. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE FI) also gained 1.39 points (+0.06%) to close at 2,187.03 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) gain of 1.63%. Market capitalization advanced marginally by 0.01% to close the week at GH¢62,244.68 million, from GH¢62,236.68 million at the close of the previous week. This reflects YTD decrease of 3.49%. Trading activity recorded a total of 2,429,825 shares valued at GH¢2,174,862.13 changing hands, compared with 10,552,896 shares, valued at GH¢9,573,403.22 in the preceding week. MTN dominated both volume and value of trades for the week, accounting, for 88.65% and 89.14% of volume and value of shares traded respectively. The market ended the week with 1 advancer and no decliners as indicated on the table below.
THE CURRENCY MARKET The Cedi depreciated against the USD for the week. It traded at GH¢7.2000/$, compared with GH¢7.1461/$ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 0.75% and 16.58% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 0.15% a year ago. The Cedi appreciated against the GBP for the week. It traded at GH¢8.8787/£, compared with GH¢8.89416/£ at week open, reflecting w/w appreciation and YTD depreciation of 0.71% and 8.46% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 0.89% a year ago. The Cedi also appreciated against the Euro for the week. It traded at GH¢7.5786/€, compared with GH¢7.6604/€ at week open, reflecting w/w appreciation and YTD depreciation of 1.08% and 9.90% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 1.50% a year ago. The Cedi further appreciated against the Canadian Dollar for the week. It opened at GH¢5.6792/C$ but closed at GH¢5.6244/C$, reflecting w/w appreciation and YTD depreciation of 0.97% and 15.70% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 4.27% a year ago.
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
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| MARKET REVIEW
BUSINESS TERM OF THE WEEK Top-Down Investing: Top-down investing is an investment analysis approach that focuses on the macro factors of the economy, such as GDP, employment, taxation, interest rates, etc. before examining micro factors such as specific sectors or companies. Source: https://www.investopedia.com/ terms/t/topdowninvesting.asp
ABOUT CIDAN
COMMODITY MARKET Crude Oil prices went up for the week on the back of strong U.S. demand and easing of COVID-19 curbs in China. Brent futures traded at US$122.01 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$119.72 at week open. This reflects w/w and YTD gains of 1.91% and 56.87% respectively. Gold inched up even as the U.S. jobs report signaled more interest rate increases this year that could weigh on non-yielding bullion. Gold settled at US$1,875.50, from US$1,850.20 last week, reflecting w/w and YTD gain of 1.37% and 2.56% respectively. Prices of Cocoa also declined for the week. The commodity traded at US$2,385.00 per tonne on Friday, from US$2,469.00 last week, reflecting w/w and YTD losses of 3.40% and 5.36% respectively.
INTERNTIONAL COMMODITIES PRICES
GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET Government raised a sum of GH¢1,102.72 million for the week across the 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills. This compared with GH¢1,393.70 million raised in the previous week. The 91-Day Bill settled at 23.70% p.a from 22.57% p.a. last week whilst the 182-Day Bill settled at 25.41% p.a from 24.41% p.a. last week. The 364-Day Treasury Bill settled at 26.86%, from24.46% at last issue. The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.
CIDAN Investments Limited is an investment and fund management company licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).
RESEARCH TEAM Name: Ernest Tannor Email:etannor@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 20 881 8957 Name: Audrey Asiedua Wiafe Email:aaudrey@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 57 840 2700 Name: Moses Nana Osei-Yeboah Email:moyeboah@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 24 499 0069
CORPORATE INFORMATION CIDAN Investments Limited CIDAN House Plot No. 169 Block 6 Haatso, North Legon – Accra Tel: +233 (0) 26171 7001/ 26 300 3917 Fax: +233 (0)30 254 4351 Email: info@cidaninvestmens.com Website: www.cidaninvestments.com Disclaimer The contents of this report have been prepared to provide you with general information only. Information provided on and available from this report does not constitute any investment recommendation. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed.
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NO. B24/317 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS
FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022
“SMEs are game changers for Ghana’s economy’’ The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) was officially launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo on Tuesday. The DBG, which received its license from the Bank of Ghana in November last year, will help provide longterm, competitively priced loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in industry sectors that have the potential to transform the economy namely, agribusiness, manufacturing, ICT, and high-value services. With a wholesale banking business model, the DBG with over $700million in capital, will be providing funding to eligible financial institutions to on-lend to Ghanaian businesses in targeted industry sectors. As a partner bank working with the DBG, GCB Bank was represented at the event by the Managing the Director Mr. Kofi Adomakoh, who took part in a panel discussion on the role of partner institutions in helping the DBG achieve its mandate. “SMEs are the game changers for Ghana’s economy and GCB looks forward to working with DBG to support SMEs, create opportunities for funding, create new markets, develop capital and capacity building,” Mr. Adomakoh said. He also encouraged owners of SMEs to build capacity for their businesses to enable them adapt in the ever-changing business environment and better position them for financial aid.
Addressing the issue of perceived risk to operations of the DBG, the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave the assurance that government would not interfere in the Bank’s decision making to ensure operational independence. “I want to assure the Board of the Bank that government will not interfere in its decision-making process, so as to guarantee its independence of operation and enable it to work professionally and efficiently in the larger interest and overarching objective of helping drive private sector-led growth of the national economy,” the President said at the Bank’s launch in Accra. The Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, also
charged DBG to be prudent in the management of its affairs. “It is our firm expectation that DBG will manage its affairs prudently, that soon it will be able to go to the market, both domestic and international, to raise its own funds on the basis of its balance sheet. This therefore requires the Board and Management to work hard towards getting an international rating for the Bank within the shortest possible time,” he said. Mr. Kwamina Duker, CEO of DBG, said that the Bank is also working with partners such as the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Ghana Enterprises Agency to help improve the services and products available to SMEs.
Ghana’s COVID-19 active cases increase beyond 1,000 Ghana’s active case count of COVID-19 has risen beyond 1,000 cases for the first time since a revision to the COVID-19 prevention measures was announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in March 2022. At the time the restrictions which included the mandatory wearing of face masks in public places were lifted, the country had only 72 active cases of COVID-19 and over 13 million vaccinated persons. Figures from the Ghana Health Service COVID-19 portal indicate that as of June 13, 2022, the country had 1,064 active cases and had administered a total of 16,396,820 vaccine doses. Regional breakdown A week ago, only eight of the 16 regions had active cases. Currently, 11 regions have active cases, namely; the Volta, Oti, Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Ashanti, Bono East, Western, Brong Ahafo, Upper West and Upper East regions. The regions without active cases of the
EDITOR: BENSON AFFUL editor@business24.com.gh | +233 545 516 133.
illness are North East, Northern, Western Nort, Ahafo and Savannah.
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