1
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
BUSINESS24.COM.GH
Monday November 8, 2021
NO. B24 / 271 | News for Business Leaders
Why are supply chains blocked?
US$4bn investment in climate-smart agriculture announced at COP26 See page 9
See page 19
Enterprise Group targets GH¢2bn net income by 2024 By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com
P
ublicly listed life and nonlife insurer, pensions and real estate services provider Enterprise Group has set out on an ambitious growth journey that will position it to deliver sustainable profits to investors and shareholders. The company is seeking to generate an estimated GH¢2bn in net income by 2024 from its chain of subsidiaries in an audacious move that will be driven by expertise, innovation, an aggressive digital transformation Cont’d on page 2
Enterprise Group’s net income has grown by 43 percent to GH¢858m in 2021
ESLA levies projected to grow by 12% p.a. in 2021–24 By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com
By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com
T
he chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng, has said the outlook for revenues generated from the energy sector levies remains positive, as overall Cont’d on page 3
RA-certified cocoa farmers to get extra US$70 per tonnage
R
ainforest Alliance (RA), the international nonprofit organisation working in agriculture, Cont’d on page 3
The chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng
Cont’d on page 2 Cont’d on page 2
2
Editorial / News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Editorial
Good news for Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa farmers
A
s part of its 2020 Certification Programme, the Rainforest Alliance (RA) has rolled out two financial requirements for the buyers of its certified commodities. The sustainability differential (SD) is a mandatory cash payment to the farm certificate holder. It is intended to be transferred in full to group members in case of a group certificate holder and to be used in full for worker benefits in case of a medium to the large farm certificate holder. There is also the sustainability investment (SI) which is also a kind of payments to the farm certificate holder in cash or kind with the specific purpose of helping them meet the Farm
Requirements of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard and continuous improvement at the farm certificate holder level. These will be based on an investment plan drawn up by the farm certificate holder. These programmes will provide additional monetary amount to be paid to certified producers on top of the market price to reward them for producing sustainably. It is quite heartening that the focal point for this plausible intervention is the poor cocoa farmer, whose sweat and toils have failed to see befitting results. This financial scheme will surely go to cushion the financial burden of producers of nation’s
top exports and these are the sustainable solutions that are required across the agricultural value chain Rainforest Alliance is working to solve urgent environmental and social challenges as well as build economic opportunities and better working conditions for rural people and we believe that initiatives like this will go a long way to transform the lives of farmers who are signed onto its certification programme. As an agrarian economy, it is high time we placed our farmers at the forefront of policy decisions are support schemes, especially for producers of the states leading foreign exchange earner.
Enterprise Group targets GH¢2bn net income by 2024 Continued from cover
Your subscription -- along with the support of businesses that advertise in Business24 -- makes an investment in journalism that is essential to keep the business community in Ghana well-informed. We value your support and loyalty. Contact Email: editor@business24.com.gh Newsroom: 030 296 5315 Advertising / Sales: +233 24 212 2742
strategy, and access to new markets. To achieve this, Group Chief Executive Officer Keli Gadzekpo said there will be a robust plan to nurture, empower and inspire its people to meet both current and future needs of the market whilst cultivating a culture of innovation to generate new business leads. “We will break barriers into new market segments, channels and geographies in West Africa, and also leverage the group’s structured and strategic partnerships to win together,” he added, speaking at the company’s turn on the Ghana Stock Exchange’s Facts behind the Figures. Three years to the goal, the group says the target is realistic, counting on the solid financial performance of its subsidiaries. Enterprise Group’s net income has grown by 43 percent to GH¢858m in 2021, with similar rises in net premium and returns on equity and assets, which registered growth of 29 percent, 11.2 percent and 6.4 percent respectively. “Despite the pandemic, the company has continued to grow from strength to strength. Going
Enterprise Group Chief Executive Officer Keli Gadzekpo
forward, we foresee growth for all our businesses in life and general insurance, pensions, health insurance, etc.,” Mr. Gadzekpo added. Enterprise Group commands 20 percent of the domestic insurance business, being the leading player in both the life and non-life sectors. Its asset management subsidiary, Enterprise Trustees, also leads the market with about 25 percent share of total assets under management. To further consolidate its grip on these markets and boost regional appeal, the group recently acquired the fast-rising
health insurer Acacia and has also extended its operations to Nigeria, where it is seeking to carve a niche in the market by leveraging its comparative advantages. Touching on the brand’s digital agenda, the Group CEO said: “At the core of everything we are doing is our customer, and so we are really focused on using not just digital, but any other means of enhancing customer experience.” He added: “The plan is to be able to afford our customers the ability to interact with us anytime and however, and that’s the forecast for our companies.”
3
News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
ESLA levies projected to grow by 12% p.a. in 2021–24 Continued from cover collection is expected to record an average growth of 12 percent over the medium term (20212024). Presenting the 2020 annual report on the management of the energy sector levies and accounts on the floor of Parliament in Accra last Thursday, he said “the positive growth forecast will impact on the operations of the sector, as revenues that are generated will be used to address the challenges facing the sector.” According to the report, a total amount of GH¢4.57bn was collected from the levies in 2020 as against a programmed collection of GH¢4.44bn Actual collections exceeded the programmed collection by GH¢129.72m or 2.84 percent due to increases in consumption volumes and through the effect of the increase in the Energy Debt Recovery Levy (EDRL) and Road Fund Levy (RFL). For 2021, an increase in collection of 12 percent is
projected, with a similar annual growth rate expected in 2022– 2024. A total amount of GH¢3.6bn out of the GH¢4.5bn collected in 2020 was utilised. An amount of GH¢1.7bn was transferred to ESLA Plc, the special purpose vehicle that was created to among others issue debt securities for
the purposes of refinancing the energy sector debt. Parliament’s Finance Committee recommended that ESLA Plc should buy back more of the bonds it has issued in order to timeously retire the bonds. The total value of bonds issued is GH¢8.2bn, and the total levies transferred to ESLA Plc from 2017
to date amounts to GH¢5bn. “Unfortunately, despite receiving GH¢5bn, ESLA Plc has only bought back and cancelled GH¢664m out of the bond value of GH¢8.2bn,” the committee’s report said. The remainder of the funds was applied to outstanding bond obligations.
RA-certified cocoa farmers to get extra US$70 per tonnage Continued from cover forests and responsible business, has, as part of its 2020 certification programme, announced a minimum of US$70 extra payment per tonnage of cocoa that is purchased from its certified farmers. Starting from July 2022, the extra payment, known as the sustainability differential (SD), will be a mandatory payment to group members or farm certificate holders by buyers of RA’s certified commodities.
The payment will represent extra income to the farmers for adhering strictly to responsible farming practices. “This additional monetary amount is paid to certified producers on top of the market price to reward them for producing sustainably,” Joseph Yaw Mensah, Senior Associate, Training and Certification, Rainforest Alliance, said at a workshop for journalists in Accra. “We realised that farmers don’t often benefit from going through certification, and there are a lot of
distortions with how much they get after going through a whole lot of hard work, climate change, uncertain access to markets, and so forth,” he added. The sustainability differential programme is expected to address the structural inequalities in the cocoa sector, persisting low levels of income, and the challenges producers face in negotiating prices in an extremely pricesensitive environment. RA says it will roll out traceability tools to monitor the electronic receipt of payments by individual
farmers or group members whilst requesting buyers to also make sustainability investments for certificate holders. RA-certified farmers are into climate-sensitive and envirofriendly agriculture that protects fauna and flora, promotes biodiversity and tackles climate change. With cocoa being a key driver of deforestation, the organisation works with cocoa farmers to ensure that their cocoa crops are climate-resistant. “They [farmers] need to ensure that the environment is well protected, their lands also become resilient and be able to adapt to climate change,” Mr. Mensah said. The two-day capacitybuilding workshop was organised by Rainforest Alliance in collaboration with the Ghana Agriculture and Rural Development Journalists Association of Ghana (GARDJA) to enlighten the media on the various interventions in the agriculture, business and social sectors.
