BUSINESS24 | WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2020
THEBSUINESS24ONLINE.COM |
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GH¢2.5m set aside to contain Corona virus The government has allocated an initial amount of GH¢2.5 million, as part of a national preparedness plan to fight the deadly coronavirus if it is detected in Ghana. The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, announced this on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, when he briefed Parliament on the government’s preparedness to fight the disease if the deadly corona virus is detected in the country. According to the Minister, the government has designated the Ridge Hospital (Greater Accra Regional Hospital), Police Hospital, Tema General Hospital and Ga East Municipal Hospital as treatment centres in case the virus is detected in the country. “We have designated treatment centres, isolation facilities and holding places for the management of confirmed and suspected cases,” he said, stressing that there are dedicated ambulances for safe transport of any suspected and confirmed case. He said all Teaching Hospitals in the country also have the capacity to treat any reported cases as well. The Minister told Parliament
that Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) has agreed and consequently demonstrated its capacity to conduct tests for any confirmation of the deadly virus. He indicated that his ministry has already initiated a process to procure 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment for the use of all front-line workers. “Arrangements are being made to procure insurance cover for all front-line workers,” he said. He said the Ministry is using a health declaration form to exact salient information from travellers into the country to assess their risk profile while there is a continuous screening for fever using walk-through thermometers and non-contact thermometers at the Kotoka International Airport and other designated points of entry. He however said that the ministry is mounting greater surveillance at Aflao and Elubo borders since the two border points are very busy for road travellers internationally “We are all in this together and therefore call on the private sector and development partners to give
their support to our national effort in this period of preparedness,” Mr. Agyeman-Manu said. The deadly virus, first detected in Wuhan, China currently shows no sign of slowing and presents a significant treat to people and businesses. With a total of 425 deaths out of 20,438 confirmed cases in China alone, the outbreak has led to significant disruption in trade, aviation and tourism among others. Many airlines across the world have stopped servicing the Chinese market while many countries have either temporarily suspended visa issuance to and from China temporarily.
Standards Authority wants off gov’t subvention THE GHANA Standards Authority, in a move backed by Parliament, is seeking greater financial autonomy in order to ensure efficiency in its operations and check sub-standard goods flooding the Ghanaian market. The state institution that ensures standards, wants to be weaned off central government’s subvention and be allowed to keep a significant portion of its Internally Generated Funds (IGF) for its operations. The Vice Chairman of the Committee of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Ato Pamford, told Business24 that the Committee is fully in support of the GSA’s proposal. “We realized that this is going to be a very critical thing to the nation; we need to rise up and support the GSA to make sure that proper surveillance and laws are put in place. So the Committee’s recommendations in short, we looked at the way GSA can be financially equipped in terms of human capacity to be able to deliver their mandate by law.” Furtherance to this, the GSA has a legislation before Cabinet that is expected to come to Parliament soon. The proposed legislation is expected to consolidate the myr-
iad of laws governing the GSA’s operations into a single law which will empower the institution to be more effective. Checking sub-standard electrical cables According to the Report of the Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism on the challenges of imported sub-standard electrical cables, gadgets and accessories, there is the need to review the legal mandate of the GSA to incor-
porate the imposition of administrative fines as well as the power to destroy sub-standard goods upon seizure. This they reckon would serve as a deterrent to offenders. The report also recommended, as a matter of urgency, for the Ministry of Finance restore the 15percent share of the 1percent Destination Inspection Levy to the GSA without being capped to enhance their operations.
A key challenge that was identified by the Committee was the lack of a warehouse or storage facility for the Authority to store impounded non-conforming goods. Due to delay in adjudication of quality related cases, the Committee also recommended the establishment of a Specialised Quality Court to fast-track the adjudication of quality related cases. The Authority, have thus, been
urged to collaborate with the Office of the Chief Justice to designate the Commercial Division of the High Court to set up an administrative tribunal to facilitate the speedy adjudication of cases relating to sub-standard goods, products, equipment and services. Additionally, the Committee urged the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the GSA to speed up the process of developing the National Hydrocarbon Measurement Standards to ensure value for money in the Oil and Gas industry. The Director General of Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Prof. Alex Dodoo, says they Authority is not well resourced and “if they are weaned off and portions of funds is given to them as done in the past” they can expand capacity and serve the country better, by way of protecting businesses. He also added that the Authority’s role in trade facilitation should be highlighted and is hoping it can be expedited into proper action. On the expectation of the legislation that will be brought before Parliament, he indicated that “the GSA will be given the powers to fine. We want strong punitive sanctions; to be given the powers to bite”.
Civil society must help build resilient cyber space—SGI Coordinator Hanan Morsy Sustained cooperation among stakeholders within and outside of government—including civil society organizations (CSOs)— will help government to build coordinated and appropriate responses to cyber threats, Osei Bonsu Dickson, Chief Legal Advisor to the National Security Secretariat and coordinator of the Security Governance Initiative (SGI), has said. Addressing a workshop on the theme “Making Our National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy Citizen-Centric” in Accra, he called for a more collaborative approach among public and private sector actors, including CSOs on
that discourse. “This workshop is timely and appropriate; if we have the right appetite, we can inoculate the current draft national cyber security policy and strategy, make it truly citizen-centric, more hygienic and healthier,” he said. According to Mr. Dickson, although multiple legal instruments provided policy guidance for improving cyber security or responding to cybercrime, previous gaps in responsibilities manacled the national effort for unified direction. “Previously, most public prosecutors, defence lawyers and even judges lacked the capacity to adequately prosecute cybercrime, inefficient processes in validating identification documents contributed also to high incidence
of identity theft or what I call cyber-galamsey,” he noted. The workshop provided the platform for participants the dual opportunity to learn about the present draft national cyber security policy document and to contribute to the future ultimate document. Mr. Dickson said: “We must ponder the role of CSOs in cyberspace; we must ask how best CSOs can contribute in coalition building global, regional and national capacity. Accra remains the political Mecca of Africa, and so in the sphere of digital rights, cyber law and cyber norms, Ghanaian civil society organizations can offer a directional role in norms development, implementation, and enforcement.”
