Business24 Newspaper (May 1-2020) by Business24 Online

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FRIDAY MAY 1, 2020

COVID-19: Export revenue projected to fall by US$1.8bn Domestic flights resume today

…Kumasi, Tamale first two destinations

MORE ON PAGE 3

Export revenue provides a key source of income for many Ghanaians engaged in the agricultural value chain MORE ON PAGE 2

BY NII ANNERQUAYE ABBEY

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is forecasting that Ghana’s export earnings will drop by US$1.8bn this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic drives down global crude oil prices and pushes the country’s economy to decelerate. In 2019, the country exported goods and services amounting

to US$15.6bn, but the Fund is projecting that given the economic impact of the virus, the country would rake in US$13.8 billion, representing an 11.7 percent decline. Apart from the virus hitting export revenues, the Fund, in its latest country report, estimated that the economy’s import expenditure for 2020 would be lower than the amount for 2019.

Last year, the country’s total import bill was US$13.4bn, but this year, largely because of lower crude oil prices, the Fund is forecasting that goods worth US$11.6bn will come through the various entry ports. The IMF’s report, which indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic will create bigger balance of payments challenges for Ghana, further predicted

Ghana is 44th best country in budget transparency MORE ON PAGE 3

Vivo Energy Launches Retailer Sustainability Programme on COVID-19 MORE ON PAGE 5

ECONOMIC INDICATORS *EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

USD$1 =GH¢5.6896*

EXCHANGE RATE (BANK RATE)

USD$1 =GH¢5900.*

*POLICY RATE

14.5%*

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

7.8%*

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE PRIMARY BALANCE.

1.5% -1.1% OF GDP

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

GHc 5.13*

INTERNATIONAL MARKET BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

20.46

NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

1.79

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

1,703.95

CORN $/BUSHEL

329.50

COCOA $/METRIC TON

2,342

COFFEE $/POUND:

+5.70 ($108.30)

COPPER USD/T OZ.

220.15

SILVER $/TROY OUNCE:

16.39

NEWS/EDITORIAL

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EDITORIAL

Let’s adhere to safety protocols when flying 1

Wash your hands 2

At last, the safest means of travelling in-country—by air— is back. The resumption of domestic flight operations is a good development that will ease the difficulty of travelling by road to various parts of the country, especially Kumasi and Tamale in this COVID-19 period. Business24 would urge all passengers to adhere to safety protocols during pre-departure formalities and onboard as service resumes today.

Wear a mask Brought to you by

LIMITED Copyright @ 2019 Business24 Limited. All Rights Reserved. Editorial Team Dominic Andoh: Editor Eugene Kwabena Davis (Head of Parliamentary Business & Commodities) Benson Afful (Head of Energy & Education) Patrick Paintsil (Head of Maritime & Banking) Nii Annerquaye Abbey (Online Editor) Marketing Alexander Lartey Agyemang (Business Development Manager) Ruth Fosua Tetteh (Dept. Business Development Manager) Gifty Mensah (Marketing Manager) Irene Mottey (Sales Manager) Edna Eyram Swatson (Special Projects Manager ) Events Evelyn Kanyoke (Snr. Events Consultant) Finance/Administration Joseph Ackon Bissue (Accountant)

during the flight. All passengers, crew and staff will be required to undergo hand sanitisation at the point of boarding the aircraft. Additionally, all staff that interact with passengers will be required to wear surgical masks and gloves. The gloves must further be sanitised regularly when handling passenger documents. The interior of an aircraft will also be sanitized per each flight. Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, has assured that “the country’s airports are safe as they open for domestic operations and the

government remains committed to safety of passengers and service providers as part of measures to restoring normalcy to the aviation industry. “We will review laid down protocols during the domestic operations and when necessary, introduce improved procedures to further enhance the measures to strengthen the fight against coronavirus pandemic as it affects the aviation sector.”

COVID-19: Export revenue projected to fall by US$1.8bn (…CONTINUED FROM COVER )

Cover your cough

Indeed, the Aviation Ministry, domestic airlines, and the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), in preparation for resumption of flights, had instituted various safety protocols to guide their operations. All domestic passengers are expected to be subjected to thermal screening at check-in. Any passengers with body temperature detected above 37.3C will be referred to health authorities for further examination. Wearing of nose covering for all passengers will be required

that foreign investors will generally shy away from the country. The foreign direct investment recorded last year of US$3.3bn will this year drop by more than US$800m, estimates show, representing a fall of more than 24 percent to about US$2.5bn. The Washington-based lender, which recently approved a US$1bn credit to Ghana, noted that the pandemic has created an urgent balance of payments need—justifying the issuance of an emergency lifeline to Ghanaian fiscal authorities. The Fund noted that

the disbursement will help address the urgent fiscal needs, which directly contribute to the balance of payments gap, and provide additional foreign exchange to avoid a sharp drop in international reserves. It added that the urgent balance of payments need triggered by the coronavirus crisis, and caused primarily by sudden exogenous shocks, is expected to resolve within the next 12 months without major policy adjustments. IMF’s lifeline According to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in a speech presented to Parliament last month, the collapse in global crude oil prices and decline in economic activity caused by COVID-19 could see Ghana

lose more than GH¢8bn in fiscal revenues. Mr. Ofori-Atta was hopeful that the IMF’s emergency funding, in addition to other measures, would fill the yawning fiscal deficit— estimated to be 9.5 percent of GDP—created as a result of the economic turmoil brought about by the pandemic. Inspire confidence The Fund said its decision to vote the huge resources to the country was also to inspire confidence in the world’s second-largest cocoa producer while asking other development partners to come to Ghana’s aid. The Deputy Managing Director and Chair of the IMF’s Executive Board, Tao Zhang, described the

response as “timely, targeted and proactive”, which will go a long way in increasing health and social spending to support affected households and firms. “The uncertain dynamics of the pandemic create significant risks to the macroeconomic outlook. Ghana continues to be classified at high risk of debt distress. The authorities remain committed to policies consistent with strong growth, rapid poverty reduction, and macroeconomic stability over the medium-term,” he said. “Additional support from other development partners will be required and critical to close the remaining external financing gap and ease budget constraints.”

MAC Ghana donates 10 Chevrolet Cobalt sedans to COVID-19 Fund MAC Ghana, distributors of General Motors and Isuzu vehicles in Ghana, has donated 10 Chevrolet Cobalt sedans to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund to aid in the fight against the pandemic in the country. Mr. Maneesh Raseen, the Head of Sales and Marketing of the company, said the donation was motivated by the exemplary leadership and decisive efforts of President Nana Akufo-Addo to contain the pandemic.