4
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
5
Energy
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
AOW 2021: Sahara Group advocates measured transition in Africa’s upstream sector
A
strong delegation from leading energy conglomerate Sahara Group will canvass the adoption of an “Africa appropriate” transition agenda in the continent’s upstream sector at the Africa Oil Week in Dubai, Executive Director, Moroti AdedoyinAdeyinka, has said. Adedoyin-Adeyinka said the event which kicks off on November 8 needs to consider the disparate development level in Africa when discussing how best the continent and its global partners should approach the desirable goal of energy transition. “We need to have realistic goals and milestones that will ultimately enhance energy transition in Africa in a manner that leaves no one behind. Sahara Group as a foremost promoter of access to energy and sustainable environments is delighted to join other African and global stakeholders to help shape a sustainable future for upstream business in Africa, she said. According to her, a “responsible and cleaner” production and consumption of energy in Africa holds the key to unlocking economic prosperity on the continent. “We are increasingly
witnessing a paradigm shift in oil and gas policies and operations in Africa, and this is commendable. How and when Africa achieves energy transition remains a huge talking point for the world at large and we need to keep the conversation going at AOW and other platforms. We envision that desired future at Sahara Group, and we are already aligning our operations, investments and partnerships in this regard,” she added. Scheduled to speak on “Diversity and Inclusion”,
Adedoyin-Adeyinka will be joined by Henry Menkiti, Chief Operating Officer, Asharami Energy (a Sahara Group Upstream Company), Nicolas Mignot, Chief Financial Officer, Sahara Energy Int’l Geneva, Kola Motajo, Vice President, Treasury, Sahara Energy Int’l Geneva, Andrew Laven, Chief Operating Officer, Sahara Energy Resources, Dubai, and Temitope Olagbami, Head, Corporate Finance, Sahara Group. Menkiti, Mignot and Laven will speak on panels focused on
Safeguarding and Strengthening African Upstream Portfolios through Technology & Innovation, setting the green agenda, and evolution of financing. “Bringing energy to life responsibly is a brand promise that propels our operations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East and we remain committed to using the agency of thought leadership to promote global access to sustainable energy,” Adedoyin-Adeyinka stated. Now at its 27th year, the AOW is a global platform that facilitates conversations, investments and thought leadership in Africa’s upstream sector, bringing together governments, national and international oil companies, independents, investors, and service providers. The event will among other issues examine the role of diversity and inclusion within Africa’s energy transition, set the context for Africa’s energy transition, explore where the greatest impact be made within the hydrocarbon industry to address ESG goals and highlight how to promote traditional energy projects to green-minded investors and funds.
Eni board appoints Stefano Goberti as Chief Executive Officer
T
he Board of Directors of Eni gas e luce has appointed Stefano Goberti as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. With his years of managerial experience in the field of finance at Eni Group, Stefano Goberti will lead the new company that integrates Eni's gas&power retail activities together with the production of energy from renewable sources. The new company is aiming for a stock market listing in 2022. As announced in October, the strategy, objectives and name of the new company will be communicated to the market at the Capital Markets Day scheduled for 22 November. The Board of Directors of Eni gas e luce has also appointed Rita Marino as the company’s Chairman. Alberto Chiarini, who leaves the position of CEO of Eni gas e luce,
will lead the Eni project “Building a Sustainable Mobility”, with the
aim of developing and enhancing the production and marketing of
low carbon products and services for sustainable mobility.
6
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
7
News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
African governments urge to find new ways to maximie digital revolution
A
frican governments have been urged to explore ways to maximise the positive effects of the digital revolution on their citizenry to ensure the continent is not left behind. Dr George Agyekum Donkor, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) made the remarks in a keynote address at the 7th Rebranding Africa Forum in Brussels, Belgium. The annual forum, on the theme: "How the Digital Revolution can shape Africa's Future" attracted high-level stakeholders, including government Officials and corporate institutions. The forum was also addressed by key dignitaries such as Mr Tony Blair, former UK Prime Minister, Mamadou Issoufou, ExPresident of the Republic of Niger, Pierre-Yves Dermangne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and Labour of the Kingdom of Belgium, among others. Dr Donkor said the digital environment had enabled the creation of a single digital market, encouraged synergies and partnerships at all levels for greater efficiency, which had offered enormous opportunities
to increase trade and investments on the continent. He was of the view that such an opportunity could be leveraged to support the effective roll-out and facilitation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) necessary for deepening regional integration for achieving economic growth and sustainable development in Africa. “While we work to optimize the gains of the digital revolution,
we also need to remember that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is beckoning. The world will not wait for Africa; Africa needs to act with dispatch in embracing technology while participating in advancing it,” he added. The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) is a leading regional Investment and Development Bank, based in Lomé, Togo. EBID, has over the past four decades, invested approximately
2.8 billion dollars in inter and intra-regional development programmes, covering diverse initiatives from infrastructure and basic amenities, rural development and environment, industry, social sector and services. EBID intervenes through long, medium and short-term loans, equity participation, lines of credit, refinancing, financial engineering operations and services.
