Business24 Newspaper 10 October 2022

Ukraine’s war is Ghana’s war too

By Dr Olexiy Haran

When Russian troops rolled across Ukraine’s border in February, the world looked on in shock. Russia’s invasion was an act of naked, unprovoked aggression; a huge nuclear-armed state trying to gobble up its smaller neighbour to satisfy a dictator’s dreams of empire.

This is no abstract game of geopolitical chess. Ukrainians are dying every day. My own daughter was living in Kyiv when the Russian bombs began to fall. She fled to Vinnytsia where she again found herself huddled in a shelter underground as explosions rocked the city.

Finally, in Lviv, far from the front line, on the border with Poland, she still could not escape the shelling. There are no safe havens in Ukraine anymore. Ghanaians know better than most what it is to have your fate decided by foreign powers. For over a century, Great Britain dictated Ghana’s laws, plundered your natural wealth and stole your people.

This imperial arrogance was supposed to have been consigned to the dustbin of history when Africa threw off its chains, but now, in the midst of the 21st Century, Vladimir Putin is raising the putrid spectre of colonialism once again.

Ghana’s own history informed your leaders’ choices when they, along with other nations

that had suffered the scourge of colonialism, founded the NonAligned Movement.

The values of that movement – respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty; non-aggression; non-interference in domestic affairs; peaceful co-existence – these are guiding lights that remain as important today as they ever were. And Russia, through its brutal dismembering of my country, tramples on them all.

For this is not, as Russian propaganda would have you believe, a Russian defensive war against NATO and ‘the West’. There were no NATO soldiers in Ukraine when Russia invaded and neither are there today. Ukraine belongs to no bloc.

Indeed, in 1994, after we declared independence and voluntarily gave up our arsenal of nuclear weapons inherited from the USSR, our territorial integrity was guaranteed jointly by the US, UK and, ironically, Russia. Ukraine is a proudly independent sovereign state with a long history and vibrant, distinctive culture.

Coveting our land, Russian leaders have long sought to undermine our national identity, to airbrush Ukraine from the historical record. I grew up under the Soviets and remember how at the top Ukrainian university in Kyiv we endured Russification, forced to suppress our

support fundamental to successful implementation of AfCFTA -Alan Kyerematen

Fanmilk shows commitment to environment…makes 7 million Euro investment in world class green factory

Ukraine’s war is Ghana’s war too

culture and speak only Russian.

Now, in the territories under Russian control, the propagandists are running the same tired playbook, once more prohibiting the Ukrainian language. But what the Russians fail to understand is that Ukraine is more than a mere language or an ethnicity – it’s an idea of freedom.

Since the war started, people across the country have flocked to the banner and taken up arms against the invaders. Working to deliver humanitarian relief where the war is hottest, I have seen firsthand how ethnic Russians living in Ukraine, Muslim Crimean Tatars, Jewish Ukrainians, are all fighting and dying for the Ukrainian Motherland.

Whilst the war is first and foremost a fight for Ukraine’s survival, it is no mere local skirmish, one of little consequence to Ghana. In actual fact, Ghana’s future and that of the whole world are at stake. First of all, there is the economic fallout.

Russia’s illegal actions have sent shockwaves across the world, plunging countries everywhere into economic crisis. Ghana has

anyone, with prices spiralling beyond control and only the prospect of an IMF bailout to save the country from bankruptcy.

Secondly, Russia’s choking off of Ukrainian grain exports has ensured that people across Africa are going hungry and famine stalks the continent once more. This is a grim echo of the Holodomor, the man-made famine inflicted on Ukraine by the Soviet dictator Stalin, which killed millions of Ukrainians.

Now Putin is trying to inflict similar horror across the world. On top of this, Putin flirts ever closer with nuclear disaster, deliberately shelling Zaporizhia power plant, the largest in Europe.

A meltdown would send radioactive material swirling across the world, ruining crops and squeezing food supplies even more. But even without nuclear Armageddon, Russia’s angels of death have already spread their wings across Africa.

Mercenaries from Putin’s private army, the so-called Wagner Group, operate with impunity in Ghana’s own backyard. In Mali and in CAR, these hired thugs are killing and

way and even those who don’t. Violence and the threat of violence is how the Putin regime engages with the world. If allowed to succeed in Ukraine, Russia will only be emboldened and Ghana is in no way immune. I am traveling to Ghana in October to meet with leaders across politics, business and civil society to understand better how Russia’s war has hit Ghanaians and to explore how our two countries can better work together to stand up to the threat of tyranny.

I believe that there is much that unites the Ghanaian and Ukrainian peoples and together we can achieve great things. We share the same common values and pride in our heritage. Together with my colleagues from Ukrainian civil society we extend a hand of friendship and dream of a brighter future.

Dr Olexiy Haran is Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla (UKMA) and Research Director, Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation. Since 2002 he has served as founding Director of the UKMA School for Policy Analysis.

Strong, robust logistics support fundamental to successful implementation of AfCFTA -Alan Kyerematen

Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, has called on governments of African countries to put in place the needed institutional and logistical support frameworks to ensure that they collectively reap the full benefits from the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement.

Speaking at the launch of the Africa Guided Trade Initiative in Accra, the Minister stressed that “at our national levels, we should have institutional

structures and a programme of action for boosting intra African trade to enable entrepreneurs to produce to take advantage of the huge market provided by the agreement. We must ensure that we have the logistics support to ensure that we are able to move the goods from one country to another”.