‘’The President has been leading the fight against the virus and we at MAC Ghana will want to support him and government in that direction,’’ Mr Raseen said when he presented the vehicles to the Fund at the Jubilee House on Wednesday. He said the vehicles were to provide transportation services for frontline workers, particularly medical and health teams. Madam Akosua Frema OseiOpare, the Chief of Staff, who received the cars on

behalf of the Trust Fund, expressed appreciation for the gesture by assured that the Fund would make best use of the vehicles.

“I can assure MAC Ghana that these cars will be put to good use and used for the right purpose,’’ she said. GNA

FRIDAY MAY 1, 2020

N E WS

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Domestic flights resume today— Kumasi, Tamale first two destinations BY DOMINICK ANDOH

Domestic flight operations have resumed today, with the two main operators— Africa World Airlines (AWA) and PassionAir—announcing once-daily flight operations on the Accra-Kumasi-Accra and Accra-Tamale-Accra routes. Africa World Airlines’ oncedaily Accra-Kumasi-Accra flight departs Terminal 2 (the domestic terminal) of the Kotoka International Airport at 11:00am local time, while its Accra-Tamale-Accra flight departs at 14:30 local time daily. PassionAir’s Accra-TamaleAccra service departs at 10:30am local time, while the indigenous airline’s Accra-Kumasi-Accra flight departs at 14:40. Sean Mendis, Chief Operations Officer of AWA, assured passengers of their safety following enhanced on-ground and onboard safety measures instituted. “The domestic airlines have jointly developed a set of comprehensive safety protocols together with the airport and the state agencies that are aimed to

protect passengers and crew. Air travel remains the safest form of transportation in human history, and we want to reassure our customers that when they fly with AWA, they can ‘Fly Safe, Fly Confident!’,” Mr. Mendis told Business24. On his part, Samuel Razak Tachie, Sales and Marketing Manager of PassionAir, said: “Passengers should be rest assured that all the requisite COVID-19 preventive measures have been put in place to ensure their safety. It is very safe to fly because of all the mechanisms within the aircraft. We warmly welcome back our customers.” Encouraging numbers Following the announcement of the first two COVID-19 cases in Ghana on March 12, demand for domestic air tickets dropped by about 30 percent within two weeks. The subsequent announcement of restrictions on in-country movement further dampened demand. Left with no choice, airlines had to park their fleet in their hangers, waiting for the lifting of the restrictions. However, the demand for

air tickets after the lifting of the restrictions on April 20 has been encouraging, according to Business24 sources. “As at Wednesday, we had more than 50 percent load factor (the percentage of airline seats that are filled). This is very encouraging,” a source said. Aviation Ministry backs airlines to recover The Aviation Ministry has backed domestic airlines to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry, in partnership with Zoomlion, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group, fumigated the Kotoka International Airport this week in readiness for the resumption of flight operations. The Aviation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, in a statement issued on Thursday, April 29 said: “The Ministry of Aviation wishes to assure the general public that the country’s airports are safe as they open for domestic operations, and the government remains committed to safety of passengers and service providers as part of measures to restoring normalcy to the aviation industry. “We will review laid

down protocols during the domestic operations and, when necessary, introduce improved procedures to further enhance the measures to strengthen the fight against the coronavirus pandemic as it affects the aviation sector.” Airlines’ pre-planned safety protocols Domestic airlines, in preparation for resumption of flights, had instituted various safety protocols to guide their operations. All passengers, based on the protocols sighted by Business24, are expected to be subjected to thermal screening at check-in. Any passengers with body temperature detected above 37.3C will be referred to health authorities for further examination. Wearing of nose covering for all passengers will be

required during the flight. All passengers, crew and staff will be required to undergo hand sanitisation at the point of boarding the aircraft. Additionally, all staff that interact with passengers will be required to wear surgical masks and gloves. The gloves must further be sanitised regularly when handling passenger documents. No food or beverage service will be conducted onboard the aircraft to minimise contact between passengers and crew. The interior of an aircraft will also be sanitised before each flight. In complying with social distancing requirements, passengers will be assigned seats so that no person is assigned a seat immediately adjacent to another passenger—with the exception of children under 12 travelling with an adult.

Ghana is 44th best country in budget transparency Ghana now ranks 44 out of 117 countries surveyed in the latest Open Budget Survey (OBS) on budget transparency. The survey revealed that although globally, budget transparency level remains low with the average score of 45, Ghana’s performance has improved from 50 in the last round of survey in 2017 to 54 in 2019. George Osei-Akoto Bimpeh, Country Director, SEND Ghana in a statement said: “This makes Ghana a relatively higher performer on the budget transparency score in comparison with six other West African countries (Sierra Leone- 39, Liberia-

38, Sao Tome- 24, Nigeria21, Equatorial Guinea- 5, and Gambia- 4).” It said the reason for the performance was that Ghana had increased the availability of its budget documents by particularly publishing the In-Year Reports online and in a timely fashion. SEND Ghana noted that despite the country’s progress, there is still room for improvement. It said government must take key actions, including prioritizing the publication of the Pre-Budget statements online and on time, while improving

the comprehensiveness of the content of the budget documents. The statement said Ghana performed abysmally low on public participation-- scoring 15 out of 100 and dipped by two points, when it scored 17 out of 100 in 2017. It said Ghana’s score also falls below two of its West African counterparts, Nigeria- 22 and Sierra Leone31, albeit slightly higher than the global average score of 14. The survey largely attributes Ghana’s low performance to inadequate space for citizens’ participation at the various stages of the budget

process. It shows that while limited (41/100) number of citizens had the opportunity to participate in the formulation stages, only a few (0-40/100) participated in the approval, implementation, and audit stages. The statement said this undermines the ability of the public to effectively use budget information and in holding government accountable for the management of public resources. “Transparency without inclusive public participation is insufficient for improving governance and positive

service delivery outcomes. Thus, although Ghana performs fairly on budget transparency, much effort is needed to further strengthen public participation in the budget process,” it added. It said for that to happen, the Ministry of Finance should Pilot mechanisms to monitor budget implementation and actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organisations representing them.

