Business24 Newspaper 5th October, 2020 by Business24 Online

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MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

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MONDAY OCT0BER 5, 2020

Cocobod targets 1m tonnes in 3yrs ‘Be daring enough to invest in uncommon mining sectors’ By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

former CEO of Chamber of Mines, Dr. Tony Aubyn has called on indigenous mining entrepreneurs to venture into uncommon areas such as bauxite, manganese and iron ore in order to optimise the potential in those sectors. Cont’d on page 3

Dr Mckorley launches second edition of McDan entrepreneurship challenge

Joseph Boahen Aidoo, CEO of Cocobod

By Benson AFFUL affulbenson@gmail.com

ocobod is targeting raising the country’s cocoa production to about one million tonnes in the next three years following the introduction of the cocoa farm rehabilitation programme to reverse the devastation caused by the cocoa swollen shoot disease. Currently, about 40 percent

-- 400,000 hectares -- of the country’s cocoa farms in major growing areas have been affected by the CSSVD and rendered unproductive, thereby impeding government’s efforts to achieve annual projected production targets. The government, through the cocoa rehabilitation programme, which was launched by President Nana Akufo-Addo about a fortnight ago, is to ensure that all

ECONOMIC INDICATORS *EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

*POLICY RATE

unhealthy cocoa trees are cut down and replanted. John Ahi, District Technical Officer, Cocobod, Buoko District of the Sefwi Wiawso Municipal Assembly, told the Business24 that about 30,000 hectares of cocoa tress will be cut down in the Western North Region of which 10,000 hectares have been done already. Cont’d on page 2

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4% OF GDP

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

Cont’d on page 3

INTERNATIONAL MARKET USD$1 =GHC 5.6734* 14.5%*

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE

ighty budding entrepreneurs have been shortlisted in the second edition of the McDan Entrepreneurship Challenge, a programme designed to groom entrepreneurs.

0.9% GHC 5.13*

CORN $/BUSHEL

329.50

COCOA $/METRIC TON

$2,620

COFFEE $/POUND:

$109.65

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NEWS/EDITORIAL Editorial / News

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2020 MONDAY OCTOMBER 14 5, 2020

EDITORIAL Editorial

Pay before boarding order needs a rethink Cocobod needs support to achieve 1m target

Wash your hands 2

Cover your cough 3

The new directive for all passengers to pay for their ocobod’s ambition COVID-19 online before to test increase cocoatheir arrival production at Kotoka from International the Airportcurrent has been 900,000 meet with resentment metric tonnes by to airlines a million and passengers. tonnes in the next three years represents bold decision. At a timea when passengers are It also begs question still coming tothe terms with the of support for the country’s US$150 � GHC 900� mandatory cocoa regulator and farmers payment for COVID-19 test upon particular, given that if more arrival at KIA, the new directive ishas done by waymore of increase generated debate.in prices for purchase of cocoa Passengers travelling to Ghana beans and other incentives, it will from Tuesday, September will go a long way to motivate 15 be farmer. required to make online the payments the mandatory Also, if thefor farmers adhere C O V I D 1 9 t e s t practices at Ko to k a to best agronomic International Airport prior to such as pruning and using boarding of their flight, the right fertilizer in time of a d i r e attack c t i v eonbfarms, y F r othey ntier virus H e a l t h C a r e � t h e c o m pany will reap proper yields and contracted to carry out can weather the virus storm. the antigen test at KIA--to airlines Furthermore, the all talk on Friday has revealed. of irrigation support for B y tshould h e n enot w just d i r be e c tai v e , farmers “Passengers areshould required to show lip service but come proof of payment to airlines to fruition to enable these as a cocoa growing farm lands to have access to water for their farms. It will be recalled Cocobod

condition for boarding of flights to KIA.” downward by 16 revised percent cocoa crop target T h e the new d i re c t ive , has –however, from 950,000 metric tonnes been described by to 850,000 tonnes to for the airlines as metric detrimental the 2019/2020 crop season. renewed efforts to stimulate However, thetravel, new given cropthat demand for air season for 2020/2021 which cash payments remains the has just commenced willpayment see predominant mode of Cocobod hoping to produce for most Ghanaian travelers. 900,000metric tonnes An airline operator following the approval of awho wishes to remain anonymous, US$1.3bn syndicated loan. told Business24isthat targeting “The cost is Cocobod already too high and now this raising the country’s new policy is also going to be cocoa production to about ione m p l emillion m e n t e d .tonnes T h e r e ina r e hundreds of Ghanaian traders the next three years with who travel to buy goods to retail the introduction of the in the country. cocoa farm rehabilitation programme to reverse the any “Most of them don� t carry devastation caused cards by the electronic payment to be cocoa shoot They disease. able toswollen pay online. should Currently, about have the flexibility to pay40cash when they arrive.” hectares percent -- 400,000 -- The of the country’sProtection cocoa Consumer farms in major growing Agency � CPA� has also raised areas have been affected critical questions aboutby the the CSSVD and rendered relatively high cost of the unproductive, thereby impeding government’s efforts to achieve annual projected production targets.

country� s COVID-19 testing regime. The government, through the rehabilitation The cocoa CPA� s Chief Executive programme, whichsaidwas Officer, Kofi Kapito, in as launched bygovernment President Nana much as the want to Akufo-Addo aboutcases a fortnight curb imported of the ago, is to ensure respiratory disease, itthat mustallnot unhealthy treesbut are charge cut burden thecocoa passenger down and replanted. what is enough to cover their Ghana andto Ivory Coastthe cost and not profit from contribute about 60 passenger. percent of the world’s cocoa “Look around production in Africa the and overyou see that what is paid in Ghana US$100billion chocolate for the test is the highest. Why industry. should that be� ” The government has allocated over US$200m of He also raised questions about the US$600m syndicated why the Noguchi Memorial loan facility it secured from of Institute for Medical Research the African Development the University of Ghana, was not Bank to (AfDB) to the the testing national made handle for a rehabilitationfee programme. reasonable but rather a We at given Business24 contract to a urge foreign government’s company to docommitment what Noguchi could handle. and adequately support to Cocobod byBusiness24 way of initiatives would like such to urge as the much talkedthat about a flexible approach allows pension scheme needs be passengers to either payto online expedited to get the farmers or cash on arrival. a secured future for their labor.

COVID-19: Banks deferred GH¢3bn in loan repayments CONTINUED FROM COVER

Cocobod targets 1m tonnes in 3yrs Wear a mask Brought to you by

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that the desired outcomes are achieved and the economy brought back on track.” Continued from scover Mr. Awuah� remarks were reinforced by majority of the top He said about 11who million cocoa bank executives responded seedlings have been so to the survey. The replanted respondents advised the Bank of Ghana far and they are expected to startto increase stakeholder consultation harvesting between 3 to 5 years. in“Many order to cocoa propose of the farmsmore are beneficial policies. unproductive and have started experiencing of yields This, theyreduction said, will help due to the so and it is extent very estimate thedisease timelines to which that theaspolicies important a region of andthe a regulatorwewill available. country takeremain drastic action to S o mthe e trend. respondents simply stop thought that there was the need Regional Manager, Cocoa for detailed guidelines from Health and Extension Division the of government and Bank Ghana the Western South CocoaofRegion, on theAsare implement ation of Samuel Ankamah, said as measures putCocobod’s in place tonational curb the part of the impact of the pandemic. rehabilitation programme, the In theirwill view, clearthe guidance regulator manage farms was missing, and though this for a period of two years before c o u lwill d b s h a r eover d dto u rthe ing they bee handed stakeholder consultation, they farmers. could fully isembed the that new This,not he said, to ensure policies in operational strategy proper farming practices are without acomplied detailed with documented constantly and the directive. necessary chemicals are used to ensure the cocoa farms are in a Post-pandemic banking healthy state. “When you look at the When asked firm production now,by youthe canaudit see that about how the pandemic� while Cote d’Ivoire is doing over s

