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BUSINESS24.COM.GH
Wednesday October 27, 2021
The true costs of government spending
NO. B24 / 246 | News for Business Leaders
ITC boss engages Ghanaian SME exporters on key project outcomes
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2022 budget has to match needs of populace—Speaker By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com
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By Eugene Davis
he Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has called on members to brace themselves for the new meeting of Parliament and take active interest in the 2022 budget presentation, which he said has to “match the needs of our people”. Addressing members during the first sitting of the third meeting of Parliament, he christened the meeting the “Budget Meeting”, explaining that the House will perform its critical oversight and accountability function. Cont’d on page 2
Minority in Parliament wants Special Petroleum Tax scrapped ugendavis@gmail.com
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he Ranking Member of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, John Abdulai Jinapor, has asked government to suspend the Special Petroleum Tax on petroleum products in the 2022 budget. That, he explained, will provide some relief for Ghanaians from the high cost of fuel at the pump. “We make this demand Cont’d on page 3
Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament
Gov’t to subsidise agribusiness loans under Ghana CARES programme By Benson Afful affulbenson@gmail.com
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Let’s get systems and structures right for AfCFTA, says GNCCI boss By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com
overnment, through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, says it will subsidise agribusiness loans under the Ghana Covid-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES) programme.
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overnment will have to deal closely with the private sector and structurally align its funding and business support interventions to the cause of
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Editorial / News
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
Editorial
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Small businesses must be primed for AfCFA
he single continental market has been touted as the single biggest economic project on the continent and rightly so. Its success, will not come from the output of the countable giant businesses of the continent but the micro, small and medium sized enterprises who are the pillar of Africa’s private sector. But despite the foreseeable benefits, the threats of an overlyliberalised domestic market cannot be ignored, especially for such critical yet poorly resourced businesses. The domestic market will be flooded with goods from other African states much as it will be open to investments and businesses that may seek to set up locally. In the absence of trade remedy
measures in the implementation of the treaty, it is important for government to have in place workable systems and structures that will facilitate the ease of doing business in the single market. Ghana’s small and medium sized businesses continue to reel under the age-long challenges of poor funding options, inadequate human capital and expertise and minimal market access opportunities. That notwithstanding, government has shown strong commitment to the cause of these sector of the business landscape with several interventions and support systems to enable them mitigate and recover from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
This is quite an encouraging move, especially given that it is these businesses that form the base of Ghana’s private sector, who will undoubtedly lead the nation’s participation in the continental market. It is time for stakeholders to focus on adopting and pushing reforms and policies that will empower SMEs to grow and expand their reach and competitiveness because they will play an equally effective role in the AfCFTA. “The chain of distribution will involve the small and medium enterprises; if we get the giants but don’t have the SMEs who will be trading under them, it will not work,” GNCCI’s Clement Osei Amoako says it even more aptly.
2022 budget has to match needs of populace—Speaker Continued from cover
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“We will be called upon to approve the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government for the year ending 31st December, 2022. Recent public financial management trends indicate that modern parliaments are rethinking their role in the budget process, trying to increase understanding and reassert themselves as more active players within it. I urge you all to take a keen interest in this upcoming exercise. As the representatives of the people, we have a collective duty to ensure that the budget for the 2022 fiscal year best matches the needs of our people.” He also urged members to use the leverage they enjoy judiciously and in the best of ways, in the interest of Ghanaians “on behalf of whom we have been assigned this responsibility.” The Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Dr. Ato Forson, encouraged Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to submit their budget estimates on time to give Parliament ample time to scrutinise them.
His sentiments were shared by the Majority Leader, Osei KyeiMensah-Bonsu, who said by the first week of November, budget estimates should be submitted to the House “if we want proper tracking and supervision, as well as oversight function. We should agree on a common principle.” This third meeting of Parliament is expected to last for nine weeks, with a significant part devoted to the consideration of the 2022 budget, expected to be presented on November 17.
A total of 56 bills are expected to be presented before the House. These include Affirmative Action Bill 2021, Interstate Succession Bill 2021, Rent Bill 2021, Aged Persons Bill 2021, and Small Scale Mining Bill 2021. Three bills are currently at the committee level. They are Office of the Special Prosecutor (Amendment) Bill 2021, Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill 2021, and Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021.
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Gov’t to subsidise agribusiness loans under Ghana CARES programme Continued from cover The intervention seeks to grant a 50 percent subsidy on interest charges on loans advanced to qualified agribusinesses by participating financial institutions. According to the ministry, the Ghana CARES programme has identified agriculture as one of the critical sectors that has the capacity to revitalise and transform the country’s economy. Four value chain segments or operations are going to be supported. These are tomatoes, poultry, rice, and soya bean. The ministry seeks to implement the intervention through a collaboration with Ghana Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending as well as financial institutions.
Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto
The government this year launched the Ghana CARES
programme to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
on the lives and livelihoods of Ghanaians.
Minority in Parliament wants Special Petroleum Tax scrapped Continued from cover
was built.”
because crude prices, which w[ere] pegged at a benchmark price of $54.75 per barrel in the 2021 budget statement, ha[ve] risen to over $85, representing an increment of over 55 per cent,” he stated. Addressing a press conference in Parliament House on Tuesday, Mr. Jinapor said as a net exporter of crude oil, Ghana’s revenue receipts from petroleum exports were expected to increase from the initially projected figure of US$800m to more than US$1.2bn. “What this means is that the nation is making huge unanticipated revenues from crude exports, hence the need to abolish the Special Petroleum Tax to ameliorate the suffering of the ordinary Ghanaian,” he added.
Accountability
Sanitation levy Touching on the sanitation levy, Mr. Jinapor said despite its introduction at 10 pesewas per litre of fuel, the country continued to be engulfed in filth, with poor management of garbage across the towns and cities of the country. He therefore called for a review
Members of the Minority in Parliament engaged the press on the hikes in fuel prices.
of the sanitation levy by resorting to the polluter pay mechanism, which is a more pragmatic way of managing waste. According to him, it was untenable to tax ordinary fuel consumers, since the consumption of fuel did not contribute to the waste being generated daily. TOR Mr. Jinapor called for the re-formation of the board of the Tema Oil Refinery and the appointment of a substantive Managing Director with the task
of ensuring that the refinery processes domestic crude to its fullest capacity. “The current state of TOR leaves much to be desired. It will be recalled that as part of efforts to revamp TOR and ensure value addition to our domestic crude, the NDC at the time procured about two million barrels of crude for processing by TOR,” he stated. He said the NDC rejected the decision by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to turn the refinery into a tank farm, stressing that “with the right polices, the refinery can be turned around to fulfill the purpose for which it
Mr. Jinapor, a former Deputy Energy Minister under the NDC administration, appealed to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to withdraw the “nuisance” taxes imposed on LPG. “We equally demand proper accountability on the collections, utilisation and balances of revenues accruing from the Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy, which is primarily meant to cushion consumers in times of high crude prices,” he stated. He also called on the government to re-prioritise and focus on critical capital expenditure to anchor the economy for long-term gains. Mr. Jinapor said the Minority will not countenance any further tax increases or new tax handles. “This is not what the NPP promised Ghanaians prior to the 2020 elections. We were told the economy was on track, we were told that all was well and Ghana was ready for a take-off; what has changed? We therefore demand the abolition of these taxes,” he said.