FRIDAY MAY 1 2020

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NEWS

Barry-Callebaut supports cocoa farmers in COVID-19 fight BY EUGENE DAVIS Cocoa farming communities across the country are expected to take delivery of assorted items worth US$25,000 to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The donation is under the auspices of Nyonkopa Cocoa buying limited and BC Ghana, both subsidiaries of Barry-Callebaut group, a global giant in the chocolate industry. Presenting the assorted items including veronica buckets, liquid soap and tissue to COCOBOD to be distributed to cocoa farming communities at Cocoa House on Wednesday, the Managing Director of BarryCallebaut Ghana, Charity Sackitey, commended the

efforts of cocoa farmers maintaining that “cocoa farmers are important in the value chain”. She also said the donation is very critical as there is an urgent need to help curb the coronavirus so that the cocoa supply chain is not disturbed. According to her, hand washing is a basic preventive measure against the spread of covid-19 and “we believe that by this donation and in collaboration with Cocobod, we are able to support the wellbeing and safety of the cocoa farmers and their families, who are very important partners of BarryCallebaut”. The MD of Nyonkopa,Dr. Joshy Varkey, also chronicled the immense support the company continue to give to the various health facilities

Officials of Cocobod led by Joseph Boahen Aidoo (in African print) receives items from Barry-Callebaut management

through the company’s monthly ‘Nyonkopa Needy Project’ where every employee contributes at least a day’s salary which is aggregated to procure

hospital supplies for the various health facilities in the farming communities. The CEO for Cocobod, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, added that government is doing

everything possible to break the chain of the spread and a key mode of breaking it is through handwashing. He urged cocoa farmers to observe the safety protocols by constantly engaging in handwashing and praised Barry-Callebaut for their donation. “We are grateful for all that you are doing and we will make sure that all these items are given to the farmers for their benefit and use”. BC Ghana and Nyonkopa have been complementing the efforts of Cocobod and government through farm improvement techniques like under-planting,pruning, community nurseries as well as taking the farmers through various training modules under the Barry’s sustainability concept-Cocoa Horizon.

Vivo Energy Launches Retailer Sustainability Programme on COVID-19 Vivo Energy Ghana, the Shell licensee, in partnership with its retailers has launched a novel sustainable initiative dubbed the ‘Retailer Sustainability Programme’ to implement human-centred projects in communities where it operates; with a focus on COVID-19 prevention.

we have the nation and our customers at heart. We are in difficult times and as business partners it gives us a great sense of fulfilment to have been able to offer a helping hand to the government in the prevention of this lifethreatening virus.

The Retailer Sustainability Programme forms part of Vivo Energy Ghana’s comprehensive programme on COVID-19 prevention being rolledout to complement the government’s efforts in combating the virus from Ghana and ensuring the decentralization of support to local communities. The Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Ben Hassan Ouattara, commenting on the programme said as a corporate organisation, it has been following the development of the pandemic in the country and the socio-economic impact of the life-threatening coronavirus on families, communities, businesses and the nation in general. “It is for this reason that we partnered with our Shell retailers to reach out to communities to help fight the

virus. The programme has led to the implementation of several COVID-19 prevention initiatives in various regions across the country and I want to express my profound gratitude to our distinguished retailers for responding positively to our call”, he said. Since the launch of the programme, various government institutions have benefitted from the programme. They include the National Commission

for Civic Education and Effiankwanta Regional Hospital in the Western Regional, Tamale Teaching Hospital in the Northern Region, Kenyasi Health Centre and Ahinsan Camp Prison in the Ashanti Region. Some interventions include the donation of PPEs such as gloves, nose masks, goggles, coveralls, hand washing facilities, hand sanitizers, detergents, thermometers and the construction of water tanks for underserved

communities to encourage regular hand washing. The Coordinator of the Northern Sector Shell retailers, Mr. Frederick Fredua Anto, expressed his appreciation to Vivo Energy Ghana for the partnership with its retailers to ensure that COVID-19 prevention interventions are not only centralised in the cities but trickle down to various communities in the regions. “Beyond selling quality Shell fuels and lubricants,

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Ghana, Vivo Energy Ghana has embarked on several projects on COVID-19 prevention. These include the donation of PPE to the National COVID Case Management Team, funding of an e-learning application for students at home and donation of hand sanitizers and liquid soaps to some major bus terminals and retail stations for distribution to drivers and customers respectively. In line with the company’s Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) intervention processes, it has also equipped its Shell service stations with hand sanitizers and other cleaning solutions as a precautionary measure. The company has also introduced other electronic payment options like mobile money at some of its service stations to reduce the handling of cash.

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FRIDAY MAY 1, 2020

Stimulating Ghana’s ecosystem of innovation BY: VINCENT DJOKOTO

It isn’t a farfetched ambition to make Ghana the most prosperous economy in Africa and the most equitable society in the world. We lead the continent, not just in entrepreneurial initiatives and services of all kinds; but in technology, academia, arts and culture. Accra is already by some measures the most booming businessfriendly city in Africa. But, clearly, we’re still far behind our target of a modern developed Republic. The hour has struck for us to level up and leap forward. Of course, there is a need for modern infrastructure, from mega business hubs, roads to hospitals. And government has a duty to provide households with an opportunity to purchase homes and start up enterprises.

But we all know from our own socioeconomic realities that there is one great precondition – one integral factor that determines whether you will have the requisite skills and the sheer confidence to maximise your talents – and that is obtaining quality tertiary education. It is still a sad reality that if you are from a poor family, or raised in one of the deprived constituencies of Ghana, you are far less likely to receive quality tertiary education. And that means you will be less likely to get employed at one of the lavish, highpaying metropolitan firms. Even worse, this will stifle your opportunities as an entrepreneur. This general lack of educational opportunity isn’t just a failure on the

part of government to build a better society; it is also the major cause of economic underperformance in Ghana. But on the brighter side, this makes it the single biggest opportunity to alter the narrative of our future, and boost the growth of per capita GDP. The first obvious step is to improve salaries and incentives for teachers and academics – the most vital profession of our ecosystem. This will motivate and rightfully mount huge expectations from centres of scholarship to produce more success stories. They are directly responsible for the enhancement of our human capital. Quite frankly, I do not see why we need to hire other nationals to take up the many

lucrative jobs created by our economic growth, largely because we have failed to improve tertiary education. Our investment strategy for tertiary education must prioritize per pupil funding and focus on academic courses that would be essential to our economy. We also need to increase contact hours between educationists and students – both inside and outside of the classroom. Ghana’s ecosystem of innovation — that spans from universities and academia to venture capital and enterprise — is centred on tertiary education. I agree, there’d be more driven citizens that succeed without education; there are many success stories that attest to this. But the youth have better prospects

of a rewarding career and dignified life if they receive quality tertiary education.