According to Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister, the launch “symbolizes that AfCFTA is not just on paper but a reality. And we are moving from talk and

negotiations to action. It also symbolizes that governments in Africa who have been involved in the negotiations are now giving way to the private sector to make it a reality,”.

The guided trade initiative was launched for seven member countries. These seven countries which have signaled their readiness to start trading under AfCFTA were Tanzania, Mauritania, Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Ghana.

Speaking at the same event, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene said at least 96 different products from the seven countries could be freely traded under the rules of AfCFTA. Products approved to trade under AfCFTA include horticultural products, pharmaceuticals, rubber, aluminum kitchenware, sugar, steel, and wooden products. These products originating from Africa will enjoy duty-free and quota-free trading among the partnering countries.

“This is the moment the

founding mothers and fathers of the Organization of African Unity have longed (for). We have finally honored and made reality the vision of those who liberated our continent,” said Mene. “We are connecting East Africa to West Africa, North Africa to Southern Africa. Trade will be the driver of inclusivity, creating opportunities for young Africans. So we have taken the first journey today, and I hope in 15 years, we will have succeeded in lifting millions and millions of Africans out of poverty.”

World Bank says cedi worstperforming currency in Africa

The World Bank has ranked the Ghana cedi as the worstperforming currency in Africa since the beginning of the year with a depreciation of 60 per cent against the United States dollar.

This was contained in the World Bank Africa Pulse Report October 2022 Volume.

According to the report, “The worst performing currencies in the region since the beginning of the year include those of Ghana (with a depreciation of 60 per cent), South Sudan (50.8 per cent), Sudan (28.6 per cent), Malawi (25.4 per cent), and CFA

Franc (13.3 per cent)”.

The report said although inflation in the region was trending upward before Russia’s invasion factors including the depreciation of currencies against the dollar and increase in commodity prices had contributed to inflationary pressures.

It said it was imperative to tame inflationary pressures; otherwise, inflation could lead to social unrest, intensify conflict, and ultimately ignite political instability”.

The report noted that “inflation

in the region was trending upward before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid supply chain disruptions caused by restrictions to avoid escalation of COVID-19 cases, and the economic fallout from the pandemic”.

“In addition, commodity prices, particularly food and oil prices, rose from a rebound in global demand, and oil prices rose from an OPEC+ agreement to cut production.

“These effects were amplified by the war in Ukraine. Food and fuel prices, as well as the depreciation of domestic

currencies, are the dominant factors underpinning inflationary pressures in the region”.

“In addition, an increasing food and fuel pass-through made a large contribution to inflation.

Food prices have increased sharply in Kenya (21 basis points), Uganda (20 basis points), and Zambia (14 basis points) since the beginning of the year (figure 1.23). In turn inflation erodes the purchasing power of poor people, increases poverty, amplifies food insecurity, and widens inequality”.

Trade Ministry engages stakeholders on implementation of Textiles Tax Stamp Policy

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has held another national engagement forum with textiles wholesalers and retailers on the implementation of the Textiles Tax Stamps Policy.

This engagement followed an earlier one with Importers which was held on 27th May, 2022 at the African Regent Hotel, AirportAccra and forms part of the preparations towards the launch and implementation of the policy before the close of the year.

According to the sector Minister, Alan Kyerematen, the aim of the engagement was to “sensitize and educate the public, particularly dealers in the industry on the introduction/implementation of the textiles tax stamps as part of the Government’s commitment to addressing the challenges of the textiles industry as well as developing the sector to harness the significant gains the sector stands to offer”.

The minister revealed that the

local demand for African prints is about 120 million yards per annum, of which the local supply is just about 35% (42million yards), with the remaining 65% imported.

Hon Kyerematen recalled that the local textiles industry used to be very vibrant in the last three decades, but that the influx of pirated designs and gross infringements on trademarks of local textile manufacturers have been identified as two of the key areas which have adversely affected the textiles industry in Ghana.

Towards addressing the situation, the Minister said in 2018 the Ministry of Trade and Industry under the Industrial Transformation Agenda of Government announced Six Policy Measures aimed at finding lasting solutions to the challenges and also strengthening the textiles sector which can create millions of well-paid jobs for

Ghanaians, namely: Introduction and implementation of textiles tax stamps; Import management systems; Introduction of Designated Entry Corridors (Tema Port and Aflao Border for textile imports).

Further he stated that provision of Incentive Packages for local manufacturers to make them competitive includes: Attract Foreign textile manufacturers to set up or relocate their plants in Ghana; and Reconstitute the Task Force to embark on effective market monitoring and surveillance.

The Minister was of the firm belief that these policy measures will lead to the development of the local textile firms to reduce the import of pirated textiles by promoting local manufacturing.

He assured the stakeholders that with the introduction of the measures, importation is still allowed since the country does not currently have the local

manufacturing capacity to meet the total national demand of over 120 million yards per annum. He was hopeful that the policies were going to help streamline the imports of textiles and further ensure that all the players involved in the textiles industry benefit.

The roll-out of the textiles tax stamps has been scheduled for November 1, 2022 and the implementation modalities shall include having textiles stamps affixed on all textile prints traded in Ghana.

