Business24 Newspaper 22nd January, 2021 by Business24 Online

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FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

NO. B24 / 149 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Push for nuclear power ill-advised, IES says

Akufo-Addo retains OforiAtta as Finance Minister

By Nii Annerquaye Abbey & Eugene Davis

en Ofori-Atta, who served as Minister of Finance in the first term of the AkufoAddo administration, has been renominated by the President pending parliamentary approval. His renomination was Cont’d on page 3

GIRSAL guarantees GH¢66m of credit to agribusinesses By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

By Benson AFFUL affulbenson@gmail.com

nergy policy think tank Institute for Energy Security (IES) says it does not support the government’s move to switch the country’s energy base-load from

Akosombo and Kpong hydropower to nuclear. The institute said the government is seeking to introduce nuclear into the country’s energy mix at a time when many countries around the world, including Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium,

ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

Greece and Italy, have either shut down or are in the process of pulling the plugs off nuclear plants because of complicated relationships with nuclear power. Cont’d on page 2 INTERNATIONAL MARKET

USD$1 =GHC 5.7027

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

POLICY RATE

14.5%

NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4% OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

0.9% GHC 5.13

he Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) has issued guarantee cover for loans of about GH¢66m given by financial institutions to agribusinesses.

CORN $/BUSHEL COCOA $/METRIC TON COFFEE $/POUND:

Cont’d on page 3 Follow us online:

$41.26 2.622 1,922.57 329.50 $2,339.27 $109.65

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Editorial / News

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Editorial Women representation not encouraging, Mr. President

n Thursday, January 21, President Akufo-Addo unveiled the first set of ministerial nominees for his second term of office. The nominees comprised 30 regular ministers and 16 regional ministers, with 19 regular ministers maintaining their portfolios. Out of this number, eight were women, a number which is frighteningly disappointing given the President’s acclaimed gender champion status. Historically, female representation in Cabinet positions in government has been very encouraging although the same cannot be said about legislative representation where the country lags behind. The previous Akufo-Addo administration, however, started with five women out of 19

Cabinet positions, and judging by the previous composition of Cabinet, this number is likely to reduce further. While making a case for an increased women representation in Parliament as a means of achieving the equitable level of political representation is very useful, the fact is power is concentrated in the executive arm of government. The female representation in Akufo-Addo’s Cabinet stood at 26 percent – far below what pertains in other countries such as Ethiopia and Rwanda which boasts of at least 50 percent representation. This paper believes that the President can do better. With the Presidency earlier on indicating that the number of appointees will not exceed 85, that leaves an outstanding 45 nominees.

The least the President can do now is to use the deputy ministerial positions as a pathway for women to increase their representation in the executive arm. It is true that the overall number of female representation in Parliament has dwindled but the quality and competence of those remaining has never been in doubt. In any case, the President is not enjoined to only focus his appointment only on Parliamentarians. He has a wider pool of the Ghanaian population to choose from should he decide that he needs the numbers in Parliament to help push the government’s agenda owing to delicate parliamentary numbers. Over to you, Mr. President.

Push for nuclear power ill-advised, IES says Continued from cover

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“The institute sees the push for nuclear power as backward, given that times have changed to favour solar and wind energies, instead of nuclear power, based on economics, safety and security risks, and investment hurdles,” IES said. Government argues that the establishment of a nuclear plant will guarantee the provision of regular and cheap power to push the nation’s industrialisation agenda. However, the IES said it finds government’s claim as flawed and not reflecting recent changes in the global power space. It said its analysis, based on time to build, costs per kilowatthour, investment uptake and risk in relation to renewable sources of energy, has found that nuclear energy—once thought of as the primary answer to the world’s renewable energy drive—is today presenting itself as unfavourable in comparison with solar and wind alternatives.

“Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard have revealed that generating electricity from wind and solar is more economical than nuclear. Trend analysis based on Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) between 2010 and 2019 has shown that new unsubsidised wind and solar power are cheaper than some already running resources like coal, nuclear, and some gas,” the institute added. For instance, it said Lazard’s data show an unsubsidised utility-scale solar power plant

generating electricity at a cost between 3.6 and 4.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (¢/kWh), with mean value of 4.0 ¢/kWh. Meanwhile, it said nuclear, according to Lazard, can generate unsubsidised power at rates between 11.8 and 19.2 cents per kilowatt-hour (¢/kWh), with mean value of 15.5 ¢/kWh. “Between 2010 and 2019, the cost per megawatt-hour of nuclear has risen by 61 percent, while utility-scale solar power has fallen by approximately 84 percent between the same period,” IES said in its analysis.