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
AfCFTA, Chinese Ministry sign MoU on economic cooperation
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he African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China Ministry of Commerce to collaborate to establish an Expert Group on Economic Cooperation. The expert group will collaborate in areas that will include experience-sharing on intellectual property rights, customs procedures, digital trade and competition policy; exchange of concepts, policies and sharing progress on the institutional capacity and implementation of the AfCFTA. Also China will share information on its foreign trade and investment facilitation cooperation; enhance cooperation on trade and investment in the context of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC); offer support towards the building of the AfCFTA and support the AfCFTA Secretariat in the execution of its mandate and facilitate dialogue between the AfCFTA Secretariat, the AfCFTA State Parties and the relevant Chinese departments and institutions in collaboration with the African Union (AU) representative office in Beijing. The MoU was signed at a virtual ceremony last Friday. The Secretary-General of the
AfCFTA Secretariat, Mr Wamkele Mene, who signed for his side from his base in Accra, said, “While all these areas will be beneficial to the work of the Secretariat, the aspects on intellectual property rights, investment, competition policy and digital trade would be particularly critical for the forthcoming AfCFTA Phase II negotiations. “ He said China had made tremendous progress in the knowledge economy, where innovation was the driver for economic growth and intellectual property was the anchor of innovation. Against that background, he said, China, had the experience to support the AfCFTA processes in those key areas. Mr. Mene noted that since the
establishment of the AfCFTA Secretariat in February 2020, China had been actively involved in the work of the Secretariat and provided financial assistance through the African Union to the Secretariat. “The AfCFTA, therefore, provides the framework for us to continue the China-Africa collaboration. “In this regard, we envision several opportunities for cooperation, including intellectual property rights, customs cooperation, digital trade and competition policy, among others,” he said Emphasising China’s experience in investment in Africa in the context of FOCAC, the AfCFTA boss said, “We believe that this MoU presents an important
platform for strengthening our relations, thereby contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the AfCFTA. “China is a strong partner to Africa and has provided Africa with significant development and investment support over the past decade. China continues to invest in infrastructure and industrial projects in Africa via its Belt and Road Initiative, and has opened up its market of 1.4 billion consumers to African products.,” he said. The Secretary-General said the AfCFTA would produce new trading and investment opportunities for China in various economic sectors, including agroprocessing, automobiles and financial technology. Mr Mene indicated that the signing of the memorandum would chart the course for a stronger, closer and more longstanding partnership between the AfCFTA Secretariat and the Ministry of Commerce of China. He said China and Africa shared common aspirations rooted in mutual cooperation. The Chinese team at the ceremony were the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Qian Keming: China’s Ambassador to the African Union, Liu Yuxi, and the Minister Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs, Lin Zhiyong
Let’s get systems and structures right for AfCFTA, says GNCCI boss Continued from cover small and medium enterprises, especially as the nation seeks to explore the gains of the single continental market, says Clement Osei Amoako, President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI). According to him, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) exposes the local business landscape to external businesses seeking to set up in the country, hence the need to have in place the right structures to be able to take advantage of the market. “For us to be able to compete with the rest of the continent, we believe that we must have this package to support our industrialisation drive and to make our small and medium enterprises even stronger,” he told journalists at the closing of a four-day Africa Private Sector
Summit (APSS) in Accra. “The chain of distribution will involve the small and medium enterprises; if we get the giants but don’t have the SMEs, who will be trading under them? It will not work,” he added. According to the GNCCI boss, the chamber, on its own, has started a credit union and is also soliciting grants from its partners to empower small and medium enterprises to grow and play competitively in the single continental market. He called for aggressive investments in mechanised agriculture, infrastructural development, and transport systems that will facilitate the movement of goods across the continent. “That’s the only way we can do seamless business across the continent. We can do the same things we’ve been doing over the years with this AfCFTA; if we
don’t change our attitude and put the right structures in place, then we cannot get there.” Mr. Amoako tasked Africa’s private sector to make the AfCFTA work, as it was the biggest market for the continent, adding that the chamber remains ready to partner with any body working in the interest of the continent. The forum assembled experts to advise Africa’s private sector on how to play actively in the single continental market and understand the potential of the market. The GNCCI boss also disclosed
that the chamber is working to secure a 100-acre land in Obomeng, in the Eastern Region, for the establishment of an industrial park for its member enterprises. “What we seek to do is that we want to localise all our industries to make it easier for them to access government support, such as funding or subsidies on utilities and tax exemptions. This is the chamber’s way of helping in government’s quest to decentralise the creation of businesses across the country,” he said.
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
Patricia Obo-Nai wins Woman of the Year at EMY Africa Awards
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he Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai, has won the Woman of the Year Honour at the 6th edition of the EMY Africa Awards held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra. Patricia was among 30 outstanding personalities from diverse fields of endeavour who were celebrated at the awards ceremony for their remarkable commitment to societal progress. The Woman of the Year honorary award, which is the only female category in the all-male awards, celebrates a distinguished woman who is an inspiration to many people, has broken new ground or old barriers, and has contributed to the community and nation through her professional or volunteer leadership. Her citation reads, "You have contributed immensely to the telecommunications industry and continue to serve as a shining example to budding professionals. As the first Ghanaian CEO of Vodafone Ghana, you have championed various innovations
in the industry, more so during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our board of patrons, faculty and secretariat find you worthy of this honour, considering all your achievements and your impact in growing the telecommunication sector". Receiving the award, Madam Obo-Nai expressed her profound
gratitude to the organisers of the event. "I thank God for his grace, thank you so much Team Vodafone Ghana, thank you to my family and thank you EMY Africa for doing me this honour. I’m really humbled and very grateful. When women win, we all win!'' she said. This recognition is the latest
among a long list of local and global honours that Vodafone Ghana CEO, Patricia Obo-Nai, has amassed since she took over the reins of Vodafone Ghana in April 2019. Her remarkable and transformational leadership has earned her the most awarded CEO in this short period. Her list of awards includes Africa’s Most Respected CEO in Telecoms (Dubai, UAE), Telecom CEO of the Year (Ghana Information Technology and Telecom Awards), Telecom Personality of the Year (National Communications Awards), HR- Oriented CEO of the Year (HR Focus Awards), STEM Leadership Award (Sustainability and Social Impact Awards), Woman of the Year - Telecoms (Glitz Africa Awards) , Women Leadership Excellence Award (CEO Summit and Awards), and Young Professional Role Model in Women Executive Leadership Award, Woman of Excellence Awards – Telecom (Ghana Women of Excellence Awards), and STEM Woman Award (STEM Woman Project).