outbreak had transformed their team structures to the new way of operations, the bank chiefs working in order to maximise responded that the immediate efficiencies of digital banking, response to enforce remote less-paper operations two millionwas metric tonnes, we are and Theensure Solidaridad intervention working doing lesswhile than realigning 700,000. workers� and requirements for social roles. In the civil long run, these International society This is due to the fact that most distancing. measures may result in possible While the majority, 69 percent, of our cocoa farms are have been organisation Solidaridad has set layoffs some whose jobs of respondents indicated Rural for Service Centres (RSCs) affected by various diseases that or up become report remote working will become a at hard-toautomated,” reach cocoathe growing unproductive,” he said. said. and have been given permanent option going forward, areas Ghana and Ivory Coast Commenting theup findings there was general consensus that some training toonset modelof contribute about 60 percent of the survey, which was on rethe the new norm will ultimately lead farms in the treatment and the world’s cocoa production in theme “The newCSSVD normal� banks� to the shedding of workers whose establishment infected the chocolate response to of COVID-19”, PwC� s jobsover haveUS$100billion become automated. farms in selected cocoa growing industry. Country Senior Partner, Vish “ M o s t b a n k s i n t e n d t o communities. The government has allocated cautioned for permanently incorporate remote Ashiagbor, The RSCs have becomethat viable over US$200 million of the workers that survive the digital working as an option available to partners to Cocoa Health and US$600 syndicated p ro g re s sDivision i o n , t hey h ave staff based million on their roles. 12.5� of Extension (CHED) in theto loan facility it secured the treatment upgrade their skills to the remain banks confirmed that from they have of CSSVD and reAfrican Bankcontinue (AfDB) establishment relevant. alreadyDevelopment begun and will of affected farms to the national rehabilitation to realign the job roles and work post treatment. programme. Some of the managers of the Last year, government RSCs who spoke to the Business24 projected about 900,000 metric said they have several farms under tonnes of cocoa beans but was their care where they ensure the able to achieve a little over right application of fertilizers to the farms. 700,000 metric tonnes. They also give credit to farmers About two-thirds of the blighted to purchase their farm tools and cocoa area in Ghana, representing some 214,000 hectares were repay when they harvest their found in the Western North produce. Cocoa ADVERTISE WITHHealth US and Extension Region alone. The region, which Division consequently TEL: +233 024 212 2742 have once produced over 330,000 metric tonnes in 2010/2011, is selected RSCs as service providers www.thebusiness24online.net now producing below 150,000 under the government’s cocoa farm rehabilitation initiative. metric tonnes.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

‘Be daring enough to invest in uncommon mining sectors’ Continued from cover He told Business24 in an interview that: “If the Ghanaian mining entrepreneur will be daring enough to go to unconventional areas like bauxite, manganese and iron ore, I think it will be excellent. We need to encourage Ghanaians to go into those unchartered territories.” Although government has demonstrated its commitment by way of policies and regulations in exploring the economic potential in other minerals by setting up the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation and the Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation, the main focus of the country’s mining industry remains largely gold. Ghana is one of the world’s top10 gold producers and the largest in Africa. It is also a producer of bauxite, manganese and diamond and it is these other minerals that Mr. Aubyn wants to gain prominence. These state corporations cannot shoulder all the responsibilities

Former CEO of Chamber of Mines, Dr. Tony Aubyn

and the former Chamber of Mines CEO believes that when a local mining entrepreneur is given the needed support, they can equally rake in millions of dollars for the state by way of foreign exchange.

The current administration in 2019 ramped up its desire to tap into the nation’s other mineral resources particularly bauxite which they saw as the country’s ticket to economic growth thanks

to a big-name partner — China. However, campaigners and water experts raised concerns and indicated that the environmental cost was too high: Mining would taint the water, they claim. Ghana was looking to mine bauxite to in a barter deal with China’s Sinohydro Corp. Limited. Sinohydro was expected to deliver $2 billion worth of infrastructure projects across the country, which Ghana would pay back with proceeds from the sale of the refined bauxite. China is the top buyer of minerals and rocks from Africa, pouring tens of billions of dollars into mining across the continent over the past decade — an investment that has fueled the country’s reign as the world’s largest aluminum producer. The Asian powerhouse remains Africa’s biggest funder of infrastructure projects. It has pledged reams of cash for roads, bridges, power plants and oil refineries. The seemingly grand deal was halted due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic which had to alter government’s plans.

Dr Mckorley launches second edition of McDan entrepreneurship challenge Continued from cover The number was winnowed out of over 14, 000 applicants nationwide. The 80 contestants will be pitching their business ideas and modules to a panel of judges, out of which the overall winner will be selected and awarded a $100, 000 support fund. Mr Daniel Mckorley, Chairman of the McDan Group of Companies, said the programme would develop the competences and skills of the entrepreneurs. He said that was his way of empowering the youth in entrepreneurship and supporting government in providing employment opportunities for the youth, adding that, “the government can’t do it alone, we all need to support it in building the capacities of the youth.” “It’s about the impact we want to create, and build the competences and skills of the youth for a better tomorrow. Unemployment is a major problem of the country, and we

all must do our best and support government to curb it,” he said. Mr Mckorley said the cash prize would help the winner scale up his or her company so as to employ others and make a positive impact in his or her community and the country as a whole, adding that, the rest would receive support from the Ministry of Business Development. Mr Augustine Blay, Executive Secretary to the Vice President of Ghana, called on the private sector to support government in addressing the challenge of youth unemployment. He said government was committed to youth development hence the introduction of youth centred programmes such as the Free Senior High School (SHS), National Builders Corps (NABCO), National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), among others. He said the programmes were having positive impact on the youth in building their competences and creating employment.

“A programe as the Free SHS had over 1.2 million school children on board, whereas NABCO and NEIP were providing employment for the youth and providing them with capital to build their start-ups,” he said. Mr Alhassan Hamza Akoligoh, winner of the first edition of the challenge, advised contestants to be focused and not just be

concerned about winning the prize money but build their skills as well. “Focus on your business and not just the award prize. Your business shouldn’t just be about profit but creating an impact in the lives of others,” he said. GNA

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

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MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

BoG warns against trading of cedi notes and coins

he is or sell one

Bank of Ghana says it illegal for any person institution to buy or Ghana Cedi notes or

coins currently in circulation, regardless of the purpose or intent for such trading. A statement issued in Accra by

Mrs Sandra Thompson, the Bank’s Secretary, said the Bank wished to inform and remind the public, that it was the only institution with the right to issue and redeem Ghana Cedi notes and coins in Ghana, according to Article 183 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and section 35 of the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612) as amended. It said any person, who bought or sold or attempted to buy or sell any Ghana Cedi note or coin at or for a lower rate than its face value or for an amount exceeding the face value, committed an offence. The statement said perpetrators would be liable upon

summary conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or to a fine not exceeding 2000 penalty units or both, in accordance with the Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242) as amended. “The Central Bank, therefore, informs the public that all persons engaged in the activity of selling (online or otherwise) of Ghana Cedi notes or coins currently in circulation, must desist from doing so immediately. It said such person were prohibited from further engaging in such trades, with immediate effect. However, the statement said the notice was not applicable to persons, who engaged in money exchange for the purpose of making some denominations available to others who needed them.

Let’s unite to reduce road accidents by 50% - Transport Minister

he Minister for Transport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has called on all Ghanaians, especially, stakeholders in the transport sector, to come together and work to reduce road accidents in the country to the barest minimum as the country goes to the polls on December 7 with Christmas festivities also just around the corner. He has in effect, directed the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) to activate a provision in the Road Traffic Regulation 2012, L.I. 2180, that places a responsibility on commercial drivers to have a mandatory 30 minutes rest after every four hours of driving. The call and directive to the DVLA and NRSA form part of government’s efforts to meet the target set globally by the United Nations (UN) to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries to by 50% by the year 2020. Addressing stakeholders in the transport sector at the launch of Quality Bus Services’ known among the locals as ‘Azay ye mfo bi’, commissioning of a new DVLA office as well as the launch of this year’s comprehensive nationwide road safety campaign dubbed ‘Arrive Alive’ at an event in Takoradi on Thursday, October 1, 2020, Mr. Asiamah said the target set by the UN is achievable and urged all to give a helping hand. “The United Nations has set a new global target for road safety in line with theme, ‘Achieving Global Goals 2030’ to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. Under this global

goal, Ghana is seeking to reduce road deaths and injuries from the current average of 2,000 fatalities and about 10,000 injuries per year by 50%. Achieving these targets is possible if we put in place the necessary strategies and structures, including adequate investment in public education, road engineering and emergency response to victims of road traffic crashes”, he noted. Hon. Asiamah further told the gathering that there are key provisions in the Road Traffic Regulations 2012, L. I. 2180, that are yet to be implemented. He therefore, directed the DVLA and the NRSA to work together to ensure that the regulations including provisions on commercial transport operators, speeding and mandatory rest periods for drivers are implemented to the latter to reduce the carnage on the road. The ‘Quality Bus Services’ initiative which is currently being piloted under the auspices of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, is to help deal with the obvious transportation challenges in the metropolis. The buses, according to the Transport Minister, will be deployed on the following routes: Takoradi to Apowa, Takoradi to Shama, Takoradi to Sekondi, and Takoradi to Kwesimintsim. “Our commitment is to ensure that at least, majority of the travelling public within the urban areas travel by some means of mass transportation”, he underscored. He said some sections of the

routes would be dedicated solely for use by buses during the cause of the pilot and therefore, appealed to motorist to respect the dedicated priority lanes since the success of the bus service depends to a large extent, on adherence to operational procedures. Touching on the new DVLA edifice, Mr. Asiamah said the building was a demonstration of the Authority’s commitment to deliver excellent services to its clients in a more conducive environment. “You would agree with me that, the reportage about DVLA is now not about “goro boys” an unnecessary delays but one of good practices. I believe that the ongoing reforms coupled with the introduction of the state-of-the-art equipment in testing of drivers and vehicles have propelled the Authority to achieve this feat. Ghanaians can now access services within the shortest possible time without any difficulty”, he noted. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of DVLA, Kwasi Agyeman Busia, commenting on the edifice said “the Takoradi DVLA office is one of the 29 soon to be 32 offices and over 20 additional sub-by offices with 27 vehicle testing stations, soon to be 31 in operation across the country. This translates into approximately 92 DVLA service related outfits in the country. “Our goal is to relentlessly, make our services accessible to all regardless of wherever a vehicle or a driver may be in the country.” “The inauguration of this

office, joins the catalogue of infrastructure improvement and innovations that we have introduced in recent times. We will continue to find new ways to optimize our services and be consistent with our persistent strategic theme of leveraging, people process and technology”, he added. Mr. Busia revealed that the Commission has planned to outdoor additional three new offices before the end of the year in Axim, Effiduase and Kumawu in the Ashanti Region.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

