Business24 Newspaper (March 27, 2020)

EDITION B24 | 23

FRIDAY MARCH 27, 2020

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Banks urged to build robust systems for electronic payments

Stop ‘saiko’ …group intensifies pressure on gov’t

Banks will have to tighten and enhance the security features of their systems, especially in the area of cybersecurity, to provide assurance and boost public confidence in the various electronic payment

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a pressure group, has called on government to enforce the law on the fishing sector to end ‘saiko trans-shipment’

BY PATRICK PAINTSIL

BY BENSON AFFUL

PG 2

Gov’t still exploring funding regime for housing projects nationwide

BY EUGENE DAVIS

PG 10

PG 10

To lockdown or not

BY EUGENE DAVIS

• Calls grow for more drastic action against COVID-19 • Economic impact being assessed.

Finance Minister Ken OforiAtta has been charged by the President to assess the potential impact on the economy of any further actions the government may take to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, including a possible lockdown of the country.

This came to light when Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah spoke to the media in Parliament on Thursday.

The government is facing calls to escalate the measures to deal with the spread of COVID-19, with the case count rising exponentially since the virus was first detected in the country two weeks ago. As the paper went to press yesterday, a total of 132 persons had been confirmed to be infected with the disease, with three MORE ON PAGE 2

MINISTER FOR INFORMATION KOJO OPPONG NKRUMAH

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES SUPPORTS COVID-19 FIGHT IN GHANA MORE ON PAGE 03

GOIL DONATES ESSENTIAL ITEMS TO GPRTU IN COVID-19 FIGHT MORE ON PAGE 05

INTERNATIONAL MARKET

*EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

USD$1 =GH¢5.6896*

EXCHANGE RATE (BANK RATE)

USD$1 =GH¢5900.*

*POLICY RATE GHANA REFERENCE RATE *INFLATION RATE PRODUCER PRICE INFLATION:

14.5%* (YET TO BE SET) 7.8%* 11.8%

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS GOLD $/TROY OUNCE CORN $/BUSHEL COCOA $/METRIC TON COFFEE $/POUND:

91 DAY TREASURY BILL INTEREST RATE

14.7586%

SUGAR $/POUND

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

GHc 5.13*

SILVER $/TROY OUNCE:

-2.50 ($26.23) -0.10 ($1.63) -39.50 ($1,486.30) -8.75 ($335.25) -34.00 ($2,284.00) +5.70 ($108.30) -0.22 ($10.67) -0.50 ($12.00)

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News/Editorial 1

Wash your hands 2

Editorial: Assessing economic implication of a lockdown, right move.

The government is facing calls to escalate the measures to deal with the spread of COVID-19, with the case count rising exponentially.

Calls for a lockdown to be considered or imposed on the entire country to limit the spread of COVID-19 have come from the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC), as well as individual medical experts.

The President, following

the calls, has instructed the Finance Minister “to work out the implications of any further measures on the economy and how to put in place economic measures—what people call a stimulus programme—to ensure that these measures don’t adversely hurt the economy and people.”

In the coming days, Business24 sources say, Parliament will be briefed on the measures once final decisions have been made.

The decision to assess the full impact of the lockdown is fully supported by Business24, given the structure of the Ghanaian

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If you are sick, wear mask Brought to you by

products on the financial market, Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, has said.

This, according to him, will require strengthening the effectiveness and robustness of banks’ preventive and fraud detection systems using the latest technologies, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“Beyond that, offering liability protection programmes and the availability of dedicated platforms to resolve consumer complaints timeously would also provide assurance and boost consumer confidence in the electronic payment products.

The key component of inclusivity and adoption of electronic

payment options is public confidence,” he said at the launch of the Universal QR Code and the Proxy Pay in Accra on Wednesday.

The QR code is easy to use and versatile and will provide a solution to the fragmented e-payment landscape, as it is compatible with the available e-payment products, such as ATM machines, credit and

debit cards, online banking and mobile banking.

The introduction of the QR Code is an integral part of the Payment Systems Strategic Plan (2019–2024) captured under the Financial Technologies Strategy Pillar.

“Merchants can visit any of the partner banks to register and start to use the platform for accepting payments,” Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), Archie Hesse, said.

“We are going to need the fin-techs as we go along, as they are the entities that will be developing the muchneeded applications that will be needed at the various downstream systems—as we slowly graduate towards the cash-lite system,” he remarked.

The governor called for a well-coordinated approach

To lockdown or not LIMITED Copyright @ 2019 Business24 Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Editorial Team Dominic Andoh: Editor Eugene Kwabena Davis (Head of Parliamentary Business & Commodities) Benson Afful (Head of Energy & Education) Patrick Paintsil (Head of Maritime & Banking) Marketing Alexander Lartey Agyemang (Business Development Manager) Ruth Fosua Tetteh (Dept. Business Development Manager) Gifty Mensah (Marketing Manager) Irene Mottey (Sales Manager) Edna Eyram Swatson (Special Projects Manager ) Events Evelyn Kanyoke (Snr. Events Consultant) Finance/Administration Joseph Ackon Bissue (Accountant) Ampomah Akoto (Director of Operations)

who literally live on a hand-tomouth basis daily. If you lockdown everything for 14 days, what happens to them? What happens to those who need sanitation, toilet facilities? You need to consider all of those.

What are the security dimensions? They are all options being considered.”

Business24 supports the idea of a comprehensive assessment of the economic implications of a lockdown, in-as-much-as it is needed to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

Banks urged to build robust systems for electronic payments continued from page 1

Cover you cough

economy. The economy is largely informal with millions of people who live on ‘hand-to-mouth’ basis.

A lockdown is likely to exacerbate the economic impact of the virus in Ghana and put many vulnerable people who will lose their livelihoods at risk of starvation or death—unless the government makes available provisions for their sustenance.

As noted by Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, “Calling for it is not the difficult part but handling the various scenarios—the millions of Ghanaians

continued from page 1 deaths, of older persons who had underlying health conditions, recorded.

Sixty-four of the cases were diagnosed yesterday. Of the number, 40 were confirmed among travellers who have been placed under mandatory quarantine since the weekend, while the 20 others were confirmed through the Ghana Health Service’s regular surveillance system of the local population.

Authorities say all the new patients have been isolated and are receiving treatment.

Calls for a lockdown to be considered or imposed on the entire country to limit the spread of COVID-19 have come from the Ghana Medical Association

(GMA) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC), as well as individual medical experts.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the President has instructed the Finance Minister “to work out the implications of any further measures on the economy and how to put in place economic measures— what people call a stimulus programme—to ensure that these measures don’t adversely hurt the economy and people.”

Parliament will be briefed on the measures once final decisions have been made, he added.

As in other countries that have taken that drastic route, a lockdown will exacerbate the economic impact of the virus in Ghana and put many vulnerable people who will

lose their livelihoods at risk of starvation or death—unless the government makes available provisions for their sustenance.

