Business24 Newspaper 21st April, 2021 by Business24 Online

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

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NO. B24 / 185 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Bawumia unveils industry-led platform to combat MoMo fraud

Moody’s projects 4.1% growth for Ghana this year By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

redit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service is projecting a slower economic growth rate of 4.1 percent for Ghana in 2021, 0.9 percentage points lower than the government’s target of 5 percent for the period. Cont’d on page 3

First Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari

Fintech regulation revamped to drive innovation—BoG By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President, Ghana

By Nii Annerquaye Abbey annerquaye@gmail.com

he Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has announced the launch of the Fraud Control

Dashboard, an initiative by mobile network operators (MNOs), the central bank and the police to tackle the rising incidence of fraudulent activities in mobile money operations.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

POLICY RATE

14.5% 14.77%

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4% OF GDP

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

4.2% GHC 5.13

Cont’d on page 3

Cont’d on page 2 INTERNATIONAL MARKET

US$1 = GHC 5.7606

GHANA REFERENCE RATE PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE

Dr. Bawumia, who was speaking at the opening of the second edition of the Mobile Technology for Development (MT4D) conference in Accra,

he First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, says the regulatory environment for fintech has been revamped to ensure a more competitive and innovative industry.

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

CORN $/BUSHEL

$543.75

COCOA $/METRIC TON

$123.55

COFFEE $/POUND:

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Editorial / News

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Editorial

Galamsey fight needs all hands but..

llegal small-scale mining, popularly known as “galamsey” has left many water bodies across the country in terrible shape and causing irreparable damage to some. This damage has had a cascading effect on the operations of the Ghana Water Company limited as far as treatment of water as well as quality is concerned. Earlier this week, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor after touring some intake points for Ghana Water realised how dire the situation is – calling on communities to support the government in the fight against the menace. The Minister’s call although

appropriate comes after the government’s own fight against the menace had practically fallen apart either deliberately or out of sheer lack of capacity to deal with the widespread of the practice. There is no denying that communities can play a role to stop illegal mining but the greater responsibility lies on the government. Over the years has the government, with all the resources it has, done enough to make galamsey unattractive to anybody seeking to venture into that space? This paper may not be the best to answer, the general populace stands a better chance while the quality of our river bodies flowing

throwing through our town will bear the greater witness. Indeed, while we coerce communities to support this fight against galamsey, government must also realise that its stopstart approach is not working. Our water bodies, forest, and general biodiversity are under threat and we need the government to fully appreciate the exigencies of the time we live in and act accordingly. Much as the communities play a role, they could be brought on board later as what is most critical now is preserving our water bodies that is fundamental to our very existence. Government has a chance to redeem itself in this galamsey fight and it better not fails us.

Bawumia unveils industry-led platform to combat MoMo fraud Continued from cover

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explained that the platform will harmonise the individual fraud control mechanisms of mobile money operators to strengthen their effectiveness. The platform, he said, will help in blocking SIM cards, mobile devices and ID numbers that are connected with any fraud or general crime-related cases in the country. “I challenge you to continue working to find innovative digital solutions that will promote a sustainable society through providing universal access to financial services, healthcare, food security, and education to our people. I am confident in the ingenuity and determination of the Ghanaian people to find solutions to complex problems for our common good,” he said. According to Dr. Bawumia, the platform has become essential given the threat fraudulent activities pose to the expansion of digital financial services. Earlier this month, the country’s largest mobile money operator, MTN, implemented a raft of updates to its service, including requiring users

to present identification for withdrawals, in a bid to tackling the growing incidence of mobile money fraud. The proliferation of fraudulent activities, the Vice President said, is a huge worry for government, service providers and consumers since a good digital ecosystem must guarantee all users reliability, security, confidentiality, and completeness of transactions. MT4D The second edition of the MT4D conference, organised