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MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

45 Shea-based SMEs trained with support from EU- funded initiative

he West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP)-Ghana, a programme funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), through its support to the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) has trained 45 shea-based SMEs on branding and marketing in Accra. The training was attended by small-and medium-scale companies producing shea-based cosmetic products including soaps, creams, hair products, and shea butter. The topics focused on exploring effective digital marketing platforms to identify buyers of shea-based products, understanding marketing investments for tomorrow, developing the right marketing mix for shea products and creating a brand positioning to enhance business export competitiveness. As part of the programme, there was a B2B forum where the SMEs interacted with commercial attaché representing various export markets for shea buyers and retailers from the Ghanaian German Economic Association, Canada Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Sweden Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Ghana-

India Trade Advisory Chamber, UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce and African Exporter.com. The GSA through WACOMP’s Sub-Contracting Matching Scheme is implementing a project which will help increase the quality of products, increase productivity through training, encourage cluster development and upgrade of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) capacities. The GSA and the WACOMPGhana collaboration are providing technical assistance to stakeholders in the Cosmetic and Personal Care Products Value Chain and help improved cosmetics and personal care products of about 50 SMEs increase sales, profits, and jobs. The Sub-Contracting Matching Scheme is part of WACOMP’s intervention strategy where Associations, Firms and Networks are supported to implement activities that are innovative and complementary to WACOMP’s objectives. Mr. Aaron Adu, Managing Director of Global Shea Alliance in a welcome address said the training programme was designed to identify different marketing approaches that companies can utilize without necessarily having to hire specialists such as social media experts but leverage online

influencers to promote their products. “Many entrepreneurs don’t have an employee dedicated to marketing but are rather doing it themselves. This training will therefore provide the SMEs with the skills to do it right and also have the opportunity to reach a wider audience through digital marketing”, he said. Mr. Charles Kwame Sackey, Chief Technical Advisor of WACOMP – Ghana encouraged participants to make use of the skills being impacted through the GSA to be able to also connect

to other markets virtually to increase their domestic sales and export. “It is products that we sell that brings money and not those that are in warehouses’. So WACOMP works with institutions to ensure that Ghanaian products meet various quality requirements and use the appropriate branding and marketing channels to attract the right customers both in local and international markets and on various market shelves in the supermarkets and shops,” he said.

Support for private sector key to national growth – Dr Adjei

e said the private sector could only thrive when government introduced policies that would help to create an enabling environment for growth. “The private sector is the engine of growth for every economy, but the private sector can only thrive in an enabling environment anchored on good ‘growth driven’ policies by Government,” he said. “There is the need for more collaboration between the private sector and Government to drive the growth we all desire. And I pray that the private sector is refined, motivated and remunerated to the greatest possible extent”. Dr Adjei said this at the launch of a Kasapreko multi-milliondollar Water, Juice and Soft Drinks factory at Tanoso in the Ashanti Region. The new factory, a part of government’s flagship 1-District1-Factory (IDIF) initiative, is set up on a 10,000-square metre property, with a capacity to

produce 35,000 bottles of juices and non-alcoholic drinks per hour and 15,000 bottles of water per hour, working at full capacity. The factory would employ 300 people directly and generate some 3,000 indirect jobs through the supply chain, a statement from Kasapreko, copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said on Sunday. Dr Adjei expressed profound gratitude to the Government for the 1D1F initiative, which assisted Kasapreko to access a $25 million Stanbic Bank loan for the construction of the factory. “I want to use this occasion to congratulate President AkufoAddo and his Government for the ideation of the 1D1F program aimed at creating jobs for Ghanaians through the setting up of factories and industries, which will in turn move the country towards greater industrialisation,” he said. The factory is equipped with world class machinery that would

contribute to the production of high-quality brands of beverages in different specialised packaging formats that could compete favourably with international brands. “Indeed, Kasapreko appreciates its association with the Government of Ghana on the One District, One Factory initiative and finds it timely to have been supported by the Government to promote a Ghanaian owned business,” Dr Adjei said. “Government has indeed gone beyond making pronouncements on the promotion of made-inGhana goods to supporting it with actions and Kasapreko family is happy to have been a part of this transformation agenda.” Mr Richard Adjei, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kasapreko, commended government for showing commitment in supporting the private sector. “For those who do not believe the 1D1F programme is real,

please note that Parliament has approved a five-year tax waiver for Kasapreko, worth 28 million dollars, on machinery and raw materials because of 1D1F,” he said. He said the decision to have a subsidiary factory in Ashanti Region was strategic as it would serve the middle and northern belts and also relieve pressure on the main factory in Accra. “The factory will not only be serving the Ashanti, Bono, Ahafo, and Northern regions but also export to Burkina and Côte d’Ivoire,” he added. The CEO called on all to promote locally manufactured products as they had proven to be of high quality, many times than the imported ones. Set up three decades ago at Nungua in Accra, Kasapreko produces carbonated soft and alcoholic drinks. GNA

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

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MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Critical minerals and the new geopolitics By Sophia Kalantzakos

he climate crisis and the Fourth Industrial Revolution – with its breakthrough technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G networks – are setting the world on a geopolitical collision course. Both the drive to decarbonize and the battle for global technological supremacy depend on critical minerals like rare earths, lithium, and cobalt – all of which are highly concentrated in a few locations, including China. The scramble to control these elements’ supply chains is intensifying. For example, the electric vehicles made by Tesla and other automotive firms run on lithium-ion batteries, but just a handful of countries produce most of the world’s lithium. The tension between the geographic concentration of critical resources and the increasing global competition for supply will further unsettle geopolitics in the twenty-first century. A long era of stable resource competition is thus rapidly ending. Historically, empires locked in their economic supply chains and managed competition. And in the long post-1945 cycle of decolonization, the United States, as the global economic hegemon, backstopped the rules and norms of world trade. At the same time, supplies of critical resources – in particular, fossil fuels – became more dispersed as improved geological information and new technologies (like deep-sea drilling and fracking) helped to loosen OPEC’s grip. But today, conditions have flipped. Critical minerals for the digital and post-carbon economy are highly concentrated geographically, while the end of US unipolarity and increasing global trade uncertainties have triggered a rush to secure them. China’s global rise underpins the competition-concentration tension. Industrial innovation and production are no longer the exclusive purview of the OECD economies, especially the US, European Union member states, and Japan. These major powers previously secured critical inputs through colonial expansion and resource carve-ups, but China’s export ambitions, and its control of key supply chains, have changed the game. Moreover, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – a transnational infrastructure investment scheme with participating countries across Africa, Eurasia, and South America – openly challenges

earlier models of access and cooperation. Governments in the Global South, where many critical resources are located, are frequently willing to strike exclusive deals. They have welcomed China’s one-stop-shop financing schemes, increased engagement, and narrative of “win-win partnerships” that offer a reliable alternative to Western funding and norm-setting. China’s resource domination is reshaping geopolitics. In 2010, China halved its export quotas for rare earths, and also reportedly banned their sale to Japan following a trawler incident near Japan’s Senkaku Islands, which China calls the Diaoyu Islands and claims as its own. The episode awakened other leading economies to the fact that a major competitor and rival controlled 97% of the global supply of these vital inputs for magnets, glass, electronics, defense systems, wind turbines, and hybrid and electric vehicles. The US, the EU, and Japan reacted in a piecemeal manner at best, and ten years later still haven’t produced effective strategies to free themselves from China’s resource grip. Rare earths made headlines again in 2019, when China indicated that it might “weaponize” them in its trade dispute with the US. Meanwhile, breathless media reports of rare-earth discoveries in Afghanistan, Greenland’s melting glaciers, the abyssal sea, asteroids, and planets demonstrate that magical thinking continues to trump effective policymaking. Likewise, decarbonization places a premium on further breakthroughs in battery technology and storage, which is why global lithium production skyrocketed from 32,500 tons in 2015 to 95,000 tons in 2018. Two of the three politically and economically volatile countries

