Business24 Newspaper 29 June 2022

Speaker leads parliamentary delegation to cyber security conference in Israel

Ghana Trade Road show opens today

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W E D N E SDAY, J UN E 2 9, 202 2

BUSINESS24.COM.G H

NEWS FOR B U SINESS LEA DERS

Unilever on strong footing despite pandemic shocks, Government says MD spends GHc12.7m | By Patrick Paintsil

…posts 43pct growth for FY 2021

Publicly-listed fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer Unilever Ghana Plc. steered its operations through the pandemic storm to record an impressive gross profit of GH¢108m in 2021, representing a 43 percent increase over the previous year’s performance.

Its revenue also increased to GH¢559m in 2021, up from the GH¢456m recorded in 2020, and representing a 23 percent increase in turnover over the period. | MORE ON PAGE 2

on seedlings for Green Ghana | By Eugene Davis

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News/Editorial

THEBUSINESS24ONLINE.COM

A green port is the way to go!

State ports operator, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, has lined up strategic alliances and initiatives that seek to protect the environment for human, plant and aquatic life in it’s operations.

Among the initiatives is a mass tree planting exercise that is intended to create a carbon sink in the port area in order to absorb the carbon emissions that emanate from direct port operations and ancillary operations.

Whilst ports will have different perspectives as to what ‘sustainable’ operations truly are, broadly there are new green technologies and low and zero-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels and powerintensive terminal equipment.

Globally, international maritime and shipping consortia is bringing together supply chain stakeholders to collectively reduce power

consumption and carbon emissions: The port authority has also begun the separation of plastic and paper waste for recycling while giving out wooden waste for re-use, with an initiative to embark on a reduction of waste generation as well as measures taken for waste segregation at the ports.

Port activities, being industrial in nature can pose risk to the environment and that is why the move towards a green port is the sustainable ports agenda and this would be successful with the collaboration of stakeholders.

The use of green of innovations in the ports could significantly play down the cost of doing business within the port community aside making the industry more sustainable and future-fit.

Unilever on strong footing despite pandemic shocks, says MD

By Patrick Paintsil

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Overall, the company’s performance last year was an improvement over the 2020 figures, driven largely by significant investments in product innovations and brand equity building which resulted in some 38 percent of the company’s portfolio gaining market shares.

Speaking at the company’s turn on Ghana Stock Exchange’s Facts behind the Figures, managing director, George Owusu-Ansah, said that the company is tracking well on its journey to rediscovering its greatness through its purposedriven brands and was also upbeat about the brand’s sustainability programmes.

“We believe that brands with purpose thrive, brands with purpose grow and companies

with purpose last; we are looking to innovate to meet the needs and demands of our customers and value chain players,” he added.

Unilever says it will continue to invest to unlock growth, build talent and help develop the skills of the youth in line with its commitment to making sustainable living commonplace for every Ghanaian.

As part of its broad strategy, the company is seeking to drive up employment opportunities for some 400 youth across the country within the next two years and with strong focus on gender parity.

“We will be driving a people agenda because all that we have planned to do is going to come from our people [staff ],” said

Evans Kutin, Regional Sales Manager for Unilever Ghana Plc. He added: “Within the business, we are promoting a future-fit culture where workers are digitally-enabled to achieve whilst building the capabilities of our distributorship.”

Having identified digitalization as a key enabler of its operating environment, the company says it will continue to leverage the gains of technology to propel the sustainable growth of the business.

Unilever, as an envirofriendly brand, has prioritized the reduction of waste from its operations and continues to positively impact society through its community development initiatives.

Contact: editor@business24.com.gh Newsroom: 030 296 5315 Advertising / Sales: +233 24 212 2742

Unilever Ghana’s Managing Director, Mr. George Owusu-Ansah (right) and Finance Director, Priyadharshana Ekanayake (left)

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Government spends GHc12.7m on seedlings for Green Ghana The Forestry Commission spent GHc12.7m to procure seedlings for the Green Ghana Day last year, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor has told parliament.

Appearing before parliament to answer a question posed

by Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba (MP,Tempane) on the state of the 5m trees planted last year and the cost for the project, the minister in responding to the question said, “The Forestry Commission produced a total of 1m (1,010,000) seedlings from the Nurseries of the Forest Services Division and 600,000 seedlings were received in the form of donations. Since the target was to plant a minimum of five million trees, the Commission had to purchase additional seedlings to ensure the availability of seedlings for planting. A total of 5,408,534 (5m) seedlings were procured at a cost of 12.7m.”

Some of the procured seedlings includes cashew, mango, coconut,

vocado,citrus,bamboo,shea,trees of life,mimosup,royal p a l m , p o l y a l t h i a ,w e e p i n g willow,baobab, dawadawa, murraya,ixora,patchouli among others.

He also stated that field monitoring assessment, conducted by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) and the Forestry Commission, show that about 80percent of these trees have survived and are doing very well.

According to the minister, unaudited account shows that the Forestry Commission spent some GHc2m on production of their seedlings and the mobilisation and distribution of the 7m seedlings across the country.

GHc5m was spent on operations and logistics, including the planning and organization of the Green Ghana launch and the Green Ghana Day. He further added that at the appropriate time the state

agencies responsible for auditing accounts will undertake their work and as required by law, the audited accounts will be made available to parliament.

For this year, the minister indicated that although the target was to plant 20m trees as at the end of the Green Ghana Day, June 10,2022, “we had distributed 22m (22,671,696) seedlings across the country.

In line with our usual practice, the Foresty Commission will monitor how many of these seedlings were planted and how many have survived. We continue to implore on all who planted seedlings to nurture them to ensure their growth. And if you did not plant, it is still not too late to plant a tree.”

The minister noted that many years of inaction has made the urgency of tree planting more important now than ever, and government is committed, through the Green Ghana Project

to restore the lost forest cover and contribute to global action against climate change.

The world’s forests are being depleted at an alarming rate, some eight years ago, half of the earth’s surface was covered by forests. Today, forests cover less than thirty percent of the earth’s surface. “Here in our country,we have lost over 100,000 acres of natural forest in the last decade alone.” the minister added.

Speaker leads parliamentary delegation to cyber security conference in Israel

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, is attending the International Cyber Security Week in the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv.

Accompanying the Speaker are the Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Nsiah, MP for Ho West and a Member on the ICT Steering Committee of Parliament, Emmanuel Bedzrah, the Director of ICT, Mrs Shirley-Ann Fiagome and her deputy, Leslie Addico and officers from the reforms team of the office of the clerk.

The four-day conference which opened on Monday has participants drawn from academia and industry from over 40 countries across the globe and the Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, attending.

It is aimed at readying Parliament and other government institutions to respond to cyber security attacks which are said to be on the increase.

Some of the topics to be discussed at the conference include ‘Bridging International Approaches to Cyber Risk Management’, ‘The Future Landscape of the Cyber Security World - 2030 and Beyond’, Cyber Crisis Management and Readiness, ‘Security in the Quantum Age’, ‘Maritime Cyber Security,’ ‘Data Protection’, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Cyber Security’ amongst others.

Speaking on the topic Cyber Security World - 2030 and Beyond’ on Monday, Brigadier General (Rtd) Rami Efrati, one of the

coordinators of the conference said cyber security poses a great danger to the existence to small scale businesses, multinationals and even states.

“Cyber is a big business, it is going to be big business forever because as long as new technologies are coming and as as far as hackers are concerned, there is business to do” BrigadierGeneral Efrati said.

According to him, cyber security criminals are adopting new trends to enhance their nefarious activities which require that institutions of state and businesses upped their games to combat such attacks which are expected to increase in the near future.