On the government’s response to the calls for a lockdown, the Minister stated: “Calling for it is not the difficult part but handling the various scenarios—the millions of Ghanaians who literally live on a hand-to-mouth basis daily.

If you lockdown everything for 14 days, what happens to them? What happens to those who need sanitation, toilet facilities? You need to consider all of those. What are the security dimensions? They are all options being considered.”

“We have been able to largely contain the potential importation of cases and continue to review the options,

by all stakeholders in the payment eco-system to create the needed awareness of the innovative electronic payment products through intensified public education campaigns.

“Among others, such campaigns should focus on the convenience of going ‘cashlite’ and the ease with which such electronic payments can support daily transactions such as transport fares, purchases from the traditional markets, restaurants, hospitals, schools, and so on,” he added.

Dr. Addison was optimistic that the new solutions will speed up digitisation of business transactions as well as encourage users and merchants to accept and use electronic payments.

This will provide a further boost to the financialinclusiveness-throughdigitisation agenda, he further stated.

and if we need to escalate in a final raft of measures, the President will do well to take a decision,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Interior Committee James Agalga has urged government to grant an amnesty to petty offenders to decongest the prisons and avoid the spread of the virus.

He also joined calls for a lockdown to prevent further spread of the disease.

More than 1,000 people are in mandatory quarantine and 970 contacts of affected people are being tracked. The country has already closed its borders and the Tourism Authority has also shut all beaches indefinitely to contain the spread of the disease.

The great majority of the confirmed cases are Ghanaians who returned home from affected countries. Seven are other nationals from Norway, Lebanon, China, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (UK).

NEWS

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Ethiopian Airlines supports COVID-19 fight in Ghana Ethiopian Airlines (ET) on Wednesday March 25, transported medical supplies donated by China’s Jack Ma Foundation to the Government of Ghana to help fight against the rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The flight carrying the consignment--100,000 medical masks, 20,000 test kits, 1,000 protective suits, and 1000 face shields, landed at the Kotoka International Airport shortly after 8am local time Wednesday.

Area Manager of Ethiopian Airlines, Yemesrach Alemayehu, during the presentation of the items on the tarmac of KIA said: “Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to deliver these much needed critical medical supplies and equipment which help in the global fight against the COVID-19. We appreciate the donation of the Jack Ma Foundation and the generosity of Mr. Jack Ma. We admire our Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed for his initiative and organisation of the entire coordination of the process.

“As an indigenous and pioneer Pan African airline,

Ethiopian Airlines has stood together with Africans at all times for the last seven decades.

Ethiopian has supported Africans in good and challenging times. In this unprecedented global

pandemic, Ethiopian will continue its commitment for African people to help them fight and win this invisible enemy. Today, we are very happy to deliver these medical supplies to the Government

and people of Ghana.”

Ghana’s Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who was at the airport to receive the consignment said government was grateful for the support received from the Jack Ma

Foundation, the Chinese Ambassador in Ghana, the Ethiopian Ambassador in Ghana and the Ethiopian Airlines’ commitment to transport the cargo for free.

He added that: “Last night (Tuesday) there was the need to bring in logistics management people from the military. So two colonels will be joining me to try to make ensure that the all the items that we have will be pushed quickly, as soon as possible, to areas where we need these things most. I believe that by Friday almost everywhere, we will have enough PPEs” Zhu Jing, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Ghana said: “Jack Ma’s company, Alibaba [through the Jack ma Foundation] is donating to each of the 54 African countries. Each country will have 100,000 masks, 20,000 testing kits, and 1,000 medical protective suits, and 1000 face shields. We are very happy the goods have arrived. The Chinese government is very much concerned about the situation in Ghana.”

MMDAs get GH¢60m to tackle COVID-19

BY EUGENE DAVIS The District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) has earmarked GH₵60m as Metropolitan Municipal Departments Agencies (MMDAs) Disaster Support fund to help tackle the raging coronavirus pandemic.

This was contained in a Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed Formula for the Distribution of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund for the year 2020.

According to the report, the amount allocated under the formula is to cater for sanitation issues and public health outbreak such as COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

This allocation is to provide for fumigation services and logistics such as sanitisers, masks, dustbins, detergents, cleaning kits in all the MMDAs. The report also indicated that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has developed an Action Plan for all the MMDAs on how they should deal with the outbreak of the coronavirus. In view of that, the Ministry has been receiving daily reports on the implementation of the plan.

On the part of Parliament’s Committee of the Whole, they commended the Administrator and the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development for their proactiveness as this will go a long way to position the District Assemblies to better

Irene Naa Torshie Addo –Administrator of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund

manage the pandemic.

In a related development, Parliament has approved GH₵2.3billion as proposed formula for the distribution of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund for the year.

The Committee noted that the annual allocation to the DACF for year 2020 as contained in the Appropriation Act,2020 (Act 951) was GH₵2.3billion.

The total allocation was based

on a 5percent of projected national revenue for 2020.

Among some of the allocations earmarked comprise institutional transfers with an amount of GH₵333m set aside to cater to the operations of the National Youth Authority, Youth Employment Agency, National Disaster Management Organisation.

Others are for National

Projects, which has National Education Policies, Local Government Special Project, Waste Management(Liquid/ Solid),Construction of MMDAs building,Construction of Courts/Residential buildings allocated GH₵446m.

There is also a Reserve allocation with an amount of GH₵320m set aside which will cover constituency labour monitoring and

e v a l u a t i o n ( M P s ) , re s e r ve fund, Regional Coordination Council,DACF operations, DACF office building,MLGRD office building, local government service office building.

The is also category for MMDAs-Direct which has to do with Persons with Disabilities(PWD), Net MMDAs, with GH₵1.1billion earmarked for such activities.

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GOIL donates essential items to GPRTU in Covid-19 fight Ghana’s indigenous oil marketing company, GOIL, has donated some essential items to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) as the company’s contribution to the nation’s emergency action plan to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The items include 30,000 pieces of hand gloves, 30 gallons of sanitizers, 2,000 pieces of nose masks and 300 pieces of rubbing alcohol.

GOIL has also given out 10,000 Ghana Cedis to the GPRTU to sponsor their further purchases and educational campaign across the country.

The Chief Operation Officer of GOIL, Alex Adzew, said considering that the GPRTU is a major stakeholder of GOIL as well as the critical role commercial vehicles could play in either preventing or contributing to the spread of the coronavirus, it was incumbent upon the oil marketing company to embark on this donation exercise.

He urged drivers and passengers alike, to abide by the government’s directive towards the prevention of the spread of the global pandemic and indulge in all the public health protocols that have been set.

“This is the time to sacrifice our comfort with the things that we think are uncomfortable because in the long run it will benefit the whole country.