Ghana in 6th place for investment attractiveness in Africa
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and Merchant Bank’s (RMB) Where to Invest in Africa 2021 has ranked Ghana in sixth place this year across the continent. RMB is the corporate and investment banking arm of FirstRand Bank of which First National Bank Ghana is a member. Ghana entered the current crisis on a relatively stronger footing than its African peers. The economy managed to avoid a recession in 2020 and registered growth of 0.4% — outperforming the SSA economies, which contracted by 3.2% on average. Based on the rankings, Ghana has further outperformed other west African countries in terms of its investment-attractiveness, emerging as the top destination, followed by Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria. Structurally, Ghana’s economy has seen major shifts over the past few years, positioning it for significant growth going forward. This is supported not only by primary-sector industries like oil and gold but accelerated development in the tertiary sector.
“We see the construction, agriculture, and services sector as the main catalysts for strong 4.2% average growth between 2022 and 2023. This year, the economy has shown a steady recovery, with the GDP print in 2Q21 at 3.9%, supported by performance in both the secondary and tertiary industries. Over the next few years, oil production output will pick up in the near term, supported by higher oil prices that should encourage further oil exploration in Ghana,” There are similar expectations for gold production, which is further supported by government efforts to curb illegal mining activity, thereby promoting the formal sector. According to the author, RMB Africa Economist Daniel Kavishe, this year’s report assesses the extent of the pandemic’s impact by sketching the landscape of the continent pre-COVID-19, and then painting a picture of both its actual and potential outcomes through and post pandemic. “We created a new set of rankings that incorporated some of the unavoidable COVID-19-
induced challenges, of which the operating environment score was one.” The report also included an appraisal of governments’ ability to support their various economies during such periods. As such, a fiscal score was also part of the methodology. This, says Kavishe, was essential because “fiscal scores are important indicators of how governments respond to COVID-19.” For Ghana, the next few years will centre on government’s ability to consolidate fiscal spending, undoubtedly necessary to alleviate the country’s debt burden. Overall, the report further explored key themes emanating from Africa’s developmental
aspirations. “Of these, three are central to fighting the pandemic and resuscitating economic conditions,” contends Kavishe. “They are government intervention, a focus on our triplethreat sectors, and healthcare.” Commenting on the report in Ghana, the Chief Executive of First National Bank, Dominic Adu said, “Ghana has done remarkably well navigating the tough COVID-19 environment. We are very pleased to be leading the pack in West Africa in terms of economic recovery with expected GDP growth of 4.1% in 2022. Now is definitely the time to invest in Ghana.”
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First all-Girls edition of Huawei Seeds for the Future programme launched
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uawei Technologies has launched the first all-Girls Edition of its global flagship corporate social responsibility programme, “Seeds for the Future” in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation at a virtual event in Accra, Ghana. The programme aimed at developing local skilled ICT talents, enhancing knowledge transfer, promoting greater understanding of the telecommunications sector and bridging the communication gap between countries will benefit 60 ladies across various universities in Ghana during the 2021 edition which is under the theme: ‘Inspiring Global Talent to Shape the Future” Speaking at the virtual launch ceremony, Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng, said, “This is a very good time for Ladies in ICT… and Huawei dedicating their Seeds for the Future Program to the Ministry’s Girls in ICT initiative is a step in the right direction. The Ministry shall not relent on our efforts to continue to empower women in the STEM ecosystem as we continue to prove through our activities”. “The Ministry is very keen on Digitalization and we believe one of the surest ways to accelerate the process to propel Ghana into a digital economy is
Ama Pomaa Boateng - Deputy Minister of Communications and Digitalisation
through ICT skill training and capacity building. It is therefore important that we nurture young ICT Talents to give our great nation a more formidable future while remaining competitive on the global market,” she added She also advised the participating ladies to remain focused during the program while representing Ghana as ambassadors. “My advice to you is to go all out and grasp every bit of this opportunity by fully immersing yourselves in the experience and training as well as taking part in all the activities… You are not only doing this for yourselves but representing Ghana. As ambassadors I implore you to let the Black Star of Ghana shine ever brighter through your commitment, dedication and
above all Hardwork during this program.” The deputy minister finally commended Huawei for the ICT giant’s contribution to the sector in Ghana. “I would commend Huawei for all their contributions towards the development of ICT in Ghana. As the strategic ICT Partner of the Government, we are happy to see you go beyond commercial activities to nurture ICT Talents in Ghana… I therefore urge you to undertake more of such worthy causes to accompany Ghana in our Digital Transformation Drive,” she said. On his part, the Managing Director for Huawei Ghana, Mr. Tommy Zhou remarked the importance of bridging the gender gap in Technology. He said, “The barriers to women accessing and having careers in the tech industry
must be broken down. This needs to start at the grass roots level, through education and training, giving girls and young women the opportunities and skills to enter the tech world” “At Huawei, we believe that technology innovation can be led by women, and technology in its end can empower women. Huawei's female employees have been playing a unique role and making important contributions to the company. Many of them have distinguished themselves and become outstanding leaders,” he added. The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. LU Kun, in a short speech commended Huawei for their Social Contributions aimed at bridging the digital divide and also commended the Government of Ghana’s efforts in creating an enabling and business-friendly environment for Chinese Companies like Huawei to thrive. This year’s Seeds for the Future Program comprise of an intensive 8-days virtual training, scheduled for October 25,2021 to November 4, 2021 which will introduce students to latest course like 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud, Big Data, IOT, Smart City, Cyber security whiles building their leadership capacity in courses like Strategic leadership and Sustainability and Business Leadership.
7 Ghanaian women in maritime attend 41st WISTA International Conference …call for gender parity in maritime sector
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even Ghanaian women maritime professionals from the Women's lnternational Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA-Ghana) joined 170 ladies in the maritime industry to participate in the 41st WISTA International conference in Hamburg, Germany. Ghana's delegation was led by the president, Madam, Jemilat Jawulaa Mahamah (MICS). Hosted by WISTA Germany, the conference was on the theme “Shipping 2025: Today’s Actions for Tomorrow’s Business” was organised in a hybrid format at Rothenbaum with 23 countries representing. This year’s annual general meeting and conference was the forty-first after the maiden event took place in 1981. WISTA International takes SDG 5 as a priority and therefore
gender disparity in the industry was highlighted as equitable access to leadership role in the martime sector remains a passionately debated concern. History seems to have contributed to its current state of affairs. A report of the gender survey undertaken by WISTA and IMO showed that women are still under represented in the industry. President of WISTA GHANA, Jemilat Jawula Mahamah, noted that women leaders have to put in a lot more effort to promote the empowerment of middle level women in the industry and also encourage the up-and-coming young ones in the industry. She maintained the future of shipping will be driven not only by technology but also decarbonization of the ships that are coming out onto the market.
Africa as a continent, she emphasized, will have to put systems in place to catch up with the rest of the world so as to become competitive. Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Kitack Lim, said the decision to have an extensive review of its conventions on reducing pollution from the shipping industry which entered
into force in 2020. WISTA International’s HR Committee Head and Former Head of Shipper Services of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Mrs. Naa Densua Aryeetey, from Ghana gave an overview of the committee report and announced the WISTA Personailty Award. Two new Excos were also welcomed to the association’s leadership.