in the so-called “lithium triangle” – Chile, and Bolivia – are all BRI participants and receive substantial Chinese investment, the third, Argentina, is considering joining. Because none has the capacity for vertical integration, China controls more than 60% of global manufacturing capacity for lithium-ion batteries. Even Australia, which has substantial rare-earth and lithium reserves, has so far failed to become an “independent” alternative supplier. Cobalt, another key battery input, is overwhelmingly mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC has the world’s largest cobalt reserves – three times those of Australia, which ranks second – and produces 60% of global mined cobalt. The country remains the most costcompetitive producer, with China the dominant investor, although an outcry over labor practices has raised questions about ethical mining. How might rich-country governments best manage the competition-concentration tension regarding critical minerals, especially if traditional global institutions are on the wane? One option is to revive the old colonial model of carving up regions to manage competition. But although China has been able to extend its global economic influence without the baggage of having been a colonial power, the EU, US, and Japan can no longer play that game successfully. Smaller developing countries now have other options and preferences, and often side with China, Russia, India, or other powers. Alternatively, the traditional powers could begin to build a new framework for cooperation. But US President Donald Trump’s “America First” posturing and a lack of coordination among

former allies currently stand in the way. In addition, business is not wired to put geopolitics above the bottom line. Repeated calls by governments to desinicize supply chains achieve little; ministers fulminate about competition but do not address the needs and interests of countries where key strategic resources are concentrated. Moreover, climate change will aggravate retrenchment, especially among resource-rich but economically, socially, and politically vulnerable regions. China has demonstrated its increasing economic power by systematically forging a global network of partners. The powers of old must now build new avenues of trust and cooperation with developing countries, not only to secure the critical minerals vital to powering the world in the Anthropocene era, but also because a perilous planet is a threat to everyone. About the author Sophia Kalantzakos is Professor of Environmental Studies and Public Policy at New York University/NYU Abu Dhabi, a fellow at the Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology at Caltech and The Huntington, and a former Fung Global Fellow at Princeton University. She is the author of China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

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Feature

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

How to end the pandemic this year By Mariana Mazzucato

esearch to develop a safe, effective, and widely available COVID-19 vaccine is advancing rapidly. But when it will happen is not clear. Much depends on how we govern the production and distribution of new drugs. While the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool promises to foster accessibility, the actual availability of vaccines and treatments also will hinge on local manufacturing capacity, which in many countries has been eroded by deindustrialization. Moreover, while universal testing remains a feasible, costeffective, and immediately available method of managing the pandemic until a vaccine arrives, this approach also requires manufacturing capacity and sound governance in the public interest. Yet even in advanced economies, over-reliance on the private sector may prevent governments from maximizing test production and deployment. For example, the British government has proposed a “moon shot” testing program, yet its actual strategy needs clarification. Such a mission-oriented approach requires a holistic, systems-level perspective, particularly when it comes to “wicked problems” like publichealth crises and climate change, which involve a wide range of complex socioeconomic and technological issues. Implementing universal testing will require contributions from a sprawling network of actors and institutions. To be truly effective, any such program must

be designed to generate systemic resilience and public value. As has been demonstrated by the Nobel laureate economist Paul Romer, the epidemiologist Michael Mina, a recent IMF working paper, and many others, a properly designed universal testing program could bring the pandemic to an end within just a few months. The missing ingredients are industrial policies and other government measures to coordinate and steer production, in order to eliminate the bottlenecks that the private sector faces. The necessary testing technology of rapid immunodiagnostic tests – such as saliva-based antigen tests that are similar to home pregnancy tests and cost less than $5 – already exists. Although these tests are sub-optimal in sensitivity compared with the standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, they are specific enough to detect infections at scale in settings disease prevalence is high; and, crucially, they do not require centralized laboratory facilities. Therefore, with a purposeful program design that carefully considers the functionality and limitations of the technology deployed, rapid tests can enable decentralized universal testing programs at the community level. For example, tests could be made available free of charge at local pharmacies, with the expectation that everyone test themselves on a regular basis and self-isolate if positive. The same kits could be used as “infectionfree” passports for admission to public spaces such as schools and workplaces. In this case, a new market would likely emerge as airlines, malls, restaurants, and

cafés start purchasing cheap, rapid tests so that they can get back to business. Rapid testing can help to expand and complement the universal testing strategy already being rolled out locally (such as the free mandatory testing at MIT and Georgetown University in the United States, weekly testing of employees at German workplaces, and the populationwide testing campaign in Wuhan). Similar strategies need to be launched at the national level, especially in low- and middleincome countries where the affordability and scalability of molecular testing is low. Many countries have the capacity to produce a sufficient supply of tests at a cost that would pale in comparison to those inflicted by the pandemic. The number of tests needed globally over a year to supply a weekly testing regimen would be equivalent to less than half the number of cans of soda consumed annually. Moreover, scaling up production of antigen tests could be done relatively quickly, and would be a minor effort compared to the US mobilization for World War II. While billions of dollars are being funneled toward vaccine development and production, additional funding also must be directed toward strengthening our testing infrastructure. At $5 per unit, the cost of testing the world’s population every week would come to around $2 trillion. That is far less than the pandemic-related loss of global income during this period (as measured by the difference between pre- and post-pandemic growth forecasts) and fiscal stimulus so far this year, an estimated total of $20 trillion.

And these comparisons don’t account for the costs of lost lives or the potential benefits of achieving new economies of scale in test production – a spillover that could enable the eradication of the seasonal flu. There are potentially steep challenges beyond production, of course. As practical as universal testing is, any such effort could still come under pressure if governments believe they must choose between different production needs for vaccines, anti-viral drugs, personal protective equipment, and expanded medical facilities. But universal testing must not be viewed as a separate item on a larger list of priorities. The point of a mission-oriented approach is to create dynamic public-sector capabilities and strengthen the entire health system at once. New testing capacity should be integrated with national and local health systems as part of a broader program design, so that each leg of the strategy supports the others. More broadly, COVID-19 has underscored the need for a more resilient and responsive industrial ecosystem that can increase production of essential items quickly. Even under current conditions, increasing the production of tests and implementing a universal testing strategy is feasible, and could end the pandemic by year’s end, while also creating the infrastructure needed to ward off future pandemics. All countries need to adopt a longer-term vision and shore up their manufacturing capabilities. By leading on this issue, governments can strengthen local productive capacities and create a new kind of economic commons. The same mission-oriented approach could then be applied to science policy and industrial strategy, laying the groundwork for more cross-sectoral innovations and the type of resilient manufacturing that will be needed to tackle other highly complex global challenges. The days when we could pin all our hopes on technological fixes are over. About the author Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, is the author of The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy and The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Aviation

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Europe: Aviation bodies call for passenger testing over quarantines

ith less than 90 days to go before the yearend holiday season, European aviation bodies have intensified their call to replace quarantine measures with passenger testing. This will provide far greater assurance and ability for crossborder travellers to plan family reunions or vacations during this important holiday period. It will also serve as a lifeline to the millions of workers in the travel and tourism sectors whose jobs remain at risk, stated the aviation bodies. Following their direct call to action together with the wider travel and tourism sectors in a letter to European Commission President von der Leyen on September 17, aviation bodies ACI EUROPE, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and IATA have submitted a framework for how an EU-wide Testing Protocol for Travel (EUTPT) could work. In follow up letters sent to the Commission President and Heads of State, as well as Health Ministers across Europe last night, the industry associations set out their proposal for harmonised pre-departure testing from highrisk areas, describing the current situation of patchwork quarantine restrictions as “unsustainable”. Aviation industry data confirms the worsening situation. IATA figures show air traffic to, from and within Europe is down by 66.3% year to date. Latest figures from ACI EUROPE reveal that as

of September 27, passenger traffic in the EU had further plunged to -78%. New research released by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) on the impact of Covid-19 restrictions suggests the collapse of air traffic could result in a 52% drop in employment supported by aviation in Europe, equating to the loss of around 7 million jobs. Nearly €450 billion ($528.3 billion) in economic activity will be lost. Urgent action is therefore required to prevent an even greater economic and employment catastrophe. “We need to learn to live – and travel – with the virus”, said the letter. “Re-establishing the free movement of people and air connectivity across our continent in a safe way must be a priority,” it stated.