by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications and Financial Inclusion Forum Africa, is being held virtually in response to the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. The two-day conference, which is being held on the theme “The Rise of Africa: Promoting Africa’s Sustainable Digital Ecosystem,” has brought together stakeholders within the financial, technology and development sectors of Ghana to deliberate, exhibit solutions and take stock of innovations within the digital financial ecosystem.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Moody’s projects 4.1% growth for Ghana this year Continued from cover “We expect real GDP growth of 4.1 percent in 2021 as stronger oil prices support increased activity and loosening coronavirus-related restrictions provide additional support to the economic recovery,” said Moody’s in its latest country report. However, the agency was bullish about the 2020 growth rate, estimating that the economy grew by 1.9 percent for the period, against the government’s projection of 0.9 percent. The agency assessed Ghana’s fiscal strength as “ca”, below the scorecard-indicated outcome of “caa3”. “The adjustment mostly reflects weak debt affordability— which is one of the lowest among the countries we rate—with interest-to-revenue at close to 50 percent in 2020,” it said. “In addition, risks associated with contingent liabilities will continue to weigh on fiscal strength. Our debt projection includes the materialisation of financial and energy-related costs of around 2 percent–3 percent of

GDP per year, in addition to the projected fiscal deficit.” Moody’s estimated that the debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to 76.7 percent in 2021 and increase further over the next three years. However, it added, the extent of the rise would depend on the government’s ability to restore primary surpluses after the coronavirus shock dissipates, and partly on the government’s success in preserving exchangerate stability. Additionally, the agency noted that the debt situation would depend on how the government

deals with additional contingent liabilities arising in the energy sector as a result of “take-or-pay” contracts with energy producers, which extend until 2023. “We expect additional (mostly energy-related) annual contingent liabilities of around 2 percent of GDP per year until 2023, which we include in our debt projections. These reflect estimated annual payments of around US$1.5bn related to “takeor-pay” contracts for installed and contracted power plants, unless these can be successfully renegotiated, in addition to

outstanding inter-utility debts.” In 2020, the debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 76.1 percent from 62.8 percent in 2019, largely reflecting a Eurobond issuance in February 2020, a substantial fiscal deficit, the crystallisation of contingent liabilities in the energy and financial sectors, and lower-than-expected GDP growth. Excluding the financial sector bailout, debt-to-GDP stood at 71.5 percent of GDP in 2020, according to the government’s estimates. Moody’s rated Ghana B3 negative in the latest credit profile analysis. This negative outlook reflects the rising risks that the pandemic poses to Ghana’s funding and debt service. “Ghana is particularly exposed to such shocks because of its high reliance on external financing, both in local and foreign currency, and very weak debt affordability,” the agency said. “We would likely change the outlook to stable if we conclude that financing pressures were abating, either through increasing evidence that the government is able to limit the increase in its funding needs or confidence that it will be able to secure sufficient funding at moderate costs.”

Fintech regulation revamped to drive innovation—BoG Continued from cover Speaking at the second edition of the Mobile Technology for Development Conference 2021, the Deputy Governor said this has better positioned the fintech industry to serve the diverse digital financial services needs of individuals, businesses, and government in a competitive environment. Dr. Opoku-Afari said the Bank of Ghana has been implementing programmes to transform the banking and payments system landscape from one dominated by cash to a cash-lite environment. He noted that the central bank has been working with stakeholders to put in place critical interbank payments infrastructure to serve as the core of an integrated and interoperable electronic payments environment. “Once this core infrastructure has been put in place, it can be leveraged to stretch the boundaries of an efficient payments systems

agenda. It becomes the base hub where innovation and growth in the fintech landscape could be explored.” He added: “Obviously, the more than 17 million active mobile money accounts provide ample evidence of the increasing adoption of digital payments and provide a fertile ground for businesses to explore digital channels to interact with

customers.” However, in spite of the tremendous achievements towards building a financially inclusive society through digitisation, the Deputy Governor said the COVID-19 containment measures put in place at the height of the pandemic by the government highlighted the digitisation gap and brought to fore the extent to which this gap

could be exploited by businesses for economic efficiency and growth. “The inability of businesses to incorporate and embrace digitalisation in their business models will undoubtedly create a void, with dire consequences for the survivability of businesses during a post-pandemic pandemic.”