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Creating partnerships key to achieving AfCFTA - Ken Ofori-Atta
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r. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, says Africans must come together and seize the opportunity to create partnerships that will make the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) work. That, he said, was necessary because the COVID-19 pandemic had taught Africa that its economic prospects hinged on expanding regional value chains across the nascent manufacturing economies. This was in a speech read on his behalf in Accra at a three-day Africa Globalized Investment Forum organised by AfCFTA Policy Network. It was on the theme: "Hand in Hand with Africa Investment Opportunities Under AfCFTA". He said the setbacks suffered across local supply chains due to the pandemic necessitated the reshoring of industrialization and trade effort. He said by bringing together a continent of over 1.3 billion people, with a combined GDP of US$ 2.5 trillion, Africa's incomes could potentially rise by US$ 450 billion by 2035 because of the AfCFTA. Also, a one percentage point increase in Africa's share of global trade from 2 to 3 percent could generate US$ 70 billion of additional income per annum for
the continent. He said the post-COVID-19 recovery should be anchored on increased economic integration and unlocking the productive capacity to meet local demand across strategic sectors. "I envision trade liberalization, supported by initiatives such as establishing Commodity Exchanges and Derivate markets, becoming an essential tool for supporting our organizational capital, deepening our financial markets, and crucially delivering innovation on a scale that can unlock Africa's potential".
Mr. Louis Yaw Afful, Group Executive, AfCFTA Policy Network (APN)Group, said the purpose of the Summit was to take the opportunity through the protocol under AfCFTA, to focus on harnessing and harmonizing investment through the African continent. "APN being the leader and first network on AfCTA, we would like to run this with partners, governments, private sector with the focus to bring all investors from across Africa and outside Africa to network, partner and look for sectors they can develop".
He said their vision was to have the "invest city of Hope Project" and were happy to have been offered a 100-acre land in the Eastern Region. The focus, Mr. Afful said, was to have an APN tower which would be a centre of excellence and tourism ecosystem. "We are going to bring investors who have already shown interest from the JTC Group, one of the largest fund managers with an asset of over $120 billion, to support the tourism sector.” He commended the AfCFTA Policy Network and its partners for putting together the forum. GNA
Breast cancer awareness campaign gets refreshing boost from Voltic Coca-Cola Beverages Africa subsidiary Voltic helped to pump up Ghana’s breast cancer awareness drive with a donation of water to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in support of a month-long free breast screening exercise in October. Early detection of breast cancer can dramatically increase
the likelihood that a woman will survive and continue to live a healthy life, and regular selfexamination and breast exams are critical in reducing deaths from the disease. According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localised stage, the 5-year
relative survival rate is 99percent. Many breast cancer symptoms are not noticeable without a professional screening, but some symptoms can be caught early just by being proactive about breast health. According to a 2018 article in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology, about 25% all new cancer cases among females, and 15percent of cancer deaths, were due to breast cancer. While the overall incidence in the African region was lower than in other continents except Asia, the continent ranked highest for breast cancer mortality when adjusting for its relatively more youthful population. Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held in October each year, encourages women to attend screenings on a regular basis to help with early detection, and Voltic donated 50 packs of water to Komfo Anokye Teaching
Hospital as partners in the breast cancer awareness campaign. It is the second-biggest hospital in Ghana, located in the country’s second-biggest city of Kumasi. Constance Antwi-Boasiako, from the hospital’s breast-care centre, said: “We are grateful to Voltic for their wonderful presentation to support breast cancer awareness. We were overwhelmed by this presentation and it has helped us in so many ways.” Voltic’s Territory Manager in Kumasi, Aaron Andrew, said the donation was a symbol of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa’s commitment to create greater shared opportunity for the business and the communities it serves. “Opportunity is more than just money, it’s about a better future for people and their communities everywhere on the African continent,” said Andrew.
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
Japan Motors launches new model of Navara Pickup
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apan Motors Trading Company Limited has released an improved version of its Nissan Navara Pickup onto the market after halting its production in 2016. The company launched the all-new Navara Pickup vehicle in October in Accra with an enhanced level of safety, comfort and driving pleasure to customers.
It said the latest vehicle continued to bring durability, reliability and versatility that it was known for. It was manufactured in South Africa, according to Japan Motors, the distributor of Nissan vehicles in the country. The Managing Director of Japan Motors, Mr Salem Kalmoni, said the new Navara brought the best of what Nissan had to offer.
He said it was rugged and tough, smart and offered premium comfort but at a price that provided customers great value for money. He recalled that the manufacturing of the Nissan Navara was halted in 2016 after Nissan introduced a new vehicle model that did not succeed because it was not tropicalized for Africa and did not meet the severest road conditions here. The MD said the Nissan Navara
would become part of the vehicles the company would locally assemble in Ghana. The good news for all buyers, especially government bodies, is that as the government has mandated them to procure Ghana-assembled vehicles, the government has waived off duty and value added tax (VAT) on locally-assembled vehicles and as such the Navara assembled here will be cheaper than imported pickups of any brand. “We are in the final phase of construction, tooling and training of our personnel and we hope to commission the assembly plant on schedule in the first quarter of next year," Mr Kalmoni said. The General Manager of Nissan West Africa, Mr Imad Ghorayeb, said the company was investing heavily in Africa as part of the Nissan Next policy. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyapong, who was the guest of honour, said Japan Motors and the Kalmoni family had, for a decade, built a successful business. He said the establishment of the new Nissan Assembly plant was one of the most important investment by the group and expressed the hope that it would undoubtedly be one of the most technologically advanced and modern facility, not just in Ghana, but also in West Africa.
Absa Group board appoints Sello Moloko as chairman-designate
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he Absa Group Limited Board today announced the appointment of Sello Moloko as independent nonexecutive director and chairmandesignate with effect from 1 December 2021. Sello will take over from Wendy Lucas-Bull who will step down on 31 March 2022, which marks the end of the nine-year period during which Wendy would have served as an independent director and as Chairman of the Absa Group Board. Absa advised of the Chairman’s impending retirement in October 2020. “We are delighted to welcome Sello to the Absa Board. He brings extensive experience as a leader in the financial services industry, with a proven track record as an executive, entrepreneur and a board member at companies across several industries,” said
Wendy. Sello has a career spanning close to 30 years in the financial services industry. He is a former CEO of Old Mutual Asset Managers. Thereafter, he founded Thesele Group, an investment holding company where he is the Executive Chairman. He has served as Chairman on the boards of Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited, SibanyeStillwater Limited and General Reinsurance Africa Limited (a
Berkshire Hathaway company), among others. He is also a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He currently serves as Chairman on the board of Telkom SA SOC Limited and Momentum Metropolitan Holdings Limited. He will relinquish his role on the Momentum Metropolitan Board prior to joining the Absa Group Board. “I am honoured by the opportunity to join Absa. As
one of the largest banks on the continent, Absa can support the economic growth of our continent in a significant way,” said Sello. “I have been inspired by the way in which Absa has evolved into a strong, standalone African bank that is recognisable across the continent. I commend the Board and executive team for this accomplishment and I look forward to being part of the company’s future journey,” he added. Soweto-born Sello obtained a BSc with Honours in mathematics and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from the University of Leicester in the UK. He has completed various business courses, including the Advanced Management Program from the Wharton Business School. Sello is also committed to community development initiatives in Soweto and Cape Town.