Finance Minister to present 2022 Budget on November 15
T
he Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has informed Parliament that the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government would be presented
on 15th and not 17th November 2021 as originally advertised. He explained that the reason was to enable the House to attend its post-budget workshop with members checking in on Friday,
November 18, and staying till they leave on Sunday, November 21, 2021. Mr Afenyo-Markin said this when he presented the Business Statement for the third week
ending, Friday, November 12, 2021, to the House. Mr Afenyo-Markin, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, clarified that the House would start the debate on the budget from Monday, November 22 and conclude on Friday, November 26, 2021. Having regard for the limited time frame for the approval of the Budget and Appropriation Bill 2021, he urged members to be active in the debate on the budget. He entreated Committee Chairpersons, particularly those with urgent and timebound referrals, to endeavour to present their reports for consideration as early as possible before the House was seized with consideration of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government. GNA
8
Banking
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
FBNBank@25, “Elephantly” weaving into the fabric of the Ghanaian market
F
or 25 years, FBNBank has been gently and calculatedly embedding itself into the socio-economic structure of Ghana delivering good value to its stakeholders. On 6th November 1996, the antecedent of FBNBank, officially opened to the public with the commissioning of its first branch situated opposite the Ghana Law School in Accra which has now been moved to the current Makola branch location. This one-branch bank in 1996 with 5 staff has metamorphosed into a household name in the market with twentytwo (22) locations and over 450 staff across the country offering gold standard customer services to the individuals and businesses. An exciting development which would certainly be a source of great pride to the stakeholders especially because the Bank is embracing good value systems, seeking high aspirations and contributing to the society. At twenty five years, there are remarkable achievements in terms of ensuring that the institution survived multiple regulatory policy changes including recapitalizations through good corporate governance, in the area of producing and nurturing industry and opinion leaders, strong financial performances, using dynamism and innovation to meet the changing needs of our customers and business environment, and demonstration of “Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK), a corporate social responsibility to the community. Good corporate governance The board of directors and the executive management believe that the practice of good corporate governance is the bedrock of organizational survival, growth and also the building of a solid reputation in the industry. This has been demonstrated over the years by setting the “right tone at the top” and it has reflected in the conduct of our business over the years. As a result, the Bank has survived multiple stress tests conducted by the regulators, several recapitalization regimes, the recent one in 2018 that culminated in the reduction of the number of commercial banks from 34 to 23. The regulator described these 23, including FBNBank, to be sound, profitable, liquid and resilient. The Board
43% respectively while industry recorded marginal growth of 9% and 27% respectively within the same period. FBNBank has also displayed consistency in compliance to various regulatory ratios including cash reserve requirement, capital adequacy ratio and net open position. Currently, the Bank’s capital adequacy and liquidity ratios are above the regulatory benchmark, which indicate adequate capitalization and strong ability to withstand unanticipated loss and readiness to meet the needs of customers. Corporate Social Responsibility
always ensures that the Bank establishes a strong and efficient control environment in addition to a good risk management framework and system that will guarantee sustained earnings and continued survival of the institution. This practice was recently acknowledged by the award of the “Best Bank in the year 2020” by the Chartered Institute of Credit Management Ghana (CICMG). Producing industry leaders The Bank contributes to the social economic development of the country via corporate social responsibility and developing talent and industry experts who continue to contribute to the society at large. FBNBank has demonstrated the importance of human capacity development thereby deserving the accolade “talent factory” by having the likes of Dr. John Kofi Mensah (MD of ADB Bank), Mr. John Kwaku Asamoah (former MD of NIB Bank), Mr. Ernest Agbesi (former MD of GCB), Hon. Isaac Ashai Odamtten (MP for Tema East constituency), Michael TettehVoetagbe (General Manager, Human Resource & Admin, Ghana Export Import Bank), Mark OforiKwafo, (Head, Legal & Company Secretary, First Atlantic Bank) and many others as its alumni. Dynamism and innovation FBNBank’s survival and growth has been underpinned by innovation and operational dynamism in order to meet the ever-changing business
environment and customers’ needs. The Bank’s digital banking strategy aims to leverage new and evolving technologies to enable customers access everyday financial services and consummate a variety of realtime financial transactions via our various channels including Online Banking, FBNMobile, Quick Banking *894#, Agent Banking, MasterCard debit card, Visa prepaid card, Mobile Money Service, GhIPSS Instant Transfer (GIP), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and many others. The use of these channels have quite recently been strengthened by the PCI-DSS and ISO-27001-2013 certifications, which guarantee the safety of the customers’ transactions. Strong financial performance Following the good corporate governance practices, innovation and dynamism, the Bank has sustained strong financial performance for the benefits of its stakeholders. FBNBank remains profitable, liquid, highly capitalized, and compliant to the various regulatory requirements. Within the last three years, FBNBank posted stronger financial performance than the industry. While the industry was growing at 17%, 21% and 20% in total assets, customers’ deposits and shareholders’ funds, FBNBank grew by 49%, 38% and 61% respectively. In resource utilization FBNBank also performed significantly better than the industry. The Bank’s gross earnings and profitability grew by a whooping 24% and
We believe that our world can be a better place through small acts of kindness. Our initiatives and activities in delivering benefit to the wider community have been anchored around education, health & welfare, and economic empowerment. This underscores FBNBank’s partnership with Rotary International and Ghana Health Service in the effort to eradicate polio and also provide learning amenities to some educational institutions. FBNBank remains absolutely committed to putting the interest of stakeholders at the heart of what it does by delivering a diverse range of innovative products and services while becoming more socially responsible and creating opportunities that will ensure sustainable value and an enduring future. As FBNBank celebrates 25 years, a toast to all stakeholders is in order; so a toast to the visionary fathers who established this great institution in Ghana as a modest endeavour in 1996. A toast to our customers who have become partners in fostering a great relationship and to our regulators and other stakeholders for providing a conducive regulatory environment for our business. A toast to FBNBank’s staff for believing in the brand, pushing the frontiers and delivering the gold standard of service to our customers and a toast to our shareholder, First Bank of Nigeria, for the support to majestically advance the brand in Ghana. Happy Silver Jubilee to all of stakeholders. Semiu Lamidi is the Executive Director/Chief Financial officer of FBN Bank Ghana. He can be reached on semilad@yahoo.com
9
News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
US$4bn investment in climate-smart agriculture announced at COP26
T
he Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) – a major new initiative led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United States (US) with the support of over 30 governments has announced an “early harvest” of $4 billion of increased investment to accelerate innovation for climatesmart agriculture and food systems over the next five years. The initiative, launched as part of the World Leaders’ Summit at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), aims to increase and accelerate agricultural and food systems innovation in support of climate action. While farmers and ranchers around the world face the impacts of climate change on a daily basis, nearly 25 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. AIM for Climate is focused on enabling innovation investment in a sector that employs over 2 billion people and feeds the world’s growing population. AIM for Climate’s diverse list of supporters include over 30 countries from six continents including the recent addition of Azerbaijan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as numerous other nongovernmental agencies. John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, said: “The United States is proud to be launching the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate initiative alongside the United Arab Emirates and over 80 partners across the globe. Investment in climate-smart
agriculture innovation is critical to addressing the climate crisis. Innovation can reduce emissions, feed the world’s growing population, and help farmers and ranchers mitigate and adapt to climate change. AIM for Climate has an impressive start, garnering $4 billion in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation thus far, but together AIM for Climate partners can and must do more to catalyze even greater investment in the years ahead. I look forward to seeing what AIM for Climate can accomplish and encourage more to join this effort.” Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said: “AIM for Climate is focusing on a sector that has been previously overlooked in terms of the opportunities it offers for global climate action. This initiative demonstrates the UAE’s holistic and inclusive approach to climate action, which characterizes our offer to host COP28. The United Arab Emirates has already driven change in the energy sector
through green innovation and growth, investing over $17 billion in clean energy around the world. AIM for Climate is a smart extension of that investment strategy.” Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “A major part of the climate challenge revolves around food and agriculture. When we consider that about a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, and the world’s growing population is increasingly dependent on climate-vulnerable food production, we can see the urgency of driving investments in agricultural innovation and R&D. AIM for Climate is the kind of bold move towards accelerating the global food systems transformation that we need, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 and eradicate world hunger by 2030. The initiative will go a long way in mobilizing a global movement to strengthen food security, transform our food systems into more sustainable ones and mitigate climate change.”
“The climate crisis threatens to disrupt food systems around the globe, exacerbate food insecurity and negatively impact farmers’ livelihoods. We must invest in innovative, science-based solutions to help agriculture mitigate and adapt to climate change – and that’s what AIM for Climate is all about,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “We welcome our newest AIM for Climate supporters and urge additional nations and organizations to join us in this global effort to accelerate agricultural innovation through increased investment in research and development.” AIM for Climate partners intend to catalyze greater public and private sector investment in, and other support for, climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to help to raise global ambition and underpin more rapid and transformative climate action in all countries, including by enabling science-based and data-driven decision and policymaking. AIM for Climate partners are committing to significantly increase total investment in agricultural innovation by 2025 versus the 2020 baseline. AIM for climate seeks to enable ambitious investment in climatesmart agriculture and food systems innovation to help create a surge of solutions, enabling the world to meet nutritional needs, increase agricultural productivity, improve livelihoods, conserve nature and biodiversity, build resilience to climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sequester carbon.