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Akufo-Addo retains Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister Continued from cover contained in a list of 46 ministerial nominees released by the Office of the President on Thursday. The nominees comprised 30 regular ministers and 16 regional ministers, with 19 regular ministers maintaining their portfolios. As Finance Minister during the last four years, Mr. Ofori-Atta oversaw a surge in Ghana’s annual economic growth to an average of 7 percent and a fall in inflation to a single digit, before the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020. He also led the government’s economic response to the pandemic, launching the GH¢100bn Ghana CARES Obaatanpa programme to stabilise, revitalise and transform the country’s economy in the aftermath of the pandemic. His tenure was however rocked by the botched Agyapa Royalties deal, which sought to monetize the country’s future mineral royalties through the listing of a state-owned special purpose vehicle, Agyapa Royalties Limited, on the London Stock Exchange. The controversial deal, which

became a topical issue ahead of the December 2020 elections and led to the resignation of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor, will feature significantly in the vetting process. Other nominees The President maintained Alan Kyerematen as Trade and Industry Minister-designate. Mr. Kyerematen, whose ministry was instrumental in winning Ghana the bid to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is expected to lead the country’s quest to make the most of the landmark free trade agreement. Other returning ministers are

Albert Kan Dapaah (National Security), Dominic Nitiwul (Defence), Ambrose Dery (Interior), Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration), Osei KyeiMensah-Bonsu (Parliamentary Affairs), Ursula OwusuEkuful (Communications and Digitalisation), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto (Food and Agriculture), Kwaku Agyemang Manu (Health), Kwasi Amoako-Atta (Roads and Highways), Kwaku Ofori Asiamah (Transport), Cecilia Abena Dapaah (Sanitation and Water Resources), Ignatius Baffuor Awuah (Employment and Labour Relations), and Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (Information). Four Regional Ministers have

also retained their positions. Former Energy Minister John Peter Amewu has been nominated to the Railway Development Ministry. Currently, a number of railway projects are ongoing, such as the Tema-Akosombo railway line. With the President promising to expand the country’s railway network, he believes Mr. Amewu is the right person to lead the drive. Educationist and former Deputy Education Minister Dr. Yaw Adutwum has been elevated to the position of Minister for Education pending Parliament’s approval. Dr. Adutwum’s former boss, Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, is heading to the Energy Ministry, where government has struggled to deal with a huge debt overhang and to renegotiate costly power purchase agreements signed during the Mahama-led administration. A former Deputy AttorneyGeneral and Justice Minister, Godfred Dame, has been elevated to the top job, while Joseph Cudjoe, a former Deputy Minister for Energy, has been nominated as Minister of Public Enterprises.

GIRSAL guarantees GH¢66m of credit to agribusinesses Continued from cover This was made known by Ken Ofori -Atta, the President’s nominee for Minister of Finance, in a speech read on his behalf by the former Minister of Planning, Prof. George Gyan-Baffour, at the 72nd Annual New Year School and Conference in Accra. GIRSAL, which was established by the Bank of Ghana in 2016 and is now owned by the Ministry of Finance, has signed agreements with 14 financial institutions through which the guarantees were issued to secure loans for the agricultural sector. GIRSAL’s catalytic role in mobilising private sector financing for agriculture is projected to be critical to the success of government initiatives such as the One District One Factory (1D1F) programme. Given that a key precursor for the 1D1F is the production

of agricultural raw materials, GIRSAL’s financing guarantees stand as vital to securing the volumes of agricultural commodities required to power the initiative. GIRSAL’s support is expected to enable 1D1F to champion agroprocessing through promoting

the setting up of factories or revamping underperforming factories. According to the 1D1F Secretariat, the initiative has yielded about 170 factories at different stages of completion. Out of this number, a total of 28 factories have been completed

and are operating fully as direct 1D1F projects, while 31 factories are under construction. Additionally, government has partnered the private sector to either revive or expand 48 existing factories, bringing the total number of operational factories to 76.