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Opinion/Analysis
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
The true costs of government spending
By Michael J. Boskin
U
S President Joe Biden insists that his US$3.5 trillion ($5 trillion without the budget gimmicks) “human infrastructure” bill “costs zero dollars” – nothing, nil, nada. While every president makes foolish statements, this must be the most economically illiterate presidential utterance since Jimmy Carter’s demand that the US Federal Reserve lower interest rates in the midst of surging double-digit inflation. In Carter’s case, the result was a dollar crisis. What will come of the Biden administration’s foray into nonsense? Biden, along with other Democratic leaders such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, claims that the plan will be “fully paid for” with tax hikes. Apparently, the administration thinks that only budget deficits impose costs (which runs contrary to the “deficits are costless” argument offered by other “progressives”). Yet it has long been clear that the bill would leave a $1.5-3 trillion hole to be filled with debt even after the tax hikes. In any case, Americans aren’t buying it. Polls show that roughly half want less government and lower taxes, and that threequarters of Americans doubt that the $3.5 trillion bill would make them “better off.” Perhaps not surprisingly, a majority now disapproves of the Biden administration. Students in introductory economics learn that the social cost of something is the value of the goods and services that could
have been produced with the same resources (labor, capital, land, energy, materials). Usually, this “opportunity cost” can be measured by market prices – though sometimes these must be adjusted to account for other factors, such as pollution or monopolies. From a basic economics standpoint, there are three fundamental errors in Biden’s “zero-cost” argument. First, there is the suggestion that the proper measure of cost is the impact on the federal fiscal position. The notion that a country’s wealth lies in the value of the sovereign’s Treasury was destroyed by Adam Smith 245 years ago. He showed that wealth comes from the country’s ability to produce goods and services that people need and want. For any country, the cost of government spending is the value of the foregone opportunities from shifting resources from the private sector to the government. Less private consumption and less private investment leads to less housing and fewer factories. Second, taxes are far from costless, because they, too, divert resources from the private sector and thus impose an opportunity cost. Just as sales taxes primarily affect consumption, corporate income taxes affect investment. The cost is the value of the displaced private consumption and/or investment. The third fundamental flaw in Biden’s approach is the notion that the cost can be measured just by the dollar amounts involved. In reality, these are far higher than stated. Not only are there administrative and compliance
costs, but there is also the economic damage that taxes cause by distorting incentives. For example, income taxes reduce incentives to work and to save (though this is partially offset by tax-deferred savings accounts); corporate taxes reduce incentives to invest; and progressive tax rates decrease incentives to invest in one’s skills. Every introductory economics class teaches that the harm these distortions cause rises with the square of the tax rate and the responsiveness of the taxed activities. Doubling the rate quadruples the inefficiency cost (what economists call deadweight loss) of the tax. The effective tax rate takes into account all taxes on the activity, for example, state, local, and federal income taxes. This is not a doctrinal issue; it is simply a description of what is happening in the areas under the supply and demand curves on a graph. Spending $5 trillion will cost the economy about $6.5 trillion, because the marginal cost of federal dollars is estimated to fall in the $1.30 range. For a government spending program to be considered sensible, it must provide benefits of at least $1.30 per dollar of spending. Especially damaging to the economy would be the proposed tax hikes on capital income, as this introduces a tax distortion that compounds over time as horizons lengthen. That would both harm economic growth and create bigger obstacles to more people getting ahead financially – building their own wealth, reducing their dependence on government, and, yes, becoming rich.
The promises of universal preschool, free community college, and other entitlements are deeply misleading. Taxpayers, after all, will pay for the salaries, the facilities, the computers, and the electricity needed for these ongoing services. It would be more truthful for Biden to say: “I know these costs are huge, even larger than the estimated budgetary impact. Here is my rationale and evidence, program by program, that the efficiency or distributional benefits so outweigh these costs as to justify taking the resources from families and firms, now or in the future.” Exactly when exaggeration crosses a line into deliberate deception is debatable. President Barack Obama either knew, or should have known, that he was issuing a blatant falsehood when he said, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you can keep your health-care plan, period.” (To his credit, he later reversed his claim that the 2009 stimulus bill would soon create lots of construction jobs, admitting in 2010 that “there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects.”) And, of course, President Donald Trump made a habit of excessive claims. Political hyperbole is par for the course. But like so much else, it seems to have gotten worse, and with fewer consequences. We would all be better off if more elected officials followed the example of Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945, who, in admitting error, boasted, “When I make a mistake, it’s a beauty.”
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
Africa youth urged to embrace the future with digitisation
By Diamond Kpogli Lamptey
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he UNDP Assistance Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, has charged young people in Africa to embrace and fully take control of the new revolution by digitisation.
She made this statement at a youth dialogue in Accra on the theme " Young People as Key Drivers: Building the Africa We Want Through Innovation and Digitisation". Ms Ahunna Eziiakonwa, who has been in Accra to part take in the just ended 3 days annual summit 'Youth Connekt Africa
21' as one of the guest speakers, said digital tools and platforms are the keys to facilitating trade across borders of Africa and beyond. "African youth are the future of this continent and the more investment we put in you; the youth is a step in the right direction. African Continental
Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is a continental agreement to bring down barriers to intra- African trade so that it can lead to growth, economic and social transformation across Africa. In order to reap the full benefits of the AfCFTA, we must change the way we do business and promote the digital transformation of the continent. Due to Africa’s huge volumes of natural resources that are not yet contributing fully to our development, she emphasised that AfCFTA is a vehicle for African to add value to their natural resources and improve the quality of goods and services through regional value chains,” she added. "Small producers like the entrepreneurs producing tiger nuts would be able to expand the market for their products beyond their borders and have easier access to ideas and technologies available across Africa". She said urged leaders of the continent to ensure that AfCFTA is not just another agreement, instead, it can be leveraged to benefit the whole continent. In Ghana, UNDP has supported 42 young innovators, who are transforming their space and creating jobs through the agency’s seed funding of about US$500,000.
ITC boss engages Ghanaian SME exporters on key project outcomes By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com
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he Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Pamela Coke-Hamilton, has met with beneficiaries of the centre’s trade enhancement and support programmes that have been rolled out in the country to ascertain the level of impact and to identify key bottlenecks, as part of her official visit to Ghana. The meeting was facilitated by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the state exports facilitator and the implementing agency for most of ITC’s support programmes targeted at both small and medium-sized and women-owned businesses in the country. It was a platform for the ITC boss to learn practical experiences from beneficiaries of some of the projects that the centre has been working on as part of its partnership
with GEPA, specifically, the She-Trades and Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) programmes, and how they could be improved to better serve their purpose. In her remarks, Ms. CokeHamilton commended government on its various trade-facilitating interventions, especially those for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which, she said, could help build an ecosystem that allows young businesses to benefit from direct interventions. “We want to see how we can work more in the value chains, like the shea butter, helping you develop more in terms of your digitalisation, smart agriculture, value chain addition in agri-processing—all the various areas that we think have great potential in Ghana and for export elsewhere,” she said. The ITC boss also indicated that in broader collective terms, government’s 1D1F programme
could build sustainability across the nation’s business landscape and increase employment by multiple folds. She added: “So, I think what is really helpful for us is not only indirectly working with MSMEs and micro enterprises, but also to have a governmental ecosystem and also institutional partner like GEPA to be able to work with you in partnership and get [a] much greater result.”
The Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, said the two projects have been highly impactful for SMEs in the country, adding that her outfit will take charge and own the projects. She thanked the ITC for the seamless partnership over the years, adding that GEPA will continue to collaborate with the centre on its various tradepromoting interventions.
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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
REGSEC sensitised on new Cybersecurity Act
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one-day capacity building and sensitisation programme on the new Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (ACT 1038) has been held in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Capital. The programme is to educate members of the Eastern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) on the new Act as part of events marking the National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Addressing participants at the event, the acting DirectorGeneral of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Dr Albert AntwiBoasiako, said the Act which established the authority from the then National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) would provide a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of critical information infrastructure of the country. He said the Act was also expected to regulate cybersecurity activities including licensing of cybersecurity services, provide for the protection of children on the internet and develop Ghana’s Cybersecurity ecosystem. He indicated that, Act 1038 was also targeted at positioning Ghana to prevent, manage and respond to cybersecurity incidents in view of the country’s digital transformation agenda which was very critical to the economic development, bearing in mind that economic growth was hinged
on a secured, safe and resilient digital environment. Highlighting on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) cybersecurity Index Ranking, Dr Antwi-Boasiako said Ghana has scored Ghana 86.69 per cent placing the country at the third position in Africa behind Mauritius and Tanzania. Ghana’s current score of 86.69 per cent is a major progress from the previous ratings in 2017 and 2018 of 32.6 per cent and 43.7 per cent respectively. He further commended the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Seth Kwame Acheampong, for his instrumental role in the passage of the Cybersecurity
Act as chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of the Seventh Parliament. The minister also lauded the government and the CSA for instituting October every year as cybersecurity month to create awareness on the cyber frauds and other cybersecurity issues. He said he had a vision of establishing the Eastern Region as the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Ghana where Research and Development on Information Technology in the country would be championed. He cited the Space Systems Technology Laboratory of the All Nations University's feat of launching the first ever satellite in the country to space and
the consecutive victories of the Methodist Girls High School, Mamfe Akuapem in the world ROBOFEST competition, all in the Eastern Region as proof of the region's potential and preparedness for this development. H said the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council as part of ensuring the success of this vision, would soon launch a training programme dubbed “Training of Information Technology (IT) Personnel and IT Savvy citizens” to equip the citizenry with the necessary knowledge and skills that will ensure the country thrives in the digitalisation age.
Information gap hindering entrepreneurs’ understanding of funding opportunities on issues affecting the young people from optimising the By Morkporkpor Anku
N
ana Dwemoh Benneh, the Managing Director at Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), has said information gap is hindering understanding as to which institutions startups can look up to for funding opportunities at various stages. He said the mistake that entrepreneurs often made was that they wanted short-term funds to finance long-term projects. Nana Benneh made these observations during a panel discussion at the just ended Ghana Economic Forum in Accra. It was on the theme: “Strengthening Home Grown Policies to Underpin the National Digitisation Drive and Shared Financial Prosperity.” The forum sought to set the agenda for Ghana’s Economic Prosperity by engaging key stakeholders to deliberate on
economic development issues in a non-partisan manner. It was a conclave to engage corporate Ghana to deliberate
economy, proffer solutions and recommendations to drive accelerated economic growth. “I think this is one of the key drawbacks that is hampering
opportunities available,” Nana Benneh added. He said there had never been a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Ghana, looking at the opportunities from digitisation to the plethora of funding opportunities from investors, government schemes and programmes. “If you want to attract patient capital, it requires discipline and knowledge. For most entrepreneurs, they are very excited at the idea's conception, but they lack the staying power and sacrifice needed to research, present, and attract investment,” Nana Benneh said. Banks were committed to supporting the Central Bank and the Government to bring their expertise to bear on the entrepreneurship ecosystem and were committed to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to aid entrepreneurs to thrive.
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6 critical insights to building a high-performance culture among teams – Vote us number one (Part 1)
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he role of performance in every business cannot be overemphasized. It is irreplaceable, inexcusable indispensable, and unavoidable. Whereas the benefits are many, the consequences of its absence are dire. Measurable results, low workforce turnover, new ideas, loyal team, and realizable vision are just to name a few. Tansey (2021) affirms, “Simply put, a highperformance workplace is one that works well. Employees are highly productive and motivated. They have the resources they need to meet and exceed their goals, feel supported by their manager, are aligned with company values, and feel favourable about corporate leadership.” High performance is as crucial and necessary as oxygen and the earlier we embrace this culture of performance, the better at reducing the ramifications on our businesses. Below are six (6) critical insights to help build a high-performance culture among today’s workforce: 1. Be deliberate to create your future The subject of Performance is one of critical importance for every business under the sun. Without performance, all businesses are bound to come to a standstill. The best way to predict your future is to create it, affirms Peter Drucker, the management guru. The concept of performance has nothing to
do with plush edifices, exotic interiors, cars, and resources. After all, they can all be drained with carelessness and nonperformance. As a matter of urgency, what we find lacking, we must be prepared to create. The rising tides and winds of change are calling for clear thinking and communication anchored on a determined character. Getting your team to be deliberate in their thoughts and actions is critical to the success of every assigned function. Daily observations coupled with weekly appraisal and ensuring every ledge on the operation matrix is delivering on expected key outputs. Concurring with Peter Drucker, it is a glaring truth that “plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” And this can only happen when leaders are deliberate to create a performance culture and consequently ensure that every member of the team is also deliberate to pursue the results. 2. Overcoming the obstacles: become resilient Over the years, we have had to overcome several challenges in the business terrain we find ourselves. And despite the myriad of besetting and unfavourable circumstances, we are still forging ahead with the dream of building a high-performance culture among teams in organizations. COVID-19 pandemic is here and has impacted every business
on the planet. On one hand, it has heightened the urgency for rethinking, retooling, and renovating business functional frameworks, whilst also creating new opportunities on the other hand. The erosion of capital and stakeholders’ value, high workforce turnover, having to handle evolving and sophisticated customers, challenging business relationships and situations, amongst others are pending challenges to be tackled as a result of the pandemic. Nevertheless, today’s leaders will have to confront the prevailing obstacles in the face and develop a strategic, cogent, and pragmatic approach to overcome these obstacles. Exposure, as a reputable brand, has been resilient over the years persevering in building trust, ensuring reliability, and offering great value at serving our target market niche. These unpopular speed lanes and risky highways we have persistently travelled to enforce our beliefs through the quality of our service output to our clientele. For businesses to survive into the future, resilience must become a driving force to guard the performance agenda. 3. Swift Shift, Response and adaptation Still in the world of Peter Drucker, we observe his assertion that “People in any organization are always attached to the obsolete - the things that should have worked but did not, the
things that once were productive and no longer are.” The reality is that times have changed and trends will keep evolving. The business landscape has dramatically changed with the introduction of the internet and the advancement of mediated communication technologies. And with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything has been impacted and being transformed by a swift response in tackling the impact of the pandemic. This essentially beckons all progress-driven businesses and leaders to take the subject of performance seriously. We don’t need to get stuck in the past, persistently sticking to the scripts of old. To be able to nurture and sustain performance among teams, business leaders must of necessity shift in their response and adaptation to the continuous and rapid change in the marketplace. As the times change, we must reorient team mindsets to think towards the paths of progress, change, innovation, and renovation. Right from the corridors of the frontlines, production and distribution outfits, the market, the C-suite, and all the way to the board room, leaders must nurture the concept of performance through the engendering of a swift response and adaptation at every point of interaction with the business and the customer.