AngloGold Ashanti appoints Lisa Ali as Chief People Officer
A
ngloGold Ashanti has announced the appointment of Lisa Ali as Chief People Officer, effective April 2nd, 2022. Lisa joins from Newcrest Mining, where she is currently the Chief People and Sustainability Officer. With over 30 years of experience, most of it in extractive industries, Lisa holds a BSc, with honours in Analytical Chemistry and Biochemistry, as well as an Executive Masters’ Degree in Business Administration. She has worked in United Kingdom, Latin America, including Brazil, the Middle East
and Australia. At Newcrest, Lisa led the People, Sustainability, Social Performance, Health, Safety, Environment, and External / Government Relations functions, developing and implementing strategy for those functions, ensuring integration and the delivery of business objectives. Before joining Newcrest in 2020, Lisa was Head of Transformation at state-owned Trinidad Petroleum Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiary companies. Prior to that Lisa held several senior positions, including Vice President of Human Resources and Head of Talent and
Learning, at BP International PLC. “Lisa brings to AngloGold Ashanti her unique technical background and deep experience in strategic human resources and business transformation, in the multinational extractive sector,” AngloGold Ashanti Chief Executive Officer Alberto Calderon said.
“This is another key addition to our leadership team which remains absolutely focused on ensuring we have the best talent to improve our sustainability and operating performance, cost position and project delivery.” Lisa will replace Italia Boninelli, an executive consultant overseeing human resources.
10
News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
AfDB, AUC and UNECA pledge more resources to improve land governance in Africa
T
he African Development Bank, the African Union Commission (AUC), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) have pledged to work more closely with governments to beef up land governance systems. In a joint declaration at the end of the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa, the organizations pledged financial and technical assistance “to ensure that land governance and land policy processes in Africa are transparent, lucid and accessible and that state and indigenous systems are easily integrated.” They also pledged to work with practitioners in arts, cultutre and heritage to increase awareness and appreciation of land issues on the continent. The theme of the conference was “Land governance for safeguarding art, culture and heritage towards the Africa We Want.” The Rwanda government hosted this year’s event in a hybrid format, with participants gathered physically in Kigali and online. Organizers integrated arts and culture in the conference, anchoring the power of the creative sector in land matters. “At this time when the world is also engaged in the COP26 process, we wish to underscore the fact that large parts of our
continent are deserts or semi-arid and are facing ecological damage. Yet, more than often, unequal distribution of land has relegated a growing population of small holder farmers, women, and youth to marginal areas, leading to increased pressure on land and land resource degradation,” said the declaration, read by Leontine Kanziemo, Advisor, Natural Resources Management at the African Development Bank. The declaration called for greater land equity in order to broaden access to natural resources. It also said it was crucial to work with governments, artists and cultural leaders to ensure that women and youth have access to land. “The majority of our people rely on land for a living. Therefore, pro-poor land policy should be transparent to all land users, equitable, and free of corruption,” the partners said.
The declaration called for traditional custodians of African art, heritage, and culture to be included in all pro-poor land policies. “In addition, in the aftermath of the recently concluded UN Food System Summit, land governance should be critically considered as an influential enabler in the transformation of African food systems.” King Mfumu Difima Ntinu, President of the African Traditional Authority, pointed out that efficient land governance requires political will and urged African countries to pay more attention to the role of women in land matters. “With your help, we will get there,” he added. In his remarks, Rexford Ahene, Chair of the Conference’s Scientific Committee, made a point about the connection between land and the creative industries, saying
land’s economic potential, and the benefits of creative industries, should not be underestimated. According to the World Trade and Tourism Council, the creative industries will add $269 billion to African GDP by 2026 and more than 29 million jobs with skills that are attractive to young people. “It is important to take that into account,” Ahene explained. He called on governments and development partners to invest resources in building the creative sector’s capabilities and preserving intellectual property and rights to “safeguard and protect the creativity and innovation that this sector delivers.” The Conference on Land Policy in Africa is organized biennially by the African Land Policy Centre, a joint initiative of the UNECA, the AUC and the African Development Bank.
Emirates launches daily flights to Tel Aviv from 6 December
E
mirates has announced it will launch a daily nonstop flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv, Israel, starting 6 December. The move comes as the UAE and Israel continue to develop greater economic cooperation to drive growth across a range of sectors, in addition to boosting trade flows between both nations. With the new daily flights, Israeli travellers will be able to connect safely, seamlessly and efficiently to Dubai, and through Dubai to Emirates’ global route network of over 120 destinations. The flight timings to/from Tel Aviv will offer travellers convenient access to major leisure destinations beyond Dubai like Thailand, the Indian Ocean Islands and South Africa, among others. Furthermore, the new flights introduce convenient inbound connections to Tel Aviv from
close to 30 Emirates gateways across Australia, the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India and South Africa, all home to some of the largest Jewish communities in the world. Travellers from the United States looking to stop in Dubai before embarking on their onwards journey to Tel Aviv can avail the Dubai Stop Over package, which includes stays at world-class hotels, sightseeing, and other activities. Dubai also continues to attract leisure travellers from Israel with its ever-expanding list of experiences, including hosting Expo 2020 Dubai which has drawn in more than 2 million visits in its first month. Israel is participating at Expo 2020 Dubai with its own country pavilion under the theme ‘connecting thoughts – creating the future’. Emirates’ new flights will also boost connections for business communities in both countries,
creating new channels to network and forge investment opportunities across industries. With the opening of visa-free travel between both countries and the easing of restrictions across the Emirates network, the new services will meet future travel demand in and out of Tel Aviv. The airline will deploy its modern Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three class configuration, offering private suites in First Class, lie flat seats in Business Class and spacious seats in Economy Class to serve customers on the route between Dubai and Tel Aviv. Daily flights are scheduled to depart Dubai as EK931 at 14:50hrs, arriving at Ben Gurion Airport at 16:25hrs local time. The return flight EK 932 will depart Tel Aviv at 18:25hrs, arriving in Dubai at 23:25hrs local time. Emirates’ customers will
also benefit from the airline’s codeshare partnership with flydubai. The codeshare provides travellers with short and seamless connectivity from Dubai to points across the combined networks of both carriers, which today consists of 210 destinations in 100 countries. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “Emirates is excited to announce Tel Aviv, one of the region’s key gateways, as its newest destination. With the start of services in just a few weeks, Emirates will provide more options for travellers to fly better to and from Tel Aviv via Dubai. We also look forward to welcoming more business and leisure travellers from Israel to Dubai, and onwards to other destinations on Emirates’ network.