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

News

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Gov’t operationalising cybersecurity act By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

he government is in the process of operationalising the Cybersecurity Act 2020 to protect ICT infrastructure systems in the country, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula OwusuEkuful, has said. The act, which was passed last year, establishes a Cyber Security Authority to protect the critical information infrastructure of the country, regulate cybersecurity activities, and develop Ghana’s cybersecurity ecosystem. The law also provides for the protection of children on the internet. Speaking at the second edition of the Mobile Technology for Development Conference 2021 in Accra, the Minister said, “The increased adoption of technology

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Minister of Communications and Digitalisation

in the various sectors of our economy is excellent, but it also

comes with risks such as financial fraud, data breaches, identity

theft, and cybercrimes.” These cybersecurity incidents have affected critical sectors of the country, including energy, telecommunications, banking and finance, and have caused disruptions in the delivery of essential services, she added. If unchecked, it can undermine the security and economy of the country, she warned. Last year, there were reports of mobile money (MoMo) fraudsters taking their perverse activities a notch higher after it came to light that they now target MoMo wallets which have been synchronised with bank accounts. The Bank of Ghana also reported an increased number of fraud cases in the banking industry in 2019, with the total number of cases at 2,295 as compared to 2,175 fraud cases reported in 2018.

AOMC supports Government stands against thirdparty fuel supplies

he Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) has assured Ghanaians and industry players that it will not support any member company that is engaged in any form of third-party supplies. A statement signed by Mr Henry Akwaboah, Board Chairman and Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, Industry Coordinator of the AOMC, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the Association would not support any form of illegality from members. “AOMC cannot support any form of illegality and would like to state unreservedly that, it has never supported and shall not support nor back any Oil Marketing Company (OMC) engaging in any form of thirdparty supplies,” the statement said. It, therefore, appealed to government and sector regulator to repeal laws, regulations, and rules about third party supplies as soon as possible. The AOMC commended the Vice President, Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia for assuring petroleum downstream industry players of the government’s commitment to creating the enabling environment for their businesses to thrive. The Association, however, noted that the inappropriate behaviour of few OMCs was

an issue of great concern to marketers, who were dutifully complying with the ethics and rules of the industry, diminishing their market share and sales volume. The statement said unauthorized third-party supplies described by the Vice President as “supplies by OMCs in good standing with regulators in favour of heavily indebted OMCs that are determined to evade payment of statutory levies and margins” posed worry to members. The statement indicated that the Vice President’s assurance was timely and welcoming due to the current price wars and the seeming come back of illegal fuel trading, which distorted industry figures, affected profitability of the already struggling OMCs and negatively influenced unfair price wars in the industry. The Association encouraged Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) who were indebted to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to discuss a payment plan for resumption of their business operations. “It is our fervent hope that all OMCs & LPGMCs shall abide by industry ethics and standards in their fuel marketing operations to ensure a level playing field which contributes to the development

of our country Ghana,” it noted. It said the industry had become unduly competitive due to inordinate predatory pricing practices by such third party loyalists. “Fairness and adherence to industry ethics and standards have gone to the gutters and there is the need to sanitize the operations of OMC business.” According to the statement, the foundation and key objective for forming the Association were to ensure the collective interest of its members by promoting the business of OMCs and LPGMCs operating under the set industry

ethics and standards proffered by the NPA and the state. A recent survey, they noted, revealed that Ghana as compared to Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco, had almost four times the number of retail outlets per square mile, adding that judging by the number of OMCs, Ghana had by far the greatest number per capita. “These details also go to buttress the fact that our market is overly saturated and in no time, monthly sales volumes will continue to go downhill.” GNA

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Feature

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Productivity after the pandemic

By Laura Tyson and Jan Mischke

ith COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out and supportive fiscal and monetary policies fueling aggregate demand, the US economy is poised to return to its pre-pandemic output level later this year. The labor-market recovery, however, will be much slower and unevenly distributed, with employment unlikely to return to its pre-pandemic peak until 2024. If output growth exceeds employment growth over the next few years, productivity will increase (at least temporarily). The Congressional Budget Office’s most recent forecast predicts labor-force productivity growth of 1.5% per year for the 2021-25 period, up from an average of 1.2% per year between 2008 and 2020. In response to the pandemic, many firms – but especially large ones – have made significant strides toward boosting productivity through automation, digitalization, and the reorganization of operations, including a rapid shift to at-home work, to boost efficiency and resilience. In a December 2020 McKinsey & Company survey of business executives in North America and six European countries representing about 40% of global GDP, 51% of respondents said they had increased investment in new technologies in 2020, and 75% said they planned to do so in 2020-24. By contrast, just 55% reported increased investments in 2014-19. Moreover, a 2020 survey conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that 80% of firms plan to increase the digitalization of their operations and expand their use of remote work, and 50% intend to accelerate the automation of production tasks.