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6 Critical Insights to building a high-performance culture among teams – Vote us number one (Part 2) Continued from the previous episode, we observe the remaining insights at building a highperformance culture among your workforce.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 4. Attitude is everything – Dare to Be Different The place of attitude at service is the needed catalyst to create a memorable and valuable impact for today’s customers. To borrow from Peter Drucker again, “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” In our bid to be different in the marketplace, we have encountered several unfavourable incidents during service interactions with several business entities. We identified weak frontlines, apathy during the service encounter, rude and unruly behaviours, unreliability with the brand promise, several untrained staff, many round pegs in square roles, etc. Upon identifying some of these gaps, we decided to embark on this audacious dream of building a high-performance workforce and teams through our Sales and Marketing Performance training apparatus. Our rigorous, distinctive and different approach at training has positively impacted most of our clientele with the needed impact and value-saving opportunity. Sitting on the fence doesn’t solve problems and neither does it produce any value. Today’s workforce must be empowered with the right attitude to serving today’s customers. Baptized by the spirit of commitment to the business process, a highperformance team must first approach the art of service internally through treating their colleagues and management as valuable customers before trying to extend this treatment to the firm’s external customers. Talking-the-talk and walking-thetalk is the new chorus for highperforming teams today. 5. Retooling & ReskillingConstant Sales Performance Training To reiterate, performance is everything in business. As unavoidable as oxygen, businesses whether SMBs, Large corporations, or multinationals are doomed if they trifle with the concept of performance. To quote Drucker again, “What's measured improves” and it is in the orbit of performance that you get the opportunity to
measure the efforts of your team. With the growing competition and plethora of product and service offerings coupled with innumerable knock-offs, there is an urgent need for companies to invest in re-skilling and retooling through constant and consistent performance training for every member of the team. More crucially, with the ensuing change driven by technological advancement and emerging media, today’s businesses must be swift in their response through constant sales coaching and the adoption of the “all sell all” approach to ensure that the business gleans revenue at every opportunity through well-defined touchpoints interacting with the customer and the market. To this end, Sales Performance training must become the focus for every serious business to keep the Sales cutting edge sharp and the revenue bag full. Constant and consistent retooling and reskilling of teams are what ensure performance. 6. Lead by Example Dr. John C. Maxwell, an expert on leadership asserts that “everything rises and falls on leadership. We have often espoused during leadership and other corporate training sessions, that leaders lead and followers follow. Peter Drucker avows that “Leadership is not magnetic personality that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people", that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building
of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” To drive performance in teams is the gross duty and singular responsibility of the leader to use his persona, wits, charisma, and experience to galvanize the whole team towards that specific set mark that must be attained. Followers don’t act upon what they hear leaders say, instead, they imitate what they see their leaders do. Getting a nod and applause doesn’t reflect in the sales figures or the expected service quality experience for your customers. The reason simply stems from the reality that teams will imitate the attitude of their leader. Hence today’s leaders must lead congruently and in alignment, with the set vision, they hope the team would embrace. As it were, the standards are already high and it is prudent and valuable keeping them high than bring them low. Leading by example is very powerful, relevant, and strategic at building a burgeoning performance culture among teams. Together, we can change the present outlook through a performance output. We can change the narrative by being deliberate, overcoming the obstacles, being resilient, having an attitude that makes the difference, constant reskilling and retooling, and ultimately leading by example. With these keys, let’s raise the bar through performance. We have the opportunity of being nominated to contest the best CEO Award, Consulting (Marketing) Category. With your votes, we can drive up results and keep spreading the infection of performance. We are
counting on your massive votes to bring this award home. We are eternally grateful to have you do us the honors by voting massively for our nominee: Rev. John N.A Thompson (Lead Consultant & Principal Trainer – Exposure Consult Limited). Contributors: Rev. John Thompson has spent his career over the years building high-performance culture in organizations he has consulted for. He has worked in Branding, Sales, Marketing, Strategy, Business Planning, and strategic execution capacities at ‘Exposure’. As a certified Train the Trainer and Sales performance coach, he has added value to many teams and corporate professionals. His consulting clients include Local and Multinational companies in FMCG, Retail, Renewal energy, Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Real estate & Construction, consumer products, financial services, and Hospitality industries, amongst others. Lauretta Thompson (Mrs.) She is an associate consultant and in charge of Sales and Administration at ‘Exposure’. With a versatile skill-set, well vexed in customer service and service quality; she has worked her career building valuable business relationships, perfecting the art of cold calling, closing deals, and ensuring that clients’ expectations are met through service quality and professionalism. She has effectively managed different teams to pitch and win accounts of both local and multinational corporations.