Participants used the opportunity to ask questions related to the discussions, from the team from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ghana Revenue Authority-Domestic Tax Revenue Division, Intellectual Property Office and Ghana Standards Authority who responded accordingly.

Fanmilk shows commitment to environment …makes 7 million Euro investment in world class green factory

FanMilk PLC, a Danone Company, has today inaugurated three (3) green projects at its North Industrial Area Plant in Accra in line with global efforts to accelerate to net zero carbon emissions.

Built at a total cost of seven million Euros, the projects, a Wastewater Treatment Plant, Biomass Boiler and Solar Power Installation are a demonstration of Danone’s ‘One Planet One Health’ vision and reinforces the company’s leadership in sustainability in Ghana and globally.

Speaking at the launch of the Green Projects, Christian Stammkoetter, Danone’s Africa, Asia, and Middle East President said: “we are all witnessing the unprecedented effects of climate change all over the globe. It has become critical for us all in the world to join hands and protect planet earth and achieve sustainability through the right policies and technological innovations, both in the private and public sector. At Danone, we believe that we can have a collective impact by working together to ensure that any economic rebound after the pandemic is both planet-friendly and socially inclusive; and by encouraging everyone to contribute to sustainable performance and impact. These green projects we unveil today are our contribution to protecting the environment and the planet.”

Launching the Green Projects, The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, Innovation, Dr Kwaku Afriyie said: “FanMilk Ghana has lived to its promise of providing improved lives for the people of Ghana by not only producing nutritional products for Ghanaians but also, directly and indirectly, employing thousands of Ghanaians and helping to alleviate unemployment in this country. Government is pleased with your effort in this regard, and we are hopeful that by the establishment of these new sustainable environment projects, you will continue to do even more in the area of environment and technology for the country at large.” He ended by commending FanMilk and encouraging other organizations to follow FanMilk’s good example.

The investments are in line with Danone’s expansion drive and the company’s One Planet, One Health

vision. The Wastewater treatment plant will ensure that only clean water from the factory is discharged into the environment. The quality of the final discharge will accelerate the regeneration and sustenance of the Odaw River to promote other forms of life for river bodies. Also, the solid waste generated from the plant can be used as manure thereby improving agricultural ecosystem in support of a broader objective of encouraging regenerative agriculture. The discharge effluents will also comply with Danone’s strict clean water standards.

The Solar Power Installation at both the Industrial area factory, offices and the various regional distribution centers, is in pursuance of the company’s global strategy of reducing dependency on conventional energy sources and increasing the use of renewable energies.

With the new biomass boiler, FanMilk will now switch from using diesel as its fuel source to a multifuel system that uses palm kernel shell or wooden chips to cater for

the factory’s steaming requirement of 1,800kg/h. With this move, the company is making significant steps to saving the environment by turning waste material to an effective fuel for the biomass boiler.

The General Manager of FanMilk West Africa, Ziobeieton Yeo, spoke at the event saying, “For more than 60 years, our company has been led by our belief in this dual mission that economic progress and social progress go hand in hand. As a purpose-led organization, we champion a more emotionally balanced, healthier, socially progressive society, while protecting the environment. Today’s commissioning is a demonstration of our deep level of commitment to the cause of saving the earth while creating jobs through our unique business model. All of these Green Projects will go a long way to help our pursuit.”

This is not the first time that FanMilk Danone has made investments into the country. In June 2021, the company opened a new multipurpose head office at the Industrial Area in Accra. Earlier this year the company also invested in vehicles and logistics for its trade partners, while launching the 2022 edition of the flagship FanMilk school caravan, the educational programme that trains school children on good sanitation and healthy snacking.

StarLife Assurance CEO engages clients

In celebration of this year’s Customer Service Week, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of StarLife Assurance, Kakra Duffuor-Nyarko, dedicated her time to serve clients at the Customer Experience Centre of the company located on the Ring Road, Accra.

The move, according to StarLife, was to appreciate clients who have stood with the insurance company over the years and to gather firsthand feedback of their challenges and concerns for redress. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the hard work of the company’s customer service staff for the past year.

As part of the customer service activities, Kakra Duffuor-Nyarko was at the Customer Experience Centre to welcome clients, processed claims, signed up new clients, received calls and attended to other needs of clients. She also used the opportunity to engage a diversity of the company’s clientele on their experiences with StarLife and how the policies are benefitting them and their families.

The main highlight of her activities was the presentation of gift items and

on this year’s Customer Service Week, Kakra Duffuor-Nyarko, said “StarLife dedicated the occasion to renew our commitment to clients in action and not only in words. They have been with us for 17years and it is important that we celebrate their contribution to our success and the growth of the industry. I have enjoyed my interactions with them. I have listened to some of their concerns and I believe we can support them better from these engagements.”

There are a lot of things to be excited about as a StarLife client this year and beyond based on our innovative policies and I want to encourage our clients to continue to partner with us for life, she added.

Some customers expressed appreciation to the StarLife CEO and staff for the gifts and special services offered to them always.

StarLife Assurance dedicated this year’s Customers Appreciation Week to gifting customers across the country with various items. All Heads of Departments and Branch Managers were also deployed to serve customers and also attend to their special needs.

‘We can’t memorise our way out of poverty’ - Dr Yaw Adutwum at the United Nations

By Anis Haffar

All the way up from the elementary to the university levels, many methods employed in today’s teachings stifle both understanding and skills building.