More broadly, recent research by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) identifies opportunities for incremental productivity growth across a wide variety of sectors that account for about 60% of the non-farm economy. These include health care (telemedicine), construction (digital twins and offsite modular construction), retail (e-commerce and warehouse automation), banking (digital payments and hybrid remote working), manufacturing (robots, digital channels, and connected autos), and even the hard-hit travel industry (more agile working). If all of this potential is realized, annual labor productivity growth in the United States and several European economies could increase by about a percentage point between 2019 and 2024. But achieving such a dramatic supply-side improvement requires that the productivitydriving changes spread from the large firms where they have been concentrated to small and medium-size enterprises. Many in this latter group have so far been unable or reluctant to increase their investment in automating or digitalizing their supply chains, operations, and delivery models. And without such investment, the productivity gap between big “superstar” firms and a long tail of lagging competitors will increase, diminishing economywide productivity gains and exacerbating the post-2008 trends toward greater inequality in economic performance across firms and regions and more market concentration. Equally important is the trajectory for aggregate demand, which will depend on what happens to employment and income growth. The most convincing explanation for the disappointing productivity

growth in the decade following the 2007-09 global financial crisis was chronically weak consumption and investment demand. While the pandemicera acceleration of automation and digitalization may boost productivity on the supply side, it could have a detrimental effect on demand, by hampering growth in labor income and consumption – a major determinant of economic growth generally. During the next year, consumption growth is likely to be strong, owing to the postpandemic release of pent-up demand and massive injections of fiscal stimulus. But, over time, the effects of efficiencyfocused productivity measures and accelerated digitalization could dampen employment and income growth, cause polarization within labor markets to deepen, and eliminate middleskill jobs, thereby constraining consumption growth among those with the highest propensity to spend. The long-run effects could be substantial. About 60% of the productivity potential identified in the most recent MGI report reflects efficiencyboosting cuts to labor and other costs. The WEF survey found that 43% of the businesses surveyed anticipate net reductions in their workforce as a result of pandemic-accelerated automation and digitalization. In a related report, MGI estimates that an additional 5% of workers (eight million) could be displaced by automation/digitalization by 2030, on top of the 22% of workers estimated to be vulnerable before the pandemic. In the US and other industrialized economies, the largest negative impact of the pandemic on jobs and incomes has been in food services, retail, hospitality, customer service,

and office support. Many of these low-wage jobs could disappear altogether if pandemic-induced reductions in professional office time and business travel diminish demand for myriad services such as office cleaning, security and maintenance, transportation, and restaurant and hospitality services. Prior to the pandemic, these occupations accounted for one in four US jobs and a growing share of employment for workers without a postsecondary education. Weak investment poses another demand-side risk to potential productivity growth. Business investment rates overall were already in long-run decline before the pandemic (hence the post-2008 productivity slowdown), and investment has since contracted further, owing to a decrease in private nonresidential investment from its 2019 peak. That said, the decline in investment during the COVID-19 recession has not been as large as that of the 2007-09 financial crisis. To realize the potential for higher productivity growth, fiscal and monetary authorities should shape recovery policies with two broad goals in mind: fostering strong and inclusive income and consumption growth, and boosting public and private investment in physical capital (infrastructure and affordable housing), human capital (education and training), and knowledge (research and development). Given the significant shortfalls in public infrastructure that have developed over decades of underinvestment, the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan could crowd in private investment, boosting overall investment in the short run and increasing the economy’s long-run potential productivity growth.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

International

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

EU fiscal rules reform presents ‘challenges’, ratings agency says

ising debts and the differing strength of public finances across eurozone countries make reforming European fiscal rules more challenging, ratings agency Fitch said in a report. The European Commission began overhauling the so-called Stability and Growth Pact last February, before suspending the rules amid Covid-19. But creating new rules flexible enough to acknowledge each country’s situation while remaining strong enough to ensure sound fiscal policies will be difficult, Fitch argued. “Fiscal performance has been uneven across eurozone members, and the pandemicrelated surge in debt amplifies the challenges to reform the fiscal rules and design a credible debt anchor,” said analyst Gergely Kiss, one of the report’s authors. The rules were introduced at the inception of the eurozone, to promote responsible policies and coordination between member states. They include a strict budget deficit target of less than 3% of GDP and a public debt target of

less than 60% of GDP. They were reinforced in 2012 and 2013 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but the debt target has remained unchanged since the Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992. Past poor performance on debt reduction shows the challenge the EU faces, Fitch said. Countries with low initial debts overperformed when bringing debt down, but “sizeable underperformance” was rife among the most indebted countries in the bloc, according to the report.