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

News

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Majority fears NDC caucus’ posture may lead to ‘meltdown’ By Eugene Davis

he posture of the NDC group in parliament is dangerous for the country’s democracy, with a likely economic “meltdown” should things persist, the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamena AfenyoMarkin, has said. At a press conference on Wednesday, the Deputy Majority Leader said the NDC intends to obstruct government business and appears unwilling to acknowledge the majority status of the NPP and the independent Member of Parliament for Fomena. “We want to contend that the NPP and the independent Member of Parliament have formed the majority caucus; therefore the leader of this caucus becomes the majority leader, and we expect our colleagues to respect this position, even if it is one that gives us that supremacy in terms of numerical strength.

“We would also want to invite Mr. Speaker to hold this view as such so that there would be consistency in how we are addressed,” Mr. Afenyo-Markin said. He added that much as the majority group is ready to build consensus, we “see signs of ambushing, we see signs where

the NDC Minority is up to some game of frustrating government business.” With Parliament expected to vet the President’s ministerial nominees, as well as consider and approve the 2021 budget when it is presented, the behaviour of the NDC side could affect the smooth running of the country,

he warned. According to analysts, President Akufo-Addo will face a difficult second term as the economy struggles to emerge from the coronavirus-induced shock, which has hammered the public finances and increased the country’s debt stock. Last year, the government launched the GH₵100bn Ghana Cares programme to facilitate recovery from the pandemic.

Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Leader of the Majority Group (middle), is flanked on his left by Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Deputy Leader.

Akwasi Agyeibi Prempeh appointed Commissioner for newly established AIB

resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed Akwasi Agyeibi Prempeh as the Commissioner for the newly established Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIB) to spearhead the operationalisation of the institution. Mr. Prempeh comes to the job with an overwhelming experience within the aviation industry which is expected to be leveraged to drive the aspirations and mandate of the bureau. “The Aviation Ministry congratulates him [Mr. Prempeh] on his appointment and recognises his many years of hard work and dedicated service. We wish him well on his new appointment,” the letter from the ministry announcing the appointment indicated. The establishment of the AIB was in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and its primary objective is to investigate, prevent, regulate and oversee the management of aircraft accidents and incidents that occur in the country and to provide related

matters. Following the passage of the Aircraft Accident and Incident Act, 2020 (Act 1028) and its assent by President Akufo-Addo, the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIB) was set up as an autonomous agency under the Ministry of Aviation. Mr. Prempeh holds Msc. in

Transport Planning from the University of Leeds, UK and Bsc. in Planning from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. He also pursued other air transport related competencybased courses and professional programmes including Aircraft Accident Investigation and Response course at Cranfield

University, UK in 2019. Mr. Prempeh has been the coordinator for the Accident Investigation Unit in the Ministry for the past two years and has an overall and deep knowledge as well as working experience in the aviation sector for the past 10 years. He has been part of the investigation of aircraft accidents in Ghana. Mr. Prempeh, played an instrumental role in the run-up to the ICAO Validated Coordinated Mission (ICVM) from March to April, 2019 which culminated in Ghana’s achievement of the highest score of 89.89%, an enviable record on the African continent for safety and security. He also featured prominently in the research and analysis phase and also coordinated the drafting of the AIB Bill which was recently passed by Parliament for the establishment of the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau. The appointed officer is also professionally affiliated to several ICAO institutions and Regional Organizations. He is a member of the Banjul Accord Group Accident

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

News

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Prof. Adom-Frimpong elected new PIAC Chairman

he Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has elected Prof. Kwame Adom-Frimpong as its new chairman, taking over from Noble Wadzah. Prof. Adom-Frimpong, who represents the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) on the Committee, was elected in a unanimous decision by the Committee, drawn from 13 nominating institutions. He would steer the affairs of PIAC as Chairman for one year, having taken over from Mr Wadzah, whose membership tenure on the Committee expired at the end of last year. Commenting on his election as Chairman of PIAC, Prof. AdomFrimpong expressed gratitude to all committee members for the confidence reposed in him and pledged his commitment to ensure that PIAC, the statutory body with oversight responsibility of the management and use of the country’s petroleum revenues, delivered effectively on its mandate. Prof. Adom-Frimpong is a graduate of the University of Wales, Bangor, UK (MBA) and the University of London. He obtained his Doctorate degree

Prof Kwame Adom- Frimpong (right), Chairman of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) receiving the handing over notes from Mr Noble Wadzah, Outgone Chairman of PIAC.

in Business Administration (DBA-Finance option) in 2001 from University for Professional Studies, Arcadia, USA and again had PhD in Economics Finance from the same University in 2004. Prof. Adom-Frimpong is currently the Managing Director of Mainstream Reinsurance Company and a Partner of Adom Boafo & Associates, a firm of Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants.

He worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers for five years as Audit Supervisor, five years with SSNIT as Head of Audit and ABC Brewery Company as Senior Cost and Management Accountant for four years. Prof. Adom-Frimpong qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990, and is the immediate past President of the Institute of Chartered of Accountants Ghana (ICAG). He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Bankers

(FCIB) and the Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (FCIIG). He is also a Barrister-at-Law and a member of the Ghana Bar Association. Professor Akosua K. Darkwah was also elected as the Vice Chairperson of PIAC, a position she previously held. Prof. Darkwah is an Associate Professor of Sociology and current Head of Department of Sociology at the University of Ghana.

Draft policy on ECOWAS monitoring and evaluation awaits approval

draft policy document with the title ECOWAS Monitoring and Evaluation Policy, has been recommended by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers for approval by the ECOWAS Heads of Government. Ministers in charge of Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation Experts of ECOWAS countries recommended the draft policy document for more robust Monitoring and Evaluation of the impact of projects and programmes implemented in Member States. The recommendation came at a virtual Ministerial meeting organised in Accra and chaired by the former Minister of Planning, Professor George Gyan-Baffour. Ministers of fourteen Members of ECOWAS countries as well as Monitoring and Evaluation Experts were present at the meeting. Also present were the Heads of the National ECOWAS Offices in Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Head of the ECOWAS National Office in Ghana, Mr. Mohammed Nurudeen Ismaila, welcomed the delegates on

President’s Representative at the Ministry of Planning, Professor George Gyan-Baffour

behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also the Chairman of ECOWAS Commission. He noted that effective monitoring is critical for the successful implementation of projects. He urged participants to make

solid contributions towards the improvement of the policy document and recommend it to the Council of Ministers for endorsement. Opening the meeting, Professor Gyan-Baffour underscored the importance of a sound Monitoring and Evaluation

Policy that would provide clear answers to the legitimate questions of community citizens about the impact of projects and programmes on their daily lives.” He noted the growing need for tactful strategic planning at the national and sub-regional levels, to ensure more efficient use of available resources. He also emphasised the need to uphold more than before, the principles of the regional integration agenda of the ECOWAS, based on solidarity, complementarity and subsidiarity. Prof. Gyan-Baffour commented that, the adoption of this policy document, signifies the importance of Monitoring and Evaluation in the sub-region’s development trajectory. He further stressed that, the principles underpinning Monitoring and Evaluation, including transparency, accountability, timeliness, utilisation and participation, must be adhered to in the use of the ECOWAS Monitoring and Evaluation Policy.

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

FBN Bank Agent Banking sets to deepen financial inclusion

inancial institutions in Africa seek to create innovative value propositions and customer-friendly products and services, not only to generate client enrolments but also to bring populations into the financial mainstream for greater socio-economic good. Financial inclusion remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Building payment and banking networks using the traditional brick-and-mortar approach is a very arduous task. Easily accessible financial products provided by delivering flexible value-added services at nontraditional bank locations has become a solution to financial inclusion at all levels. In the developing world, markets are fragmented and a large part of the population is dispersed. Financial literacy is still low, especially among lowincome segments and branch penetration is still poor. Financial institutions have realized the lack of sufficient service points in remote and rural markets; however, new branch and ATM infrastructure costs are expensive, especially considering the high-volume, low-value transactions, specific for such markets. The consequences are congested branches and limited scalability opportunities. Agent banking has subsequently been positioned as a channel for providing that far-reaching and low-cost access to financial services for the underbanked populations of society. This initiative takes banking closer to the immediate vicinity or doorstep of semi urban and rural dwellers. Customers and non-customers of financial institutions can now safely visit agents in their own vicinity at their own convenience, at extended service hours. A segment of the bankable population can now conveniently deposit and withdraw funds, make insurance premium payments and pay bills, even with no formal ID thanks to the integration of biometrics into the services provided by financial institutions. Agents have become the focal point for driving awareness of the agent banking channel and the services being provided by financial institutions, acquiring new customers and providing assistance to customers where needed.

