Business24 Newspaper 2nd march 2022

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

Gov’t to provide 600 new buses for MMTL -Transport Min PG.4

.COM.GH

Digitisation enables African SMEs to scale to international standards, says UMB boss

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MIIF pays US$20m to acquire shares in Asante Gold The Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has acquired 3.5 per cent of the Asante Gold Corporation (Asante) in line with its vision to hold stakes in high performing mining companies.

NEWS DESK REPORT

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he fund paid $20 million for the 14.4 million ordinary shares of the gold

global capital markets.

It was completed last week, earning MIIF a part of the mining company that recently acquired the Bibiani Mine from Resolute Mining Ltd in the country.

MIIF said the decision to invest in Asante was in line with its strategic objective of holding

the type of long-term asset it was looking for, He said the fund was excited about the investment and particularly delighted at Asante’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, including its many social interventions and investment programmes being undertaken in the neighbouring

E-Levy in public interest - Akufo-Addo President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described the proposed Electronic improve the country’s tax collection.

“I believe strongly that it is in the public interest that it should be enacted into law.

We cannot continue to live forever on foreign savings. MORE ON PG.3

mines in Ghana and globally.

It said such acquisitions would be made if the metrics were right.

The company’s Head of Operations and Chief rigorous due diligence and a detailed technical analysis of the Bibiani Mine.

It said the analysis showed that the mine had the potential to be one of the highest yielding mines in Ghana.

Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, said the fund saw the sale as a window of opportunity for

MORE ON PG.7

Businesses urged to cut cost with prudent storekeeping and inventory MORE ON PG.7

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Businesses must check against internal wastages

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t has emerged that businesses hardly pay attention to their stores and inventory department despite the fact, just like procurement, they control majority of company’s expenditure. It is said that most businesses do not get any value on about half of items that are sourced and kept in the stores and they are eventually thrown away when they become unusable.

This revelation has stirred up the need for business leaders and owners to take special interest in the storage and use of the goods and services or items that are procured for use in the daily operations of the company.

This is even more so for the public sector where there is the pressing need to protect the public purse for a nation that is in dire need of revenue for development and the provision of basic socio-economic interventions.

The strategic application of stores an inventory helps to contribute to the efficient and effective utilisation of public and private financial resources; which significantly improves the competitive advantage of companies’ financial and sustainable

business objectives and increased return on investments (ROIs).

Public sector stores and inventory practitioners feel marginalised, but this course will let them appreciate how they can contribute strategically to the reduction of government’s expenditure.

It has become imperative to focus on strategic stores and inventory because most organisations are struggling with dwindling working capital and cashflows for effective operations; but still have high investments and cash locked-up in goods, spare parts, items, MROs, stationeries etc.

MIIF pays US$20m to acquire shares in Asante Gold continued from page 1 He said the company’s adherence to strict environmentally-friendly practices were also comforting, adding that Asante had recently received the environmental permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, which gave the company the go-ahead to commence project development and production.

Mr Koranteng said Bibiani’s prospects were good, with the mining contractor and other key contractors for fuel, explosives and plant refurbishment all substantially mobilised.

“We are in for the long haul and expect to see a gradual climb of the share price once Asante has achieved its key milestone of first gold in August,” the CEO said in the release.

He further emphasised that “Bibiani is significantly de-risked, given its past producer status, and will have a production profile between 220,000 to 260,000 oz/year for the next nine years. Bibiani’s all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of less than US$1,000 per ounce is in the lower quartile of comparable operations in Ghana, where the average is circa US$1,250/oz.”

“This, we believe, will make the mine competitive even in the face of the volatility that we sometimes see in the gold market,” Mr Koranteng said.

The company said Asante last week announced to the Canadian Stock Exchange that Emiral Resources, a minerals group building a diversified portfolio of operations in Africa, had also increased its shareholding in the

company to a little over 19.5 per cent.

“Our long-term vision is to create Africa’s largest Minerals Income Fund with at least US$500 million under management as early as 2025. The minerals income we receive today must guarantee longterm value for all Ghanaians. I believe we are on course and I am excited about what the future holds,” the CEO of MIIF said.

The MIIF is a sovereign fund mandated by the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978, as amended).

It aims to maximise the value of the income accruing to Ghana from mining investments in a beneficial, responsible, accountable and sustainable manner and to monetise Ghana’s mineral wealth in a manner which will bring long-term value to Africa’s largest gold producer.

It currently has about $260 million under management after receiving mineral royalties since 2020.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

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E-Levy in public interest - Akufo-Addo Those who are concerned about our debt burden are right to focus on it as a major pre-occupation,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo said at the National Labour Conference (NLC) organised by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in Kwahu Nkwatia in the Eastern Region.

It was on the theme: “Strengthening Tripartism for Peaceful Relations and Resilient Economy”, and it is expected to end with a road map and a communique that will inform and shape the government’s approach to the resolution of labour issues for national development.