If you follow what’s happening, one person can transmit to as many people as possible so if we know that we are protecting, we are going to save a lot of lives,” he encouraged.

The National Chairman for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union lauded GOIL’s noble initiative to ploughing back some of its profit towards the protection of the commuting public and entreated Ghanaian road users to continue to patronize GOIL products.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) announces U$14m for COVID-19 fight United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has announced a donation of over US$14 million, through the UBA Foundation, to catalyse a comprehensive pan-African response to the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.

The donation will provide significant and much-needed support to Nigeria and 19 other African countries, by supplying relief materials, critical care facilities, and financial support to Governments.

The pan-African bank will fund a medical centre immediately in Lagos, Nigeria, with beds for isolation and ICU facilities, managed and operated in partnership with Heirs Holdings’ healthcare subsidiary, Avon Medical Hospital.

In addition, UBA is providing a free telemedicine platform, that is physician-led, to provide direct access to medical advice to citizens, in compliance with social distancing requirements.

UBA Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, stated that: “This is a time when we must all play our part. This global epidemic must bring citizens, governments and business leaders together – and quickly. As we see a rapidly increasing number of cases of the coronavirus in Nigeria and Africa, the private sector has to work hand in hand with various Governments, in stemming the spread of the global pandemic.

“We commend the efforts of governments and we are keen to partner and contribute our resources to the collective

effort, that will ensure the response to the pandemic is swift and effective.”

Operating in 20 African countries and globally in the United Kingdom, the

United States and France, the United Bank for Africa has a strong record of supporting its communities, through challenging times.

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Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass on G20 Finance Ministers Conference Call on COVID-19 These are difficult times for all, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable. For the World Bank Group, our first goal is to provide prompt support during the crisis, based on a country’s needs. It’s also vital to shorten the time to recovery and create confidence that the recovery can be strong.

Provide support during the Crisis The breadth and speed of our response is critical to its effectiveness. On March 17, the World Bank and IFC Boards approved a $14 billion package to respond to COVID-19. Of that, IFC is making $8 billion available in relatively fast-acting financial support for private companies.

IBRD and IDA will be making $6 billion available in the near term to support health care.

We’re currently restructuring existing projects in 23 countries, many of these through the use of ‘contingent emergency response components.’

We’re also preparing projects in 49 countries in a new fast-track facility, with decisions expected this week on as many as 16 country programs.

Our Board will meet shortly, and I’m hopeful that this first round of countries will provide a framework to allow us to quickly scale up over the

next few weeks. We’ll be inviting follow-up tranches from other MDBs into April.

Importantly, we have identified a range of rapid procurement modalities leading to bulk purchases, and we are working together with other MDBs and the IMF to assess needs, implement the new system, and develop co-financing. We are in dialogue with China among other key countries to obtain help with the rapid manufacture and delivery of many of these supplies and are grateful for their positive responses so far.

Shorten the time to recovery Beyond the severe health im-

pact from the pandemic, we should expect a major recession of the global economy.

We are working to provide a fast response, utilizing all our available instruments. Countries need to move fast to boost health spending, strengthen social safety nets, support the private sector and counter financial-market disruption.

Countries will need to implement structural reforms to help shorten the time to recovery and create confidence that the recovery can be strong.

For those countries that have excessive regulations, subsidies, licensing regimes, trade protection or litigiousness

as obstacles, we will work with them to foster markets, choice and faster growth prospects during the recovery.

The resources to address the problems I’ve discussed are substantial. IBRD has recently had its capital increased and IDA has also been recently replenished.

The World Bank Group, including IFC and MIGA, could deploy as much as $150 billion over the next 15 months.

Offer debt relief to the poorest I need to raise a related concern. This crisis

will likely hit hardest against the poorest and most vulnerable countries, those roughly 75 poorest countries drawing on IDA. Many were already in a difficult debt situation, leaving no space for an appropriate health and economic response. We are ready to frontload IDA19 with up to $35 billion and identify additional resources. However, we cannot have IDA resources go to pay creditors.

Today I want to make a call to action to the G20. I urge all official bilateral creditors of the poorest countries to act with immediate effect to help IDA countries through debt relief, allowing the countries to concentrate their resources on fighting the pandemic. In many cases this will require comprehensive and fair debt restructuring that includes NPV reductions sufficient for restoring debt sustainability.

I’m calling on the G20 Leaders to allow the poorest countries to suspend all repayments of official bilateral credit until the World Bank and the IMF have made a full assessment of their reconstruction and financing needs.

The WBG and the IMF are ready to work quickly with official bilateral creditors and with other international organizations as partners to finalize a process by the Spring Meetings of our organizations in April.”

Veep launches Universal QR Code to promote efficient electronic payment system Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Wednesday launched the Universal QR Code and Proxy Pay to ensure convenience, efficient and secured electronic payment system and low-cost financial services to the vast majority of Ghanaians.

It will make it possible for all merchants, service providers and institutions to receive payments from banks, ezwich accounts, mobile money wallets or internationally issued visa or Master Cards instantly.

The QR Code was developed by the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) subsidiary-the Ghana Inter-bank Payment and Settlement System (Ghipss)--and would be issued to merchants by universal banks, rural banks, savings and loans companies, telecos and Fintechs.

The launch was streamed live on the Vice President’s Facebook Page, in compliance with the President’s social distancing directive to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vice President said in view of the changing trend of trading worldwide, it was

imperative for institutions to be innovative and introduce new products and services to meet the needs of their clients.

The universal QR code is the world’s first interoperable payment acceptance solution and provides customers with an easy option for digital payment on business transactions, which reduces the technological challenges associated with operating cash-lite society. The universal QR code will allow merchants to receive digital payments without the use of Point of Sale devices and countries that recently introduced the Code platforms include Singapore, India and China.

“Any merchant can have a universal QR Code including chop bar operators, food vendors, barbers, carpenters or masons musicians, shoe shine boys, khebab sellers, market traders, trotros, taxis, churches, mosques, schools, funeral committees, wedding organizers etc. basically, any business,” Dr Bawumia explained.

“Once a merchant has a QR Code, the customer can scan

the code (for a smart phone) or dial the USSD number to make payment. “The customer will make have to enter and confirm the amount so no one can cheat you. Once the customer confirms the payment, the merchant will receive the payment instantly and directly into their bank account or mobile money account,” the Vice President said.

Dr. Bawumia lauded the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for taking bold steps to encourage electronic

payments, including incentives such as reducing charges and pushing up the limits on mobile money transactions.

He believed these measures would reduce human contacts and provide the needed social distance between customers and merchants in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“It is therefore important that we do everything we can to expedite the whole-

sale use of electronic payment channels like mobile money, ezwich, bank accounts, among others, in the payment of goods and services from merchants.”

The Vice President said.