The point is simply this, how can there be any appreciable commitment by the learner without the practical and useful connections to the subjects being taught? And how can education itself be beneficial in the absence of skills to apply what is learned to create useful outcomes?

At the crux of the matter - in terms of resolution – is the key question of applications of science and technology.

Dr Adutwum on STEM

Questions like these keep ticking away and defuse the purpose of education, especially for a developing nation like Ghana endowed with tremendous material and human potential. Such issues must have informed Ghana’s minister for education, Dr Yaw Adutwum, when he noted at a United Nations meeting: “We know that STEAM holds the key to our transformation but when you have limited resources you use technology to do what is impossible.”

He said, “we are full STEAM ahead in terms of ensuring that we can increase the numbers of our students participating in STEM, and that is how we put to rest the issue of rote memorisation. You can’t do memorisation in STEM. You have to participate in the learning process and make sure that we can get a critical mass with the critical minds that we need for our transformation.”

[STEM means Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The A in STEAM is the addition of creative Arts in the abbreviation].

Dr Adutwum noted, “I always say that from my experience in the U.S. going back to Ghana, we have good children in Ghana, so respectful; but I go to schools upon schools and I speak with the students and when I finish speaking with them I’ll ask: Do you have a question for me? No hand goes up, in all my encounters in Ghanaian classrooms.”

It is clear that in Ghana “We have tamed the children; we just want them to write down

what we tell them at the day of exams.

They should put down what we have told them, and we say you are the best student the country has ever known. That kind of education system will not transform Ghana or give us critical thinking individuals.”

Critical Thinking

The minister continued, “in the 21st century - and education 4.0 - the 4th Industrial Revolution, you can’t memorize your way out of poverty, but you can critically think and innovate out of poverty so Ghanaian schools and African schools will have to begin to take a serious look at what we call an assertive curriculum, a curriculum that empowers the African child to ask questions and challenge the status quo respectfully, within the African cultural context.”

The idea was to desist from the kind of education or a

them to be assertive individuals you still will not transform Africa through education.”

He noted that as we embark on access, we must also look at the quality and relevance of an education system “that will truly put us in a space where education can become the most socio-economic transformation agent. Our current education system is not what is going to transform our continent. And we need to take a serious route.”

In relating to the African representatives, Dr Adutwum said, “If your country in Africa is an exception then you are good. But I know that invariably we want to tame the children. The quietest child in the class is deemed the most respectful. And we have to begin to take a serious look at the curriculum, the pedagogy, the strategy we are using so that Africa will be transformed through

revolution that we found ourselves in is the most important aspect of our education systems that need to be revamped so that it can service the rightful purpose of transforming the socioeconomic fortunes of our nations.

He concluded, “if education fails, we are in trouble! The kind of education system we have today has to be retooled and revamped and we can only do that when we begin to take a look at a crosssectoral approach to education development; and that means we can no longer operate in silos thinking that the education system itself can just go ahead and change the fortunes of our countries.”

Additionally, “We have to begin to look at health, safety issues, counselling issues, and mental health challenges that our children are facing out of

curriculum that tells African child to be quiet and not say anything when the adult is speaking, and to merely tell the adult back whatever he was told.

He noted “I don’t care if we get to the point where every African child is in school, but if you put all of them in school and do not change the way you teach them by empowering

education.” In a nutshell, we need to “have the critical mass, with critical mind to really challenge the status quo so that we can innovate ourselves out of poverty.”

He advised that we need to come together and begin to take bold steps to confront the huge challenges that our world is facing.

And the fourth Industrial

the pandemic. All these things have to be revamped and done in unison so that we can create an education system that can then put away poverty forever so that all of us can begin to realize that our world has to prosper together, so we have to all come together and rewire education for our people and for our planet.”

MTN Ghana has joined the global community to create awareness on the importance of Cybersecurity, best practices and stress the collective effort needed to prevent cyber intrusions and scams.

The October Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign has been launched under the theme: ‘Defending the Digital Line.’

Launching the month-long campaign, the Chief Information officer of MTN Ghana, Mr. Bernard Acquah said, “This October we will focus on the “people” part of Cybersecurity, providing information and resources to help educate users and ensure all individuals make smart decisions whether on the job or at home – now and in the future. With so much of our lives spent online, it’s more important than ever to take a proactive approach in protecting yourself and the organization you work for.”

Mr. Acquah added, ‘’Security is the responsibility of all of us and I urge you to take advantage of this month’s activities to build

the requisite knowledge required to protect the organization and yourself from cyber attacks’’.

Activities lined up for the month include Customer-based sensitization messages via social media and SMS focused on sub themes including ‘Phight the Phish’, Cybersecurity Common sense, etc. There will also be special interactive sessions with students in second cycle Institutions as well as an engagement with ParentTeacher Associations in selected basic schools in Accra, Ashanti, and Western regions. A public forum will also be organized virtually with a seasoned IT expert in the cyber space to discuss the theme for the month. MTN will also collaborate, partner and participate in programs organized by the Cybersecurity Authority and the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications to further the cause.

MTN Ghana extended Cybersecurity education to its customers from the year 2020 during which the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak and online interactions had

MTN to educate customers on cybersecurity Vodafone, TotalEnergies partner to provide free Wi-Fi to customers at service stations.