Today, due to technology it is not surprising that thirdparty agents and merchants have become an integral part of the digital financial service ecosystem, especially in developing markets like Ghana. For many customers in Ghana, Agent banking has become a channel-of-choice due to the convenience it offers, especially in terms of proximity to customer residence or business. This growing acceptance of the model and its self-service nature is gradually leading to a shift from branch banking in Ghana. Some financial institutions have taken the lead in this and are at the point of expanding their agents’ portfolio beyond basic cash in/out transactions into customer onboarding, E-loans, Bill payments and more. FBNBank Ghana Limited, one of the fastest-growing banks in the country, has introduced its Agent banking channel in a move to drive financial inclusion and to expand its reach by offering affordable and convenient

banking to Ghanaians. The Bank is riding on the success story of its parent bank, FirstBank of Nigeria Limited which successfully implemented this initiative, FirstMonie, in Nigeria in 2017. With over 67,000 Agents in operation, the FirstMonie agents are providing world-class financial services through cutting edge technology deployed by the Bank. FBNBank Ghana is migrating this best practise by partnering with existing businesses in various locations across the country to build a network of agents who will operate “agencies” that will offer selected banking services to customers. This initiative aligns with a statement in the World Bank economic updates for Ghana in its 2019 report which states that; “with the use of innovative technology and approaches, universal financial access is an attainable target in Ghana.” FBNBank Ghana Limited is therefore poised to bridge the gap between the banked and

unbanked population through the successful implementation of the Agent banking channel which is supported by a robust technology infrastructure. The Bank is confident that the successful roll-out of the Agent banking channel will lead to an increase in the institution’s capacity to provide convenient banking services to existing and potential customers around the country. The Bank will be working in partnership with Corporates, SMEs, and Individuals to take banking to the communities within Ghana. This partnership will also provide additional revenue streams for the lowincome earners living within the various target communities. The innovative service offerings available on the platform include: Account Opening, Cash Deposit, Cash Withdrawal (FBNBank and Other Banks), Funds Transfer (FBNBank and Other Banks), Mobile Money services and Value-Added Services such as airtime top-up, bills payment, remittance, card services, etc. Currently, FBNBank Ghana’s agents are located in the AccraTema Metropolis, Adum, Suame and Techiman. The bank is working on enrolling more agents in other regional and district capitals of the country onto the FBNBank Ghana Agent Banking platform. The FBN Bank Agent network is modelled on the FirstMonie brand which controls the largest agent banking network in Nigeria. Through this brand, the FirstBank Group, the parent company of FBNBank Ghana, is offering innovative products to meet the changing needs of our customers in the informal economy in West Africa. The FirstBank Group remains a most formidable and experienced Bank in Africa with over 126 years of impeccable banking services availed to its customers. Drawing from our parent’s indepth knowledge and banking experience that spans over a century, our various pioneering experiences in electronic banking transaction processing, and strategic alliances with key service providers and processors, FBNBank remains committed to bringing its experience to bear in achieving quantum leaps in the provision of financial services in Ghana.

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana, Code for Afrika e.V., Germany collaborate to promote coding among Ghanaian kids

By Richard Kafui Amanfu

earning to code is a basic literacy in the digital age, and it is important for kids to understand and be able to work with the technology around them. Learning to code prepares kids for the future. To understand and change our modern world, children need at least basic coding skills. As part of our objectives, we at the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana believe in the “early start”. In this regard, we, in collaboration with Code for Afrika e.V., Germany, have started the “Coding Education in Ghana Project” to promote coding in Ghana. The idea of the project is to use established approaches to enhance computer science education in Ghana. The project’s main goal is to build teachers’ and trainers’ capacity to support Ghana’s coding education. Our partner Code for Afrika e.V. is a non-profit diaspora organisation from Germany that promotes technological and entrepreneurial awareness among migrant communities in German and Africa. Through this project, teachers will be introduced to the Code it! platform. The platform is developed by one of the partner start-ups of the Code for Afrika e.V., Code it Studios. The “Code it!” learning platform will be used for the training; the platform was developed especially for teaching coding in schools. Children and beginners can learn to program easily and playfully on this platform. Code it! teaches basic programming concepts through online courses, live web seminars, and other child-friendly