Vice President Bawumia acknowledged the efforts of the Central Bank for putting the requisite infrastructure in place over the past three years to provide the nation the vehicle to go cashless. With regard to the Proxy pay, he said, every bank account would be given a phone number to be a proxy for the Bank Account number for individuals or a chosen Alias for companies.

Therefore, individuals could make payments to one’s bank account through the phone number, similar to mobile money.

Dr. Bawumia expressed the conviction that the new payment platform would enhance business transactions in the country, saying; “This will help us move further into the cashless direction because there will be no longer any need for merchants to have point of sales devices, with the QR Code platform, all they need is a mobile phone and even a “yam phone” will work”. GNA

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THE FUTURE OF WORK CAPSULES

The Role of the HR Department during this Coronavirus Pandemic

BY BAPTISTA SARAH GEBU (MRS.)

Last week I commenced a series entitled “without decisive action Ghana will be sleepwalking into a world that widens existing inequalities and uncertainties. It seeks to address, amongst other things, the ten recommendations put forward by the ILO’s Global Commission on the Future of Work.

A universal labour guarantee that protects fundamental workers’ rights, an adequate living wage, limits on hours of work and safe and healthy workplaces were one of the recommendations by the ILO report. I touched on preparedness for working remotely. A question that came up was how office files could be accessed. Quite a number of organisation’s resort to the use of shared drives or Google drive for users of gmail account, one drive for users of outlook, share point and projects. Aside the Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp proposed, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting and several others are available for use.

The COVID-19 Pandemic is giving us an insight into what the future of work could look like with technology being the drive. As most businesses are possibly thinking about the uncertainties this situation presents to them and government as well, on the other hand, the telecommunication companies are recording high volumes of sales in business as internet and voice appears to be the most sort after in this period. The future of work is geared towards the collapse of businesses that will not adjust to the pending change.

The human resources department’s role during this coronavirus crisis is to protect employees and maintain the business at the same time. Employee wellbeing and protection from the virus should be the key focus, ensuring that business operations are continued amidst knowing how to keep workflow is essential.

• Create awareness about the symptoms and discourage face to face meetings.

• Encourage employees to go for check-up and not sure up at work if employee detects possible coronavirus symptoms.

Most employees will take advantage of this, but don’t worry prevention is better than cure.

• Create awareness about good hygiene precautions and adherence.

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Provide safety equipments or materials for frontline employees to include mask amongst other.

Multi employee workstations should be cleansed each time a shift ends Encourage the use of disposal cutleries.

Minimize travel to the barest minimum if it can’t be avoided.

• Ask employees to eat health and build their immune systems.

Encourage the use of softcopy documents instead of paper hard copies.

Clean company shuttle buses often.

Replace open buffet lunch with packed lunches.

Introduce e-learning across board instead of class base training.

Management should encourage compulsory quarantine for all staff travelling back from the states to Ghana.

HR is expected to propose remote work arrangements, encourage vacations and use of annual leave and recommend e-based solutions to reduce social distancing and face to face interaction.

Finally, HR is expected to manage employment

cost by freezing non critical hires, postpone salary increase conversations and reduce headcounts in situations where the world economy may have to prepare for the worst by having plan in place in case of possible shut down.

China is recovering and as such, serves as a great motivation.

What does social distancing mean? Social distancing is reminding us of reducing contact between people to slow the spread of infections or diseases. The practices will ensure that we put in place measure that will limit large gathering of people coming people. Hence, we have been asked to cancel events and mass gathering. This is what we need to avoid in this moment, concerts, theatre outings, athletic events, crowded retail stores, mass transit systems.

Let’s us exercise caution when travelling if need be at all. It’s safe to do these, talk a walk, go for a hike, play in your yard, read a book, listen to good music, family game night, going for a drive, group video chats, streaming a favourite show or organizing a watch party online.

As the greater majority of the world is currently working from home, what do you envisage could be the

challenge should our internet services around the world just suddenly go off? Our way of life will change. Most churches have created online platforms where members could give offering or return their titles.

Most jobs will be created online as human interactions are minimized. As put forward

by Dr. Bright Kumordzi in his LinkedIn comment of the article, the world either prepares for this or perishes with it. Dr. Salia Samuel in a Facebook comment gave a nice summary, with almost the whole world currently working from home, it will be like lights have been switched off on the world should the internet service around the world suddenly go of. The world is unprepared for a crisis like this. Though will be gradual, our way of life will change eventually. In anticipation to avoid a lack of grasp of a similar to this, nations will be become inwardlooking, human physical interactions will reduce as jobs will be moved online.

The civilization we created for ourselves will then threaten the very community systems we grew up in. This will be reenforced by our likeness for the fourth revolution, artificial intelligence, robotics and the internet of things.

I was finding out what we are afraid of about the Coronavirus pandemic in a poll I created on twitter (@SarahTista). Though

this is currently running, out of the present 48 persons who casted their votes, we have 50% being afraid of misleading media updates, 25% being afraid of the fear and panic of the new cases and another 25% voted I don’t want to die. You too can vote and share to enable us know what phobia we are nursing in this moment. In the year 2001, it was anthrax we were afraid of, then SARS in 2003, Bird flu in 2005, 2009 was the swine flu, Ebola in 2014, ISIS and Disney measles in 2015, zika virus for 2016 and now coronavirus.

The writer is a human resource professional with a broad generalist background. Building a team of efficient & effective workforce is her business. Affecting lives is her calling! She is an HR Generalist, strategic planner, innovative, professional connector and a motivator. You can reach her via e-mail on bap.tista@ outlook.com You can follow this conversation on Linked-In: Baptista Sarah Gebu and on twitter @SarahTista.

Call or WhatsApp: +233(0)262213313.

Follow the hashtag #theFutureofWorkCapsules #FoWC

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Stop ‘saiko’

…group intensifies pressure on gov’t

BY BENSON AFFUL —the practice whereby industrial trawlers transfer fish at sea to specially adapted canoes—to protect food security and likelihoods for coastal communities, as the country deals with the Covid-19 outbreak.

“As the coronavirus spreads, it is more important than ever that food security and livelihoods of coastal communities

are protected,” the EJF’s Executive Director, Steve Trent, said in a statement copied to Business24.

He said while it is absolutely vital that the government creates a clear strategy for coronavirus, saiko cannot be allowed to continue while attention is diverted.

It is estimated that over 2 million people in Ghana rely on the country’s coastal fisheries for their food and income.

For this reason, Mr. Trent said the coastal communities need good nutrition and stable livelihoods more than ever in the face of threats such as coronavirus.

Saiko catches in 2017 were worth US$40.6-50.7 million when sold at sea, and US$52.7-81.1 million when sold at the landing site.

“Saiko is a severely destructive form of illegal fishing.

In 2017 alone it took around 100,000 tonnes of fish, costing Ghana millions of dollars in revenue and threatening food security and jobs,” the EJF statement said.