Vodafone Ghana has partnered with TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana PLC to provide Wi-Fi for customers who visit service stations, lube bays, restaurants, and its newly launched electric vehicle (EV) charging docks.

The Wi-Fi internet access is free for TotalEnergies customers on all networks.

Based on Vodafone Ghana’s Enterprise Wi-Fi service, the partnership underscores the company’s commitment to reaching more customers with fast, accessible, and reliable wireless internet solutions.

Vodafone Ghana’s internet solution will keep customers reliably connected anytime they visit TotalEnergies service stations. It also facilitates employee efficiency and productivity, as they can work from anywhere on the business premises.

Speaking on this collaboration, the Director of the Enterprise Business Unit at Vodafone Ghana, Tawa Bolarin, said the initiative will allow Vodafone Ghana to

expand internet connectivity to its customers no matter where they find themselves.

“We are leveraging this partnership to enhance the customer experience in internet connectivity. In recent times, more people are working remotely, sometimes multitasking at different locations. As a company whose hallmark has been to drive the nation’s digital transformation, we are excited to extend Wi-Fi access to Ghanaians

through our partnership with TotalEnergies.”

Tawa lauded TotalEnergies’ innovation and revealed that customers can expect the service at many more locations in the coming months. “We are particularly excited to partner with TotalEnergies to launch this service, which offers free Wi-Fi powered by Vodafone Ghana at selected TotalEnergies Service Stations. This site is the first of many—there will be three

additional sites in Accra and Kumasi by the end of 2022,” she announced.

‘For Vodafone Ghana, this is another milestone in our digital transformation journey. We are proud to partner with TotalEnergies in this venture,” she concluded.

Managing Director of TotalEnergies Marketing Ghana PLC, Mr Olufemi Babajide, stated that partnership with the private and public sectors is crucial for accelerating change and promoting innovation and new technologies. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the various institutions that have helped in making this possible,” he said.

Vodafone Ghana’s Enterprise Wi-Fi is a wireless internet solution that businesses can use to keep their customers and employees connected at their premises. Its features include Quota Management, Rich Analytics Dashboards, Social Media Integration, SMS and Email Integration, and more.

increased. Seasoned personalities such as Awo Aidam Amenyah and Mr. Carl Sackey have taken turns to

educate MTN stakeholders on Child online security and various forms of attacks in the cyberspace.

Bernard Acquah, Chief Information officer of MTN Ghana

Where has all the liquidity gone?

The malfunctioning of the government bond market in a developed economy is an early warning of potential financial instability. In the United Kingdom, the new government’s proposed “mini-budget” raised the specter of unsustainable sovereign debt and led to a dramatic widening in long-term gilt yields. Recognizing the systemic importance of the government bond market, the Bank of England correctly stepped in, both pausing its plan to unload gilts from its balance sheet and announcing that it will buy gilts over a fortnight at a scale near that of its planned sales for the next 12 months.

Markets have since calmed down. But as commendable as the BOE’s prompt response has been, we must ask what blame central banks bear for financial markets’ current fragility. After all, while long-term gilt yields have stabilized, gilt market liquidity (judging by bid-ask spreads) has not improved. And across the Atlantic, the market for US Treasuries is also raising liquidity concerns. Many metrics are flashing red, just like at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and in the aftermath of Lehman Brothers’ failure in 2008.

After two years of quantitative easing (QE) – when central banks buy long-term bonds from the private sector and issue liquid reserves in return – central banks around the world have begun to shrink their balance sheets, and liquidity seems to have vanished in the space of just a few months. Why has quantitative tightening (QT) produced that result? In a recent paper co-authored with Rahul Chauhan and Sascha

Steffen (which we presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Jackson Hole conference in August), we show that QE may be quite difficult to reverse, because the financial sector has become dependent on easy liquidity.

This dependency arises in multiple ways. Commercial banks, which typically hold the reserves supplied by central banks during QE, finance their own asset purchases with short-term demand deposits that represent potent claims on their liquidity in tough times. Moreover, although advanced-economy central-bank reserves are the safest assets on the planet, they offer low returns, so commercial banks have created additional revenue streams by offering reservebacked liquidity insurance to others. This generally takes the form of higher credit card limits for households, contingent credit lines to asset managers and non-financial corporations, and broker-dealer relationships that promise to help speculators meet margin calls (demands for additional cash collateral).

The speculators are not limited to hedge funds, as we recently learned in the UK. Rather, they also include normally staid pension funds that have engaged in so-called liability-driven investment: To compensate for the QE-induced low return on long-term gilts, they increased the risk profile of their other assets, taking on more leverage, and hedging any interest risk with derivatives. While their hedged position ensured that an interestrate increase would have an equal impact on their asset and liability values, it also generated margin

calls on their derivative positions. Lacking the cash to meet these calls, they were reliant on bankers with spare liquidity for support.

In sum, during periods of QE, the financial sector generates substantial potential claims on liquidity, effectively eating up much of the issued reserves. The quantity of spare liquidity is thus much smaller than that of issued reserves, which can become a big problem in the event of a shock, such as a government-induced scare.

Our study also finds that, in the case of the United States, QT makes conditions even tighter still, because the financial sector does not quickly shrink the claims that it has issued on liquidity, even as the central bank takes back reserves. This, too, makes the system vulnerable to shocks – an accident waiting to happen. During the last episode of QT in the US, even relatively small, unexpected increases in liquidity demand – such as a surge in the Treasury’s account at the Fed – caused massive dislocation in Treasury repo markets. That is exactly what happened in September 2019, prompting the Fed to resume its liquidity injections.