While countries such as Germany and the Netherlands had budget surpluses in 2017-19, and many others were at their ‘medium-term objectives’, others such as France, Italy and Spain ran deficits exceeding 2% of GDP. “In some countries, ‘consolidation fatigue’ appeared after successfully exiting from the excessive debt procedure,” the report said, referring to the formal process incurred by a country with deficits over the 3% rule. “In these cases, the key fiscal policy objective was to bring the

deficit below the 3% threshold to avoid the EDP but very little, if any, further fiscal efforts were made to get towards the MTO.” Low interest rates had fueled the belief in some quarters that the parameters of ‘sustainable debt’ had shifted, but Fitch said the rules have been inadequate since their inception. “The past two decades have shown that the current rules of the Stability and Growth Pact are too complex, lack transparency and could not ensure compliance in some instances,” the report said. Any new proposals should ensure flexibility for democratically elected governments; be sufficiently counter-cyclical to encourage fiscal “buffers” to be built up in good times; and enforcement should be stronger, according to Fitch. The agency warned failure to design a credible fiscal rule could add “downward pressure” on sovereign ratings when there are high levels of government debt. Publicfinancefocus.org

Canada’s budget ‘about healing the wounds’ of pandemic

anada’s first pandemic budget includes huge childcare spending and Covid-19 relief, as well as a plan to slash the deficit over the next few years. Finance minister Chrystia Freeland said large spending programmes are still necessary to combat the economic disaster of the pandemic and redress growing inequality. “This budget is about finishing the fight against Covid-19,” said finance minister Chrystia Freeland. “It’s about healing the wounds left by the Covid-19 recession, and it’s about creating more jobs and prosperity for Canadians in the days, and decades, to come.” Delivering the country’s first full budget since March 2019, Freeland said she would introduce a “generational investment” into Canada’s childcare system. A $30bn (£17.1bn) plan over five years will reduce fees for parents by about 50%. Freeland led a taskforce in recent weeks aimed at creating a “feminist” budget, owing to

the unequal economic impact on women. Between February 2020 and March 2021, more than 80,000 Canadian women left the workforce compared to 25,000 men. Freeland said the childcare move would help drive the economic recovery by allowing more women, who undertake the majority of domestic childcare work, to find jobs.

The pandemic brought about the steepest and fastest economic contraction in Canada since the 1930s, and the government responded with high spending, running a deficit of $354bn (£202bn) in the past year. In the next year, the government plans to reduce that to $154.7bn (£88.3bn) and by 2025 to reduce it to $30.7bn (£17.5bn) – about 1.1% of GDP. Freeland said the expiration

of multi-billion Covid-19 support programmes will contribute to this fall, and revenue will pick up as the economy recovers. Elsewhere in the budget, the government also committed to spending $17.6bn on green recovery measures and $9bn over six years on benefits for low-wage workers, lifting nearly 100,000 people out of poverty. Publicfinancefocus.org

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Companies

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Daniel Mminele steps down as Absa Group Chief Executive

he Absa Group Board and the Group Chief Executive, Daniel Mminele have come to an agreement pursuant to which he has stepped down as a director and Group Chief Executive and will be leaving the group with effect from 30 April 2021. The parties have not managed to achieve alignment in relation to the group’s strategy and the culture transformation journey. Mr Mminele joined the Group as Group Chief Executive on 15 January 2020 and led the Group through the Covid-19 crisis and its response thereto. Last year, Absa delivered a comprehensive customer and client relief package, and provided support and relief to public health authorities and communities respectively across all its African markets, while delivering a resilient and respectable financial performance under difficult conditions. “The Board was very excited about Daniel’s appointment and the positive role he was going to play at Absa. It is a matter of considerable regret that

Daniel Mminele

we reached this position. The parting of ways merely reflects divergent professional views and approaches, and is on a “no fault” basis. The board has conveyed to

Mr Mminele its continued high regard for his competence and integrity. The parties believe that this course is in the best interests of the company and Mr Mminele. This was a very difficult decision

that was not reached lightly,” said Absa Group Chairman, Wendy Lucas-Bull. “Daniel and Absa have agreed that their interests are best served by this parting, with an appropriate separation arrangement. I would like to thank Daniel for his service, leadership and the contribution he made in a time of great challenge for the Group and society more generally during the pandemic. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” she said. “It is indeed regrettable that we should have had to part ways so soon on our journey. It is, however, important for the Chief Executive to be in complete alignment with the board on critical issues such as strategy and culture. I became enamoured of the brave, passionate and ready people of Absa and wish the group well for the future,” said Daniel Mminele. The Board has appointed Jason Quinn, Absa Group Financial Director, as the Interim Group Chief Executive with effect from 20 April.