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Energy
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
Clean energy has won the economic race
By Jules Kortenhorst
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or decades, we at the Rocky Mountain Institute (now RMI) have argued that the transition to clean energy will cost less and proceed faster than governments, firms, and many analysts expect. In recent years, this outlook has been fully vindicated: costs of renewables have consistently fallen faster than expected, while deployment has proceeded more rapidly than predicted, thereby reducing costs even further. Thanks to this virtuous cycle, renewables have broken through. And now, new analyses from two authoritative research institutions have added to the mountain of data showing that a rapid cleanenergy transition is the least expensive path forward. Policymakers, business leaders, and financial institutions urgently need to consider the promising implications of this development. With the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow fast approaching, it is imperative that world leaders recognize that achieving the Paris climate agreement’s 1.5° Celsius warming target is not about making sacrifices; it is about seizing opportunities. The negotiation process must be reframed so that it is less about burden-sharing and more about a lucrative race to deploy cleaner, cheaper energy technologies. With the world already suffering from climate-driven extreme weather events, a rapid clean-energy transition also has the virtue of being the safest route ahead. If we fail at this historic task, we risk not only wasting trillions of dollars but also pushing civilization further
down a dangerous and potentially catastrophic path of climate change. One can only guess why forecasters have, for decades, underestimated the falling costs and accelerating pace of deployment for renewables. But the results are clear: bad predictions have underwritten trillions of dollars of investment in energy infrastructure that is not only more expensive but also more damaging to human society and all life on the planet. We now face what may be our last chance to correct for decades of missed opportunities. Either we will continue to waste trillions more on a system that is killing us, or we will move rapidly to the cheaper, cleaner, more advanced energy solutions of the future. New studies have shed light on how a rapid clean-energy transition would work. In the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report The Renewable Spring, lead author Kingsmill Bond shows that renewables are following the same exponential growth curve as past technology revolutions, hewing to predictable and wellunderstood patterns. Accordingly, Bond notes that the energy transition will continue to attract capital and build its own momentum. But this process can and should be supported to ensure that it proceeds as quickly as possible. Policymakers who want to drive change must create an enabling environment for the optimal flow of capital. Bond clearly lays out the sequence of steps that this process entails. Examining past energy revolutions reveals several important insights. First, capital is attracted to technological
disruptions, and tends to flow to the areas of growth and opportunity associated with the start of these revolutions. As a result, once a new set of technologies passes its gestation period, capital becomes widely available. Second, financial markets draw forward change. As capital moves, it speeds up the process of change by allocating new capital to growth industries, and by withdrawing it from those in decline. The current signals from financial markets show that we are in the first phase of a predictable energy transition, with spectacular outperformance by new energy sectors and the de-rating of the fossil-fuel sector. This is the point where wise policymakers can step in to establish the necessary institutional framework to accelerate the energy transition and realize the economic benefits of building local clean-energy supply chains. As we can see from market trends highlighted in the IRENA report, the shift is already well underway. Reinforcing the findings from the IRENA report, a recent analysis from the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) at the Oxford Martin School shows that a rapid transition to clean energy solutions will save trillions of dollars, in addition to keeping the world aligned with the Paris agreement’s 1.5°C goal. A slower deployment path would be financially costlier than a faster one and would incur significantly higher climate costs from avoidable disasters and deteriorating living conditions. Owing to the power of exponential growth, an accelerated path for renewables
is eminently achievable. The INET Oxford report finds that if the deployment of solar, wind, batteries, and hydrogen electrolyzers continues to follow exponential growth trends for another decade, the world will be on track to achieve net-zeroemissions energy generation within 25 years. In its own coverage of the report, Bloomberg News suggests as a “conservative estimate” that a rapid clean-energy transition would save $26 trillion compared with continuing with today’s energy system. After all, the more solar and wind power we build, the greater the price reductions for those technologies. Moreover, in his own response to the INET Oxford study, Bill McKibben of 350.org points out that the cost of fossil fuels will not fall, and that any technological learning curve advantage for oil and gas will be offset by the fact that the world’s easy-access reserves have already been exploited. Hence, he warns that precisely because solar and wind will save consumers money, the fossil-fuel industry will continue to try to slow down the transition in order to mitigate its own losses. We must not allow any further delay. As we approach COP26, it is essential that world leaders understand that we already have cleaner, cheaper energy solutions ready to deploy now. Hitting our 1.5°C target is not about making sacrifices; it is about seizing opportunities. If we get to work now, we can save trillions of dollars and avert the climate devastation that otherwise will be visited upon our children and grandchildren.
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WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 22, 2021
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WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 22, 2021
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NO. B24 / 266 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS
MONDAY MAY 3, 2021
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27, 2021
AfDB launches consultations on new strategy for quality health infrastructure in Africa
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he African Development Bank has launched a consultation process with health ministers and other partners as it develops a strategy to drive enhanced access to health services across Africa through 2030. Input from ministers in the Bank’s 54 regional member countries, development partners and civil society is expected to strengthen the Bank’s Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa (2021-2030). A robust scoping study titled “Good Health and Well-being” underpins the strategy. “These consultations are crucial to ensure the delivery of an efficient, impactful and sustainable strategy. The global Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on lives and livelihoods strongly justifies the Bank’s renewed investments in Africa’s health infrastructure and efforts to strengthen its health systems resilience,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed serious gaps in African national health systems and overwhelmed capacity to test for and treat the disease. Health infrastructure is unevenly
distributed, and often of poor quality. Only half of the primary health care facilities in subSaharan Africa have access to clean water and adequate sanitation. The Strategy focuses on areas that match the Bank’s comparative advantage, including health infrastructure and building in flexibility to respond to the needs of regional member countries. Particular focus areas are primary health care infrastructure for underserved populations, with supporting infrastructure investment to ensure that facilities are connected to water and sanitation, energy, transport
and communications services; diagnostic infrastructure, utilizing a range of delivery models, including public-private collaborations; and connectivity for innovative health solutions, to expand information and communications technology links and facilitate innovations in health service delivery. The Bank’s investments in health infrastructure will be packaged with knowledge work, policy dialogue and technical assistance, and in partnership with other health sector actors. This support will focus on effective health financing strategies, including the expansion of health insurance
to ensure low-income household access and that investments are used effectively and sustainably. “Poor health undermines Africa’s economic productivity. The continent’s health infrastructure needs are too big to be met by any one, single player. I welcome stakeholder inputs as the Bank formulates a pipeline of operations in support of building stronger African health systems,” said Dr. Martha Phiri, Director for Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development at the Bank. The Strategy has been developed in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
LaLiga hosts El Clásico viewing party for football lovers in Accra
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hana, being one of the most passionate places for world football, hosted a very special event on Sunday and the most popular match in football history was hosted by the Spanish Embassy in collaboration with LaLiga. The event, which was held at the residence of the Ambassador of Spain in Accra, had fans, journalists, and members of the diplomatic corps, ex Black Stars midfielder, Derek Boateng, and ex Nigerian midfielder and LaLiga Ambassador, Mutiu Adepoju in attendance. Welcoming guests to the event, the Ambassador of Spain to Ghana, Javier Gutierrez, emphasized that the event represents the shared love of football by Spaniards and Ghanaians. He added: ‘The passion for football is something
that unites both our countries and people, we are happy that LaLiga is in Ghana, as they are part of our sports diplomacy and are prominent ambassadors of our culture and brand. Through LaLiga, we intend to promote more cooperation between Spanish and Ghanian Football, and I hope we will see in Spanish team play in Ghana soon.’. Nadim Ghanem-Pares, President of the Spain Ghana Chamber of Commerce encouraged Ghanaian companies to look at possible trade ties with Spain and by extension, LaLiga. ‘Geographically, Spain is the European Country closest to Ghana, and we cannot forget our wonderful football that unites us so much to Ghana, because we know LaLiga is enjoyed so much over here, and we believe LaLiga
will have a fantastic experience rolling out its project here with our support’. Also speaking at the event, the LaLiga Global Network Delegate for Ghana and Nigeria, Desmond Chiji expressed the importance of Ghana to LaLiga. ‘Ghana has a very valuable place in the LaLiga ecosystem. We have been motivated in holding an event for ElClasico, for which we created a new brand identity. The interest we received has exceeded our expectations. We would like to thank football fans, participants,
media organizations, and members of the media for this achievement. As LaLiga, we will continue to strengthen our bond with football fans in the coming period.” Guests at the event were treated to a private viewing of El Clásico which saw Barcelona losing 1-2 to Real Madrid Barcelona. The event was supported by the Embassy of Spain Accra and its Commercial Office, Spain Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Budweiser, GB Foods, and Supersport.