Vincent Djokoto, is a Business Executive and Columnist. Twitter/ Instagram – @VLKDjokoto

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Lessons from the Economic -Epidemiological Frontier BY CHRISTOPHER A. PISSARIDES, PIETRO GARIBALDI, AND ESPEN R. MOEN

COVID-19 has led economists to turn to the models used by epidemiologists as they struggle to understand the dynamics of the pandemic and its likely costs. The original epidemic model, commonly known as SIR, was introduced by William Ogilvy Kermack and Anderson Gray McKendrick almost a century ago. It divides the population into those susceptible to the disease (S), those infected with it (I), and those who have either recovered or died from it (R). In this standard model, an epidemic dies out when those exiting from the I cohort exceed the number of those entering it, owing to a declining stock of susceptible individuals. One key feature of the literature is “herd immunity,” which allows for the number of infected people to fall to zero before the number of susceptible people does (meaning that there are some individuals who will avoid the disease altogether). Economists have studied unemployment dynamics using similar transitions from one state to another, though this work came much later and was developed independently of

the epidemiologists’ models. A typical contribution is the Diamond-MortensenPissarides matching model, wherein contacts between unemployed workers and firms lead to productive job matches, and thus to a transition from unemployment to employment. There is a very important difference, however, between contacts that spread disease and those that lead to productive jobs. Whereas a single infected person in an epidemic can infect many more people, an employer with a job vacancy can extend an offer to only one worker. In economic terms, job vacancies are “exhaustible,” while an infectious disease is “nonexhaustible.” Exhaustibility introduces a dynamic that has not been studied in the epidemiological literature. If news arrives that public places are now host to people with an infectious disease, others will avoid interpersonal interactions, causing an economic downturn and reducing the infection rate. The lower infection rate, in turn, will reduce the number of people being infected to below what

it would have been with the parameters of the SIR model held constant. Fewer infections implies that convergence toward herd immunity will be slower. But, by applying the techniques of labor economics to the epidemiological literature, we can conjecture that the eventual herd-immunity state reached by people avoiding contact with one another will be one that maximizes the number of people who escape infection altogether. Even so, one might ask whether governments are justified in requiring some degree of social distancing, rather than allowing for voluntary changes in behavior on the part of the public. We believe they are, for at least two reasons. First, although an individual might choose to restrict her social interactions, her exposure when she does enter public spaces (such as a grocery store) will depend on the extent to which everyone else also has chosen to restrict their interactions. Hence, the level of contact – and of contagious risk – might be much higher than what the individual actually chose. In labor economics, this dynamic is akin to the

possibility of “increasing returns” from employmentmatching technology – an outcome that has yet to be confirmed in labor markets, but that seems very likely when applied to an epidemic. Second, during epidemics, governments might need to intervene to reduce the risk of medical services being overwhelmed. It is up to the state to “flatten the treatment curve,” because individuals generally will ignore the impact that seeking treatment might have on others. The main message that emerges from combining economic and epidemiological insights is that the population is better off when herd immunity is delayed through enforced social distancing, even though people’s natural reaction to an epidemic also will tend to reduce the infection rate. Though government-mandated restrictions might lead to a longer recession and require more law enforcement, the eventual herd-immunity state will be one in which fewer people were infected, hospitalized, or killed by the disease. To be sure, complete herd

immunity under strict socialdistancing measures may take several years to achieve. Late in this process, the government might decide that the population is close enough to the finish line to start relaxing its restrictions, such as by reopening schools or certain kind of businesses. But if people realize that they can still be infected, they might still choose to distance themselves from others, by working from home, keeping their children out of school, and so forth. At that point, should governments reverse their social-distancing policies to the point of actually enforcing more activity than individuals might otherwise choose, such as by mandating school attendance? That is a difficult question; unfortunately, it will most likely be a long time before policymakers have to answer it.

Christopher A. Pissarides is Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. Pietro Garibaldi is Professor of Economics at the University of Turin. Espen R. Moen is a research professor at the Norwegian Business School. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. www.project-syndicate.org

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Leading in Crisis BY MICHAEL ADOTE His goal was to raise £1,000 pounds ($1,250 or Ghc7,000) by walking the 82-foot length of his garden back and forth 100 times, using his walker for support before he turns 100 on April 30th 2020. To his surprise donations have been pouring in and as at Friday, April 24th, over £28,000,000 ($35,000,000 or Ghc200,000,000) has been raised. Imagine the kind of intervention this money will bring! Crisis is a time to touch hearts of people to make sacrifices. Major crises such as COVID-19 should serve as a basis to establish statues or structures to remind people and posterity of the crisis and condition them to respond appropriately to future ones. We must never come out of crisis the same. We must come out better than we were before.

“All crises are judgments of history that call into question an existing state of affairs. They sift and sort the character and condition of a nation and its capacity to respond. The deeper the crisis, the more serious the sifting and the deeper the questions it raises. At the very least, a crisis raises the question “What should we do?” Without that, it would not amount to a crisis.” Os Guinness These words resonate with the times we live in. Our world is in crisis. The enemy is invisible yet we cannot deny its horrific effects. The threat of the virus is based on the fact that its kind has never been identified in humans, and presently, we don’t have full answers on how to adequately manage and cure it. The Coronavirus pandemic is a VUCA situation. The model VUCA addresses a world of uncertainty, where occurrences are Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous – hence the acronym. Volatility of COVID-19: New cases and deaths continue and as yet, for the most part, there are no signs of COVID-19 being fully brought under control. Uncertainty of COVID-19: Dr. Anthony Fauci, an American Physician and a lead member of the USA’s Coronavirus Task Force has said, “You don’t make timeliness, the virus does.” The virus is difficult to predict because we are still learning. Unfortunately, while we learn to cope and deal with the virus, lives, jobs, businesses and many other things are being lost. This places leaders in a very precarious situation. Complexity of COVID-19: Approximately a quarter of the world’s population is in lockdown. The virus has had a crippling effect on health systems, economies and altered every facet of our society ie: family, education, government, science & technology, media, business and culture. With every decision, governments and organisations are beset with multi-layered dynamics that need to be carefully considered. In all of this, there’s very little time to process everything to make the best decisions.

Ambiguity of COVID-19: The attitude, the spread and the impact of the virus is not linear hence the potential to misread, misinterpret and mix meanings is high. This makes it hard to quickfix the problem. We see nations continue to extend lockdowns and modify movement restrictions as a result of this. As we all can tell, the COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis. It represents an archetype of a major crisis that can affect individuals, organisations, nations or even continents. Crises are unannounced calls to test our readiness to solve problems. COVID-19 has created fear, panic, uncertainty of the future, loss of livelihoods and shattered world systems but leaders are afforded a rare opportunity to align with the core tenets of leadership. Of these tenets, four that are vital for these times are purpose, function, service and influence. Purpose-Driven Leadership: In dealing with crisis, leadership must not respond in fear but in courage; spiritual, mental and moral strength to confront fear, danger or difficulty. Leaders display courage by providing direction and guidance to others. They do this by assessing the immediate impact of the crisis, put in place measures to manage day-to-day activities while forecasting weekly, monthly to quarterly activities as is possible in the moment.