Bolt Food expands delivery in Accra

re you always engrossed with work and a busy schedule, making it simply impossible to get yourself, your besties or that dear family member a meal that requires an in-person? Or perhaps you are the kind that loves to snuggle in bed over the weekends without having to get out of the house for anything, even that sumptuous breakfast, lunch or dinner from your favourite restaurant. Well, there’s good news because Bolt Food has got you covered and will deliver your food at any possible time within your hectic schedule. Bolt Ghana launched this service to help reach out to customers who, out of nothing, find it stressful to drive all the way to restaurants or eateries just to pick up meal orders despite their busy hectic schedules. Prior, Bolt Food delivery has been available in areas such as Osu, East Legon, Airport, Cantonments, Dzorwulu, Labone, Ridge, Tesano and Abelemkpe. In a bid to satisfy many more and the ever-increasing hectic

lifestyle of Ghanaians, it has now extended its reach to areas such as North Legon, West Legon, Madina, Haatso, Achimota, Dome, Parakuo Estates, Legon Campus and UPSA. So, if you are a resident of any of the areas, it’s time to feel the warmth of a good takeaway meal, by courtesy of Bolt Food - right at your doorstep! According to Regional Food Manager, Hillary Miller-Wise “As Bolt, we have leveraged our

experience in operations and logistics of the initial launch in Accra, and existing technology along with thousands of couriers to build the best food delivery network where we operate. We have thousands of users who already actively use Bolt Food and this is a wonderful opportunity to provide prospective couriers with more earning opportunities and eaters a variety of options to choose from with this expansion in Accra. Therefore, this expansion

is only but a natural transition for the Bolt Food offering. Feel free to satisfy your cravings without stepping out. Just relax at home or at the office and simply make an order on the Bolt Food app by selecting your favourite dish from enlisted restaurants, then proceed to confirm your order while the rest is taken care of. Life just got simpler with Bolt Food delivery and more so for residents in Accra.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Feature

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Business & Wellness: A Symbiotic Relationship for Success

by Louisa Afriyie Boateng

he goal of any business is to succeed in its objectives, mission and vision within its operational ecosystem while being self-sustaining. This success is dependent on individuals who are tasked to carry out these business activities. As individuals, our health and wellness impact our productivity which has a direct influence on the success or failure of any business. In order to stay healthy and well, we need to rethink our interests and motivation in line with stress factors that emanate from the desire to succeed by all means. It is important that we reflect on Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs and how that motivates us. According to Abraham Maslow, there are five levels of needs (physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization) which he describes in order of priority or hierarchy using the pyramid shape. He posits that a person will only address a higher level when their basic needs are sufficiently satisfied. He explains that the first and lowest needs a

person is driven to achieve are physiological needs which are necessary for human survival (such as air, food, water, clothing, shelter, sleep). After meeting those needs, then would a person move on to their safety needs (personal security, employment, resources, health). The next level of needs involves love and acceptance relating to human interaction (friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection). The higherlevel needs are ego driven (i.e., esteem and self-actualization). Esteem needs, which is the fourth level, involves self-confidence in regards to respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength, and freedom. The highest and final spot in Maslow’s pyramid, selfactualization, refers to realization of one’s true potential, the desire to accomplish everything that one can (education, skill development, seeking individual growth and ultimate experiences). If we are to be successful in business, we need to focus on ourselves (doing things that improve our health and productivity). Maslow suggests that his theory is not an all or