With many Europeans wondering whether they will be able to come together with their families and loved ones for the holiday season, the proposed testing protocol would allow for this to happen in a safe and harmonised way. The associations reiterate their calls for the Commission and Member States to prioritise the development and implementation of the European Testing Protocol for Travel system. The letter highlights the continually worsening outlook for passenger demand along with cripplingly low forward bookings for the winter season – down -80% from 2019. The planning certainty and risk-based safety of a common testing protocol would give European countries an effective way to reduce transmission both

in communities and during air travel whilst stimulating the economy, it added. The framework proposed is based on two overarching principles: Quarantines must be replaced by testing prior to departure, based on an EU Testing Protocol for travel which is consistently applicable for passengers travelling across borders from high risk areas in the EU/Schengen space and from third countries. Public opinion research has established that 65% of travellers surveyed agree that quarantine should not be required for passengers who test negative for Covid-19. Travel restrictions must be coordinated and based on common risk assessment. This supports the risk assessment criteria and the common colour coding system/mapping of designated areas already proposed by the European Commission, but which is yet to be endorsed and fully implemented by EU States. In concluding their recommendations, ACI Europe, A4E and IATA state unequivocally their position that adoption by European States of a common testing protocol would further reduce transmission risks, restore confidence among the travelling public, and protect livelihoods by allowing the travel and tourism sectors to begin their recovery. As a result, they have sought immediate action from the European Commission and States to urgently address this issue at EU level and accelerate this process. (Source: Trade Arabia)

Ethiopian unveils COVID-19 global insurance cover of up to €100,000

thiopian Airlines Group, the largest Aviation Group in Africa, says it will cover the medical insurance including repatriation, evacuation and quarantine costs related to COVID-19 of all passengers effective October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. The coverage is applicable on all Ethiopian’s international flights booked with the airline’s tickets. The global cover dubbed Sheba Comfort is part of the airline’s extra security measures to protect passengers and ensure that they travel with peace of mind. Passengers will have their medical expenses up to €100,000 covered if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel in addition to quarantine costs up to €150 per day for a maximum of 14 days. Sheba Comfort also includes repatriation and evacuation

services whenever needed besides 24/7 assistance through the airline’s hotline. Remarking on the global cover, Ethiopian Group CEO, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “We are glad to be among the pioneer global airlines to introduce this extra security measure and provide global cover for COVID-19 with a view to boost passengers’ confidence. “Our Sheba Comfort insurance scheme is part of the measures we have been taking to ensure the health and wellbeing of passengers on the ground and onboard. As the travel safety continues to evolve by the day, we will always be at the forefront of adopting all necessary changes to ensure the safety of our passengers as our top priority.” The Sheba Comfort insurance scheme, introduced in collaboration with AXA Partners and Awash Insurance Company,

is valid for 92 days for round trip and 31 days for one-way trip. It is to be recalled that Ethiopian recently unveiled an ultra-modern, spacious passenger terminal which is completed with emphasis on biosecurity and biosafety measures. Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its seventy plus years

of operation, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success. Ethiopian commands the lion’s share of the Pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to 127 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Feature

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

TV3 celebrates 23 years of media excellence

n the morning of October 1, 1997, Ghanaians were given an all new television experience when TV3 Network, then a new free-to-air television station began on-air transmission with coverage in the Greater Accra region, parts of Central, Eastern and Volta regions. It was fresh, unique, exciting and an entirely different from what Ghanaians had experienced over the years. For 23 years, TV3 Network has been a market leader, consistently producing relevant, credible and compelling content. This is evident in its news analysis programmes, entertainment programmes and the numerous award-winning reality shows in line with its popular tagline, “First in news, best in entertainment”. In the 2019 GeoPoll ranking, TV3 dominated the Ghanaian television industry from January to December 2019 in both urban and rural demographic cohorts within the survey age of 15 years to 45+ years, averaging 12.58% of the total 17 million estimated TV population corresponding to 2,144,588 impressions. The General Manager of Media

General television, responsible for TV3 Network and Onua TV, Francis Doku, highlighted the station’s agenda as it celebrates 23 years of media excellence in the Ghanaian media landscape. “We have been the leading player in this space and as we turn twenty-three, we will continue to lead you into the future with compelling content. Our commitment to our audience is that we will continue churning our great content and to our clients, we will always give you your desired mileage and more. We will continue to entertain our audience and give them the very best in news, as per our tagline, first in news, best in entertainment”. Mr. Doku added that a series of activities have been planned throughout the month of October 2020 to mark the twenty third anniversary including rewarding some loyal viewers of the station through promotions on television and on social media. TV3 is a member of the Media General Group, Ghana’s leading and wholly Ghanaian owned media conglomerate with brands

Francis Doku, General Manager – Media General

across television, radio and digital across the country. The Media General Group owns and operates Onua TV, 3FM, Onua FM,

Connect FM in Takoradi, Akoma FM in Kumasi, www.3news.com, Adesa Production Limited and 3 Foundation.

Experience and consistency will be the keys that open the door to flourishing networking

uccessful networking takes time. Becoming great at what you do takes time. The same is true with winning business, or building trust at your networking meeting. So let us look at this scenario: having attended your first networking meeting you were really impressed, and decide that networking does work. So you applied for membership, and two weeks later you attended your first meeting, did your first 60 seconds pitch, which you thought went well, and booked in a few one to one meetings with your fellow networking members immediately. Back to the office, you follow up with everyone, but the following week, looking at your sales pipeline, you see nothing has changed. You went regularly to your fortnightly networking meeting, and after a couple of months have passed you feel a little better, but your sales are still lacking significant change. But at BforB we talk about the ‘90-day experience’. We know from experience that with 90 days of FOCUS, DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY you WILL notice significant improvement. Your 60 seconds pitch feels

Coaching) in your group, and together you will thrive and succeed. Authored Breakfast

easier, you’ve delivered your Business Spotlight, had your BforB training session, and you’ve invited few guests at your BforB group. You really will feel the progress. Success is achieved by being both consistent and focused on your goal. Some members have been fortunate enough to walk in to a group with few referrals already waiting for them. However, to build sustainable source of referrals, and becoming a successful referral marketing advocate, it is all down to your networking habit. Once you begin to experience success through being focused and consistent, the easier the process becomes – just like

turning up for your first BforB meeting, doing your first 60 seconds, or Business Spotlight: it may well be intimidating at first, but the second time you do it is much easier, and thereafter it’s a case of perfecting the new skills you have acquired, and it all becomes much easier. The odd thing is, the more you improve, the more referrals you will generate. But why stop there? You will find that your customers and business friends will be joining your successful groups. Help them succeed and develop, and soon you will become part of a team of entrepreneurs looking out for business opportunities for all the member of your groups. Apply TLC (Training, Learning,

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Business for Breakfast (BforB) is internationally recognised for creating successful networking meetings, events and training for referral marketing. Our global offices are in Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Ghana and headquartered in UK. We create an environment where you can build quality relationships within your group, backed up by an ongoing member support programme. BforB is committed to helping small to medium scale businesses expand. In our professional network, members meet regularly in business networks to develop relationships, support each other and to share and record referral business. We are here to help you get new business from quality business introductions and referrals made through our meetings. Contact us: 059 4 016 432 | info@bforbgh.com | Facebook & LinkedIn: @bforbghana | www. bforb.co.uk

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

News

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Achiase to benefit from starch factory under 1D1F P resident Nana AkufoAddo has assured the people of Achiase of the establishment of a starch factory in the area under the one District, One Factory (1D1F) programme to create jobs for the people. The President said Achiase would not be left out in his flagship programmes and disclosed that plans were underway to seek support from the Exim Bank for the setting up of the factory. The President gave the assurance on Sunday following a request by Daasebre Gyeni Kenten, Chief of Achiase when he visited the town as part of his three-day tour of the Eastern Region. The President also broke the ground for work to begin on the construction of a 40-bed district hospital for Achiase and inspected ongoing road projects at Akyem

President Nana Akufo-Addo

Swedru and Akyem-Oda. President Akufo-Addo called on the people of Achiase to vote

for him and Mr Kofi Ahenkorah Marfo, the NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency

in the upcoming elections to continue his good works. GNA

MTN to host 29th business breakfast series on scaling innovation and e-commerce for retail businesses

TN, Ghana’s leading telecommunications company is set to host the 29th edition of MTN Business World Executive Breakfast Meeting on October 8, 2020, under the theme, ‘The Changing Face of Retail in Ghana: Scaling Successfully With Innovation And E-commerce’. The breakfast meeting which will stream live on MTN Ghana’s

Facebook page (mtnghana) and on YouTube (@mtnghana) from 10:0am is designed to give startups a unique opportunity to interact with distinguished speakers who are making great strides in their businesses through e-commerce and innovative services. Speakers to join the discussion are Kosi Antwiwaa YankeyExecutive Director, National Board for Small Scale Industries