Some of these attacks, Brigadier General (Rtd) Efrati said are not to make money but to generate fake news and misinformation to change minds negatively to undertake a course.

Using a health facility in Israel which he said has been attacked recently as an example, the retired soldier said the world must come together to nib cyber security in the bud as areas such as oil and gas, maritime, governance, telecommunication, banking amongst others remain susceptible to cyber criminals.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on the relevance of the conference to the operations of Parliament, Mrs Fiagome said it would help enhance Parliament’s preparedness to the increasing cases of attacks on the legislature’s systems.

“We do have cyber security attacks mostly on our emails. Very often, our subscribers receive email from [attackers] pretending to be coming from parliament and ask them to sign in.

“Once they do that, the attackers have access to our system, change the password and attack the system and results in denial of service because our servers are blocked from sending emails until the issue is resolved,” she revealed.

Stating that these incidents have impact on the operations of Parliament, Mrs Fiagome said, measures, including preventing an email from sending a certain number of mails per day, have been taken to end the attacks.

With the attackers getting sophisticated by the day, Mrs Fiagome urged other institutions to adopt continual user-awareness trainings to their staff to be current on the trends of cyber-attacks and how to detect them.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Ghana Trade Road show opens today AfreximBank and Oakwood Green Africa in conjunction with Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Ghana Free Zones Authority, AfCFTA Secretariat, GCB and CBG is organizing a three (3) day Ghana Trade Road Show on Wednesday June 29, Thursday June 30 and Friday July 1, 2022 for Banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions as well as the Business community in Ghana. This maiden event is under the theme: “Supporting the Africa Trade Agenda- Ensuring the Last Mile”.

The Roadshow, in addition to promoting Afreximbank’s mandate in Ghana, will seek to foster a deeper understanding of Afreximbank’s products to the Banking and Business Communities and also serve to consolidate various discussions initiated with the Central Bank following the successful launch of the Pan African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) earlier this year in Accra. It will again serve as an introduction to the Ghanaian market on various funding initiatives being undertaken by Afreximbank, the AfCFTA and its partners in their bid to transform Africa’s trade, and the role Ghana could play in this endeavor. Overall, the roadshow is expected to afford businesses in Ghana the opportunity to take advantage of Afreximbank’s trade finance and Intra Africa trade facilitation capacity and will focus

on the following key areas with an in-depth presentation on each area by the respective subject area expert: • Afreximbank’s mandate, Strategic initiatives, Programmes and Facilities.

• The Pan African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS) and next steps after its successful launch.

• The MANSA KYC Repository (MANSA), which is an Africa wide Due Diligence platform, the process for on-boarding participants on to the platform and the role of the Commercial banks and Nonbank financial institutions.

• Implementation of the AfCFTA and using Ghana as the Hub for the realization of the AfCFTA’s drive for the development of Value Chains across various selected sectors.

• Afreximbank’s Trade Finance Programme, Trade Payments services, Online banking and Financing Products for financial institutions and businesses.

• Afreximbank’s Intra Africa Trade Finance Facilitation and the Intra Africa Trade Fair (IATF) that brings businesses and financial institutions from all African countries together to create markets and its 3rd Edition scheduled to take place in Abidjan in the year 2023.

• A presentation by the Export Development and Project Finance teams from Afreximbank specially to enable businesses leverage the Bank and the AfCFTA to tap into the opportunities presented by the over USD1.3billion African market.

The Roadshow will be programmed as follows: • June 29, 2022 for the Business Community including Executives and Members of various trade bodies and regulatory institutions.

• June 30, 2022 One-on-One sessions with businesses to discuss specific transactions with Afreximbank and Oakwood Green as well as pre-arranged On-the-ground uploads onto MANSA KYC Repository for members of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

• July 1, 2022 for the Banking and Finance Community ie: The Central Bank, all Commercials Banks and Non-Bank Financial institutions in Ghana.

Afreximbank is the foremost pan- African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra-and-interAfrican trade.

Established in October 1993, the bank is a product of African governments, under a charter with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

The bank offers a range of financing programmes, solutions and advisory services to support the expansion, diversification, promotion and development of intra-African trade and trade development project.

The services provided by Afreximbank, are the main prerequisite for vital investment that can really translate into sound economic growth, saying it is worth noting that, trade and project financing initiatives positively impact trade and project financing initiatives, trade and economic development across the African continent.

Oakwood Green Africa (Oakwood Green) is a growing Pan-African institution fueled by a passion to enable greatness across Africa.

It has strategic investments in intra-Africa trade, capital and finance, knowledge capital, productivity enhancement and business acceleration and technology.

Oakwood Green is helping to change the African narrative for the better by leveraging partnerships and synergies across a wide network of regional and international institutions.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Big relief to seafarers as Cabotage Law is passed Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has revealed that the Cabotage law which aims at getting many Ghanaian seafarers employed has been passed by Parliament.

Speaking at the 2022 Day of the Seafarer, a deputy Minister of Transport, Hassan Tampuli who spoke on behalf of the minister said the law reserves 50percent for all officers and 75percent of all rating vessels operating within Ghana’s maritime jurisdiction to Ghanaian seafarers.

“As we pull the requisite capacity and increase our seafarer workforce, these percentages will be increased for the country’s benefit. As a sector ministry, we shall continue to provide the necessary direction to ensure this is successful,” the deputy Minister stated.

About 1.9 million people work as seafarers globally. Out of this number, Ghana currently has some five thousand persons trained and registered as seafarers on her books which constitutes about 0.25percent of global seafarer supply.

Hassan Tampuli stated that Ghana is in a unique position to increase her market share of the supply of seafarers as the country strives to ensure that the rights of Ghanaian seafarers are clearly defined as required in the Maritime Labour Convention.

The deputy minister of Transport said, “I am extremely glad that the Ghana Maritime Authority has initiated measures to make seafaring a career of choice for our teeming youth.

It is a timely policy as it will benefit both the individual and the nation. For the individual it is career that provides the solid foundation for life and offers endless opportunities to learn and develop.”

The Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Thomas Alonsi said the Authority has licenced Seafarer Recruitment and Placement Service Providers to ensure that the recruitment and placement of seafarers is well

regulated.

“It is also to protect seafarers from unscrupulous service providers and to protect their wages and other benefits under the Maritime Labour Convention.

Seafarer Recruitment and Placement Service Providers who blatantly abuse the right of seafarers, risk being sanctioned by not having their licenses renewed among other measures,” the GMA Boss warned.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Zeepay and UNCDF encourage Ghanaian resilience through diaspora microinsurance on International Day of Family Remittances Today Zeepay, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and MoneyGram to announce a new additional service offered by Zeepay and UNCDF exclusively for MoneyGram’s customers to compliment the life of the remitter and their friends and families back home.

The service is designed as a Micro Insurance product, known as Beneficiary Micro Insurance under the Zeemicro service offered

by Zeepay. Under this new service all MoneyGram customers that receive remittance from abroad will be enrolled automatically on a free microinsurance service, which is valid for a month with full benefits should an event occur.

The service is underwritten by reputable insurance partners such as Hollard Insurance, GLICO Life Insurance, Enterprise Insurance and State Insurance Corporation which are all available under the service. The service is fully approved by the

National Insurance Commission and authorized by Bank of Ghana for Zeepay under the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987). The product offers the following, Death cover of up to GHS 5,000; Hospitalization up to GHS 3,000 (300 a day for 30 days); Permanent Disability of GHS 2,500; Temporary Disability of GHS 2,500 and Clinical Illness of up to GHS 2,500.

In an interview with the press Andrew Takyi-Appiah “Insurance traditionally has been about protection and cover, however

over the years we have noticed that most insurance companies offer protection rather than both.