11
Health
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Virtual health for all
T
he COVID-19 pandemic has sharply accelerated the use of digital technologies in the health sector. For many who could no longer obtain in-person care, access to virtual health services became a matter of life and death. This revolution will not end when the pandemic does. But without thoughtful stewardship, a digital divide could exacerbate health inequities. Above all, guiding the future of virtual health so that no one is left behind requires us to learn from the past 18 months and ask the right questions. From its earliest months, the pandemic triggered a massive shift to virtual health services. In France, the number of telehealth consultations increased from 40,000 to 4.5 million between February and April 2020. In India, online health consultations among people over 50 increased by 502% last year. Global investment in digital health doubled year on year in 2020, to $21.6 billion. And non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations – from the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development to the World Health Organization – deepened their focus on the issue. The surge in virtual health services during the pandemic has entailed many policy changes and new ways of doing business. Some of these were beneficial and will serve as a foundation for further progress. But the rapidity
of the changes has often meant haphazard execution and uneven results. It is still too early to settle on a definitive post-pandemic vision for virtual health services, and how each country approaches it must of course be tailored to local contexts. But we can begin to identify the right questions to ask in shaping this fast-growing global sector’s future. First, what is the true value that these services can provide? If we regard virtual health as merely a sector-specific example of emerging technology, it may generate efficiencies and even improve outcomes, but it will not realize its full potential. In many settings, technologies that are already part of people’s everyday lives can empower patients. Virtual services can help people re-center their health in personalized, familiar, and convenient ways. Whereas going to a health facility can sometimes be a cold, intimidating experience or even logistically impossible, virtual services allow people to engage on their own terms, on comfortable ground. Especially in low- and middleincome countries, expanding telemedicine can help to compensate for lack of physical infrastructure while providing an additional way to connect remote populations with national health systems. Second, how can virtual care promote equity? The WHO
recently identified health equity as one of the four guiding principles of its Global Strategy on Digital Health, calling for investment in infrastructure, education, and resources to help low- and middle-income countries adopt new digital health technologies. And in June 2021, G7 health ministers stressed that virtual health-care services must be “inclusive, comprehensive, and equitable.” Even within high-income countries, marginalized communities have often borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, compounding historical and inherited inequities. Fully realizing the promise of virtual health care means leveraging digital connectivity to reach those previously excluded. Third, which approaches to virtual health services have shown the most promise? Countries with flexible regulatory regimes have had the best results during the pandemic. One key policy change that some countries quickly adopted was to remove the requirement that new patients have an in-person consultation before receiving virtual care. We also know that data and artificial intelligence have been and will remain strong enablers of virtual health care. Real-time monitoring, analysis, and decision-making are possible only if data are appropriately managed at scale. But data-driven approaches
raise important concerns regarding privacy, data storage, and information use that must be carefully considered within the context of human rights and ethical standards. To help governments navigate these concerns, the WHO’s global strategy provides a regulatory framework for ensuring appropriate use of health data, defines key concepts such as health data as a global public good, and outlines principles for equitable data-sharing. Finally, how should we move forward? By carefully studying the pandemic’s impact on virtual health services, we can identify best practices, build on what worked, and reform as needed. We can provide practical tools to preserve and expand the progress made in virtual health, manage the aftermath of the pandemicinduced surge in demand for these services, and usher in a transformative and equitable future. To facilitate this analysis, the Novartis Foundation and the WHO are co-leading a new Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development working group on virtual and data-driven health services. Together, we aim to help countries transcend the digital divide, include the formerly excluded, and achieve quality health care for all. Ann Aerts is Head of the Novartis Foundation.
12
News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
President opens JETRO Ghana office
P
resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Friday officially opened the Accra office of the Japan External Trade Organization ( JETRO) to strengthen business exchanges between Ghana and the East Asian country. The Accra JETRO office, which would focus mainly on trade, investment promotion, exhibitions, research, and policy advocacy, is expected to boost bilateral relations between the two countries. JETRO is the principal public agency that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world. The organization began its Ghana operations in March 2020, but the official opening was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Accra office is the ninth in Africa. "This is an important development towards deepening cooperation between Ghana and Japan," President Akufo-Addo said of the opening of the JETRO Accra office. He said with Ghana determined to become the fulcrum of intraAfrica trade and the new hub of Africa's industrialization, JETRO’s presence in the country would help the Ministry of Trade and Industry implement Ghana's comprehensive industrial transformation programme. “Industrialization is a matter of utmost priority and urgency for this government, especially in addressing the challenge of job creation for our youthful population, and in exploiting fully the opportunities available for made in Ghana products in export markets.”
President Akufo-Addo made clear his expectation for the role of JETRO in drawing direct investment from Japan to Ghana and expanding exports from Ghana to Japan. “We in Ghana, look forward to more substantial investment by Japanese companies into the manufacturing sector for Ghana to realize its full potential, as a regional manufacturing hub for Africa,” he stressed. Ghana and Japan concluded on August 29, 2019, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the opening of a JETRO office in Accra. This was after President Akufo-Addo had expressed hope, when he attended the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) in 2018, for the presence of the Japanese agency in Ghana. As part of the opening of the JETRO office, Ghana and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Trade and Industry and JETRO to enhance economic and trade relations between the two nations. President Akufo-Addo noted that the partnership between
Ghana and JETRO was in line with the Government’s post-COVID recovery programme, which seeks to leverage trade, investment, and industrialisation to transform the Ghanaian economy. He said with the Government determined to become the biggest trading partner of Japan on the African continent, “Let me reiterate that this is the most opportune time to boost trade and investment for the mutual benefit of our peoples, as we seek to implement our post-COVID economic recovery program. “This is a good time for the government of Japan and Japanese investors to join us in making Ghana the hub of Japanese investment in Africa, by creating a win-win Partnerships with the Ghanaian private sector. “It is my earnest desire that Ghana and Japan continually search for ways to engage. I have no doubt that together we can develop an even stronger partnership for cooperation between our two nations for the mutual benefit of our two peoples,” the President said. Mr Nobuhiko Sasaki, Chairman and CEO of JETRO indicated that
despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, his country looked forward to strengthening its trade relations with Ghana in the years ahead. He said Ghana was a destination of choice for Japanese businesses because of her political and social stability, adding that the Accra JETRO office would accelerate new businesses and expand existing ones. Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen noted that the establishment of a JETRO Office in Ghana to promote trade and investments undoubtedly reinforced the growing confidence in the leadership of the country. He said the government seeks to enhance the productive capacity of the local private sector to position them to partner with foreign investors including Japanese investors to take full advantage of the numerous opportunities prevailing in the economy, and gave the assurance that his Ministry would work with JETRO to attract more Japanese investments into Ghana to take advantage of numerous opportunities in the Ghanaian economy. Ghana has the fifth largest number of Japanese companies in Africa. Both countries have collaborated since the 1960s on Health research, development assistance, and Trade. In 2016, Ghana exported over US$592 million worth of goods, including cocoa beans, aluminium, and feedstuff to Japan and imported close to US$600 million worth of goods comprising motor vehicles, rubber products including tires, and machinery from that country.
Malta donates 135,000 vaccine doses to Ghana
T
he Government of Malta has donated more than 135,000 vaccine doses to the Government of Ghana, while it continues to show solidarity with countries in need, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa. A special Air Malta direct flight to Accra Ghana, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, arrived in Accra today. H.E. Jean Claude Galea Mallia, Malta’s High Commissioner to Ghana was at the airport to ensure safe uploading of the vaccine. In line with the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs’ Strategy for Africa, in recent months, Malta has begun a
campaign of donating hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses to countries who have been struggling to obtain enough of them. Thus far, this vaccination sharing campaign has involved donations from Malta to Libya, Egypt and Rwanda, and donations are expected to continue in the coming weeks and months. Malta’s entire vaccinationsharing efforts have been jointly led by officials from the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry for Health, working closely with the Civil Protection Department. Collectively almost 340,000
vaccine doses have been donated so far. Thus far, this vaccination sharing campaign has involved donations from Malta to Libya, Egypt and Rwanda, and donations are expected to continue in the coming weeks and months. One of the ongoing realities of
the COVID-19 pandemic is that, access to vaccines aiming to reduce its impact, continues to be unequal. Malta is committed to doing its part to address this unequal distribution, as COVID-19 will not be solved definitively until everyone is vaccinated.