nothing but at any given moment, people tend to have each of their needs met in that order. It makes sense that healthy employees result in added productivity. After all, being absent due to ill-healthy will have the reverse effect. The first thing would be to manage our stress levels. You can read books, listen to music, exercise, or just have a drink. We need to take time off work to relax and revitalise the body. In doing so, it is imperative to get good hours of sleep as we tend to produce better work when we are well rested. Although there is an adage that the early bird catches the worm, you would want to be productive while you are awake – that requires rest and good sleep between six to eight hours. Eating well and scheduling regular eating times throughout the day contributes to good health and well. If we prioritise our work ahead of good and balanced diet, we open ourselves to developing avoidable aliments because we only focus on pushing ourselves too hard. Without health, we are not able to be our best self and that affects our performance in our various jobs regardless of the

kind of jobs they are. Planning our daily activities gives us a sense of structure and mental stability to be efficient. Despite our busy schedules, we need to take the time to gather our thoughts in the mornings and throughout the day. Writing a to-do list for the day and week helps to organise our work life, bringing balance to the work place and easing stress. In the working context, we are always eager to prove our worth and capability in our roles at work. But we have to take care of ourselves and self-actualize in order to blossom in business and in our personal life’s goals. As it is said, what is the point of being everything to everybody but nothing to yourself?

The author

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Feature

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021

Training Africa’s youth to drive growth

frica is at a crossroads on the subject of unemployment which the World Bank estimates to be somewhere between 30-50%. A change is largely required from the no-jobs and no-skills status quo that plagues young people. Rather than government action, it is our view that the decisions private sector leaders make will be more important in determining whether the youth bulge in Africa will become a demographic dividend or a time bomb. There is a reason in this volteface. First, our education system hardly produces the quality of technical or academic graduates that employers seek to create local solutions to local problems. The typical tertiary graduate today is altogether unready for the world of work. Yet, with degrees in hand, tertiary graduates of every colour demand jobs, and to deal with the social implications of youth unemployment and protect their jobs, African politicians increasingly respond with State-led mass employment programmes that do not develop their skills and competencies. Governments rather, should aid the transition to a sustainable solution based on clear strategic incentives and political agenda bi-focused on the growth of

productivity, innovation and scale; and on the expansion of employment opportunities in order to unleash economic prosperity. Government support should target organisations of all types and sizes across the economy if they commit to recruit and train the youth to address socioeconomic opportunities and make them competitive in the rapidly changing global economy. Second, Africa is dependent on imported solutions that drive unemployment. Businesses must pivot from seeing training young people as a cost to viewing people development programmes that emphasise mentoring, training, and metric-based continuous learning as a means to unlock untapped economic opportunities. The reality is that building local capacity enables local enterprises and the youth that work in and own them to develop unique skills and capabilities that create competitive advantage and buy the future that our society needs to thrive. Unless Africa innovates, its youth will be cut out of technology developments, cut out of manufacturing, cut out of finance and cut out of markets – except as consumers and exporters of capital. The future will be very different from today, and businesses supported by governments

must apply a quadrangle of principles to underpin the youthdriven transition to sustainable prosperity. First, businesses need to think differently about influencing what and how we teach our children and students in order to align them with the future we want to create. Then the new training paradigm can address how to sustain the engagement, motivation, performance of the next generation of employees and leaders in all segments of society and sectors of the economy. Second, governments and businesses must collaborate to get young people into applied learning outside schools, using training apprenticeships, attachments, mentoring programmes and selfdevelopment that will derive value for businesses even as they prepare the next generation of skilled labour in addition to their schooling as early as possible. Third, this future is only possible when the private sector and government agree a common mentoring system to keep track of mentees once they enter the structured development process. The aim of each mentoring firm or entrepreneur would be to help young people to become better problem-solvers and innovators in whatever field they choose to work in. Lastly, businesses must help

mentees to track and improve their progress and employability with transparent tools for measuring how well they are doing on understanding their industry, their job, their customers and the evolution of all three. The idea is not to train them only for today but to empower them to be a transformational force. Far from a cycle of charity, it is important for companies to recognise that their role in the future will not be as takers of high calibre people without investing directly in developing the quality of the human resources. On a positive note, these investments will tap skills, ideas and creativity that will feed their own innovation pipelines and leadership pool. Governments also, must accept and articulate honestly that creating employment is not their forte. Their support should aim at expanding the tax base in the medium to long term as more businesses thrive and hire more well-paid youth in stable, highquality employment. A role reversal is what the next 30 years will require and all stakeholders must eagerly embrace it. Join in on the discussion on May 26 from 9AM at the Ishmael Yamson & Associates Business Roundtable 2021 Webinar. Register NOW at http://tiny.cc/ brt2021 to participate.

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