According to EFJ, industrial trawlers target fish specifically for saiko – not only the bottom-dwelling fish they are licensed to catch, but also juveniles and small pelagic fish.

The small pelagics are known as “the people’s fish” in Ghana due to their importance to coastal communi-

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ties; however, saiko is putting these fish under severe threat, it added.

The group said unless ambitious action is taken, it is estimated that these stocks are in imminent danger of decline.

“The full force of the law is needed to bring this criminal trade to an end; however, some public discourse has appeared to throw doubt over whether saiko is illegal.

“For instance, the Ghana Industrial Trawlers Association (GITA) wrote to the Ministry for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in November last year saying that it would ‘suspend [saiko] trans-shipment at sea until further notice’.

“Yet the legal analysis shows clearly that the trans-shipment of fish from industrial trawlers to canoes has been rendered illegal since the passing of the implementing rules to the 2002 Fisheries Act (Act 625), the 2010 Fisheries Regu-

lations (LI 1968).”

Thus, the group said the 2010 regulations expressly prohibit the trans-shipment of fish at sea from industrial trawlers to canoes.

It further alleged that since GITA’s declaration that it would “suspend” the already-illegal practice in November, almost 200 saiko canoes have landed at Elmina.

In the 2020 budget statement, the government announced that it would stop saiko as part of efforts to save the fishing industry, committing to banning all domestic and international vessels found to be engaging in saiko from operating in Ghanaian waters.

The EJF said it wants government to keep this promise as well as immediately investigate all suspected cases of saiko fishing and prosecute them transparently through the court process.

Gov’t still exploring funding regime for housing projects nationwide

BY EUGENE DAVIS Government is yet to settle on a financing model to facilitate the delivery of its targeted housing projects nationwide, Minister of Works and Housing Samuel Atta Akyea has said.

The ministry is aiming in the medium-term period (20182021) to resolve the challenges of housing in the economy with specific emphasis on reducing the national housing deficit through the provision of adequate, safe, secure, quality and affordable housing schemes in collaboration with the private sector.

In this regard, the government is keen to deliver one million housing units across the sixteen regions of Ghana, with the breakdown as follows: Greater Accra—400,000, Ashanti—250,000, Western—50,000, Western North—50,000, Eastern—50,000, Central—20,000, Northern—30,000, North East—30,000, Savanna—30,000, Upper East— 20,000, Upper West—20,000, Volta—10,000, Oti—10,000, Bono—10,000, Bono East— 10,000 and Ahafo—10,000.

The ministry is currently in discussion with the Ministry of Finance to create the necessary funding regime to ensure that the proposed target for each region is met within the stipulated time, the Minister told Parliament when he appeared to answer questions on the floor on Thursday.

According to him, the Ministry of Finance is considering financial options proposed by developers. These include a sovereign guarantee, which

Samuel Atta Akyea, Minister for Works and Housing

will likely increase the debt stock, and an offtake agreement in which there is no guarantee from the government but a contract binding it to purchase the housing units after their completion by the developer.

The last option entails an arrangement in which the developer builds the housing units and sells them to the public.

Statistics reveal that 60 percent of Ghana’s urban population will need some form of government intervention to support them get access to safe, secure and affordable shelter. Thirty-five percent will not be able to access housing even with government

support in terms of subsidy, with only the remaining 5 percent of the population being able to support themselves in accessing housing.

This therefore calls for a massive drive to provide for housing targeted at the 60 percent urban population in the short to medium term and the remaining 35 percent in the long term, the Minister noted.

It is against this background that the Government of Ghana Affordable Housing Project was initiated in 2006 with the objective of providing accommodation for the low- to middle-income workers of the country, creating jobs and im-

proving incomes.

The initial project objective was to provide 100,000 units over a five-year period through direct government intervention and in partnership with the private sector.

The project commenced in six locations, namely: Borteyman, Accra; Kpone, Tema; Asokore-Mampong, Kumasi; Koforidua; Tamale; and Wa. The Minister lamented how the projects, which started very well and were at various stages of completion as at the year 2009, got stalled due to lack of adequate funding from the national budget.

However, the programme has been able to deliver approximately 3,300 housing

units, which is woefully inadequate looking at the current housing challenges that the country faces.

The unfortunate inability of the housing delivery system to meet demand over the years has created a huge housing deficit, currently estimated to be in excess of 2 million units.

The estimation that in Ghana’s cultural set-up, a household is made up of five individuals means over 10 million Ghanaians do not have access to safe, secure and decent dwelling homes. With a population close to 30 million, this suggests a staggering one-third of Ghanaians have accommodation challenges.

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The race between cconomics and COVID-19

BY MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN With the coronavirus devastating one economy after another, the economics profession – and thus the analytical underpinnings for sound policymaking and crisis management – is having to play catchup. Of particular concern now are the economics of viral contagion, of fear, and of “circuit breakers.” The more that economic thinking advances to meet changing realities, the better will be the analysis that informs the policy response.

That response is set to be both novel and inevitably costly. Governments and central banks are pursuing unprecedented measures to mitigate the global downturn, lest a now-certain global recession gives way to a depression (already an uncomfortably high risk). As they do, we will likely see a further erosion of the distinction between mainstream economics in advanced economies and in developing economies.

Such a change is sorely needed. With overwhelming evidence of massive declines in consumption and production across countries, analysts in advanced economies must reckon, first and foremost, with a phenomenon that was hitherto familiar only to fragile/failed states and communities devastated by natural disasters: an economic sudden stop, together with the cascade of devastation that can follow from it. They will then face other challenges that are more familiar to developing countries.

Consider the nature of the pandemic economy. Regard-

less of their desire to spend, consumers are unable to do so, because they have been urged or ordered to stay home. And regardless of their willingness to sell, stores cannot reach their customers, and many are cut off from their suppliers.

The immediate priority, of course, is the public-health response, which calls for social distancing, self-isolation, and other measures that are fundamentally inconsistent with how modern economies are wired. As a result, there has been a rapid contraction of economic activity (and therefore economic wellbeing).

As for the severity and duration of the coming recession, all will depend on the success of the health-policy response, particularly on efforts to identify and contain the spread of the virus, treat the ill, and enhance immunity. While waiting for progress on these three fronts, fear and uncertainty will deepen, with adverse implications for financial stability and prospects for economic recovery.

When thrust out of our comfort zones in such a sudden and violent fashion, most of us will succumb to some degree of paralysis, overreaction, or both. Our tendency to panic lends itself to still deeper economic disruptions. As liquidity constraints kick in, market participants rush to cash out, selling not just what is desirable to sell, but whatever can feasibly be sold.

When this happens, the predictable result is high risk of wholesale financial liquidation, which, in the absence of smart emergency policy interventions, will threaten the functioning of markets. In

the case of the current crisis, the risk that the financial system will reverse-infect the real economy and cause a depression is too big to ignore.

That brings us to the third analytical priority: the economics of circuit breakers.