Hence the reason why most Life Insurance balance sheets are not growing in the Country. As predominantly they have become Asset Managers. We believe our product Beneficiary Micro Insurance will offer the customers the long-awaited cover required”.

Dede Afriyie Quarshie, GM Commercial, in her statement added that, “After three years of research, we observed that most immigrants abroad will have to send about USD1000 home, whenever there is death in the family. So, we partnered with UNCDF to launch this product for MoneyGram’s customers, which gives a death cover of upto about GHS 5000 in cedis should death occur in the family. So by signing on the product which costs as little as USD 1 (although free for this promotion period of 6months), the immigrant gets to

save GHS 5000 should such an event occur.”

Loretta Ofori-Ani, Zeepay Product Manager, Micro Insurance stated, “Last year we ran a demonstration and were very impressed with the results as we managed to insure over 2000 remittance receivers during that period. We are optimistic that over the next 6months we should be able to sign on about 50,000 MoneyGram remittance receivers making this the most credible micro insurance product in Ghana.”

In Ghana, UNCDF is tasked with leading efforts of the European Union to make remittances available and accessible for youth, women and returning migrants in the targeted areas and build on those flows to grant access to remittance-linked financial services to pave the way for more inclusive formal financial ecosystems.

In fulfilling this objective, UNCDF supports private sector players such as Zeepay Ghana to innovate and increase access and usage of these digital services.

This partnership is around three critical pillars of the UNCDF action in Ghana under the GrEEn Project: 1) increase access and proximity of services reaching the underserved, 2) impact and improve jobs in the DFS sector and 3) promote usage of digital financial services.

Under this partnership, Zeepay will increase access to and usage of digital financial services including remittancelinked services such as microinsurance for youth, women, and r e t u r n i n g migrants in Ashanti and Western regions.

“Zeepay will create a new paradigm in the areas of intervention of the GrEEn project by expanding its product offerings and network of agents in areas where access to financial services and remittances remain a challenge, especially for youth and women” said Arianna Gasparri, Technical Specialist, Inclusive Digital Economies, UNCDF. About Zeepay Zeepay is the fastest growing mobile financial services company across Africa with operations in Ghana and the United Kingdom and terminating to 20 countries across Africa with termination agreements in over 90 jurisdictions globally.

We specialize in remittance

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termination into mobile wallets and are completely network and partner agnostic. We are a wholly owned Ghanaian company and regulated in the UK by Financial Conduct Authority-FCA # 592538 and in Ghana by Bank of Ghana- #00001. Zeepay supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 and is considered a Financial Inclusion Company positioned to improve last mile access. Visit myzeepay.com for more information.

UNCDF UN House No. 27 Ring Road East, Accra-Ghana Email: green.ghana@uncdf.org Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @UNCDF About UNCDF The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor. UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

About MoneyGram About MoneyGram International, Inc. MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments, delivers innovative financial solutions to connect the world’s communities.

With a purpose-driven strategy to mobilize the movement of money, a strong culture of fintech innovation, and leading customercentric capabilities, MoneyGram has grown to serve over 150 million people in the last five years. The Company leverages its modern, mobile, and API-driven platform and collaborates with the world’s top brands to serve consumers through its direct-toconsumer digital channel, global retail network, and embedded finance business for enterprise customers. MoneyGram is also a leader in pioneering crossborder payment innovation and blockchain-enabled settlement.

For more information, please visit ir.moneygram.com, follow @ MoneyGram on social media, and explore the website and mobile app through moneygram.com.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Vodafone picks five prestigious awards at the Africa Procurement and Supply Chain Awards Vodafone Ghana’s modelled and innovative transformational supply chain practice and excellent team were honoured with five prestigious awards at the Procurement and Supply Chain Awards, held over the weekend.

Vodafone Ghana’s Head of Supply Chain Management, Eva Antwi, picked the coveted Woman of the Year award and was named one of Africa’s Top 50 Procurement Professionals. Vodafone also won the Warehouse Digital Initiative, which reflects the Telco’s digitalfirst agenda, the Procurement and Supply Chain Transformation award, and the Team of the Year (bronze category).

In a short remark, Eva Antwi, Head of Supply Chain Management at Vodafone Ghana expressed gratitude to the organisers of the Africa Procurement and Supply Chain Awards for the grand recognition given to Vodafone Ghana. ‘’We deem it a great honour

to be recognized in the Procurement and Supply chain industry.

Indeed, this feat would not have been achieved without the commitment of our hardworking Vodafone colleagues and leadership. We dedicate this to our vendors, suppliers, and stakeholders.’’

Among other factors, Vodafone Ghana was recognized with these awards based on its best procurement practices in the delivery of its services to all its stakeholders while maximising customer value.

The Africa Procurement and Supply Chain Awards, organised

by Instinct Wave recognizes and promotes innovations, ethics, and the advancement of the procurement industry. The award also seeks to recognize

and celebrate practitioners who exemplify how to maintain integrity in procurement & supply chain processes from across the profession.

GEA made franchisor of newly established BRCs

By Eugene Davis The Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) will own the franchise of newly established Business Resource Centres (BRCs)Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen has announced.

Around the country, 37 BRCs have been established in various districts and are fully operational.

30 more BRCs are currently at various stages of construction and are expected to be ready by the end of the year, taking the number to 67.

The BRCs are managed and operated under a Franchise Arrangement. To regularise the Arrangement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between GEA as the Franchisor and REP, the Franchisee.

“I am happy to announce that, the newly established BRCs will be operated and managed under a Franchise arrangement with Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) as the Franchisor and private sector operators as Franchisees.

In preparation for this, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has supported REP and GEA to develop Franchise Models, Standard Operating Procedures and Systems for the management and operations of the BRCs. In addition, GEA and its institutional partners are implementing the MSME Policy

designed in 2020 by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ensure that the right ecosystem exists to provide high quality support services to all MSMEs at the District level.” this was contained in the Minister’s speech.

The Minister, in his statement at the launch on Monday, said the key to transforming the country did not lie in natural resources endowment but taking advantage of the human capital and unleashing of the entrepreneurial spirit of the population.

He observed that the transformation of the economy was hindered mainly by unemployment, poor revenue mobilisation and lack of sustained flow of foreign exchange.

Addressing those challenges, he said, would require the transformation of the MSME sector that created jobs and could help the country derive optimum benefit from trade agreements that allowed the country to export its products under free quota and duty free.

“All the people we are celebrating – the Mark Zuckerbergs- all started as MSME,” he said.

The BRC for that matter, he said, was a starting point for all Ghanaians to enquire about how they could invest and build for themselves in terms of sustainable business enterprises for enhanced livelihoods.

The centres, according to reports were estimated to cost GH¢3m per one and jointly funded by the government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), were expected to serve as one-

stop support unit for businesses and enterprises as well as decentralised offices of business regulatory agencies.

The CEO of GEA, Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, said the launch of the BRC was an exciting day for MSME as the World marked the MSME Day, which was celebrated to raise awareness on the contribution of MSME to sustainable development and the global economy.

“I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate every single business in the world but particularly businesses in Ghana,” she said.

The establishment of the BRCs across the country which is part of the Transformation Agenda was based on two shared convictions; that for Ghana to achieve industrial transformation, programmes such as REP had to be re-aligned to provide the institutional support infrastructure for government to comprehensively support the 1D1F business promoters investing in manufacturing enterprises in the Districts under the 1D1F Programme; and to expand access to a comprehensive range of Business Development Services, professional consulting services and critical regulatory support services to every District for the benefit of all other MSMEs.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

MTN climaxes 21 Days of Y’ello Care Campaign at Dansoman Community School

By Edith Amegatcher MTN Ghana has engaged about 450 basic school children from 14 selected schools in basic ICT skills training within the Ablekuma West Constituency in relation to the giant telecommunication’s Y’ello Care Day finale.