(NBSSI), Emi-beth Aku Quantson, CEO of Kawa Moka Coffee, Alex Bram, CEO of Hubtel, Gwen Gyimah Addo- CEO The Hair Senta/Business Strategist and Violet Amoabeng- CEO of Skin Gourmet Ltd. According to Industry Intelligence Experts, E-commerce in Ghana is growing and changing in terms of innovation and dynamism. Even as it continues to grow exponentially around the world, its adoption in Ghana is also on the rise. There are myriad of things that a growing retail

business needs to do in order to keep up with changing trends. Commenting on the focus of the discussion ahead of the event, Mr. Samuel Addo, General Manager for MTN Business said, “Trying to scale one’s business can prove a daunting task in this fast paced world. We are aware that a plethora of factors influence the extent to which online businesses are successful in a country. Some of these are internet speeds and penetration, payment platforms and solutions, e-commerce software, delivery and logistics management, addressing systems, favorable regulatory frameworks, among others.” “The aim of MTN Ghana’s 29th Business Breakfast Series is to bring together industry experts to share insights on how to optimize e-commerce and technologically driven innovations to support the growth of businesses”. He encouraged all business owners as well as persons who are looking for opportunities to optimize innovation for business growth to be a part of the 29th Edition of The MTN Business World Executive Breakfast Meeting.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Africa Business

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

In boost to farmers, Ivory Coast sets new cocoa price T he price of cocoa paid to farmers for the 2020-2021 harvest in Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, has been set at 1,000 CFA francs (1.52 euros) per kilo, up 21%, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced, one month before the October 31 presidential election. “We have decided to increase the price from 825 to 1000 CFA francs,” President Ouattara said in Yamoussoukro, the Ivorian political capital, at the opening of the National Cocoa and Chocolate Days, the annual event that opens the great harvest season, drawing cheers from the planters present. The price per kilogram of the crop paid to the farmers, set each year by the government- was 825 francs (1.25 euro) for the previous season. This sharp rise in price comes a month before the October 31

presidential election, which is being held in a tense political context, with pre-election violence having already claimed some 15 lives in August, and the opposition having called on the population to “civil disobedience”.

Cocoa is strategic in Côte d’Ivoire: it represents 10 to 15% of GDP, nearly 40% of export revenues and provides a living for five to six million people, or onefifth of the population, according to the World Bank. The 2020-21 cocoa harvest

is expected to remain at the same high level as last year, at 2.1 million tons, according to the International Cocoa Organization’s forecasts, if political unrest does not disrupt it. Côte d’Ivoire produces more than 40% of the world’s cocoa.

Chevron Nigeria plans to cut 25% of staff after oil price drop

he Nigerian unit of oil major Chevron CVX.N plans to cut its local workforce by 25% to reduce costs, it said on Saturday, due to weak demand for oil in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The company, which operates a joint venture with Nigeria’s state-owned NNPC, said it needed to make the adjustments to remain competitive in light of the prevailing business climate. It did not say how many jobs would be affected but said the cuts would affect workers across its operations. It added in a statement there were no plans to move jobs abroad and it was engaging

with its workforce on the plan. Employees will retain their jobs until the reorganisation is completed. Prices of oil, Nigeria’s main export, fell sharply early this year and in April global benchmark Brent LCOc1 hit a 21-year low below $16 as the coronavirus outbreak hit demand, though oil markets have recovered since then. The International Energy Agency (IEA) trimmed its 2020 oil demand forecast in September, citing caution about the pace of economic recovery from the pandemic. Reuters

India and South Africa ask WTO to waive rules to aid COVID-19 drug production

ndia and South Africa want the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive intellectual property rules to make it easier for developing countries to produce or import COVID-19 drugs, a letter to the WTO shows. In their letter dated Oct. 2 the two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally. “As new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19 are developed, there are significant concerns (over) how these will be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities and at (an) affordable price to

meet global demand,” the letter posted on the Geneva-based WTO’s website says. The two countries said that developing nations are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and that intellectual property rights, including patents, could be a barrier to the provision of affordable medicine. The letter asks that the WTO’s Council for TRIPS recommends a waiver to the General Council, the WTO’s top decision-making body in Geneva, “as early as possible”. It does not say how much support India and South Africa have from other countries. A draft General Council decision text submitted with the letter says the waiver should last an as yet unspecified number of years and be reviewed annually.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Real Estate

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

800 African real estate investors and developers meet online to build post pandemic future

peaking ahead of the 11th annual African Property Investment (API) Summit Virtual which took place online from 30 September – 01 October 2020, Standard Bank’s Head of Real Estate Finance, Africa Regions, Niyi Adeleye, commented that while the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the sector, those with the necessary capital have continued to seize opportunities. “Real estate investors that had dry powder (capital) and saw unique opportunities, appeared to have continued to pursue these investments, albeit at a slower pace. On the other hand, investors that depended on external sources of capital appear to have mostly pushed their investment plans out, which is not surprising” said Adeleye. Having moved online for 2020, the API Summit Virtual, will take place under the theme of Resilience, Opportunity & Innovation (ROI) and will again provide a platform for more than 800 delegates from 32 African and international countries to network, gain new insights and build for the post Covid-19 future. As one of more than 100 speakers at this year’s online conference and representing one of Africa’s most proactive and largest lenders to the commercial property sector, Adeleye’s views on the investment implications for the sector post Covid-19, will be of key interest to this year’s delegates, said API Events’ Kfir Rusin, the host of the API Summit. “2020 has been a challenging

year for all, and the real estate sector has been hit particularly hard. We are now beginning to see investors and developers explore how they can identify opportunities, as well as building resilience and innovation into their current and future projects,” said Rusin. He adds that the pandemic has particularly exposed the weaknesses in the retail, hospitality and office sectors, while conversely it has highlighted the defensiveness of logistics and warehousing, corporate residential, as well as the need for data centres, healthcare and affordable housing investments across the continent. While Adeleye remains cautious on what will be most attractive and provide ROI for investors post Covid-19, it has been observed that the rate of recovery has been faster than anticipated, especially in non-resource dependent economies, he said. “The pace of recovery appears to have been faster than anticipated in retail, especially for

established centres, as customers appear to prefer the use of formal retail environments to less formal ones due to perceptions of better health and safety and this reinforces the growing adoption of many of these assets in key jurisdictions and nodes.” While, also commenting that hospitality assets that “mostly targeted local demand has proven to be slightly more stable than those dependent on external demand,” said Adeleye. From an emerging sub-sector perspective, Adeleye has noted that the demonstrated resilience, has been seemingly backed by strong occupier demand, he said. “Currently, segments and emerging segments that are driven by corporate demand, such as offices, logistics and data centres, appear to have demonstrated some resilience. Emerging sectors like healthcare and affordable housing are driven by very wide demand \ supply imbalances and will likely remain resilient going forward.” However, Adeleye does stress

that for African real estate to remain resilient and provide longterm ROI, “All segments must ensure that the rate of supply growth is matched by addressable demand so as to avoid gluts and weaknesses in the property cycles.” A perspective which Rusin shares, and says it is one of the key themes that has emerged from the more than 35 API Events produced webinars and virtual conferences, which have been watched by tens of thousands of attendees during 2020. “As we move forward into 2021/22, we believe that this year has also highlighted pre-existing trends such as a slowdown in future retail and office developments; a boost to co-working spaces; renewed interest in affordable housing, diversification into data centres, healthcare and logistics; greater adoption of property technology; more sales and leasebacks, less reliance on international capital, and a race to economic diversification,” said Rusin. Adding that these trends will also help to inform future investment decisions and priorities. Taking place online, the API Summit Virtual will enable real estate leaders actively developing projects and pursuing investments will be able to engage with decision makers from the safety and comfort of their homes and offices. Attendees can now attend free when registering on the limited access passes.

Commercial mortgage delinquencies in U.S. dip in September

ccording to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest monthly MBA CREF Loan Performance Survey, U.S. delinquency rates for mortgages backed by commercial and multifamily properties declined in September 2020. “Commercial and multifamily mortgage performance has stabilized, and in many cases, has begun to slowly improve since the initial stress of April and May,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research. “Lodging and retail properties felt the onset of the recession most immediately and dramatically, and that continues to show in the numbers. Delinquency rates remain more muted among other property types and overall, the inflow of newly delinquent loans has slowed to one-fourth the rate seen in April.” Key U.S. Commercial Loan

Performance Survey for September 2020: The share of commercial and multifamily loan balances that were current increased in September, rising to 94.3% from 93.6% in August, with fewer new loans becoming delinquent. • The share of loans that are 90+ days delinquent rose slightly: from 2.9% to 3.0%. • The share of loans that are 60-90 days delinquent held steady at 0.6%. • The share of loans that are 30-60 days delinquent fell from 0.8% to 0.7%. • The share of loans less than 30 days delinquent fell from 1.6% to 0.9%. • 22.1% of the balance of lodging loans was delinquent, down from 23.5% in August. • 13.3% of the balance of retail loans was delinquent, down from 15.0% in August.