Here, the question is not just what emergency policy interventions can achieve, but also what lies beyond their reach, and when.

To be sure, given that simultaneous economic and financial deleveraging would have disastrous implications for societal wellbeing, the current moment clearly demands a “whatever-it-takes,” “all-in,” and “whole-of-government” policy approach. The immediate priority is to establish circuit breakers that can limit the scope of dangerous economic and financial feedback loops.

This effort is being led by central banks, but also involves fiscal authorities and others.

But there will be tricky tradeoffs to navigate. For example, there is significant momentum behind proposals for cash transfers and interest-free lending to protect vulnerable segments of the population, keep companies afloat, and safeguard strategic economic sectors. Rightly so. The idea is to minimize the risk that liquidity problems will become solvency problems. And yet, a cash- and loan-infusion program will face immediate implementation challenges.

Aside from the unintended consequences and collateral damage that come with all blanket measures, flooding the entire system in today’s crisis would require the creation of new distribution channels. The question of how

to get cash to the intended recipients is not as straightforward as it seems.

There are even more difficulties when it comes to implementing direct bailout programs, which have become increasingly likely. Far from being outliers, airlines, cruise lines, and other severely affected sectors are leading indicators of what is yet to come. From multinational industrial companies to family restaurants and other small businesses, the line for government bailouts will be very long.

Without clearly stated principles as to why, how, when, and under what terms government assistance will be offered, there is a high chance that the bailouts will be politicized, ill-designed, and co-opted by special interests. That would undermine the exit strategies for putting firms back on their own feet, and risk repeating the post-2008 experience, when the crisis was brought to heel but without laying the groundwork for strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth thereafter.

Given how extensive government interventions are likely to be this time around, it is critical that policymakers also recognize the limits of their interventions. No tax rebate, low-interest loan, or cheap mortgage refinancing will convince people to resume normal economic activity if they still fear for their own health. Besides, as long as the public-health emphasis is on social distancing as a means of quashing community transmission, governments won’t want people venturing out anyway.

All the issues raised above are ripe for more economic research. In pursuing these avenues of inquiry, many researchers in advanced economies will find themselves inevitably rubbing up against development economics – from crisis management and market failures to overcoming adjustment fatigue and putting in place better foundations for structurally sound, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

Insofar as they adopt insights from both domains, economics will be better for it. Until recently, the profession has been far too resistant to eliminating artificial distinctions, let alone embracing a more multidisciplinary approach.

These self-imposed limits have persisted despite abundant evidence that, particularly since the early 2000s, advanced economies are saddled with structural and institutional impediments that have stifled growth in a manner quite familiar to developing economies. In the years since the global financial crisis in 2008, these problems have deepened political and societal divisions, undermined financial stability, and made it more difficult to confront the unprecedented crisis that is now knocking down our door.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, was Chairman of US President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council. He is the author, most recently, of The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. www.project-syndicate.org

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The helicopters are coming WILLEM H. BUITER

WILLEM H. BUITER With the COVID-19 pandemic intensifying, the United States has just adopted a $2 trillion economic-rescue package (equal to 9.2% of 2019 GDP).

The legislation follows unprecedented actions by the US Federal Reserve, which will engage in open-ended quantitative easing, and has introduced new mechanisms to backstop businesses and keep credit flowing.

Much of the US response will come in the form of “helicopter money,” an application of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) in which the central bank finances fiscal stimulus by purchasing government debt issued to finance tax cuts or public spending increases. The US economy is deteriorating at a spectacular rate, partly because of the direct health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but mostly as a result of socialdistancing mandates that are preventing people from producing and consuming.

Given the circumstances, it is safe to assume that the Fed’s incremental asset-purchase program will reach at least $2 trillion if that is what it takes to spare the federal government from having to access asset markets directly to fund its new initiatives. In January, before the coronavirus had become a recognized threat, the Congressional Budget

Office predicted that the US government would have an annual recurring federal deficit above $1 trillion for at least the next decade.

A few weeks ago, when the severity of the crisis started to become clear, some federal officials warned that US unemployment could rise to 20% in the absence of a strong fiscal-policy response. But even with the new legislation, job losses could continue to mount in the second and third quarters of this year. To be effective, the fiscal support must be targeted meticulously at households that have lost incomes and at companies (large and small) that have lost revenues as a result of the pandemic. It remains to be seen if the US response will include such targeting, or whether such targeting is even feasible in a timely and orderly fashion.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is also pursuing a vigorous experiment in MMT/helicopter money. For starters, the Bank of England is preparing to buy up £200 billion ($238 billion) worth of UK government bonds and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bonds – a monetary stimulus equal to just under 10% of 2019 GDP. And on the fiscal side, Rishi Sunak, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, is unleashing an avalanche of deficit-increasing stimulus measures.

For the calendar year 2020, the British government is looking at a deficit of at least 7.5% of GDP, and perhaps as high as 10%. But even at the upper end, the deficit would still fall within the range covered by the BOE’s monetized debt purchases.

In other words, despite the extraordinary size of the fiscal stimulus, the government still will not have to go to the markets to borrow.

There is less fiscal space in the eurozone. But the European Central Bank has already committed to net asset purchases of €120 billion ($130 billion), in addition to the €750 billion it announced on March 18. Its new Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program will even buy Greek sovereign bonds, something that was ruled out under previous assetpurchase programs following Greece’s debt default in 2015.

All told, the ECB’s additional asset purchases (which typically are monetized) amount to just under 7.3% of the eurozone’s 2019 GDP, placing its response somewhere below that of the US and the UK. Unfortunately, the bloc’s fiscal policy has been utterly pathetic. On March 16, member states’ finance ministers announced that they would pursue stimulus worth a meager 1% of GDP over the course of 2020 – and this for an economy that was already struggling to achieve growth.

While eurozone

leaders indicated that they would do more if needed, that is scant comfort. The only positive development on this front is a commitment to institute liquidity facilities – public-guarantee schemes and deferred-tax payments – worth at least 10% of GDP. Because the eurozone lacks a serious central facility with independent budgetary powers, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is the obvious institution through which financially strong member states could provide politically transparent support for weaker members should the need arise. And yet, there does not appear to be any consensus within the eurozone on whether the ESM could be used in this way.

The remaining option, then, is for member states to increase their national fiscal-stimulus programs to, say, 7.3% of GDP, while the ECB acts as the monetary helicopter. This, however, would engage the ECB in quasi-fiscal actions involving cross-country redistributions of fiscal risk, requiring either a change in existing treaties or a collective willingness to ignore the obvious legitimacy issues raised by such operations.

Unlike in the US and the UK, where there is one central bank for one country, the ECB cannot so easily assume the role of fiscal agent for the government.

Euro-system purchases of, say, Italian

sovereign debt would shift sovereign risk to the national central banks of the financially stronger member states and, ultimately, to those countries’ taxpayers.