Crises require a keen eye to spot opportunities to innovate and provide temporary interventions outside “business as usual.” While providing direction, leaders must be transparent and honest with the people they lead in order to properly manage expectations. Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. Leaders must therefore ensure that the people they are responsible for don’t feel helpless because they don’t know what to do. Functional Leadership: In dealing with crisis, leadership must be demonstrative. It is not enough to provide direction or guidance; leaders must lead from the front. It begins by the way existing teams are organised, being mindful of internal and external dynamics. Of all the things leaders can delegate, responsibility isn’t one of them. Taking responsibility and acting responsibly builds trust. When leaders are committed and dedicated to what they do, they earn the moral authority to demand same and more from others. Functional leadership is leading by doing and giving your team the needed motivation to press-on in the face of grave adversities. When the team begins to achieve results, even the minutest results, it can change the way crisis is viewed. This builds the confidence and the determination of individuals

and groups to confront their fears, overcome great odds and achieve greater things. It’s important to note that from the onset, not everyone may follow but as momentum builds, it sparks a wave of belief that attracts others. Service: Service is placing the welfare of people first. Leaders must pay attention to the needs of the team. Caring is showing genuine interest and concern for people within and outside the organization. While ministering to the needs of the team, it is important to think outside the team and ask what can be done for the external community that provides relief or support. This creates a lasting bond that builds allegiance and strengthens ties. A leadership that cares is a leadership that serves; and a leadership that serves is a leadership the cares. Influence: Inspiring and challenging others to buy into a cause or a vision and become evangelists of it. Inspiring people is being able to encourage them and create a sense of urgency in them to want to respond positively. But that’s just one aspect of influence. The other aspect is challenging them. This is when people get involved and immerse themselves in a course for greater good. About two weeks ago, a 99-year old veteran set himself a goal to raise money for the UK National Health Service.

This period, and for that matter, any major crisis is a defining moment. It may scare us but we must never let it paralyse us. It may grieve us, but we must never stop believing and hoping for the best in life. It may knock us down but we must rise again and put our hands to the plough. Even when it attacks us viciously, we must muster courage, draw strength from the depths of our beings and overcome it. And above all, may our hands be made strong by God.

Michael Adote is a Life Coach; an avid believer in human potential. He is the founder of the Poimen Leadership Institute, a leadership development organization that provides professional coaching and training in Leadership. He is also the founder of The Horesh Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to Build, Raise, Repair and Restore individuals in the identification and pursuit of their purpose. He is the Division Director of Ghana Toastmasters, an organisation that is helping men and women from all walks of life develop their communication and leadership skills. He oversees a network clubs in Accra, Tema and Kumasi. He serves as a mentor on the Central Leadership Program. The program identifies and grooms young emerging Christian leaders and positions them as change-agents in Africa.

FRIDAY MAY 1 2020

OPINION

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Agric Minister’s regional tour must be problem solving and not lip service BY QUAINOO REUBEN

The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, is scheduled to undertake a 6-day tour of the Ashanti, Eastern, Bono, and Bono East regions, beginning today, April 27. The visit of the Minister is expected to enable him to interact with farmers, visit selected fields while also holding discussions with staff and other stakeholders in the agricultural value chain. A statement issued by the Press Secretariat of the Ministry said the Minister “would also inspect ongoing and completed projects including warehouses and feeder roads being constructed under the Ghana Agricultural Support Investment Programme (GASIP).” As an Agriculturist, I think it’s time the country and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture see farming as a serious business and not just hand to mouth business or job. Farming is a global business these days what happens on the far side of the world often impacts what farmers in Ghana must focus on. Farming is also a local business and how the public perceives agriculture goes a long way toward influencing state and government elected officials, who make the laws that govern agriculture. For the most part our elected officials don’t really understand what farming is all about and we don’t have unified voice to explain it to them. Agriculture has a central role to play in promoting growth and poverty reduction in the Ghanaian economy at this stage of our development and Ghana needs an agricultural revolution based on productivity growth; this will raise almost a million more Ghanaians out of poverty, improve rural livelihoods significantly, and make a dent in the poverty of the rural savannah, especially in the Northern regions. Agriculture plays a strong role in reducing poverty. The most compelling evidence for this comes from comparing China and Africa. China’s poverty rate fell from more than 50 percent

Transportation and market access tops the list of challenges facing smallholder farmers in Ghana

in 1981 to about 20 percent in 1991 and 5 percent in 2005. In 1981, China’s poor outnumbered Africa’s by almost 4:1. Yet by 1996, SSA had more poor people than China: 500 million Chinese moved above the poverty line, between 1981 and 2004, whilst 130 million more Africans moved below the poverty line in the same period. What caused this great achievement in China? A combination of crisis, political leadership, reforms, supportive conditions and managing the stakes between potential gainers and losers, all played their role. As is often the case, these reforms grew out of a crisis of food insecurity, through which the leadership managed to carefully make a case for reform. Important preconditions assisted the process: prior investments in rural infrastructure and the high level of literacy among China’s peasants helped. Resistance from local cadres, whose power and privileges were under threat, was managed by giving them a stake in the new system: they became the new entrepreneurs for rural non-farm enterprises.

Making the reforms stick was aided by the fact that the center avoided imposing a single model, but rather gave farmers and cadres a choice among broad options. China’s experience is fully consistent with the view that promoting agricultural and rural development is crucial to pro-poor growth, particularly at the early stages, given the potential for smallholder farming to rapidly absorb unskilled labor. Experts have argued that an African development strategy that is firmly grounded in agricultural and rural development can result in a more sustained impact on poverty. Just as in China, there will be a time when the emphasis in Africa will shift to secondary and tertiary sectors. But with land abundance in Africa, an agriculture-based strategy must for now be at the core of any effective route out of poverty, just as it was in China in the 1980s. This regional tour should not be the usual once we have been seeing every day, in these trying moments we want to see solutions to the challenge’s farmers have

gone through since I was born. Firstly, poor transportation and lack of storage facilities: most of the farm produce just go to waste in our remote areas because farmers find it difficult transporting their farm produce to the market to sell. Secondly, poor markets: one of the major impediments is smallholder farmers’ lack of access to markets to sell their farm produce. Thirdly, lack of information: most farmers in remote areas have no access to information at all (some don’t even have radio sets). Fourthly, land availability: China’s economic reform began with making possible private land use, and just recently, new land reforms have institutionalized longer term leases to allow for larger land holdings and migration. Lastly, extension services: a pro-agriculture stance will need to rest on a strong extension service capability, as part of the capable state Sanitary and phytosanitary standards for the export of high value agricultural products require the provision of extension

support to small farmers either through the private or public sectors. Conclusion Ghana can make a break with the past, if each of us play our part. Part of that break will make possible a frontal assault on the challenge of agriculture in Ghana. It will help unleash a stronger and more sustainable growth path; move almost a million more people above the poverty line; improve the lot of rural Ghanaians by a quantum leap; and finally make a real dent in the incidence of poverty in the Northern regions. If we are not careful hunger may kill more individuals in Ghana than the COVID19 pandemic facing us now. Our elders say, “you must attend to your business with the vendor in the market, and not to the noise of the market. — Beninese proverb Quainoo Reuben is an Agriculturist, Project Management Professional and a Journalist with cross-platform experience working with Radio, Newspaper and Online platforms and received 2019 Outstanding Journalist in Agriculture Reporting by Ghana Chamber of Agribusiness.