Among other property types, delinquencies declined in September and remain relatively muted. • 4.4% of health care loan balances were delinquent, down from 4.7% in August. • 2.7% of industrial loan balances were delinquent, down from 3.4% in August. • 2.1% of office loan balances were delinquent, down from 2.4% in August. • 1.7% of multifamily loan balances were delinquent, down from 1.9% in August. Because of the higher concentration of hotel and retail properties, delinquencies of CMBS loans have been more impacted than other capital sources. • 10.9% of the balance of CMBS loans was delinquent in September, down from 12.5% in

August. Among other capital sources, delinquency rates held steady in September. • 2.6% of FHA loan balances were delinquent, up from 2.4% in August. • 1.9% of life company loan balances were delinquent, down from 2.4% in August. • 1.3% of GSE loan balances were delinquent (unchanged from August). The volume of borrower inquiries and requests continued to fall in September. • Borrower inquiries represented 0.4% of the outstanding balance of loans, down from 0.7% in August. • Requests represented 0.2% (down from 0.4% in August), and executed actions represented 1.0% (down from 1.4% in August).

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

News

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Forum held for exporters, shipping service providers at KIA

he Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has organised the seventh in series of its forum for exporters and shipping service providers operating at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), Accra. The forum, which was on the theme “The utilisation of appropriate logistics for safe and secured exportable products at KIA” followed similar ones for exporters in Tamale, Accra, Takoradi, Kumasi, Somanya and Bolgatanga.

Participants were cautioned against shipping products in substandard packages which expose cargo to damage during handling. They were also encouraged to use appropriate trucks with required temperatures to ferry perishable vegetables and fruits from production centres to the airport for shipment. Some shipping service providers and exporters appealed to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) operating at the KIA such as the Ghana Revenue

Authority (GRA)-Customs Division, Plant Protection and Regulatory Service Directorate (PPRSD), Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to streamline their activities to ensure timely regulatory compliance to avoid delays. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GSA, Ms. Benonita Bismarck said the Authority recognises the need to equip shippers with information, knowledge and capacity to gain competitive advantage in international

trade, hence the organisation of regular workshops to educate and sensitise them on issues of importance in the industry. Head of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the GSA, Emmanuel Arku, who spoke on her behalf, sympathised with shippers and shipping service providers for the severe impact of COVID-19 on their businesses. “As the situation is gradually being normalised by the lifting of restrictions, the dynamics of international trade would change and therefore shippers would be required to refocus, equip and build their capacity to meet the emerging trends of these markets through policy responses, improved best shipping practices and taking personal responsibilities,” he appealed. Officials from the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and Damco Logistics spoke on the use of appropriate packaging materials and the use of cargo worthy trucks, respectively, for export. A resource person from Air Ghana shared his company’s experience in facilitating exports at the KIA. Over 60 participants, including exporters and export trade associations such as the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VEPEAG) and some shipping service providers attended the seminar.

Shippers in Volta Region trained on online fraud detection

he Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has organised a workshop to sensitise shippers in the Volta Region on how to do genuine online business transactions. The event was held in Aflao for members of the Volta Regional Shipper Committee (VRSC) during its third quarter meeting. A resource person from the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Aflao Branch, Francis Kpogo, spoke on the topic: “Detect and Avoid Fraud in online Shipping Transactions: What Importers and Exporters must know.” He sensitised the shippers on how to detect and avoid fraudulent online transactions and its effects on their businesses. The shippers were also taken through a case study of three most common freight forwarding frauds. Mr. Kpogo urged the participants to remain vigilant and prioritise their security in online trading

in order to effectively reduce the risk of fraud. In a related development, the Tema Branch Manager of the GSA, Mrs. Monica Josiah swore in a seven-member Executive Committee and three SubCommittee Chairpersons of the VRSC to steer the activities of the Committee for the next two years.

She challenged the new leadership to make the VRSC more vibrant to protect and promote the interest of shippers in the Volta Region. The Chairman of the Committee, Michael Adoboe, thanked the GSA and members of the VRSC for the confidence reposed in them. He intimated the team’s commitment and

determination to carry on the task from the past executives to promote the activities of the GSA in the region. The meeting was attended by importers, exporters and representatives from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD), Ghana Revenue Authority (Customs Division), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), Narcotics Control Commission (NACOB), Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), Port Health, freight forwarders, amongst others. The VRSC is one of the 10 Regional Shipper Committees established by the GSA to bring together shippers, trade related agencies, service providers and other relevant stakeholders in the shipping and logistics industry to discuss pertinent issues affecting the industry for redress.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Feature

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Capitalists and socialists of the world, unite! By Harold James

he world’s most dynamic economy is governed by a communist party, whereas its previous capitalist stronghold is under the misrule of a man whose companies have gone bankrupt six times. With leading political ideologies becoming increasingly incoherent, labels seem to mean little anymore. In the United States, President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans contend that only they stand between the American dream and a socialist revolution. Although Trump’s Democratic challenger in November’s election, Joe Biden, advocates no such thing, he does support putting “an end to the era of shareholder capitalism.” In any case, capitalism and socialism are once again front and center in the contest for public opinion and voters’ support. But, unlike in past decades, the standard defense of capitalism has grown intellectually and politically weaker. While “woke capitalists” like the upmarket clothing brand Lululemon push marketing messages to “resist capitalism,” even traditional capitalists like the influential Business Roundtable – an organization of CEOs from America’s largest publicly listed corporations – are advocating fundamental reform. Similarly, Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, denounces neoliberalism and free-market fundamentalism, and British Conservatives and US Republicans have taken to condemning the abuses of globalization and “the market.” Today’s ideological confusion owes much to technological disruption. Digitalization and the widespread diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) have upended established views about centralization and decentralization. Traditionally, capitalism’s advocates have argued for decentralization as a means of ensuring systemic resilience. When the system is properly arranged, bad decisions don’t matter, because the consequences immediately become clear and market players will learn and adapt. The system is ultimately stable and self-correcting. But the weightless digital economy and the increased importance of economies of scale have transformed such arguments. The marginal costs of producing immaterial products are essentially nil, and network effects confer far-reaching advantages to those who can win

the race for scale within a given domain. At the same time, ICT is also disrupting pricing, which used to be the key informational input in market exchanges. The digital economy now features price differentiation and discrimination on a scale that was previously unimaginable, such that prices are increasingly being delinked from consumer demand. Meanwhile, debates about socialism have also changed. The old socialist claim that centralized (social) planning would allow for more efficient resource allocation could never account for the fact that human decision-makers are subject to imperfect information. As such, socialist planners since the 1920s have argued that future advances in computing would eventually close the knowledge gap, to which critics responded by pointing out that autonomous markets still would always know more. This debate has repeated itself with every major advance in ICT, from the advent of electronic computers in the 1940s through the introduction of large mainframes in the 1960s, PCs in the 1980s, and smartphones in the 2000s. Yet this time may be different. We have indeed reached a stage at which computers can process more information than complex human societies can. Artificial-intelligence algorithms have quickly gone from beating humans at chess and Go to writing poetry. Why shouldn’t they be able to improve upon human markets? The apparent convergence

between central planning and individual choice is not new. In the 1950s and 1960s – the heyday of managerial capitalism – many assumed that big corporations would operate the same way regardless of whether the setting was capitalist or socialist. Since they themselves were planned institutions, they did not respond to market signals. Similar convergences can be found in the early nineteenth century, when the terms capitalism and socialism first gained currency. Some of the most influential socialist theoreticians of the Industrial Revolution were themselves capitalists. The French ex-aristocrat Henri de Saint-Simon envisaged a future in which bankers, intellectuals, and artists would overthrow an outdated theological and feudal system in favor for what he called “industrialism.” And the Welsh textile mill owner Robert Owen tried to launch utopian, profit-sharing communities in the United States and Britain, developing an alternative scheme for a currency based on labor. These earlier examples of convergence should remind us that the terms capitalism and socialism were both originally conceived for the same functional purpose: to create a decentralized system of allocation in which spontaneous needs and wishes could be fulfilled. And as the ensuing centuries have shown, both approaches become destructive when they produced excessive concentrations of

power. Against this historical backdrop, the search for a new decentralized framework looks like a reversion to the earlier dream pursued by ur-socialists and ur-capitalists. Yet with today’s technologies, one can imagine the dream actually being realized under a hybrid “sociapitalism.” After all, while it once took months or years to make accurate assessments of the volume of economic activity or trade, these data are increasingly available in real time. But data can be problematic. Whereas some is managed by governments and international institutions, much is held elsewhere, including at universities ( Johns Hopkins in the case of COVID-19 data), individuals (as in the Harvard University economist Raj Chetty’s compilation of consumer data), and companies (which keep it as a commercial secret). In the case of governments and companies especially, there is a constant tendency to suppress data that is inconvenient or uncomfortable. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsh light on the ways health outcomes are linked to social and economic disparities, and this realization has led to the politicization of other data, such as that relating to crime incidence, incomes, and ethnic identities. The early nineteenth-century struggles were fights over the ownership of the means of production, but we can now be much more specific about what that concept involves. What is most needed today is a broadbased movement to secure ownership of data, following on the model of early nineteenthcentury workers’ demands to own their own labor. Can data be shared in ways that maximizes the benefits without compromising social interests, individuality, or privacy? Capitalists and socialists of the world must unite to answer that question. They have nothing to lose but their data. About the author Harold James is Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University and a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation. A specialist on German economic history and on globalization, he is a coauthor of The Euro and The Battle of Ideas, and the author of The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalization Cycle, Krupp: A History of the Legendary German Firm, and Making the European Monetary Union.