13
ICT
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
IIPGH organises cybersecurity workshop for selected security officers in Ghana By David Gowu
W
henever cybersecurity is mentioned, most people think of ethical hacking. However, cybersecurity is broader than this widely held perception. This was revealed at the cybersecurity capacity building workshop organized for selected officers from the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service. The month of October is celebrated as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) in Ghana to create awareness and educate citizens on the importance of good cyber hygiene. The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) in partnership with digiCAP. gh as part of activities lined in the cybersecurity awareness month organized a one-day cybersecurity workshop with practical sessions for its members on Monday 18th October 2021 at Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra. Selected IIPGH members from the security services of Ghana participated in the presentation and hands-on training on detecting, tracing, and preventing cybercrime, while other civilian members joined via the Zoom virtual platform. The participants discussed Ghana's Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act. 1038): its implications, and the role of stakeholders. Information Security Governance, Risk & Compliance was also discussed. A hands-on practice session using advanced techniques on how to detect vulnerabilities and how to protect personal and organizational data was carried out to end the full-day workshop. The workshop, which was moderated by the administrator of IIPGH madam Gifty Mottey, kicked off with brief opening remarks by Mr. David Gowu, the Executive Director of the Institute of ICT professionals Ghana. He shared an overview of the institute, including the activities being carried out by IIPGH in creating awareness and educating the public on cybersecurity. “Since November 2017, we publish articles weekly in the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) newspaper and other online portals with most of our topics focusing on cybersecurity," Mr. Gowu revealed. He indicated that his organization is already collaborating with the newly established Cybersecurity Authority in
raising awareness; capacity building for professionals and other stakeholders. He concluded the institute wants to collaborate with other institutions, especially security services, to promote cybersecurity consciousness in the country. Mr. Gowu’s opening remarks were quickly followed by a brief presentation by Mr. Mike Loose, Lead Consultant for the digiCAP. gh project being implemented by AFOS Foundation. He touched on the objectives of setting up a skills development program in partnership with the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and IIPGH. “AFOS Foundations is an association of Catholic entrepreneurs and the organization works with industry associations such as IIPGH to promote skills development and entrepreneurship. In Ghana, AFOS is working with UCC and IIPGH to prepare students with practice-oriented ICT programs to prepare them in the areas of data science, application development, and cybersecurity. We are working on adding a third institution soon," Mr. Loose highlighted. Ghana’s Cybersecurity Act, 2020: its implications and the role of stakeholders. To raise awareness about the newly passed Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act 1038) in the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) through its newly established agency the Cyber Security Authority embarked on a series of activities with the theme: ‘Ghana’s Cybersecurity Act, 2020: its implications and the role of stakeholders’. To expand on this theme, Mr. Desmond Israel, a seasoned Cybersecurity Consultant & Legal Practitioner, led the first presentation. On the Cybersecurity Act 1038, he showed the 10 converging indicators of the various sections of legislation and mentioned that all the indicators come together to make the Act a comprehensive piece of legislation for effective implementation and enforcement. Mr. Israel also emphasized that the law makes room for professionals from various domains to effectively deploy their skills in implementing aspects of the Cybersecurity Act 2020. “For example, people think of cybersecurity and all that comes
to mind is hacking, however, legal practitioners are required here, data protection and information security professionals are needed, auditors and financial experts have a part to play and of course the security services will need to understand the law and effectively charge offenders or those who break the law," he intimated. The legal practitioner concluded that a lot more collaborations will be required by industry professionals to take advantage of the industry forum provision in the new cybersecurity legislative instrument. He recommended that industry players should perform a skills gap analysis of the country's cybersecurity human resources and come up with capacity building plan that, if implemented, will produce the needed skills in all the areas mentioned in the Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act. 1038). Information Security Governance, Risk & Compliance The second presentation of the workshop focused on information security and was delivered by Mr. Sherrif Issah, an Information Security Governance, Risk & Compliance Expert, and the Communications Director of the Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana. He engaged the participants through the basic principles of information security and how to conduct a risk assessment. “In risk management, you identify the risk, you analyze the risk and you evaluate the risk. If the assessment is satisfactory, you accept the risk, communicate and monitor," Mr. Issah explained. digiCAP Project by AFOS Foundation After the two presentations on cybersecurity, there was a short break from cybersecurity to demonstrate solutions being developed by students of the digiCAP project. As part of the digiCAP skills development program, students are given special training and encouraged to put these skills acquired into solutions that will help businesses and individuals. The lead facilitator for the digiCAP project Mr. Wendel Laryea led
the presentation session of the selected students and gave an overview of the applications and solutions developed by the students. The impressive presentation from the first UCC digiCAP cohort reinforced the need to enroll more students in this type of skills development program. Mr. Laryea concluded that the research conducted by IIPGH at the beginning of the project recommended that students be given soft skills training such as communications and presentation skills, critical thinking, and collaborative skills so fresh graduates will be prepared to fit into any type of job when they are out of school. About digiCAP.gh and AFOS Foundation: DigiCAP.gh is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project being implemented by AFOS, the German Foundation for Entrepreneurial Development Cooperation. The project is supported by the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through sequa gGmbH. Cybersecurity Practice Session– Capture the Flag (CTF) After the lunch break, participants were ready for the practical session. Laptops connected to the internet were made available to all the attendees present. The CEO and founder of Inveteck Global, Mr. Abu Safian Blay, then led a practical session and engaged over 40 professionals present at the workshop venue with over 145 professionals connected via Zoom virtual application for a handson experience. The participants were first taken through how to detect some basic vulnerabilities of websites and followed by a practical test known as "Capture the Flag (CTF)". Author: David Gowu–(Executive Director, Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana) For comments, contact david. gowu@iipgh.org or Mobile: +233242773762
14
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
15
Feature
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Facebook's foreign disasters
By Eric Posner, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, is the author of How Antitrust Failed Workers.