formats. The approach of Code it! is to put children’s interests at the centre and convey programming through playful projects such as computer games, animations, or quizzes. To make it easier to get started with programming, it uses a visual programming language. The learning platform offers different approaches for teaching programming: selflearning courses, child-friendly programming editors, ready to use teaching materials, and more. Another goal of the project is to customise the learning platform for the African context - an offline version will be developed considering the context familiar to its users. We intend to co-create a platform to contextualize the Ghanaian environment, coming in with utmost enthusiasm, and ease of use, application, and understanding. In this sense, making coding easier, adaptable, and applicable for the local user, and different from the traditional way of how coding is presented to young people. Kids in areas with no or limited internet will also have access to the platform to learn coding. In the last 2 to 3 years, the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana and its partners have been engaged in training children from age 6 through to adults the basics of coding. Currently, the organisation has trained well over 3000 kids across the country both in physical classrooms and virtual classrooms. The synergies between IIPGH and Code it Studios will bring classic customisation feel to the kids to learn from a contextual environment. An essential goal of the project is the exchange of knowledge between the partner

organisations. The aim is to train trainers on-site in Ghana who will conduct training workshops themselves in the future using Code it! and gather feedback from the participants on how to develop the platform further. Some of the participants will be IIPGH tutors as well as students, graduates, and other interested participants. Inasmuch as we are concerned with developing young ones through coding skills, we are equally determined to get more female student participants and tutors involved. Until today the field of ICT is very much maledominated. Concerns have been expressed for many years that there are relatively few women who have entered occupations in technology. Thus, efforts are being made to address this problem through this project. We are convinced that it is of central importance for our society’s future to significantly strengthen the proportion of women in this field. Increasing female/girls’ interest in technology education as a way to advance women in technology is our focus. As part of the project, the trainers of IIPGH will be trained to conduct further training workshops in Ghana independently. For this purpose, members of IIPGH will be involved in preparing and implementing the training workshops. The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana over the period has been instrumental in training tutors and teaching all ages how to code. Generally, the organisation seeks to build capacity in emerging technologies. As a non-profit professional association made up of professional members

in various Information and Communication Technology (ICT) practice domains, the organisation forms partnerships with other organisations to deliver training programs to both members and non-members of the Institute. Our seasoned ICT professionals have industry experience in Ghana and International ICT markets and can provide practical training in all domains of Information and Communications Technology. The organisation aims at using its platform to equip professionals and students with skills in emerging technologies needed for entrepreneurship and employment in today’s fast-moving technological world. In addition, IIPGH uses the expertise at its disposal to advise the government and other stakeholders on best practices and public policies that would enable the use of ICT in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Institute is a connector of ICT professionals from Government MDAs, educational institutions, corporate organisations, startups, investors, and civil society organisations to create a vibrant ICT ecosystem. IIPGH and Code for Afrika e.V. seek to win new partners and sponsors to promote and strengthen computer science education in Ghana/West Africa in a sustainable way. Richard Kafui Amanfu – (Director of Operations, Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana) For comments, contact richard. amanfu@iipgh.org or Mobile: +233244357006

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

The Future of Work Capsules: Performance Appraisal is not expected to be a Vindictive Process. Part II By Baptista Sarah Gebu (Mrs.)

appy New Year and for those who have not read part 1 of this article, welcome with me to 2021. I encourage you to be the change you expect to see. Let’s make performance management and the appraisal system a great tool to help coach, mentor, and develop our team instead of making it a vindictive process. The goal planning process for managers and employees ought to consider these steps. First, the manager meets with his/her employees as a team or individually to discuss organizational goals and how they relate to the team/department (if applicable) and the individuals. The manager can request employees to think in advance about their role in accomplishing their goals for the fiscal year. The manager may also share guidance on realistic individual objectives which will help create SMART performance and development goals. Then, discussions to agree on additional resources which would be needed by the employee over the fiscal year under review is a step in the right direction. The manager should be able to document what is needed from the employee and by what time. Committing to having regular check-ins with employees helps a lot. From the employee side also it’s great agreeing only to what he/ her can deliver over the period. The employee must be actively involved in setting the goals – the first draft of goals should start with the employee to his manager. Making sure goals are linked with the organizational strategy set for the evaluation year. If you are in thought, it’s great to weigh in with your supervisor for support and guidance. I recommend that employees think of both necessary and “stretch” goals, which will aid in their growth over the period. Making sure you include development goals that will enhance your skills and position you for long-term career growth as well, which is very necessary. At this time, you communicate with your supervisor about what you need from him/her to be successful in the achievement of your goals. Is there a legal requirement to performance appraisal? Firstly, there is no legal