The Y’ello Care Day instituted under the MTN Ghana Foundation is a 21-day period realized by the staff in which they move out of their offices into the various communities to impact the lives of the people.

This year’s event was based on training and equipping the communities with technology and basic Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills training.

The event covered areas such as Koforidua, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Makola Market and Accra Technical University.

Nana Kofi Asare, Acting Chief, Corporate Service Officer at MTN Ghana, said the training is not only based at the school level but was extended to some market

centers as well.

“The exercise to the markets is to train and help them with their basic ICT skills to enable them keep their financial records properly and easily. It is also to enable them to be able to keep records online too,” he said.

He further stated that the focus on technology for this year’s “Y’ello Care Day” is as a result of how the world is advancing technologically, and as part of the company’s vision 2025, the company is heading to becoming a ‘Techno’.

“As a company who shares inspirational values, the only way

for us to win is to help others win as well. There is no point when the company is digitized and the country is not digitized, this is infused with the government’s goal of digitization,” he added.

The Municipal Chief Executive of Ablekuma West Constituency, Mr. George Cyril Blay, thanked MTN Ghana for the training opportunity extended to the schools in his Municipality.

“The world is now digitized, therefore, there is a need to equip and adapt to the new change,” he reiterated.

He advised that the teachers should continue imparting the

technology knowledge to the students and urged the students to continue learning and practicing whatever is being taught so they can have broad knowledge of what is happening digitally in the global space.

A symbolic gesture was made to the school by MTN Ghana whereby they donated one HP Laptop and three mobile phones to the school and the municipality.

Madam Ophelia Saka Gyamerah, the head teacher of Dansoman ‘4’ Basic School, extended her heartfelt appreciation to the team from MTN for their kind gesture and for coming to impart and share their knowledge to the students.

Miss Joana Nkansah, a pupil from the Dansoman Community School, expressed her appreciation to MTN Ghana for coming to train them. “ICT can help us in many ways and I want to thank MTN for coming to our school to teach us how to use the internet to widen our scope of studies,” she said.

AngloGold trains teachers in Obuasi to deliver on new curriculum Four hundred (400) Junior High School teachers within the Obuasi Municipal and Obuasi East District have undergone training to prepare them adequately to adapt to the new curriculum of the Ghana Education Service.

The workshop which was fully sponsored by AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine was also meant to improve the Basic Education Certificate Examination pass rate in Obuasi which currently stands at ninety percent (90%) to ninetysix percent (96%).

According to the Social Development and Gender superintendent of AngloGold Mavis Nana Yaa Kyei who spoke to the Media during the close-out session of the workshop, once the teachers a able to adapt to the new

skills in teaching, they will be able to impact it unto their students which will result in improvement in their BECE performance.

AngloGold Ashanti in support of local Assemblies’ commitment to education development in Obuasi, through its 3-year Social Management Plan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Obuasi Municipal and Obuasi East District Directorates of Education.

This was to jointly implement a 3-year Basic Education Improvement Project with the aim of contributing to increasing the BECE pass rate from 86.6 per cent in 2018 to 90 per cent by 2021.

Under the MoU, AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, through collaboration with the Obuasi

Municipal and Obuasi East Directorates of Education, over the period, has implemented a plethora of interventions to improve education access, teachers’ delivery and school supervision.

Madam Kyei revealed that the highly successful 3-year socioeconomic Management Plan has birthed a 10-year Socio-economic Management Plan which has education highly featured. She mentioned that there are three (3) pillars in the Plan and key to the Improved Social Development Plan is education. “ In education we seek to bridge infrastructural gap especially at the basic school level, donate teaching and learning materials to schools, continent with infrastructural capacity workshop, promote STEM and support ICT education “, She added.

The participants who were mainly English, Mathematics, Science, Social studies and Religious and Moral Education teachers were taken through Differentiated Approach to Teaching and Learning, Mode of Assessment and a Monitoring

Plan Assessment Protocols and Process, how to group learners and provide specific, tailor-made teaching to each group, during the period.

Kwabena Owusu Nketia, the Obuasi East District Director of Education has underscored the benefit of refresher courses for teachers. He said it was important for teachers to improve and be abreast with modern trends in education.

He said the Directorate relishes AGA’s enormous contributions towards Education in Obuasi.

He said so far, the various interventions by AngloGold towards teaching and learning are already yielding some positive outcomes.

He was optimistic that the 4 days training will help equip the teachers with the knowledge and skills to enable them make positive impacts on their students.

Anglogold Ashanti also presented ten (10) laptops to the two Education Directorates.

The laptops were donated by RIGWORLD, a Sub-contractor of AGA.

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| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

The US front in the global war on women

By Ngaire Woods

The political ructions unleashed in the United States by the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision establishing a federal right to abortion, have been immediate and furious. But less attention has been paid to the international backdrop against which the Court’s decision landed.

Evidence from around the world points to an increasingly wideranging attack on women’s liberty, including in proud democracies.

“Just don’t have sex if you don’t want a baby,” said an impassioned young woman outside the Supreme Court in June 2022. If only all women had that choice.

And if only anti-abortion activists would commit to making it so. In fact, a sexual assault occurs every 68 seconds, on average, in the US itself. One of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape.

From 2009-13, US Child Protective Services agencies substantiated or found strong evidence to indicate that 63,000 children per year were victims of sexual abuse.

In the United Kingdom, rape offenses are at their highest recorded annual level to date, with police in England and Wales recording 67,125 cases in 2021. Yet there were only 1,557 prosecutions in 2021, down from 2,102 in 2020.

Over the past four years, rape prosecutions in England and Wales have fallen by 70%. Simply put, a woman’s right not to be raped is not being upheld.

Similarly, the World Health Organization estimates that nearly one-third of women worldwide have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

In many countries, pandemicrelated lockdown restrictions both increased the caseload and reduced the capacity of systems

to manage it.

But the pandemic is not the only factor behind the rise in violence against women. In Russia, domestic violence has increased since January 2017, when lawmakers provoked international disgust by decriminalizing it. Predictably, the higher incidence has been accompanied by a sharp decline in reporting and a lack of willingness by police to investigate cases.

And Russia is not alone. In England and Wales, almost half of adult female homicide victims in the year ending in March 2021 were killed in a domestic homicide, and a staggering 1.6 million women reported domestic abuse. But while the number of recorded domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales rose to 845,734 in this period, the number of referrals from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service fell to 77,812, from 79,965 in the year ending in March 2020.

And for the third successive year, the CPS charging rate for domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales decreased, to 70%, from 76% in the year ending in March 2018.

The evidence demonstrates that in most countries a violent partner who threatens rape and impregnation is unlikely to face consequences. In the US, the Supreme Court has now hugely amplified the coercive power of this threat. In the chilling words of the dissenting justices, “from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A State can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs.”

What, then, is liberty for women in America and other countries today? Are we to accept that criminal justice systems cannot keep up when women are

attacked, abused, and raped? Are we to accept that in US states that have already outlawed abortion, without exceptions for rape or incest, “a woman will have to bear her rapist’s child or a young girl her father’s – no matter if doing so will destroy her life”?

Violence against women is preventable.

Comprehensive legislation is fundamental, and the number of countries adopting it has been growing.

But effective enforcement is no less vital, including support for women to come forward and adequate funding, monitoring, and cooperation among police, prosecutors, and courts in bringing perpetrators to justice.