“
The ugly American,” the title of a novel published in 1958 by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer, entered the language to refer to boorish American officials abroad who sought to improve the lives of natives without taking the trouble to learn their language, culture, or needs. A long line of ugly Americans, mostly politicians and government officials from both parties, have believed that applying simple formulas based on idealized versions of US institutions – democracy, markets, and human rights – could convert longsuffering places like Afghanistan and Iraq into Western-style consumer utopias. Inevitably, these Americans caused more harm than good. Today, the ugliest of all Americans is not a government official but a private citizen, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg has received an endless stream of criticism because of Facebook’s lamentable impact on American politics and culture. Less attention has been given to Facebook’s impact on foreign markets, which Zuckerberg recklessly penetrated with no evident concern about the possible consequences of conducting massive social experiments in countries with weak institutions and histories of instability. Back in 2015, Zuckerberg teamed up with the musician Bono to advocate a human right
to internet access. The all-toocommon belief among America’s business elite that one’s economic self-interest coincides with the global good appeared as a paean to cyberspace that the duo wrote for the New York Times: In Ethiopia and Tanzania, for example, farmers connect to get better prices, track inventory and make mobile insurance payments in case of bad weather. In Nigeria, citizens use BudgIT, a mobile app, to assess whether governments keep their spending promises…. In Guatemala, cellphones inform mothers how to have healthy pregnancies. In Kenya, women receive financial services via their cellphones thanks to the brilliant M-Pesa microfinance scheme. Reality has turned out a bit different. In Ethiopia, Facebook posts “incite[d] mob violence, ethnic clashes, crackdowns on independent press or outspoken voices.” In Nigeria, Facebook users circulated grisly images of dead bodies, which were falsely presented to suggest that members of one ethnic group massacred members of a rival ethnic group, and sparked a wave of horrific killings. In a country with 24 million Facebook users, only four people were employed to fact-check Facebook posts. In Myanmar, Facebook accounts were used to stir up ethnic violence against the Rohingya, tens of thousands of whom have been killed and many more driven into exile. In India, Facebook users stirred up sectarian violence, including lynchings, against Muslims. Similar accounts of Facebook
being used to inflame conflict and provoke massacres have been given for Sri Lanka, Yemen, Iraq, and Bangladesh. And in many other countries, from Vietnam to Poland, governments or their supporters have used Facebook to target, harass, and endanger dissidents, political opponents, and vulnerable minorities. In the Times piece, Zuckerberg was touting internet access, not Facebook itself. But by now we know that internet access and Facebook are intertwined, both in Zuckerberg’s plan and in reality. In many countries, Facebook and its properties, Instagram and WhatsApp, are the dominant social media platforms, as they are in the United States. Both the internet and Facebook have done very well since that article was published. From 2015 to today, the percentage of the global population with internet access increased from 41% to 66%, while Facebook’s monthly active user base increased from 1.49 to 2.89 billion. While the extent of Facebook’s contribution to the erosion of democracy and human rights over this period is unknown, the platform has clearly played a role in some of the worst atrocities around the globe, and in the coarsening of political life virtually everywhere. But while Zuckerberg’s goal of “building a global community,” as he put it in 2017, resembles American foreign policy (or at least American foreign policy before it was reduced to ashes in Iraq and Afghanistan), Facebook is of course a private entity. It is subject to American jurisdiction and not the other way around. The chastened US foreign policy establishment,
along with Congress and the president, might consider whether America owes it to the world to rein in Facebook, to the extent possible, in countries that lack the institutional capacity to rein it in themselves. A few possible reforms suggest themselves. The US Congress could pass a law that requires American social media companies to devote resources to monitor and fact-check content in foreign countries in proportion to the amount they spend on these activities in the US. (Facebook currently devotes vastly more resources in the US.) Another possible law would allow foreigners to bring lawsuits in US courts when American social media companies spread misinformation and hate speech, as defined under local law. While such a law would be challenged under the First Amendment, courts may give Congress more latitude to regulate speech abroad than at home, especially when doing so shows comity with foreign countries. And Congress could enact a law that imposes penalties on social media companies that are shown to have recklessly contributed to, or failed to stop, major atrocities that were facilitated by their platforms. The title of Burdick and Lederer’s novel actually referred ironically to one of the few good Americans in the story. The negative meaning stuck because the shorthand was more useful: the bad type of American greatly outnumbered the good. And now, thanks in part to Facebook’s foreign policy, the ugly American is everywhere.
16
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
17
News
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Inflation: Global food prices hit fresh 10-year high - FAO G lobal food prices have hit the highest level in over a decade after rising by more than 30% in the last year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. The agency's figures highlighted the soaring cost of cereals and vegetable oils around the world. Vegetable oil prices hit a record high after rising by almost 10% in October. Disruptions to supplies, high commodity prices, factory closures and political tensions are helping to push up prices. The FAO said its measure of cereal prices was up by more than 22% compared to a year earlier. The price of wheat was one of the major contributors to this rise, up almost 40% in the last 12 months after major exporters - such as Canada, Russia and the US - had poor harvests. "In the case of cereals, we're facing a situation where one could say it's climate change which is ultimately causing falling production," Peter Batt,
an agribusiness expert at Curtin Business School told the BBC. "We've had pretty bad years [of harvests] in a lot of places." The FAO said its index of vegetable oil prices was pushed up by rises in the cost of palm, soy, sunflower and rapeseed oils. In the case of palm oil, prices have been driven higher after output from Malaysia was "subdued" due to ongoing
shortages of migrant workers, the FAO said. Labour shortages are helping to push up the cost of production and transportation of food in other parts of the world too. Mr Batt said: "The other problem that has emerged is getting the product out. For example, here in Australia we've had a lot of ships arrive to take the food away but we can't get crew
to come in because of Covid." Shipping disruptions are also pushing up milk prices, with the cost of dairy products rising by almost 16% over the last year. Brigit Busicchia from Macquarie University said speculation on global markets is also contributing to price volatility: "Since the 1990s, the deregulation of commodity futures trading has made it possible for institutional investors to enter this market on a large scale." This is having a particular impact on countries which rely on food imports. "Expect countries like Egypt or other Middle Eastern countries to experience tensions in their provisioning of cereals," she said. Ms Busicchia also highlighted that rising food prices are typically felt most acutely by the poor, as disadvantaged groups are pushed further into poverty and that this has the potential to heighten social and political tensions. BBC
New board of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation outdoored
T
he newly constituted Board of Trustees of the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation (OOTIIF) was outdoored during last weekend's Akwasidae celebration at the Manhyia Palace
in Kumasi. Membership of the Board includes its Chairman, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, internationally acclaimed Orthopaedic Surgeon
and the Otumfuo's Hiahen and Mrs Margaret Boateng Sekyere, Mr Andrew Asamoah, Dr Kwaku Mensa-Bonsu, Dr Kwame BawuahEdusei, Rev. Akua Ofori-Boateng, Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Nana
Akuoku Boateng and Mrs Mariam Agyeman Gyasi Jawhary. The foundation serves as the Asantehene’s umbrella development organisation to consolidate, structure and implement all the King’s social impact initiatives in the specific thematic areas of Education, Health, Culture and Heritage, Water and Sanitation and some special projects. The mission of the foundation is to improve the quality of life of Asanteman and Ghanaians by enhancing access to good quality education, health and sustainable infrastructure while promoting programs in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), tourism and socioeconomic empowerment. The foundation is a consolidation of the various initiatives of Otmfuo Osei Tutu II, including the Otumfuo Education Fund, the Serwaa Ampem Foundation for Children and the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Charity Foundation. The newly constituted Foundation is still under the patronage of His Royal Majesty and Her Royal Highness.
18
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
19
Trade
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Why are supply chains blocked?