But even if that is the case, it would be criminally negligent to allow a design flaw in existing treaties to inhibit the appropriate use of helicopter money at a time of existential crisis. Italy must implement a fiscal stimulus worth at least 5% of GDP – most likely more – and some combination of the ECB and the ESM must enable it to do so.

Willem H. Buiter

Willem H. Buiter, a former chief economist at Citigroup, is a visiting professor at Columbia University. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. www. project-syndicate.org

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Newmont’s Stockholders Asanko Gold AGSM to come off next meeting go virtual month in Canada Newmont Corporation will be holding this year’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders in a virtual only meeting format on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at 8:00 a.m, a statement from the company has revealed.

It follows a notice of an update to the location for the Company’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders via the filing of additional proxy materials with the SEC. “Due to the emerging public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newmont’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (Annual Meeting) will be held in a virtual only meeting format on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time. Online access to the

meeting will begin at 7:30 a.m. Mountain Time. You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person. In addition to this adjustment, the Company has implemented additional controls at its operations and offices around the globe to further protect the health and safety of its workforce, their families and neighboring communities” the statement noted.

The release further explained that the company expect this modification in meeting format to be effective for this year only and to revert back to an in-person annual meeting in future years after public health conditions have improved.

Asanko Gold Incorporated will be holding its Annual General and Special Meeting of shareholders (“AGSM”) on Thursday, April 30, 2020 at Vancouver, B.C., Canada, a statement from the company has noted.

Materials for the AGSM, including the Company’s management information circular dated March 17, 2020 have been filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www. sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov and are also available on the Company’s website at www.asanko.com/ Investors/AGM-Materials/.

The Canadian Securities Administrators recently announced relief in order to allow filers to change the date,

Gold steadies as dollar dips ahead of U.S. jobs data

Gold steadied on Thursday, paring losses from a 1% dip earlier in the session, as the dollar’s rally faded and some safe haven buying returned on expectations of a huge jump in U.S. jobless claims due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,612.14 per ounce by 1102 GMT. “Short term, initially gold may rise when stocks fall because it’s a safe haven asset.

However if selling in stocks continue, funds may see margin calls and need to sell gold for cash,” said Samson Li, a Hong Kong-based precious metals analyst at Refinitiv GFMS “Long term, with all the liquidity central banks are injecting into the system, there will be massive purchasing power destruction in the future, which will be good for gold.”

Data showing U.S. initial jobless claims is due at 1230 GMT,with forecasts ranging from 250,000 claims to 4 mil-

lion.

These expectations stalled a rally in the dollar, bolstering gold’s appeal, and drove world stocks lower.

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly backed a $2trillion bill aimed at helping unemployed workers and industries hurt by the coronavirus, but that did little to prop up risk sentiment.

This came after the U.S. Federal Reserve said on Monday it would buy bonds in unlimited numbers and backstop direct loans to companies.

“We see real interest rates remaining negative for a long time, keeping the non-yielding gold investments attractive...

Any price setback will be an opportunity to buy gold,” said Soni Kumari, commodity strategist at ANZ. Gold market participants, meanwhile, remained concerned about a supply squeeze in the market, following a sharp divergence in London and New York prices as the coronavirus closed precious

metals refineries.

U.S. exchange operator CME Group on Tuesday announced a new gold futures contract to combat price volatility caused by the shutdown of gold supply routes, but traders and bankers said it would not immediately calm markets.

U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,629.20 per ounce, retreating from a rally to $1,699.30 on Wednesday, but held above the London spot contract.

Elsewhere, palladium eased 2.4% to $2,261.27 per ounce, having registered its largest daily gain since 1997 on Wednesday as a lockdown in major producer South Africa exacerbated supply woes.

“Palladium is still not on very firm ground as the metal is more sensitive to economic meltdown,” ANZ’s Kumari said.

Platinum slipped 2.6% to $718.88 an ounce, while silver was down 0.4% to $14.37.

Source: Reuters

time or location of the AGSM, should the spread of the current COVID-19 pandemic make it impossible or inadvisable to hold the AGSM. The Company may notify shareholders of the change without sending additional proxy materials.

To the extent that the Company determines it necessary

to change the AGSM in order to hold a virtual only meeting (or a hybrid meeting that includes virtual participation along with an in-person meeting) the Company will inform shareholders of such a determination by way of a news release, the statement explained.

Gold fields backs South African gov’t lockdown

The management of Goldfields Mining Company has pledged their full commitment to the decision by the government of South Africa to lockdown the country amid the Coronavirus ( COVID-19) pandemic.

According to a statement issued by the company, they described the decision taken by government as courageous and in the best interests of the nation.

“I am sure that as we overcome this virus and the threat it poses to the world, we will come back stronger, more united and even more determined to deliver on our purpose of “being the beacon of pride for our people, our communities, our stakeholders and our shareholders.”the statement captured.

The statement further in-

dicated that company is fully committed to the health and safety of its people, communities and the country and fully support Government’s efforts to contain the Coronavirus.

It also added that it can only fend off a potentially catastrophic increase in the number of infections if the country acts decisively, collectively and caringly.

As a business and a country, “we are entering uncharted waters and may not have the answers to all the questions.

We do however want to clearly communicate with our employees and contractors about the lock down”.

Furthermore, the company stated that they have already commenced with the planning process and will make every endeavour to progress it urgently, in order to provide some measure of clarity.

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China’s Misplaced Pandemic Propaganda

BY: MINXIN PEI Barely a month ago, China was in the grip of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. Thousands of new infections were confirmed every day. Hospitals were overwhelmed. People were dying by the hundreds. People couldn’t leave their homes. But the government’s draconian lockdown seems to have worked: the outbreak now seems to be under control. And, apparently, China’s leaders have ignored its most essential lessons.

To see this, it’s worth reviewing how they handled the crisis. Upon hearing that a new coronavirus had emerged in Wuhan in the Hubei province, local authorities’ first instinct, as we know, was to suppress the information.

Police reprimanded whistleblowers like the Wuhan-based doctor Li Wenliang, who subsequently died of the disease. (Wuhan police recently apologized to Li’s family.)

This should have motivated Chinese leaders to weigh the costs of censorship and reconsider the appointment of unqualified party members to key public-health positions.

The head of the Hubei Provincial Health Commission, dismissed during the crisis, had no medical training or ex-

perience in the public-health sector.

Moreover, some other countries, especially Singapore and Taiwan, managed to contain the COVID-19 outbreak without incurring the high costs that China did when it placed at least 760 million Chinese under varying degrees of residential lockdown. China’s leaders should be looking to these countries for lessons on smarter crisis response.

But, far from learning from past mistakes, China’s leaders are trying to cover them up. As virtually the entire global economy effectively shuts down to contain the China-born virus, and deaths in Italy – the pandemic’s new epicenter – exceed 7,500, the Communist Party of China has shifted its propaganda machine into high gear. Its goal: change the narrative of the COVID-19 crisis.