The WHO describes a further set of measures with the acronym RESPECT: Relationship skills strengthening; Empowerment of women; Services ensured; Poverty reduced; Enabling environments (schools, workplaces, public spaces) created; Child and adolescent abuse prevented; and Transformed attitudes, beliefs, and norms.

The international evidence highlights specific measures such as psychosocial support, economicand socialempowerment programs, cash transfers, and school programs that enhance safety, reduce or eliminate harsh punishment, challenge gender stereotypes, and promote relationships based on equality and consent. These are some of the building blocks for female liberty.

The US Supreme Court has gone in the opposite direction. Instead of looking ahead to a world where the rights of women and children are better protected, the justices who struck down Roe look back to “history and tradition” to guide their views about the meaning of “ordered liberty.” They note that “until the latter part of the

twentieth century, there was no support in American law for a constitutional right to obtain an abortion… Indeed, abortion had long been a crime in every single State.”

But the justices ignore that during much of that history, liberty was almost exclusively the prerogative of adult (white) males.

Until 1920, women in the US could not vote, and for long after, they were unable to divorce or obtain credit in their own name. In many states, marriage to the victim was recognized as a legitimate defense against a rape charge (as late as 1979 in New Jersey, for example).

Are historical traditions really the best guide to interpreting what liberty is to be accorded to whom?

With the right to vote, women’s participation in representative politics has gradually increased.

But this, too, is now under attack.

Women are being hounded out of public life by intense, demeaning, sexualized online harassment. In Japan, a pattern of sexist attacks on Twitter, directed against female politicians, has been documented.

Similarly, a study in Sweden shows that whereas male politicians are primarily targeted in terms of their official roles, female MPs are subjected to degrading comments that explicitly target them as women, leading them to self-censor more than their male colleagues. The same disparity has been found in Canada. In the UK, female politicians from left to right have spoken out about the problem.

It is time for all politicians to support not just robust legislation but also the funding and institutions needed to uphold women’s liberty and safety, whether at home, in politics, or at their doctor.

11

| COMMENT/ANALYSIS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

The high costs of disengagement for China

By George Magnus For more than three decades, the global economy was defined by unbridled integration and unprecedented interdependence.

Neither political spats nor localized wars could slow the globalization train. Markets were markets, business was business, and multinational firms became more multinational. Not anymore.

In this new era of strategic competition between China and the West, disengagement is the order of the day. While this trend will impede economic growth, increase business costs (via supply-chain restructuring), and raise prices for everyone, the economy that loses the most may well be China’s.

The People’s Republic would not be where it is today without globalization. International trade, investment, and capital-market access drove economic growth, while knowledge transfer – aided by engagement among students, scientists, and scholars – enabled technological leveling-up.

Ties with the outside world also forced China to introduce a legal system capable of establishing and enforcing contract and intellectual-property law. And the expansion of China’s economic might enabled the country increasingly to project power abroad.

But, in recent years, the openness that underpinned

The Sino-American rivalry has reflected and accelerated this shift. The United States has targeted China with a variety of measures – including restrictions on imports, exports, and investment – and added dozens of Chinese companies to its so-called Entity List. Other countries have also increased their scrutiny of Chinese investment and restricted certain types of commercial exchanges with China. Sanctions over China’s human-rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong have been introduced as well.

China might not have initiated the disengagement process, but it seems committed to seeing it through. In refusing to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine, its leaders made clear that, in their view, the US – and the West more broadly – is in terminal decline, and now is the time to challenge the existing world order.

Beyond retaliatory sanctions and tariffs, China has been ramping up its efforts to become selfreliant in advanced technology and science, through highly state-centric and protectionist industrial policies. Its goal is to “sanction-proof ” its economy, especially by de-Americanizing its supply chains.

The extent to which this is possible is impossible to know precisely. But China’s efforts to achieve self-reliance will certainly

investment worth tens of billions of dollars. China has similarly failed to break its foreign dependency in aerospace and automobiles. And its efforts to develop a renminbibased alternative to US-dollarbased finance and payments systems have yet to gain traction.

But China’s bid for self-reliance might not only fail; it could backfire. As The Economist report also pointed out, when Chinese companies are cut off from foreign competition and expertise, their capabilities are stunted.

Despite the unfavorable economic consequences, we should expect geopolitics-driven disengagement to continue. China will try to build an alternative financial infrastructure, and the US will delist Chinese firms from its stock exchanges. The US Congress is already reportedly considering legislation to restrict or prohibit US foreign direct investment abroad in several sensitive sectors, much as it does to Chinese investment in the US. Trade measures aimed at diversifying supply chains and ensuring supplies of critical inputs, such as rare earths, are also to be expected.

As disengagement progresses, many critical sectors – such as the internet – will likely split into two distinct blocs, each with its own rules and standards. The divide in digital

market, an over-extended banking sector, stalled productivity, politicized governance, and the consequences of its zeroCOVID policy. China’s economic “miracle” seems to be well past its peak. Annual economic growth could well drop to 2-3% in the coming years, meaning that the official goal of doubling per capita income and GDP between 2020 and 2035 would not be realized.

This slowdown will have farreaching consequences. For starters, China’s ability to compete with the US will be compromised.

China’s economy might never overtake America’s, especially if the renminbi’s value falls by 2025% over the next few years.

Moreover, prices for commodities – especially those that are key to China’s housing and construction sector – will decline.

While the higher costs of newer, more regional supply chains will generate inflationary pressures, weaker Chinese demand and a cheaper renminbi will reduce them.

Foreign investment flows into China will decline, with funding increasingly allocated to other Asian countries or emerging markets. While China will not become “uninvestable” (as long as military conflict does not break out), international investors will keep their China portfolios underweight. Though

globalization – the “rising tide that lifted all boats” – has given way to a geopolitically focused, zero-sum mindset. International commerce and finance have increasingly been shaped by national-security considerations. Export controls, the blacklisting of companies, and restrictions on market access in sensitive sectors, such as certain cutting-edge technologies, have become commonplace.

not succeed across the board.

As The Economist reported in February, China is struggling the most in areas where supply chains are longer and more complex, such as mRNA vaccines, agrochemicals, computer operating systems, and payments systems.

In semiconductors, China remains dependent on foreign suppliers, despite government

standards, data management and usage provisions, and network equipment and telecommunications services will grow. Market-access restrictions and new approval and licensing requirements will proliferate.

These changes will come at a time when China is already grappling with several serious challenges, including unfavorable demographics, a weak property

the renminbi will enjoy a status on par with the Japanese yen, the British pound, and the Canadian dollar, it will not come close to displacing the US dollar.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has staked his government’s legitimacy on China’s continued prosperity. But that is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver – and disengagement is an important reason why.

12

| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Ghana Post wins Best EMS Customer Care award The Universal Postal Union in Switzerland has awarded Ghana Post as the World’s Best EMS Customer Care.

This is the second time Ghana Post is receiving the award.

The award recognises the best Call Centres of EMS Best Cooperative Members.

Commenting on the award, the Deputy Managing Director of Ghana Post, Kwaku Tabi Amponsah, said Ghana Post has over the years been committed to providing excellent service to its worldwide partners, customers and stakeholders.

“With the introduction of technology-enhanced services and customer-centred innovations, we shall continue to prioritise customer satisfaction as a significant growth index of Ghana Post. We are poised to achieve the high standards of serving our customers with excellence and give them value for money,” he added.

The winners were selected by the EMS Cooperative Board based on their performance in 2021.

Each year, the EMS Cooperative Customer Care Awards is held in

Switzerland at a special award ceremony during the EMS Cooperative General Assembly

by Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Bureau.

The EMS Cooperative is a body

of the Universal Postal Union with more than 170 member countries who work together to provide EMS, the fastest cross-border postal product.