The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 was an even larger liquidity shock, with corporations drawing down credit lines from banks and speculators seeking help in meeting margin calls. Central banks duly flooded the system with reserves. One can only imagine the scale of the intervention that would have been needed if the shock had been as bad as the one in 2008. An even deeper crisis would

have prompted some depositors to dash for cash, causing some banks to hoard spare liquidity to meet unexpected claims on the deposits they had amassed during the boom times.

Put differently, the larger the scale and the longer the duration of QE, the greater the liquidity that financial markets become accustomed to, and the longer it will take for central banks to normalize their balance sheets. But since financial, real, and fiscal shocks do not respect central banks’ timetables, they often will force fresh central-bank interventions, as we saw in the UK.

Monetary policymakers thus find themselves in a very difficult position. A central bank may need to raise rates to reduce inflation. But if it also must simultaneously supply liquidity to stabilize government bond markets, it risks sending a mixed message about its policy stance – not to mention raising concerns that it has become a direct financier of the government. Not only does this complicate policy communication; it also could prolong the fight against inflation.

While central banks have always had a duty to provide emergency liquidity, doing so on a sustained, large-scale basis is an entirely different kettle of fish. Our findings suggest that QE will be quite difficult to reverse, not least because QT itself increases the system’s vulnerability to shocks. While the BOE deserves praise for riding to the rescue, central banks more generally need to reflect on their own role in making the system so vulnerable.

The global recovery winds down

By Eswar Prasad

The post-COVID recovery has run out of steam. The latest update to the Brookings-Financial Times Tracking Indexes for the Global Economic Recovery (TIGER) shows that growth momentum, as well as financial market and confidence indicators, have deteriorated markedly around the world in recent months. And as the global economy stalls amid heightened uncertainty and rising risks, many countries are either in or on the brink of outright recession.

Some wounds have been selfinflicted. Misguided policies like China’s zero-COVID strategy and the United Kingdom’s reckless “mini-budget” have made it harder for policymakers to respond to ongoing supply-chain disruptions and the protracted war in Ukraine. High and persistent inflation worldwide, and the actions central banks have taken to rein it in, are also depressing economic activity, weakening household and business confidence, and roiling financial markets.

In major advanced economies like the eurozone, Japan, and the UK, sluggish and tepid policy responses have compounded the effects of external shocks, knocking growth trajectories off track. Consequently, many developed countries now face the challenges that have long characterized periods of economic and financial stress in emerging-market economies: steep currency depreciations (relative to the US dollar), rising government bond yields, strained public finances, and tightening policy constraints.

The US economy, for its part,

is rife with conflicting signals.

On the positive side, consumer demand remains strong, and employment has continued to grow at a reasonably healthy pace.

At the same time, GDP growth is anemic while inflation remains high by any measure, leaving the Federal Reserve with little choice but to hike interest rates further, despite the tightening of financial conditions caused by a strong dollar and falling asset prices.

In Europe, energy supply disruptions are fueling inflation and constraining growth, stoking fears of energy shortages in the winter and undermining privatesector confidence. The recent plunge in the pound’s value is emblematic of the many challenges facing the UK economy, including adverse external circumstances, the ongoing fallout from Brexit, and the country’s undisciplined fiscal policies. In many other European countries, populist policies could increase the risk of fiscal and financial instability.

Japan is the only major advanced economy that has the luxury of maintaining an easy monetary policy, thanks to its low inflation rate. This could help the country sustain stable albeit low growth, as the yen’s rapid depreciation has not had any appreciable negative effects thus far.

While emerging-market economies face similar challenges, including high inflation and depreciating currencies, they generally have better growth prospects than their advancedeconomy counterparts. Still, weak demand worldwide and tighter financial conditions will increase pressure on developing

economies with current-account deficits. But barring a few exceptions like Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela – where rampant economic mismanagement has precipitated currency collapses – most emerging markets do not seem to be heading toward a balance-of-payments crisis.

That said, China is facing a raft of problems resulting from the government’s rigid adherence to its zero-COVID policy, a faltering real-estate sector, and unsustainable financial-system pressures. While inflation remains under control, the renminbi’s depreciation relative to the US dollar has limited the People’s Bank of China’s ability to cut interest rates. The government and the PBOC have implemented several fiscal and monetary stimulus measures, but these have had limited effect on private consumption and investment. Export growth, too, is likely to be restrained by weak global demand.

India’s economy, on the other hand, remains a bright spot. The country is likely to register strong growth this year and in 2023 as exports rise owing to the rupee’s depreciation and the beneficial effects of various reforms undertaken in recent years. But the Reserve Bank of India’s ongoing struggle to rein in high inflation is a constraining factor.

Meanwhile, Russia’s economy has been battered by the economic and financial sanctions that Western powers have imposed since its invasion of Ukraine, although rising export revenues and weak imports have softened the blow by

strengthening the ruble. Latin American currencies have done surprisingly well this year, but Brazil and many other countries in the region face challenging political environments, which could dampen domestic demand and growth, scare off foreign investors, and foment economic instability.