requirement that a company must have a performance appraisal system. No law compels an organization to review the performance of its members, just as no law requires a company to provide good customer service. Conducting performance reviews, and giving good customer service are simply accepted management practices and very good ideas. If a company does choose to have a performance appraisal system, it must be sure that the system complies with the laws of the country. In the eyes of the law a performance appraisal is an employment test. It is thus scrutinized in a manner similar to that of other aspects of the employment process: initial recruitment, selection and hiring, promotion, compensation, and termination. As a result, the legal requirements for performance appraisal systems are similar to those for other selection tests. How can we make sure our performance appraisal is legally defensible? No appraisal system is immune to legal challenge. Nonetheless, the risk of legal difﬁculties can be minimized if seven basic good management practices are followed. Base the performance appraisal on an analysis of the job. Deﬁne your performance dimensions in behavioral terms and support assessments with observable and objective evidence. Keep things simple. Monitor and audit for discrimination. Train raters to assess performance accurately and to conduct effective appraisal discussions. Provide for uppermanagement review before the appraisal is reviewed with the individual. Furthermore, to ensure our performance appraisal is legally defensible, we must provide some appeal mechanism. What are the manager’s responsibilities in the performance-planning phase of the process? The manager has six primary responsibilities. Four of them you’ll work on before the meeting

with the individual. The other two you’ll accomplish during the meeting. Before the Meeting, the manager must review the organization’s mission statement, or vision and values, and your own department’s goals. Read the individual’s job description. Think about the goals and objectives the person needs to achieve in the upcoming appraisal period. Identify the most important competencies that you expect the individual to demonstrate in performing the job. Determine what you consider to be fully successful performance in each area. During the Meeting, the manager must discuss and come to an agreement with the individual on the most important competencies, key position responsibilities, and goals. The individual also has some responsibilities to perform before, during and after the appraisal process. For the individual –Before the Meeting, the employee must review the organization’s mission statement and your own department’s goals. Review your job description and determine your critical responsibilities. Think about your job and identify the most important goals you feel you should accomplish in the upcoming appraisal period. Think about what you consider to be fully successful performance in each area. Individual -During the Meeting, the employee must discuss and come to an agreement with your appraiser on the most important competencies for your job, key position responsibilities, and goals. Continue to discuss and come to agreement on your personal development plans with your manager. The employee must during this process make full notes on a working copy of the appraisal form or in his/her diary or digital notebook. Keep the original form and give copy to appraiser. It is very important to

understand that; performance goals are linked to your job requirement and defines objectives to be met within your current job role. On the other hand, development goals are linked to career growth and define objectives that provide professional development for the short, medium and long term. Usually, results include actual job outputs, countable products, measurable outcomes and accomplishments, and objectives achieved. Results must deal with what the person achieved. Behaviors then will include competencies, skills, expertise and proﬁciencies, the individual’s adherence to organizational values, and the person’s personal style, manner, and approach. Behaviors deal with how the person went about doing the job. Practicing a shared responsibility between manager and employee during the performance appraisal system establishes commitment, ownership and expectations that are mutually understood. It’s time to start putting the “human” back into human resource practice. As a manager, your employee’s destiny lies in your hands. Be humane and treat people fairly and objectively. Remember, the very people you meet whiles climbing the corporate ladder are the very same people you meet at the top and down while descending the ladder. You may be powerful today, but remember time is more powerful. Performance appraisal is not expected to be a vindictive process, it is a great tool to help coach, mentor, and develop our team. Managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results. About the author Baptista is a human resource professional with a broad generalist background. Building a team of efficient & effective workforce is her business. Affecting lives is her calling! She is a Hybrid Professional, HR Generalist, strategic planner, innovative, professional connector and a motivator. You can reach her via e-mail on forealhrservices@ gmail.com You can follow this conversation on our social media pages Facebook / LinkedIn/ Twitter / Instagram: FoReal HR Services. Call or WhatsApp: +233(0)262213313. Follow the hashtag #theFutureofWorkCapsules #FoWC