The EMS Cooperative promotes

cooperation between its member posts to provide customers with a high-quality, competitive Express Mail Service (EMS) worldwide.

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13

| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Monsters on roads: Rickety vehicles, predatory roads hunt prey

By Timothy Ngnenbe “Don’t mind the body; mind the engine,” Numo Okine, the driver of a 23-seater bus, retorted, as he took a dig at a female passenger. She had complained about how ramshackle the vehicle was.

Before Numo could say Jack, a dozen of passengers descended on him like a swarm of bees.

As the trading of invectives went on, another occupant of the bus drew the passengers’ attention to an inscription on the front screen of the car - “Let them say.” They all burst into laughter. And that settled matters.

As I reflected on that morning’s episode, I noticed that the seats in the bus were worn out, exposing metallic parts. The driver’s seat was so loose and unstable that it had to be supported with wires.

Portions of the car’s roof had worn off, exposing passengers to some direct sun rays.

When the driver eventually started the car’s engine to take off, the thick, dark smoke emitted from the engine, making everybody to reach for their handkerchief to cover their noses.

I contemplated disembarking from the car to find a different vehicle; but I realised that I had to tell the story about how rickety vehicles preyed on travellers.

Influx of rickety vehicles I found this a worthwhile endeavour because the predominant mode of transport in the country is road transport.

The National Transport Policy (2020) estimates that road transport has a market share of over 95 per cent and 90 per cent passenger and cargo traffic, respectively.

Commercial vehicles, popularly called “trotro”, are the main mode of road transport, accounting for about 60 per cent of passenger movement, while taxis take 14.5 per cent, with private vehicles catering for the remaining passenger traffic.

Unfortunately, some of these “trotros” are rickety vehicles, with poor and dangerous exteriors, sub-standard tyres, and seats without seatbelts, exposed electrical wires and sharp edges that pose a danger to passengers.

According to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), 3,026,073 vehicles have been registered in Ghana as of December, 2021, but 35 per cent of them, translating into 1,025,125 vehicles, failed to obtain roadworthy certification as required by law.

The Deputy Director of the

Vehicle Testing Department of DVLA, Eric Bentil Addison, explained that many of the more than one million vehicles without roadworthy certificates are rickety and not fit to be on the roads.

Fake certification The Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (L.I 2180) require motorists to submit their vehicles physically for inspection before receiving roadworthy certificates.

Interestingly, interaction with 10 drivers of rickety vehicles at lorry terminals at Tema Station, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Kaneshie and Agbogbloshie on separate occasions revealed that they used the backdoor to get roadworthy certificates, some of which were fake.

“There are people who do it for us. We give the details of our vehicles to them and they go to DVLA and do it for us,” a driver, who gave his name as Dada Raph, said.

Another driver, Felix Okoh, who shuttles between Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Odorkor, in Accra, said he had a contact person at the DVLA, who did his vehicle testing for him.

Although Mr Addison indicated that the DVLA was deploying modern technology to address the challenge of fake licence, it appeared that the horse would have bolted before the stable door was shut.

Breakdown vehicles Apart from being accidentprone, these rickety vehicles add to the many trucks that breakdown on the highways and contribute to road crashes.

Highways, such as AccraWinneba, Accra-Kumasi, TarkwaBogoso-Ayafuri, the Tema Motorway and Kumasi-Tamale are replete with scores of these breakdown vehicles.

The situation is even more worrying because while L.I 2180 gives specific directives on the movement of breakdown vehicles, there is no compliance.

Regulation 102 (1) of L.I 2180 states: “An owner of a vehicle or person in charge of a motorcycle or trailer who causes or permits the motorcycle or trailer which breaks down on the road to be left on the road shall give notice to the nearest police station or authorise a towing service provider within an hour, if the broken-down vehicle or trailer is located within a built-up area; and within two hours if the broken-down vehicle or trailer is within a place other than a built-up area.”

Despite the existence of this law, some breakdown vehicles are left on the road for many days and, sometimes, months without being cleared.

Overloading While concerns about the influx of rickety vehicles on the roads continue to soar by the day, drivers overload such vehicles with cargo. They tuck goods under the seats of vehicles such that the passengers can barely find space for their feet when seated in them.

They also overload the carrier at the top of vehicles with tonnes of cargo.

Experts say that when a vehicle is overloaded, a lot of strain is put on it; the vehicle, therefore, becomes unstable; acceleration is affected; brakes may fail; tyres wear and tear; the combined effects of these factors increase the risk of road crashes.

Poor roads With road transport constituting over 90 per cent of the country’s transport sector, one would have expected that the road infrastructure would be good enough for easy movement.

Statistics from the Ministry of Roads and Highways show that the country’s road network size increased from 78,402 kilometres (km) in 2017 to an estimated 94,203 km in 2021.

Out of the estimated figure, 14,948km are trunk roads; 48,357 km feeder roads and 15,462 km are urban roads. Also, 27 per cent of the total road network are paved, while 73 per cent are unpaved.

As of 2017, 39 per cent of the total road network was classified as good, while 61 per cent were fair or poor. The 2021 estimation on the road condition showed that 44 per cent of the total road network is good, while 56 per cent is fair or poor.

Road carnage The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.3 million people die each year through road traffic crashes.

In Ghana, the conspiracy between rickety vehicles, bad driver behaviour and poor road infrastructure has caused numerous road crashes and claimed thousands of lives.

A comprehensive analysis of road traffic statistics from the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) revealed that between 1991 and 2021, a total of 53,507 persons died from 336,335 reported road crashes in the country.

The statistics further showed that 430,333 people suffered varying degrees of injury, with many of them becoming permanently disabled.

Crux With just eight years to achieving United Nations’ (UN)’S Sustainable Goal (SDG) 3.6 – half the number of global deaths and injuries are from road traffic accidents, it is, therefore, important for the DVLA, NRSA and the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service to strengthen collaboration for effective policy implementation and enforcement of the traffic regulations.

These state agencies must also enhance engagement with driver unions, such as the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to promote proper maintenance culture for vehicles.

Such collaboration will also help to deal with the use of unorthodox means of acquiring roadworthy certification.

Writer’s email: ngnenbetimothy@ gmail.com

14

| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

MPS donates medical equipment to korlebu teaching hospital As part of its Corporate Social Initiatives (CSI) geared towards supporting the provision of quality healthcare in Ghana, MPS has presented four (4) Patient Monitoring Devices to the Orthopaedic Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital which is Ghana’s ultimate referral hospital and the backbone of the hospitals all over the country.

The Head of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Dr. Frederick Kwarteng, who welcomed the MPS delegation briefed them about the Hospital’s 99 years of operation, highlighting that Korle-Bu is Ghana’s ultimate end in the management of Trauma Orthopaedics.

Leading the team to donate the medical equipment, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Mohamed Samara underscored the need for all to help institutions providing such vital services.

“As medical practitioners, you ought to be addressed as “honourable” instead of Ladies and Gentlemen because what you are accomplishing is beyond just health care. You save lives and comfort people from all walks of life in their weak moments. We are particularly pleased to learn that this institution is almost 100 years and still functioning in this capacity for the public. Our hope is that this wonderful teaching hospital will be sustained for many generations to come.”

“Our company’s contribution of these much-needed essential hospital equipment is to support your worthy cause which was brought to our attention by Dr. Agbeko Ocloo. We are delighted to hear that this contribution will support you to save-live and provide the better healthcare for patients.” Said Mr. Samara.

In appreciation of the gesture, some officials of Korle-Bu Orthopaedic Centre commented.