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AFRICAN ECONOMY

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Locusts, Pandemics, Floods: East Africa can’t catch a break

A deadly mix of plagues could create food insecurity in one of the continent’s most vibrant regions. How much more calamity can East Africa take? Already struggling with the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a Biblical scourge of locusts, the region is now being lashed by exceptionally heavy rainfall, with floods that threaten life and livelihood from Ethiopia to Tanzania, and all parts in between. For the continent’s most economically vibrant region, the trifecta of tribulations may well add up to a fourth: food scarcity. This ghost from East Africa’s past could hardly have picked a worse moment to return. The world is distracted by the pandemic, and traditional sources of succor—the U.S. and Europe—face their own economic distress. China, the region’s economic partner of choice in recent years, has

not yet demonstrated the ability (or indeed the desire) to fill the vacuum. Even before the floods, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was warning of “an unprecedented threat to food security” in East Africa. Blame the emergence of huge new locust swarms. The Climate Prediction and Application Center in Nairobi says locusts are “invading the Eastern Africa region in exceptionally large swarms like never seen before.” The swarms are a product of climate change: Unusually wet weather over the past 18 months created perfect breeding conditions. The war in Yemen may also have played a role, by constraining the ability of local authorities to control the first swarms before they crossed over into the Horn of Africa. The voraciousness of the locusts has hit East African

farmers hardest. According to Gro Intelligence, a privately funded commodity data and analysis service, the insects have damaged more than 25 million hectares of farmland in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Worse is to come. The current wet conditions may swell new swarms in the summer, just as harvest season begins. Fighting locust swarms requires pesticides, and an army of people to spray them. But the coronavirus pandemic is hampering the effort. It is delaying the delivery of pesticides and equipment, and jacking up shipping costs. Governments need to protect their populations from the virus, and travel restrictions designed to impede its spread are constraining efforts against the swarms. But the danger to food security is so great, countries may feel they do not have

the luxury of choosing between scourges. Uganda, for instance, is asking its farmers to go ahead with crop planting, even though it is struggling to get them face masks — and despite the risk that locusts will ruin much of the harvest anyway. The FAO is calling for $153 million to assist East African countries, along with Sudan and Yemen, in fighting the swarms; so far, more than two-thirds of that sum has been pledged or received. But combating the food shortages, now exacerbated by the floods, will require much larger sums. And still more will be needed to put East African economies, until recently the envy of the continent, on life-support as the world recovers from the pandemic. Where will the money come from? East African countries will compete with their African neighbors — and the wider developing world —

for emergency funds from multilateral lenders like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and eventually for bigger bailouts. There will also be competition among African nations for the rescheduling, or outright forgiveness, of payments owed to China, the continent’s largest creditor. Beijing has agreed to join other G-20 members in a $20 billion debt moratorium for some poor nations, but is not committing itself to more. Some African governments say China is demanding strategic state assets in return for easing or erasing debt. Other lenders worry that any consideration they give African debtors will, in effect, benefit Chinese lenders. Neither man nor nature, it seems, is inclined to give East Africa a break. Bloomberg

FRIDAY MAY 1 2020

LIFESTYLE

Is Anloga Junction Stonebwoy’s most innovative album? BY GABRIEL MYERS HANSEN

Three songs in, the thesis of Anloga Junction— Stonebwoy’s new LP, which arrived April 24, three years after Epistles of Mama, his voluminous last collection— comes into sharp focus: he’s a country boy with the benefit of world travel. The album is a representation of this vantage point. It is one thing to christen a project, another for the songs to truly manifest its title. African pop has long been plagued by album names that bear no correlation to the songs they house. Stonebwoy himself has, at least on one occasion, been culpable of this. This problem likely stems from the culture of impetuously amassing singles and then shoving them under an ornamental rubric once the artist feels compelled to release a collection. The sonic synthesis dispensed on the new, fifteentracker is overwhelmingly toothsome, worthwhile, and yet, unsurprising. Musical enmeshments are hardly

a new attribute about the BHIM Nation honcho. They are primary to his style. He’s always been modern in that way. Thus, Anloga Junction is not the prodigious new product it was advertised as— not in its entirety, anyway. Rather, could it be a sister LP to Epistles of Mama, only in fewer songs and a smaller guest list? It listens as an obvious perpetuation of Stonebwoy’s quest to prove himself a global brand, another opportunity to brandish achievements: the first Ghanaian to do this, the only Ghanaian to do that, the one Ghanaian deserving of laurel X. It doesn’t take from its prognosis as the biggest album of the year. Stonebwoy is among the country’s top 3 musicians (the stage names of the two others begin with the same initial as his. They are also conspicuously absent from the project). Add that to the fact that the other two S’s released albums just last year, so are unlikely to release new LPs this year,

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and the prophecy is but a simple observation. Anloga Junction subsumes all other 2020 releases. Setting aside his mania with the history books, and as far as pop songs go, Stonebwoy is a proven vocal artisan; an adept melody merchant. The aural filigree inherent in his larynx sets him apart from his peers. By himself, or when he pairs up with renowned stylists as the American chanteuse Keri Hilson, his canoodling partner on “Nominate,” Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz on “Black Madonna,” and maestro Kojo Antwi on “Nkuto,” the colour in his voice shines through with directness. Dance leads this album. No surprise here, too. Dance is Afro-pop’s rule of thumb. If the dance tracks work, the album works. Stonebwoy enlists thirteen of the most trusted producers around, some his long-time allies (iPappi, MOG, StreetBeatz) others fresh acquaintances

THREE SONGS IN, THE THESIS OF ANLOGA JUNCTION—STONEBWOY’S NEW LP, WHICH ARRIVED APRIL 24, THREE YEARS AFTER EPISTLES OF MAMA, HIS VOLUMINOUS LAST COLLECTION— COMES INTO SHARP FOCUS: HE’S A COUNTRY BOY WITH THE BENEFIT OF WORLD TRAVEL