Governments and central banks no longer have the luxury of stabilizing growth and offsetting adverse shocks with unfettered fiscal and monetary stimulus. At a minimum, governments must avoid poorly targeted fiscal measures and other unhelpful populist policies, do what they can to overcome supply bottlenecks, and support central banks as they strive to restore price stability. An ineffective policy response endangers those hit hardest by food and energy price increases: the world’s poorest economies and the poorest households in every country.

With little room for maneuver, policymakers must coordinate fiscal and monetary measures to alleviate short-term inflationary pressures and focus on reforms that can improve long-term growth. In addition to mitigating labor-supply and trade constraints, they must create incentives for investment in green technologies and other types of infrastructure. Such measures are crucial to supporting privatesector demand and confidence in the short run and to re-anchoring inflation expectations.

Aryan Khanna contributed to this column.

US pledges support for Ghana’s renewable energy agenda

The US Deputy Secretary of Energy, David Turk, has reiterated its position to support Ghana’s renewable energy plan to make energy affordable and accessible.

Ghana as a signatory to the Paris Agreement pledged to achieve a 10% renewable energy mix by 2020, but revised to 2030.

The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in September 2022, revealed that the government has set “a target of 2070 to fully transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. So, even though as a government, we are fully committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, we also have to take steps to accelerate the production and utilization of our oil and gas reserves.”

Sharing insights on America’s strategy on renewable energy, Mr. Turk said that “under the auspices of President Biden’s Emergency

Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), the United States will continue to work closely with African countries to identify solutions and ways that our African nation partners can benefit from additional adaptive capacity as we work collectively to deploy clean energy technologies at scale and develop new solutions.”

He hailed Ghana for the “incredible strides in energy access” adding that “we recognize Africa’s efforts to address its energy access, affordability, and security goals – while diversifying its energy mix, building sustainable supply chains, and protecting the continent’s ecosystems and diverse natural resources – and know that these goals are central to the prosperity of Africans as well as helping to tackle the global climate crisis.”

Commenting on minerals needed to develop solar batteries

and other renewable energy materials, he advised extractive countries such as Ghana not only focus on the “mining bit of it but the part that I think is the value added during the supply chain” as this is an opportunity in the green revolution.

“So I think countries have

an opportunity through their leadership with private sector and entrepreneurs to think about not only the mining but the processing of the minerals. Think about the products that can be used domestically and in Africa,” he added.

GEPA tasks MMDAs to identify key export products for development

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to take active interest in the export development processes of the country.

The GEPA said they could do that by guaranteeing and facilitating an enabling environment and the development processes of at least one key export product of which they have a comparative advantage from each district of the country.

“Such identified and targeted commodities must be in abundance and stand the test of time in terms of quality and could be supplied in large volumes and quantities to meet the demands of manufacturers and industries.”

Dr. Martin Akogti, the Regional Head of the Upper East, and Upper West Regions of GEPA, made the appeal in Jirapa during a districtlevel sensitisation workshop on the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS) and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

The 63 participants, made up of shea butter, soybean, and groundnuts producers and processors, drawn from the Lambussie District and the Jirapa, Nandom, and Lawra Municipalities were taken through the Policy outlook for NEDS, the National Policy and Legal Regime for

nontraditional exports, among others.

He said the sensitisation workshop was aimed to expand the supply base and ensure the promotion of vigorous value addition to products and regulate the business environment, as well as build the capacity of processors and producers involved in nontraditional export transactions.

The ultimate objective of the NEDS was to support the government’s initiative of revitalising the economy through the transformation from a raw material-based economy into an industrialised export-led one.

Dr. Akogti said it was expected that NEDS when implemented, would cause substantial increases in nontraditional export revenues within 10 years to a projected 25.3 billion US dollars by the end of 2029.

Mr Yakubu Yussif, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the National AfCFTA Coordination Office, said the AfCFTA had the ambition of creating a single market to enhance African businesses among its 1.3 billion people.

He said Africa had a population of 1.3 billion people and that it was estimated that US$3.4 billion could be raked into the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Ghana exporters must take advantage of this market.

“In this regard, we need to identify new products and these products must be certified for Africa Market. We also need to expand companies audited to do business across the continent,” he indicated.

Mr Yussif said about 200 agricultural-related companies had been audited and the AfCFTA was working assiduously to clear some of the barriers affecting exports and the free movement of goods and services across the continent.

He stated that the rules and regulations of AfCFTA were also being integrated into the national laws so that companies that were ready to export could do business without any hindrance.

Mr Yussif announced that currently, meaningful commercial trade was ongoing between Ghana and seven other African Countries and expressed the hope that more

countries would come on board soon.

Madam Comfort Kambataa, a beneficiary, who was into soybean processing, said the workshop had provided her with skills and knowledge that would be applied in the management of her business, especially in the areas of quality raw material acquisition, and linking to new technologies and markets.

The GEPA, in collaboration with key export sector stakeholders such as the Ministries of Trade and Industry, Food and Agriculture and Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, the National Coordination Office of AfCFTA, the National Development Planning Commission, the Food and Drugs Authority and others organised the district-level sensitisation workshop on the NEDS and the

Ghana hosts third Learning andDevelopment Africa Conference

Ghana has hosted the first hybrid and the third Learning and Development Africa Conference on the theme: “Leaving No One Behind in Learning and Development-The Practicalities.”