We all see these things and think that it is just a gadget donated by a corporate organisation but the number of lives that it will save, the number of families that it will help, very few people outside the hospital setting have a sense about how much this is going to help us.

It is going to improve our work; it is going to save lives. And each life that is saved, we cannot put a monetary value on that life so what you have done is really a very big thing. This benefits both patients and professionals, apart from the fact that it helps to make our work easier. To this end, we say a big thank you to MPS for giving us

this gift of life.” said Dr. Prudence Nutsuklo, a senior Orthopaedic Officer.

On his part, the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs- Dr. Harry Akoto remarked.

“You can never say enough thank you but like that the proverbial Oliver Twist, we are always going to need more. As you may be aware, this is a public institution, we don’t charge value for what we do because of our position and need to reach out to all irrespective of their economic standing. As such, there is always a shortfall that must be somehow filled by government and well-meaning private institutions.

We want more to be able to provide the needed services. On behalf of Management, we really appreciate what you have done.”

The Head of Legal and Compliance, Mr. Frank Ebo Brown recounted MPS’ track record in healthcare support to other establishments and the rationale for the donation being to help the poor and needy who patronize these facilities.

“This is not our first donation of such nature, In the year 2012 MPS donated patient monitoring devices to the Tema Polyclinic, and this was very much appreciated as having helped in the delivery of quality services to patients who visit the said facility and MPS believes that the donation to KorleBu would serve the same purpose.”

Also present at the presentation were senior medical officials from the Trauma Orthopaedics unit including Dr. Agbeko Ocloo, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Dr. Michael Segbefia, Ghana’s only Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon and as well as members of the Hospital’s Management.

15

| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Can Ghana’s Banks compete with Mobile Money?

By Kwami Ahiabenu, II (Ph.D.)

Mobile money is now an indispensable part of the Ghanaian financial system. It provides a mechanism for more than 48 million account holders to undertake transactions.

According to the Bank of Ghana, mobile money transactions topped GH¢87.7 billion in April 2022, making them the dominant payment means in the economy.

In countries like Nigeria, the mobile money service is bankled. Mobile network operators (MNO), such as MTN Nigeria, have recently had to acquire banking licenses to compete. In Ghana on the other hand, mobile money services provision is led by MNO and banks are assigned the role of funds custodians through a float mechanism.

The exponential growth of the mobile money market in Ghana has attracted banks to launch their version of mobile money, known as Ghana Pay, to capture the share of this mobile money market.

Ghana Pay can be described as a mobile money service provided by universal banks, rural banks, savings, and loans institutions to individuals and businesses. Its prime purpose is to compete with the traditional mobile money service.

The launch of Ghana Pay in June 2022, by The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) - a whollyowned subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana in association with the

Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), does not come as a surprise; the banks have been investigating ways to deal with the influential role of mobile money in the market for years. Three paths are open to banks; compete, collaborate, or hybrid method that allows them to compete and cooperate simultaneously. In the past, banks had an excellent collaboration with the MNO in the mobile money ecosystem; the launch of Ghana Pay is a significant shift to the path of direct competition. The choice of competitive approach raises several questions. Will mobile money users shift from traditional mobile money to bank-led solutions? What advantages do the bank-led solutions offer?

Mobile Network Operators’ advantage Since mobile money services were invented and operated by mobile network operators, they have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy a significant first-mover advantage.

Many factors favour MNOs. First, they have an essential tool; that is, data about mobile phone users, which is very powerful and gives them a significant edge over banks.

Second, they have an extensive mobile money network which has become widespread over time, creating a system to sustain their relationships with mobile money agencies.

Obviously, these networks are not created overnight, so banks will struggle to build such a network in the short to medium term.

Third, MNOs are nimble and do not have a bureaucratic system, so they can innovate and efficiently serve a highly informal mobile money service sector.

Fourth, some people do not trust banks because of their poor service and the complexity they have to experience accessing banking services; therefore, they may not subscribe to bank-led mobile money services.

What do Banks bring to the table?

Although mobile money operators have a significant edge over banks in delivering mobile money services, banks are not a complete push-over when it comes to this.

Banks have been involved in delivering mobile money services since inception. For example, the delivery of mobile money loan services is successful partly because banks provide the capital to enable this.

GCB bank pioneered the delivery of mobile money services through G-money, with varying degrees of success. G-money proved that banks could deliver mobile money services in direct competition with mobile money service operators.

Other bank-led mobile money services are the Standard Bank’s

Unayo, and Kenya Bankers Association’s Pesalink. Second, banks have capital; therefore, they have financial muscles and established systems to compete effectively in this market.

Also, banks can offer various additional financial services on the mobile money network and engage in predatory pricing to attract and retain customers; although this may not occur due to the current regulatory framework.

In conclusion, MNOs enjoy a significant first-mover advantage in mobile money service delivery thus, banks require more innovative strategies to stand a chance of competing. Interest rates are a case in point. MNOs pay an average of 5%-7% on mobile money deposits, whereas banks pay an average of 4% on savings.

If Ghana Pay were to pay higher interest rates than mobile money services, that would be a good start. In any case, the mobile money train is in the high-speed lane, and banks may find it difficult to catch up. Given this, coopetition (i.e., competition fused with cooperation) will be the best short to medium term strategy for banks looking to enter the mobile money market.

Kwami Ahiabenu, II (Ph.D.) is a Technology Innovations Consultant E-mail: kwami@mangokope. com

16

| ADVERT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

Cold Storage Warehousing With the growing pressures on maintaining an efficient supply chain and a global commitment to being increasingly more sustainable across warehouse operations, this presents a particular challenge to the cold storage warehouses being built today and the storage solutions within.

Requirements for cold storage typically fall in to two categories governed by the temperature for goods to be held; refrigerated to a controlled temperature between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius to prevent spoiling or shortening of shelf life, and frozen which needs a controlled temperature between -30 and 0 degrees Celsius to avoid risk of damage or changes to its make-up.

Choosing cold storage over freezer warehousing will be based on the types of products to be stored. Whichever is required, for a cold storage warehouse design to be truly effective, we need to consider both the warehouse itself and the storage equipment inside, such as shelving or mobile racking.

When designing and operating a cold storage warehouse, factors which need to be addressed include the cost of maintaining an ambient temperature with the amount of energy needed.

The working environment is a significant factor to keep staff protected to enable them to work efficiently. Additionally, maintaining a consistent temperature within other areas such as goods-in and dispatch to ensure product quality is unaffected.

Many of these challenges can be overcome by implementing an intelligent warehouse design and carefully selecting equipment from sealed doors to racking and conveyors, all of which optimise the use of the available space, ensuring streamlined operations and maximised energy efficiency.

Furthermore, automation and semi-automation could be considered to maintain efficiency without the need for a harsh working environment for staff.

Popular cold warehouse storage solutions include mobile pallet racking, which maximises floor space by having only one operating aisle. This can save 40% floor space from conventional pallet racking and increase overall storage capacity by 80%.

Another option is drive-in racking, which allows for large quantities to be stored, again making more efficient use of space by up to 90% and is ideally suited for cold and chilled storage goods.

And for cold storage warehouses with high product turnover, pallet

flow or pallet live solutions allow for fast access, using up to 60% less flow space.

Additionally, for the farming, agriculture and food production sectors, there is increasing demand for food-safe areas within a warehouse for storage, testing and/or quality control.

This flexible modular system can be installed e.g. as a fully enclosed mezzanine level, to turn part of an existing warehouse facility into a temperature controlled environment using cold storage components.

A huge focus on sustainability means there is increased investment in the development of automated guided vehicles in cold store environments to make the warehouses as efficient as possible. Additionally, adopting a pallet shuttle system reduces manpower and the need for forklift trucks and is ideally suited to warehousing with low Stock Keeping Unit levels, needing an efficient yet compact storage system.