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

Biden can pass his China test

By Javier Solana and Eugenio Bregolat

hen the time comes to evaluate US President Joe Biden’s international legacy, one variable will be enormously significant: the relationship that his administration forges with China. Sino-American competition has become the main global geostrategic issue, but its terms are far from being irrevocably defined. Despite their obvious rivalry, the United States and China must try to understand each other, and Biden will certainly act with greater skill, responsibility, and broad-mindedness than his predecessor. This is just as well, because global peace and prosperity in the twentyfirst century will depend on the quality of the world’s most important bilateral relationship. US-China cooperation is indispensable in resolving major global challenges, from the latent risk of a nuclear holocaust to climate change, international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and pandemics. At the same time, competition is unavoidable – and even welcome – in trade, technology, space, sports, and many other fields. For such a complex relationship to work well, both powers must agree on a common set of rules, instead of trying to impose their own unilaterally. Identifying multilateral channels that could revive the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization is particularly urgent. Another priority is to establish cyberspace norms that would prevent massive electronic-piracy operations like the recently discovered SolarWinds hack in the US, which appears to be the work of Russia. A relationship built on cooperation and competition must exclude the open

confrontation sought by Trump and his hawks. Caricaturing China as an existential threat, the Trump administration launched a tariff and technology war that the Chinese government inevitably fought blow for blow. In an open letter published in 2019, 100 leading US foreignpolicy and security experts worried that treating China as if it were an enemy destroys strategic trust and paves the way to its becoming one. As Jake Sullivan (Biden’s national security adviser) and Kurt M. Campbell (the designated White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific region) warn, this vicious circle might very well end in catastrophe. That danger recalls one of President John F. Kennedy’s most memorable speeches, just five months before his death in 1963. Having seen how the previous year’s Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the edge of an existential abyss, Kennedy became convinced that competing peacefully with the Soviet Union was a categorical imperative. Drawing on fundamental notions of human solidarity, he spoke of peace as “the necessary rational end of rational men.” As Kennedy well knew, “mutually assured destruction” is not an absolute guarantee of peace if leaders take the path of confrontation. Although today’s situation is very different from the Cold War, the US and China should take note and find a modus vivendi before a new abyss appears. In this regard, it is vital that US promotion of democracy and human rights – on which Biden is wise to insist – is carried out in a calm, consistent, and sensible manner. Efforts to safeguard liberal democracy are essential, as are those aimed at preventing serious human-rights violations. But this is different from trying to impose values or enforce conduct through “regime change,” as some senior Trump administration officials seemed to favor with

respect to China. Moreover, the US will not demonstrate real commitment to these values by wielding them opportunistically or selectively, as occurred during Trump’s presidency. In his splendid 2011 book On China, Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state and national security adviser, details the Sino-American rapprochement that he helped to forge a half-century ago. Kissinger recalls that in 1972, during the first trip by a US president to communist China, Richard Nixon told Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai: “We know you believe deeply in your principles, and we believe deeply in our principles. We do not ask you to compromise your principles, just as you would not ask us to compromise ours.” Kissinger adds: “If adoption of American principles of governance is made the central condition for progress in all other areas of the relationship, deadlock is inevitable.” This conclusion remains no less valid today. The best way for America to promote democracy and human rights is to lead by “the power of our example,” as Biden underlined in his inaugural address. That will require the US to repair the domestic damage caused by Trump – which culminated in his incitement of the violent insurrection at the Capitol earlier this month – and restore the values of civil coexistence. Doing so would enable America to regain the “soft power” that has historically represented one of the main pillars of its international influence. Likewise, Biden is aware that it is counterproductive to force other countries to choose sides between the US and China, as Trump occasionally tried to do. Most countries today depend on both superpowers either economically or in security terms, so they prefer to steer clear of disputes and explore

compatibilities. Although China’s Asia-Pacific neighbors hope that the US will retain its regional presence, they and China recently signed the hugely important Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – the world’s largest free-trade agreement in terms of population and GDP, and the first ever to include China, Japan, and South Korea. The European Union, meanwhile, has already developed an ambitious agenda for collaboration with the Biden administration that is fully compatible with exercising its “strategic autonomy.” At the end of 2020, the European Commission did just that by concluding a comprehensive investment agreement with China. The US-China relationship is “too big to fail.” Because continued deterioration would bring unacceptable risks for them and the entire world, both countries should seize the opportunity to put relations on a new footing. The framework for peaceful coexistence that Biden and his team hope to find will require maintaining a fine balance between principles and realities. To be sure, combining competition with cooperation will not always be easy, but the new US administration is perfectly capable of passing this critical, era-defining test. About the authors Javier Solana, a former EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, secretarygeneral of NATO, and foreign minister of Spain, is President of EsadeGeo – Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics and Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Eugenio Bregolat, a former Spanish ambassador to China, is an EsadeGeo Senior Fellow and the author of The Second Chinese Revolution.

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Markets

FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021

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Markets

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FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2021