At home, this has meant touting the CPC’s leadership in mobilizing the country to “win the war” against the virus. It has also meant encouraging the spread on Chinese social media of exaggerated or outright false stories about Western democracies’ “inept” responses to the outbreak.

Abroad, China’s propaganda machine is trumpeting declining infection rates as evidence that strong centralized

leadership is more effective than democratic governance.

Meanwhile, the government is sending humanitarian assistance – including health-care workers and medical supplies – to hard-hit countries like Iran, Italy, and the Philippines.

But if Chinese leaders hope to use the COVID-19 pandemic to build and project soft power, they are likely to be sorely disappointed. For starters, the world is nowhere near ready to forget the role that its initial cover-up played in allowing the virus to spread.

The prevailing view outside China today is that, had the country’s leaders taken decisive action immediately and transparently, the current pandemic may have been avoided. The CPC can challenge that narrative all it wants, but it cannot force international media to do the same. Chinese propaganda has never gotten much purchase in the free marketplace of ideas; indeed, most of the CPC’s previous attempts to influence international public opinion have fallen flat.

Moreover, few are tempted by a Chinese-style containment strategy. Shutting down the entire country has cost China dearly in economic terms. First-quarter GDP is expected to plunge 9%. Should a second wave of infections

strike, as is likely, repeating the same strategy would lead to economic ruin.

Of course, if this were the only way to save lives, people might be on board. But Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan all seem to have struck a better balance between protecting public health and sustaining economic activity.

Against this background, China’s humanitarian efforts will do little to repair its reputation. Yes, it is better than offering no help at all. But the country could do a lot more to bolster public health globally – beginning with sharing the massive amounts of data and knowledge it has gathered on the virus.

China could also scale up the production of protective equipment, especially hazmat suits and surgical masks. China made half the world’s surgical masks before the COVID-19 outbreak, and it has since expanded production nearly 12fold. If it really does have the virus under control, there is nothing stopping it from donating this life-saving equipment to hard-hit countries, which are facing severe shortages.

In particular, China should make a major donation – say, one billion surgical masks and one million hazmat suits (ten days of supply for 50,000

health-care workers) – to the United States. This could ease tensions between the two countries just enough to enable them – together with the European Union and Japan – to pursue a coordinated response to the pandemic, including action to shore up the global financial system and major stimulus packages to stave off a depression.

When this pandemic is finally over, people will remember what China did, not what it said. It can go down in history either as the reason the COVID-19 crisis began, or as one of the reasons it ended.

Minxin Pei is Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and a non-resident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. www.project-syndicate.org.

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GPHA boss, top managers inspect Covid-19 prevention efforts An entourage consisting the Director-General and some senior management members of GPHA has toured all key areas identified as entry and exit points of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to inspect the level of preparedness of the Authority in combating the importation and/or spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

In addition to the provision of hand sanitizers, soaps and running water, the Port Authority has ensured that all who engage the operational and administrative areas of the port have their temperature checked as the organisation is pursuing different methods to contribute to the national drive to inhibit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Director General of GPHA, Michael Luguje, said the Port Authority will ensure it puts together the needed logistics to augment the organisation’s capacity to help the national emergency action.

“We are providing the necessary budget to get the resources that are required for us to be able to contain and prevent

this pandemic,” he said.

G.P.H.A. assures all of its cherished stakeholders that it is committed to doing any and everything in its power to safeguard the health and economic interests of all Port users and the country as a whole.

In a related development, the General Manager of Health Services at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Dr. Vitus Anaab-Bisi has revealed that the Health Services Department of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, has designated some staff to be specially trained as front-line officers to deal with all cases related to the coronavirus.

He also said currently, drastic procedures are being taken to ensure patients who show symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19), are not only given the maximum attention, but are also completely isolated from other patients and staff of the GPHA clinics.

So far, no positive cases have been recorded from the sea Ports of Ghana.

Tema, Takoradi ports intensify IMaH offers heart measures to contain virus spread screening at discounted rate As part of preventive measures to avert the spread of coronavirus also known as COVID-19, Management of the Port of Takoradi has begun the screening of all port users at the entrance and exit point of the port.

Management has also ensured the availability of running water, soaps and hand sanitizers at all establishments within the enclaves of the Port of Takoradi as part of efforts to enhance hygiene procedures.

The Medical Services Department of GPHA, has designated some staff to be specially trained as front-line health officers to deal with all cases related to the coronavirus.

In the meantime, in addition to sensitization exercises, the Takoradi Port has designated two separate holding areas to address potential cases of the coronavirus.

Simultaneously, GPHA has suspended the intake of cruise vessels, port tours and academic internships due to the COVID-19.

A GPHA Interagency Emergency Preparedness Committee on COVID-19 has also been set up to structure more effective standards of operating in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

Earlier in Tema, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority in collaboration with the Port Health Unit of the Ghana Health Service, embarked on a sensitization drive within the port community to educate

stakeholders on the new coronavirus emerging from the Far East, with special focus on its prevention.

The month long sensitization campaign saw the allied team of health experts educate members of the fishing community, employees of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority at the various operational and administrative departments, stakeholders of GPHA including the customs Division of the GRA, the Meridian Ports Services, the Ghana Dock Labor Company, the Tema Shipyard, the Shipping Lines, the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, transport unions and freight forwarders as well as workers who work in and around the port enclave with the objective that all people who engage in some form of interactions in the port community are well informed about the disease.

The various groups of people were guided on precautionary

measures against coronavirus infection including good hygiene practices and the wearing of nose masks and gloves for workers who go aboard vessels.

GPHA took the awareness program a notch higher, by training front-line officials from the Marine Operations Department, Fire and Safety Department, the Transport Department and the Tema Shipyard who directly encounter travelers to the port, as part of preventive measures.

In addition, all entry and exit points at the Port of Tema, Golden Jubilee Terminal, GPHA headquarters, Tema Port Administration Block among other places have been screening staff and other port users before they are allowed into the Authority’s building.

Again, hand sanitizers, water and soap have been available to staff and port users for use.

The International Maritime Hospital continues to invite the general public to get their heart screened at the ultra-modern facility at a discounted cost of GH¢250.

Persons who visit the international maritime hospital to screen their hearts will as an additional package have the opportunity to check their blood pressure, body mass index, fasting blood sugar test, glycated haemoglobin test, fasting

lipid profile test, ECG as well as free lifestyle modification counselling.

A family physician specialist, Dr. Yaa Akyaa Boateng, said the heart plays a crucial role in the human body, hence, the need for all persons to endeavour to know the state of their hearts.

“We want people to walk around with a healthy heart.

We want people to know they’re healthy, so just come in and let’s take a look at your heart,” she implored.

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