To discuss your cold storage requirements, please get in touch with our team of experts. We provide warehouse design solutions based on real operational data which drives a bespoke design that is proven to be the most efficient storage solution for your needs.

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Image Credit: Dexion

Image Credit: Dexion

Image Credit: Dexion

17

18

| MARKET REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING - JUNE 24, 2022 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS Q3, 2021 GDP Growth

3.3%

Average GDP Growth for 2021

3.3%

2022 Projected GDP Growth

5.5%

BoG Policy Rate

19.0%

Weekly Interbank Interest Rate

20.25%

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 strengthened for the week on the back of gains by 2 counters. The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) gained 11.07 points (+0.44%) to close at 2,507.31 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 10.11%. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE FI) however lost 1.23 points (-0.06%) to close at 2,170.33 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) gain of 0.86%.

Market capitalization inched up by 0.19% to close the week at GH¢61,643.87 million, from GH¢61,528.03 million at the close of the previous week. This reflects YTD decrease of 4.42%.

Trading activity recorded a total of 8,475,595 shares valued at GH¢9,046,592.48 changing hands, compared with 29,705,115 shares, valued at GH¢25,805,228.99 in the preceding week.

MTN dominated both volume and value of trades for the week, accounting, for 98.77% and 79.75% of volume and value of shares traded respectively.

The market ended the week with 2 advancers and 1 laggard as indicated on the table below.

THE CURRENCY MARKET The Cedi weakened against the USD for the week. It traded at GH¢7.2150/$, compared with GH¢7.2030/$ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 0.17% and 16.76% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 0.10% a year ago.

The Cedi also weakened against the GBP for the week.

It traded at GH¢8.8683/£, compared with GH¢8.7823/£ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciation of 0.97% and 8.36% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 1.62% a year ago.

The Cedi again weakened against the Euro for the week.

It traded at GH¢7.6162/€, compared with GH¢7.5394/€ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciation of 0.52% and 9.43% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 2.78% a year ago.

The Cedi further depreciated against the Canadian Dollar for the week. It opened at GH¢5.5224/C$ but closed at GH¢5.5918/C$, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciation of 1.24% and 15.20% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 3.25% a year ago.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

19

| MARKET REVIEW

BUSINESS TERM OF THE WEEK Fire Sale: A fire sale is the selling of assets at heavily discounted prices, often due to the seller’s financial distress.

ABOUT CIDAN 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 COMMODITY MARKET Crude Oil remained flat week-on-week amid fears of slower demand from slowing U.S. economic growth and supply concerns on the market. Brent futures traded at US$113.12 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$113.12 at week open. This reflects w/w and YTD gain of 0.00% and 45.44% respectively.

Gold prices fell amid a keen watch on the Federal Reserve’s next rate move, as U.S. inflation barely moved from 40-year highs. Gold settled at US$1,828.90, from US$1,840.60 last week, reflecting w/w loss and YTD gain of 0.64% and o.02% respectively.

Prices of Cocoa inched up for the week. The commodity traded at US$2,441.50 per tonne on Friday, from US$2,387.00 last week, reflecting w/w gain and YTD losses of 2.28% and 3.12% respectively.

INTERNTIONAL COMMODITIES PRICES

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET Government raised a sum of GH¢1,441.07 million for the week across the 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-DayTreasury Bills. This compared with GH¢1,504.54 million raised in the previous week.

The 91-Day Bill settled at 25.64% p.a from 24.68% p.a. last week whilst the 182-Day Bill settled at 26.40% p.a from 25.98% p.a. last week. The 364-Day Treasury bill settled at 27.43%, from 26.86% at last issue. The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2022

MTN Ghana adjudged Health Environment Safety & Security Company of the year

MTN Ghana has been adjudged Health, Environment, Safety and Security Company of the Year at the 4th edition of the Health, Environment, Safety and Security (HESS) awards. The ceremony was held at the Movenpick Ambassador hotel in Accra.

In addition to being adjudged Company of the Year, MTN Ghana was also winner in other categories, bagging a total of eight awards.

The other awards won are: Best Company in Customer Safety and Security Management Practices, Best Company in Health and Safety

Management Practices,Employee Empowerment Excellence Award,Management of Driving Safety Excellence Award,Most Outstanding Contribution for Sustainable Development,Health, Environment, Safety and Security (HESS) Team of the Year,Health, Environment, Safety and Security (HESS) Manager of the year – Winifred Setor Smith The awards were in recognition of MTN’s commitment to Safety and Security standards which are demonstrated through the establishment of various organizational structures to

ensure the delivery of an effective safety and security program.

Receiving the awards on behalf of MTN Ghana, the Acting Chief Risk and Compliance Officer for MTN, Mrs. Winifred Setor Smith expressed gratitude to the organizers for the awards.

She said, MTN is an organization that ensures the dissemination of health and safety tips using multi-channels. MTN also holds frequent sessions on health and safety with its vendors.

Commenting on the awards, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Mr. Selorm Adadevoh congratulated the Health, Safety and Security Team at MTN Ghana for ensuring the compliance of MTN Ghana’s Occupational Health and Safety Policies, Physical Security Procedures and the Safety and Security Operational Guidelines. He said these guidelines are constantly followed to ensure both staff and customers are

safe at all touch points across the country.

Selorm congratulated Winifred for coming tops to win the Health, Environment, Safety and Security (HESS) Manager of the year award. He said, “this recognition is a testament that MTN indeed natures its talents and invests in people”.

The HESS awards was organised

by IanMatSun Global Services Ltd, organizers of the Sustainability and Social Investment Awards and publishers of the Sustainability Report Magazine in partnership with Firmus Advisory, a leading Research Company in Ghana. The awards identify, publicly recognize and celebrate outstanding companies and individuals for their exceptional performance and innovations in Occupational Health, Environment and Employee and Stakeholder Safety and Security.

MTN Ghana has won 14 HESS awards since 2019 and has been adjudged Best Company in HESS and Most Outstanding Contribution for Sustainable Development for two consecutive years.

Ghana becomes first African country to benefit from NFL programme The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, is optimistic Ghana will produce talents for the National Football League (NFL) in the near future.

This comes after the NFL, at an exhibition on Sunday, selected Ghana to host to unearth players into the NFL Academy.

As part of the initiative, 10 schools have been selected alongside trained teachers who will guide their students to play American Football, as extra-curricular activity, in a programme dubbed NFL Flag.

These schools, after 12 weeks of training, will compete in a special tournament for an opportunity to take part in an international NFL competition in the United States.

Dr Bawumia, in a post on

Facebook, said, “earlier today in Accra, I joined the National Football League (NFL) of the US, NFL legends and many young Ghanaians for an exhibition of American Football. The exhibition followed an NFL Africa Camp earlier in the week, which Ghana was selected to host, to unearth players into the NFL Academy.

“Continuing its faith in Ghana, the NFL, at the exhibition, announced it has selected 10 schools in Ghana and trained teachers from these schools this week, who will guide their students to play American Football, as extra-curricular activity, in a programme dubbed NFL Flag.

“Ghana is the first country in Africa to benefit from this NFL

EDITOR: BENSON AFFUL editor@business24.com.gh | +233 545 516 133.

programme, and I am excited to see the commitment of the NFL to introducing and developing American Football in Ghana, following their assurances to me when I hosted a delegation of the NFL in Accra, subsequent to a meeting between my office and the NFL in New York.

“Sports, like education, opens doors, and this investment by the NFL in Ghana will open doors for many young people, who will hopefully emerge as NFL professionals.”

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