(Phantom, Andre “Dre” Harris, Spanker). The joints whose bpm aim for rapid footwork are also the ones that command the most joy (see: “African Party,” “Good Morning,” “Ever Lasting,” “Critical,” and the smooth “Motion.” Featuring Jamaica’s Jahmiel, the number attests to a longstanding virtue of Afropop: you don’t need a ballad to broach the philosophical). There’s also suave groove to be celebrated in the “Bow Down,” Nasty C-aided chest thumping that travels on emphatic drums and hi-hat confetti. The album closes out with “Strength and Hope,” its sole reggae song. Doused in spiritual impetus and Solomonic counsel, it echoes the thick emotion of his other submissions in that genre. One gets the feeling that he’s most meditative, most inward on reggae instrumentation. Overall, the verdict on Anloga Junction falls into one of two groupings:

it is either Stonebwoy’s best work, or his most innovative. The former is an easy enough argument to make: it is his most articulate, most rounded entry since his debut in 2012. Epistles of Mama is his most ambitious in terms of length and features, but that’s where it stops. He’s always known how to conjure singles, not as lucky at curating albums. Of the two categories presented in this paragraph’s first sentence, the latter is harder to defend. If you’ve followed his career, there’s nothing unique here: melody, dance, and vocal range have always underscored Stonebwoy’s craft. Where’s the innovation, then? Perhaps it resides— not in something as obvious as a template flip—but in a natural versatility we now take for granted, and the sustenance of Stonebwoy’s unbroken artistic presence, recognisable as much in his earnest Ewe vibes as when he sounds off in avid patois. Enewsgh

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LIFESTYLE

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Royals in the Entertainment Industry

Though the couple’s decision to step down as senior royals is somewhat unprecedented for the House of Windsor, they would be far from the first royals to make a go of it in the entertainment industry. Since the turn of the last century, a surprisingly large number of royals and titled nobility have tried to turn pro. A precious few—like Dynasty star Catherine Oxenberg (daughter of Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia) and current Dior It boy Prince Nikolai of Denmark—have achieved success. Overall, most have found the business as brutal as the average Jane or Joe, but the lure of applause remains strong: Kate Middleton recently revealed that Princess Charlotte absolutely loves to perform. Salif Keita of the Kingdom of Mali One of his nation’s most celebrated and beloved Afropop singer-songwriters, this Malian royal is nicknamed “The Golden Voice of Africa.” When Salif Keita started performing in the late 1960s, Salif hid his face with a towel to either not bring shame to his kin or attention to his albinism. “In my family it was not very easy to be a musician,” he once explained. “My family is a royal family and the royal family makes war—they don’t sing.” He kept right on singing until his retirement in 2018. Archduke Leopold of Austria, Prince of Tuscany After the chaos of the first World War, Hollywood became a mecca for selfproclaimed exiled royals, who blinded naïve movie folk with their titles. Most

PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE HAVE GONE TO HOLLYWOOD. NOT ONLY HAVE THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX REPORTEDLY MOVED INTO A MANSION IN MALIBU, THEY ARE NOW BEING REPRESENTED BY THE HIGHPOWERED PR FIRM SUNSHINE SACHS

Princess Stephanie of Monaco

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have gone to Hollywood. Not only have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly moved into a mansion in Malibu, they are now being represented by the high-powered PR firm Sunshine Sachs, whose vast roster of clients includes Natalie Portman and Ben Affleck. Meghan recently narrated the Disney nature documentary Elephant, and there remains speculation that she might go even further and return to acting.

With Hollywood legend Grace Kelly as a mother, it is not surprising that Princess Stephanie tried her hand at performing. In 1986, she released her first single, “Irresistible,” which reportedly sold more than two million copies worldwide. Her first album, Besoin, was a success, and she moved to Hollywood to work on its follow up, Stephanie. Released in 1991, it was met with tepid reviews. Critic David Hiltbrand wrote in People magazine: “This isn’t a humiliating outing. But it sure is embarrassing.”

were fake, but Leopold was a real, true Hapsburg, an adventurer who dazzled Hollywood. He worked as both an extra and technical advisor on at least three films, including Erich von Stroheim’s The Wedding March. It was reported that fellow extras would salute the archduke when he walked on set, with his valet in tow. Not impressed, he penned his observations on show business in an article for Photoplay magazine. “Hollywood is a Fata Morgana—a mirage,” he wrote, “which lures thousands to walk its streets, although only a very few reach the lucky oasis.” Princess Natalie Galitzine Displaced by the overthrow of the tsar, quite a few members of Russia’s ruling class decamped to America in the 1920s. This group included the once-powerful family of Golitsyn— descendants from the princes of Lithuania—who settled in Los Angeles. The young, beautiful Princess Natalie was discovered by the famed author Elinor Glyn, who initially offered to buy the poor woman a new wardrobe. She declined, but she did accept Glyn’s offer to introduce her to Cecil B. DeMille. Enamored by her origins, DeMille cast her in bit parts in films including 1927’s The King of Kings. She later attempted to work as a screenwriter before marrying Tsar Nicholas II’s nephew, Prince Vasili

Aleksandrovich. Count Ludwig von SalmHoogstraeten Suave, strapping, and shady, this Austrian playboy was a champion tennis player looking for fame— and fortune. His aristocratic looks would bag him a brief marriage to heiress Millicent Rogers in 1924 and work with film producer Count Alexander Kolowrat. He was cast in European movies including The Queen of Sin and Red Rider. Apparently of mediocre talent, his good friend Rudolph Valentino pronounced him an actor of “moderate ability.” Another film executive claimed that “his ability as an actor…was not so marked as to lead one to think he would ever set the world on fire.” And when the New York Times claimed he had been signed by Sam Goldwyn, the producer was quick to correct them with three words: “I have not.” Kim Jong-Il As heir to the dictatorship of North Korea, film fanatic Kim Jong-iI (he once wrote a treatise titied On the Art of Cinema) became head of his country’s movie industry. He produced patriotic operas and epics, but he wanted worldwide fame. In 1978, he had South Korean film director Shin Sang-ok and his ex-wife, actor Choi Eunhee, kidnapped. The two were forced to produce 17 films for Kim, including the Godzilla-inspired Pulgasari. They escaped in 1986.

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However, the princess’s career in show business was far from over. In the early 2000s Stephanie temporarily joined the circus, moving into a caravan with married elephant trainer Franco Knie. Her daughter Pauline Ducruet often performed in his act. Prince Edward of England Queen Elizabeth’s youngest child found show business rocky from the start. In 1987, he produced the notoriously embarrassing *Grand Knockout Tournament*, a television special featuring royals participating in games with celebrities. At the press conference afterward, the prince stormed out when journalists refused to praise the event. In 1993, he founded Ardent Productions. The company managed to produce only a few royaltybased TV documentaries. It folded in 2002. “Few were surprised when Prince Edward announced that his career in TV was over,” columnist Andy Beckett wrote in The Guardian. “The only mystery was how it had lasted so long.” Sarah, Duchess of York One of the team captains for brother-in-law Prince Edward’s *Grand Knockout Tournament*, the gregarious and hustling Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson has embarked on many (mostly ill-fated) e n te r t a i n m e n t - i n d u s t r y ventures since her divorce from Prince Andrew, in 1996. She was a longtime spokesperson for Weight Watchers, has co-produced films including The Young