The conference explored possibilities to empower the corporate world to use Learning and Development practitioners in Africa to achieve an all-inclusive programme and use dialogue and experience sharing to encompass diversity in learning programmes.

The first hybrid and third Learning and Development Africa Conference also explored the potential to invest in learning and development while ensuring that no individual was left behind.

Speaking at the conference, Mrs Margaret Jackson, Convener for Learning and Development Africa (L&D), called on the corporate world to inculcate inclusion and diversity in their learning programmes for staff as part of capacity building.

Mrs Jackson said the topics tackled in the two-day conference included re-strategizing for L&D in light of the global trends, and how to prevent the great talent exodus in organizations.

She said participants were also equipped on using technology for wider accessibility and promoting diversity and inclusion, and the role of using mobile apps, among others, in micro-learning, as well as the use of L&D as a tool to build and support a Neurodiversity

empowering employees with disabilities, employee upscaling, and reskilling, and how to manage generational diversity at the workplace, among others, were discussed.

Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, Chief Executive Director of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), delivering a keynote address, said the world was changing and the only way for people and organizations to rise to the challenge was to continuously learn and develop themselves.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh noted that to reshape the future of the country, it was important to learn at all times.

She, therefore, called on Learning and Development practitioners to think of how they would utilize digital tools for everyone to benefit from learning to fit into the current evolving scope of work.

youth, women and persons with disability.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh stated that “the youth can’t be left behind, the way they do things has changed, they now sit on their phones for long, how do we take learning to them using digitalized tools.”

Dr Peter Bamkole, the Director of the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria, speaking on brain drain said some of the reasons for professionals leaving the African continent was economics.

He explained that economic hardship was forcing many to seek better lives in developed countries.

Dr Bamkole said health was another push factor, stating for instance, that during the covid-19 era people were worried about their health and travelled outside for care as Africa was the last

He indicated that other reasons were social, family related, as well as peer influence.

He added that Covid-19 did not necessarily change things happening in Africa such as brain drain but rather accelerated what was there and brought to the fore what people were not seeing as learning and development practitioners.

He said it was the responsibility of practitioners to understand and develop new strategies for their staff as people now want flexibility at work without restrictions as they now want to do remote working.

Dr Bamkole urged the management of organizations to treat their staff differently based on their outputs and give them the flexibility to work instead of boxing them all together with policies adding that “when the mind is at peace, talents will flourish.”

Source: GNA

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET

Government raised a sum of GH¢999.86 million for the week across the 91-Day ,182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills. This compared with GH¢1,192.42 million raised in the previous week.

The 91-Day Bill settled at 30.45% p.a from 30.18% p.a. last week whilst the 182-Day Bill settled at 31.57% p.a from 31.34% p.a. last week. The 364-Day Bill settled at 31.55% p.a. from 30.47% previously. The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.

COMMODITY MARKET

Oil prices closed marginally higher for the week as OPEC+ considers reducing output by more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd). Brent futures traded at US$85.14 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$85.03 at week open. This reflects w/w and YTD appreciations of 0.13% and 9.46% respectively.

Gold prices strengthened for the week as growing risks of an economic recession spurred some safe haven demand for the yellow metal. Gold settled at US$1,684.90, from US$1,655.60 last week, reflecting w/w gain and YTD loss of 1.77% and 7.86% respectively.

INTERNTIONAL COMMODITIES PRICES

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Ukraine to establish Embassy in Ghana

Ukraine plans to establish an embassy in Ghana in future as part of efforts to expand its presence in Africa.

This was disclosed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba when he held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, in Accra.

The visit of the head of Ukrainian diplomacy to Ghana takes place within the framework of the first-ever tour of the head of the MFA of Ukraine to African countries.

A publication on Ukraine’s MFA website said Mr Kuleba informed his Ghanaian colleague in detail about his country’s efforts to liberate Ukrainian territories from Russian occupation.

He thanked Ghana for its solidarity with Ukraine, and support for resolutions at the UN and other international organizations aimed at restoring Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The minister emphasized Ukraine’s desire to start a new high-quality partnership with Ghana, which will be based on mutual respect, mutual support and mutual benefit.

“As part of the implementation of the African strategy, which was developed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the instructions of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is expanding its presence in Africa. We reached an agreement with the Ghanaian side: we plan to open a Ukrainian embassy in Ghana in the near future. The establishment of a diplomatic presence in Accra will give an impetus to the development of political contacts, trade, investments, cultural

exchanges and cooperation in the field of education,” Mr Kuleba said.

The ministers discussed in detail the steps to intensify cooperation between Ukraine and Ghana in the spheres of security, cyber security, digital transformation, and agriculture.

They agreed to start preparations for the establishment of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

They also spoke about finding ways to restore the safe education

of Ghanaian students in Ukrainian universities.

The parties signed a memorandum of understanding on the training of Ghanaian diplomats on the basis of the Diplomatic Academy named after Hennadiy Udovenko at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The Ghanaian minister also reported on Ghana’s readiness to consider the possibility of internships for Ukrainian students studying English.

Madam Botchway also expressed the interest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana in studying the Ukrainian experience in the field of combating disinformation.

As a result of the meeting, the ministers agreed to hold political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs with the participation of representatives of various departments of the two countries to develop a comprehensive “road map” for the further development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Ghana.

Mr Kuleba also held talks with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.