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Feature

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

Should you be buying a second-hand smartphone?

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So today we have 200,000plus smartphones available to sell,” he tells me. None of those smartphones is new, instead they have been refurbished, a process involving checks, repairs and cleaning. Once the phones meet the required standard they can then be sold with a one-year warranty on his company’s website, Back Market, which operates in European countries plus the US. While smartphones are the big sellers, his website lists everything from coffee makers, laptops, to irons. Formed six years ago by Mr Hug de Larauze and two partners, Back Market does not refurbish the products itself, instead it provides a marketplace for hundreds of other firms to sell their used goods. It is one of many firms riding the wave of growth in refurbished electronics. Last year, around 137 million used smartphones were sold in the US and Europe, according to Counterpoint Research. Jeff Fieldhack, the head of research at research at Counterpoint, says that sales of used smartphones now account for about 10% of all smartphone sales. So what’s the attraction of owning a second-hand phone that’s a few years old? Why not buy a cheaper, brand new device? It all hinges on the so-called flagship phones from Samsung, Huawei and, in particular, Apple. Bought new these top of the range devices can be wildly expensive - Apple’s top end iPhones will set you back more than £1,000. But within months of their launch they will start appearing on second-hand marketplaces

with perhaps a 15% discount and after just two years the discount will be a healthy 50%. “A flagship device from three, four years ago, from iPhone is still a better quality device, than something new in the $200 to $300 range,” Mr Fieldhack says. A decade ago, used phones would typically be sold on marketplaces like eBay. It was hard for buyers to know the quality of the device they were buying and they would be unlikely to get a warranty. Now firms that sell refurbished electronics go to great lengths to reassure their buyers. In fact those in the industry would draw a clear line between phones that have been used and those that have been professionally refurbished. “We want you to have exactly the same shopping experience that you would have in the Apple Store or PC World - ideally better,” says Jon Godfrey, the founder of Tech.Trade, based in South Wales. His main product is refurbished computers. “If you buy something and change your mind and want to send it back, yeah, send it back,” he says. The main problem he has is getting supplies of used computers. Most of his used machines come from people who are trading in machines they don’t want anymore, but there’s not enough of them. Mr Godfrey sold around 15,000 products last year, and could double that this year if he could get more products. “We’re just starting to get to the point where we’re dangerously low on stock,” he says. That’s mainly due to the surge in demand from people working from home during the pandemic in May Mr Godfrey saw sales surge 35%, compared to the previous

year. The second big challenge is replacement parts. Getting hold of screens and batteries can be difficult. Despite the challenges, those in the industry are forecasting bumper times ahead. Mr Hug de Larauze expects the sales of used smartphones to match sales of new devices by 2030. Analyst Jeff Fieldhack thinks that is a bit optimistic. He says that while firms have made big strides in improving quality and service, customers remain cautious, particularly in important markets like China, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. “There’s a lot of apprehension about the secondary market and in many markets the quality issue still needs to be overcome,” he says. There is also the issue of software updates. Older phones might not get the latest software, which could make some apps unavailable. Much also hinges on the popularity of Apple products which account for 40% of sales of used smartphones. Many customers would rather own a second-hand Apple phone or computer, than a new one from a different firm. “Apple just is so dominant in the secondary market because they have such brand value and very expensive devices,” says Mr Fieldhack. “These are $800-and-above devices that are sold in the US market for $200. That is a very attractive value proposition for consumers who are priced out of iPhones but want to get in that [Apple] ecosystem.” While the quality of Apple products makes them desirable in the used market, Apple and other

smartphone makers have been criticised for making their devices difficult to repair. “They also make some aspects of refurbishment incredibly challenging by design and by policy,” says Mr Godfrey. There are moves to remedy that situation. In the US, The Repair Association is pushing for legislation that would force firms to release manuals and other information necessary to repair products. And the European Union this year proposed an initiative to promote reusability and reparability. All of that would make life easier for refurbishment firms. In its defence Apple says it is already making devices more repairable but this needed to be balanced with creating devices that are durable and can endure the rigours of everyday use. To helper smaller repair firms, in July Apple launched a programme offering training and access to Apple parts. The refurbishment industry also operates in the shadow of huge marketing campaigns from the smartphone industry. Mr Hug de Larauze says massive advertising tells people everyday that what they have in their pocket is too old. He wants consumers to resist those messages, not just because it would be good for his business, but because it benefits the environment as well. “Do you need something new? No, I think not. I think you should maybe consider repair and just keep as long as possible.” BBC

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

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MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020

South African coffinmaker saw COVID-19 at work and at home

he coffin-maker knew death too well. The boxes were stacked in his echoing workshop like the prows of ships waiting for passengers. COVID-19 was turning his business upside down. Then it moved into his home. Kasie Pillay’s wife was a midwife, delivering babies for coronavirus-positive mothers in Johannesburg, the epicenter of the pandemic in South Africa — once fifth in the world in number of cases — and on the continent. That she would be infected, they knew, was a matter of time. When she fell ill during the country’s surge in cases, she retreated to the main bedroom. Pillay withdrew to a bedroom next door. Scared, he barely slept, managing a few hours before dawn as his wife wrestled with some of the worst days of her life.

“I’d literally be on eggshells listening to what she was going through,” Pillay said Tuesday. “I would go in every now and then, fully kitted up, just to check vitals, whether she needed oxygen. When she recovered, we sat down and had a chat. She was really scared because at one stage she thought she was gonna die.” It was a blessing in disguise, he said, to see someone with COVID-19 recover after so much exposure to death through his work. Pillay, a manager at the coffinmaking business, said about 10 colleagues also were infected. All are now OK. Their survival reflects the relatively low death toll from COVID-19 in South Africa, and in Africa in general, as the continent appears to defy dire predictions that the virus would cause massive numbers of deaths. Life has edged back toward normal after a surge in infections

in South Africa in June and July that threatened to overwhelm public hospitals. Many of the more than 1 million graves that Gauteng province, home of Johannesburg, once hurriedly mapped out have gone unused. Still, the toll from COVID-19 — which has killed more than 16,000 people in South Africa, nearly half of the continent’s over 35,000 deaths — has been painful, and the world surpassing 1 million confirmed deaths has again led to reflection. “It has been a crazy, crazy, crazy couple of months,” Pillay said. The need for coffins rose and fell as South Africa’s lockdown levels changed, but overall, he said, “business went down.” Under the strictest lockdown measures, so few people were driving in South Africa that the country’s terrible rate of vehicle deaths plummeted. And alcohol

sales were banned, “so you weren’t having people fighting, murdering each other,” Pillay said. “Unfortunately, our whole business thrives on people dying.” As the lockdown eased step by step and people were “not being disciplined” and going around without masks, the number of virus deaths increased. Now, a sense of normalcy is returning. But COVID-19 changed everything. The price of basic materials shot up as “every Tom, Dick and Harry became an essential provider,” Pillay said. Suddenly, a box of gloves was changing hands five times, with everyone taking a cut. What once cost 80 rand ($4.70) became 200 rand ($11.70) or 220 rand ($13). Pillay scrambled to keep his workshop open and safe as orders rolled in. “The unfortunate part is, you’ve got so many workers and machines and can only do so much a day,” he said. The workshop bustles with people carrying raw wood, sanding it and attaching polished handles. And the entire nature of mourning in South Africa changed. The government said COVID-19 burials should happen right away instead of waiting for the usual weekend funerals. “You had undertakers who now needed boxes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” Pillay said. A body now had to fit into three body bags, then the coffin, and “go straight into the grave.” With the number of people limited at funerals and graveyards, “people went for the cheapest boxes,” Pillay said. In normal times, even the poorest of the poor in South Africa “want to do the best, a kind of show-off thing, a bragging right for them” with quality coffins for their loved ones. Now, there is little time to appreciate it, and few people to impress. Sometimes, mourners could only park on the side of the road and watch the vehicle carrying the body drive by. Pillay believes that the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, along with South Africans’ relative youth and the perceived resilience of immune systems, will help his countrymen survive the next wave of infections that health experts are expecting. Again, it’s when, not if. Pillay already is watching cases rise again in Britain, in Spain. “Yes, it’s imminent,” he said. “Definitely.”

MONDAY OCTOMBER 5, 2020