Victoria, and has hosted documentaries like the much maligned The Duchess on the Estate. In 2011, she even starred in her own miniseries, Finding Sarah, on the OWN network, and roped in her daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, for an appearance. She is currently starring on a YouTube show, Storytime with Fergie and Friends. Don Lorenzo Borghese dei Principi Borghese The son of the entrepreneurial Prince Francesco Borghese and his American wife, Amanda Leigh, this ardent dog lover was The Bachelor on the ninth season of the neverending American reality show. He has also appeared on the 10th season of Celebrity Big Brother UK and wrote a novel about a royal relative, Princess Pauline Bonaparte Borghese. Later, he did a web series to promote his dog-grooming brand, Royal Pet Club. Called America’s Next Princess, the spoof features dogs searching in earnest for their prince. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia This ascending, controversial ruler (and ally of Jared Kushner) has made a big push in recent years to jump-start a money-making film industry in Saudi Arabia. In 2017, he lifted the country’s ban on cinemas and came to Los Angeles, where he dined with Hollywood elite, including Brian Grazer, Bob Iger, and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson. He also helped found and fund Manga Productions, which develops animated films and video games, and has inked deals with companies including FOX. The prince’s Hollywood honeymoon has somewhat soured, as disturbing news, including the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi, have made e n te r t a i n m e n t - i n d u s t r y investors wary of doing business with the kingdom. This hasn’t stopped the Crown Prince: Saudi Arabia just took a 5.7% stake in e n te r t a i n m e n t - i n d u s t r y giant Live Nation.

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LIFESTYLE

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The fragile life as a footballer BY FRANK NOUBLE

Everything was going well at Colchester but the coronavirus shut everything down and clubs this size are struggling. A couple of weeks ago, I had a phone call from my manager, John McGreal. He wanted to deliver some unfortunate news to four players who were out of contract in the summer and tell us that we wouldn’t be offered renewals at Colchester. Due to the circumstances we’re living in right now, he told us that the chairman, Robbie Cowling, couldn’t promise to fulfil our contracts and that is just the way it is. The chairman then called us a couple of days later just to confirm the news and to thank us for our time at the club. He said: “You never know what might happen in the future but I just can’t promise you I will be able to afford the contract I wanted to offer you.” I’m not sure what I had been expecting. I had been offered a couple of deals before the

end of the season and we had agreed to continue the conversation when it was over so we could just focus on football. We were sixth in the table when everything stopped and our goal was obviously promotion this year. Then we were going to sit down again to agree something to extend my time at the club. It was a shock because for a few weeks all that had been on my mind was wondering when we were going to start playing again and complete the season. To get that phone call was obviously a bit of a shocker but at the same time I understand the business of football. It’s still frustrating because I felt like I had finally caught a break somewhere. I haven’t stayed at the same club for a third season since I was at Chelsea as a teenager but I wanted to stay in Colchester. I’ve settled down, the manager has remained the same since I got here so I have been playing every week and enjoying my football. I’m also based down south and

closer to London again so everything was going well until coronavirus came along and shut everything down. I’ve dealt with situations like this before, although obviously nothing as severe. But in terms of moving clubs and starting again, I’ve had plenty of practice and will be ready for whatever comes next. The big issue is for my family because it means we will have to move again – they rely on me and always have to adjust to wherever we have to move to. We have been trying to get my oldest daughter into the school that we wanted but now we are going to have to make new plans for her to go somewhere else. Imagine trying to move house at short notice in the next few weeks with everything that is going on at the moment? That was part of the reason I really wanted to stay – people don’t realise some of the decisions you have to make when you are being offered a new contract. It’s not the same as before we had kids and could just stay

FRIDAY MAY 1, 2020

EVERYTHING WAS GOING WELL AT COLCHESTER BUT THE CORONAVIRUS SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN AND CLUBS THIS SIZE ARE STRUGGLING

in a hotel for a month. My partner is probably going to have to go up north with her family while I find my feet somewhere. We’re going to get paid until our contracts expire at the end of June and I assume that if football returns before then we will be able to play for Colchester again. But the situation still hasn’t been clarified. And what happens if they can’t finish the season until the end of July? It might be a case when we can only play five games in June and there are another four games left to play plus the play-offs, so the boys who have been released can’t play. We’ve lost our captain, a right-back, midfielder and an attacker who have all played regularly this season so that is almost half our team. It would be frustrating if we aren’t able to complete it, especially because some of us now don’t have a club to go to next season and need to be able to showcase our talents to get a move elsewhere.

I’m not sure how they can resolve it – just deciding the table on a points-pergame ratio and then having play-offs means that any teams who could have made a late charge don’t have any chance. I remember Tranmere last year weren’t anywhere near the play-offs with 10 games to go and they ended up being promoted. But there are so many risks in trying to play the matches behind closed doors that I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not. The chairman gave us a bit of extra time to try and sort ourselves out but I don’t have anything lined up at this stage. I’m just waiting for news, although the problem is that every other club is still in limbo as well. They don’t know what is happening with the players they already have or what the budget is going to look like so we just have to wait and see. It just shows how fragile life as a professional can be. (Source: theguardian.com)

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LIFESTYLE

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The Last Dance’ Overtakes ‘Tiger King’ as World’s Top Documentary ESPN’s Michael Jordan documentary, “The Last Dance,” has overtaken Netflix Inc.’s “Tiger King” as the most in-demand documentary in the world, a boost for the cable giant at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has shut down live sports and slashed its audience ratings. “The Last Dance” was one of the 20 most in-demand shows in the world this week, according to Parrot Analytics, a research firm that tracks audience interest using data that includes social-media conversations and piracy. The show is even more popular in the U.S., where it ranked as 11th this week. The past few months have been a landmark moment for documentaries, which have have historically attracted much smaller audiences than sitcoms, scripted dramas and reality TV. “Tiger King” was one of the most-watched TV series on Netflix in the first quarter of the year, while “The Last Dance” is the most-watched documentary in the history of ESPN. This is especially true for sports documentaries, which are the closest

substitute fans have for fresh programming at the moment. Sports networks have lost millions of viewers due to the cancellation of live events. “We are tracking a rise in demand for sports documentaries during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Steve Langdon, a director of partnerships at Parrot. While new episodes of “The Voice” and “Blue Bloods” still outdrew “The Last Dance” in the U.S., the basketball series is currently as in-demand around the world as hit shows like “The Mandalorian” and “Friends,” according to Parrot. The firm doesn’t measure actual viewership numbers, but its data provides a good insight into what people around the world are trying to watch online. Netflix holds the rights to “The Last Dance” overseas, and will get the show in the U.S. over the summer. So the streaming service is involved in the two biggest documentary hits of 2020. (Bloomberg.com)

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