By Michael Spence
S
upply-chain disruptions are severely hampering the global economic recovery. It is a strange situation in many ways. The types of products and services affected by delays and shortages – including a wide range of intermediate goods, from commodities to semiconductors, and the final products that depend on them – resemble what one would see in a wartime economy. And the disruptions took us largely by surprise. In fact, in the first quarter of this year, growth was overwhelmingly projected to accelerate, and experts were not exactly sounding the alarm that supply would fail to keep up. Yes, influential macroeconomists did warn that the combination of highly accommodative monetary policy, elevated householdsavings balances, pent-up demand, and massive fiscal spending significantly increased the risk of inflation. And, yes, those forecasts – which appear increasingly prescient – implied that a surge in aggregate demand, fueled by a wall of liquidity and frothy asset prices, could outpace supply. But the likely duration of the imbalance remained unknown, and many argued that inflation – and, by extension, supply disruptions – would be “transitory.” Many observers remain convinced that this is the case. But participants in global supply chains increasingly predict that the shortages, backlogs, and imbalances between supply and demand will persist well into 2022, and perhaps longer. It seems clear that, for some significant period, global economic growth will be constrained by supply – a sharp contrast from the years after
the 2008 global financial crisis. Although the surge in demand may be larger than mid-pandemic forecasts indicated, it was the basis for the high growth projections in the pandemic recovery period. That makes it all the more important to address two fundamental supply-side questions. First, are there underlying supply constraints that will persist even after pandemicrelated blockages are cleared? And, second, is there something about the configuration and functioning of global supply chains that affects the supply response? One can reasonably make the case that the pandemic produced semi-permanent changes in some supply factors. For starters, many workers have dropped out of the labor market or deferred reentering it, despite the rollback of pandemic-support mechanisms. This probably has much to do with the highly stressful or dangerous conditions under which some, such as health-care personnel, worked during the pandemic. Many cargo workers were stranded on ships for months. If workers are to accept such positions now, they will probably demand better compensation and changes in working conditions. Likewise, many of those who shifted to working remotely during the pandemic are resisting a full-time return to the office. Such shifting demands and preferences imply supplyside changes in many segments of the labor market, with unknown long-run effects. But labor-supply effects are only part of the story. We knew that a surge in demand was coming. So, why were global supply chains caught flat-footed? One reason is that pent-up demand was unleashed before
the pandemic was actually over. So, as demand increased, pandemic-related disruptions continued to affect major ports and manufacturing facilities, dampening the supply response. Another factor is that demand seems to have risen beyond the system’s peak load capacity. Expanding that capacity will require investment and, more important, time. But, while peak load capacity is crucial in services like electricity (which is difficult to store), it is less important for goods, demand for which must be managed with a well-functioning system that anticipates surges and spreads out the order flow. Therein lies the problem. Global supply networks, as they are currently constituted, are complex, decentralized, and wound tightly, in order to maximize efficiency and minimize waste. But, while this approach works in normal times, it cannot handle major shocks or perturbations. Decentralization, in particular, leads to underinvestment in resilience, because the private returns on such investments are much smaller than the systemwide returns or benefits. Another consequence of decentralization is subtler, and perhaps most easily explained with an analogy to weather forecasting. Although weather is the result of an incredibly complex and interconnected system, forecasting has become increasingly precise and accurate over time, thanks to highly sophisticated models that capture the way relevant factors – such as wind, atmospheric and ocean temperatures, and cloud formation – interact. Global supply networks are similarly complex. But, while we might be able to anticipate broad trends – such as that demand will
increase – there is no model or set of models that enable us to predict with any precision how such trends might affect specific elements in supply chains. We have no way of knowing, for example, where new bottlenecks will occur, let alone how market participants should adjust their behavior. When forecasts are not specific enough to be actionable, the system cannot adjust in a timely or efficient manner. The system is essentially myopic: it discovers the blockages when they occur. And because there is relatively little slack built into it, large deviations from normal patterns produce delayed responses, shortages, backlogs, and bottlenecks, like those we are seeing today. The conclusion is clear: We need better models for predicting how supply chains will evolve, including their likely responses to shocks. These forecasts need to be publicly available so that all participants can see them and adapt. Artificial intelligence would likely be the key to success; indeed, this is a natural application of the technology. But international cooperation, with countries sharing real-time data generated by supply-chain networks, would also be needed. The costs of a hurricane or tsunami are greatly reduced when accurate forecasts enable people to plan ahead. Supply-chain disruptions are no different. Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics, is Professor of Economics Emeritus and a former dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, serves on the Academic Committee at Luohan Academy, and co-chairs the Advisory Board of the Asia Global Institute.
20
Markets
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
21
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20
22
BUSINESS24.COM.GH MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
NO. B24 / 271 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS
MONDAY MAY 3, 2021
MONDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2021
Agricultural expansion drives almost 90 percent of global deforestation
A
gricultural expansion drives almost 90 percent of global deforestation – an impact much greater than previously thought, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said it released the first findings of its new Global Remote Sensing Survey. Deforestation is the conversion of forest to other land uses, such as agriculture and infrastructure. Worldwide, more than half of forest loss is due to conversion of forest into cropland, whereas livestock grazing is responsible for almost 40 percent of forest loss, according to the new study. The new data also confirms an overall slowdown in global deforestation while warning that tropical rainforests, in particular, are under high pressure from agricultural expansion. “According to FAO’s latest Global Forest Resources Assessment, we have lost 420 million hectares of forest since 1990,” FAO DirectorGeneral QU Dongyu said today in a speech prepared for a 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties’ (COP26) high-level dialogue entitled “Upscaling Actions to Turn the Tide on Deforestation” where FAO presented the new findings. To this end, he emphasized that increasing agri-food productivity to meet the new demands of a growing population and halting deforestation are not mutually exclusive objectives. Turning the tide on
deforestation and scaling up the hard-won progress on this front is of vital importance to build back better and greener from the COVID-19 pandemic, Qu added. To succeed in such endeavour, we need to know where and why deforestation and forest degradation happens and where the action is needed, the DirectorGeneral said, noting that this can only be achieved by combining the latest technological innovations with local expertise on the ground. The new survey serves as a good example of such approach. Increasing agri-food productivity to meet the new demands of a growing population and halting deforestation are not mutually exclusive objectives. More than 20 developing countries have already shown that it is possible to do so. Indeed, latest data confirms that deforestation has been successfully reduced in South-America and Asia Tropical forests are under threat According to the new data, in 2000-2018, the vast majority of the deforestation took place in the tropical biomes. Despite a slowdown in deforestation in South America and Asia, the tropical rainforests in these regions continue to record the highest deforestation rates. Deforestation drivers differ across the world’s regions Agriculture remains the main driver of deforestation in all regions except for Europe,
where urban and infrastructure development have a higher impact, the study says. Conversion to cropland dominates forest loss in Africa and Asia, with over 75 percent of the forest area lost converted to cropland. In South America, almost three quarters of deforestation is due to livestock grazing. The FAO-led study was conducted using satellite data and tools developed in partnership with NASA and Google, and in close collaboration with more than 800 national experts from almost 130 countries. The High-level Dialogue brought together the heads and principals of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests member organizations to build momentum on forest-based climate actions under the UN Secretary-General initiative on Turning the Tide on Deforestation. The event will also be a major contribution towards the Stockholm+50 Summit, the 17th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF17) and the in-depth review of SDG15 (Life on land) by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2022.
FAO’s work on halting deforestation Considering the multiple linkages between forests, agriculture and food security, FAO’s new strategic framework will lead efforts to transform agri-food systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), FAO supports more than 60 countries in implementing strategies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through UN-REDD. FAO is also co-leading the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration with UNEP, an important opportunity to accelerate innovative ideas into ambitious actions. Moreover, the recent UN Food Systems Summit formed a coalition between producer and consumer countries, companies and international organizations to halt deforestation and the harmful environmental impacts of converting land to produce agricultural commodities.
Accra to host second Africa Digital Skills Conference
M
obile Web Ghana, a technology and entrepreneurship hub, will hold the second edition of the Africa Digital Skills Conference (ADSC) in Accra from November 9th to November 11th, this year. The three-day conference, with support from Digital Skills Accelerator Africa and GIZ, will be done virtually and bring together technology experts, trainers and knowledge seekers on one platform. A statement issued in Accra by Mobile Web Ghana, said the aim of the conference was to provide a platform for teaching and
learning of digital skills across the African continent. It said the conference would create a critical mass of individuals and organisations interested in bridging the skills gap on the continent. The statement said it would also offer opportunity for participants to network, connect and build a solid digital foundation for Africa's growing economies. It said a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) said 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa would require digital skills by 2030, resulting in almost 650 million training opportunities.
"This presents a great opportunity for the youth to equip themselves with skills that will be in high demand in the near future." The statement said digital literacy and knowledge were now needed in all spheres of life and would be critical for future jobs. The Africa Digital Skills Conference will focus on basic, intermediate and advanced skills training. Last year, the conference saw more than 1,000 registered attendees with 45 from 52 countries and 40 sessions. It said this year, participants
were expected mainly from Africa and partly from all over the world. Some topics to be discussed are: getting started with Data Analytics, data science and machine learning, how to develop a mobile app without coding, social media marketing for twitter and linkedIn. Others are: introduction to cloud computing, using data and insights to help your business grow, user journey mapping for digital marketers, exploratory data analysis with python, soft skills for IT professionals, and introduction to free and open source software for Geospatial.