The President said it was time the country accepted the full implications of the goal of Ghana Beyond Aid and designed the fiscal profile accordingly.

“The Asian Tigers, whom we envy and want to emulate, financed their rapid development from their own savings. We need to do the same,” President Akufo-Addo noted.

He explained that with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the economies of the world, including that of Ghana, transforming the economy would require the active involvement and participation of all, including the large informal economy.

President Akufo-Addo explained that an economy in which only a small proportion of the population bore the brunt of direct taxation was unlikely to witness any rapid transformation.

“We have to make concerted efforts as partners to hasten our recovery from COVID-19 by

finding intelligent ways of bringing everyone on board to contribute their quota, no matter how small,” he noted.

President Akufo-Addo indicated that the government, for its part, was implementing a policy of cutting the budgets of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) by 20 per cent this year as its contribution to measures to ensure fiscal consolidation.

He explained that the country’s taxes, expressed as a fraction of total productivity (Gross Domestic Product — GDP) was 12.2 per cent, compared unfavourably with the rest of the world.

The President said the average tax-to-GDP ratio in West Africa was 18 per cent, with the average for Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries standing at 34 per cent.

“It is, thus, no wonder that American, German, French, Japanese and British people, among others, can readily find the means to fund their own development, particularly their infrastructural development, whereas we are constantly struggling to do the same,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo stressed the need to urgently enhance the nation’s capacity for domestic revenue mobilisation to realise its development potential, create opportunities for the vibrant and dynamic youth and deliver improved livelihoods for the citizenry.

“We cannot continue to allow less than 10 per cent, specifically 7.8 per cent, that is, 2.4 million people,

of the population carry the direct tax burden of 30.8 million people.

We must provide an opportunity for every Ghanaian to contribute towards nation-building,” he added.

The President appealed to Ghanaians, including those participating in the National Labour Conference, “to ensure that the hidden, submerged or informal economy is brought within the remit of the formal economy. This will be one of the surest ways of expanding the tax base for mobilising adequate resources to sustain development.”

“It is encouraging for my government and party, the New Patriotic Party, to recall that the rate of growth of the economy, 5.6 per cent, against the background of the exceptionally difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 era, was still considerably better than the 3.4 per cent we inherited (in 2016) in calmer times from our predecessor administration,” President Akufo-Addo insisted.

The President urged Ghanaians not to forget that prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, the country witnessed average annual GDP growth rates of seven per cent in 2017, 2018, 2019 and part of 2020, when the economy was then generally acknowledged as one of the fastest growing in the world.

He indicated that the proactive decisions taken by the government to fight the pandemic, as well as revitalise and transform the economy, with the GH¢100 billion COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES)

‘Obaatampa’ Programme to create jobs and prosperity for Ghanaians over a three-year period had begun yielding results.

The first phase of the Ghana CARES programme, the phase of stabilisation, came to an end in 2020.

The second phase, which started in 2021, aims at revitalising and transforming the economy between 2021 and 2023.

It is focused on supporting commercial farming and attracting educated youth into agriculture, building Ghana’s light manufacturing sector and developing engineering/ machine tools.

It will also include information and communications technology (ICT)/ digital economy, developing Ghana’s housing and construction industry, reviewing and optimising the implementation of the government’s flagship and key programmes, creating jobs for young people and expanding opportunities for the vulnerable in society, including physically challenged persons.

“As a result of this programme and the policies being implemented by the government, the economy grew at a provisional 5.2 per cent in the first three quarters of 2021. This growth is expected to be sustained in the medium term,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

He added that the overall real GDP for the medium term was projected to grow at an average rate of 5.6 per cent, and that the government remained committed to returning to the fiscal deficit target threshold, as enshrined in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982), from this year.

Digitisation enables African SMEs to scale to international standards, says UMB boss African SMEs will be able to rapidly achieve international standards with digitisation, enabling them to compete on and access international markets. This message was the key plank of the presentation by Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO of the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), during the 4th Strategic Leaders’ Summit 2022 held in Kampala, Uganda.

The summit largely deliberated on how African start-ups and SMEs in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) era can innovate, digitalise, and transform to become global players with a specific panel discussion on how banks could help African SMEs access funding.

According to the World Bank and other think-tanks, SMEs account for over 70% of economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A key trend in the development of SMEs

worldwide is the increasing trend to enterprises operating in or powered by what the World Economic Forum has termed the 4th Industrial Revolution largely driven by four specific technological developments that are, big data analytics, AI and automation, cloud technology and high-speed mobile Internet.

UMB presented a uniquely indigenous African Banking view of the challenge.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh, presenting for the bank, noted “digitisation represents perhaps the biggest all-encompassing game-changer for African SMEs in a generation.

We know harnessing technology allows SMEs to leapfrog, leading to economic development. We saw this happen with the Asian economies in the last century. We estimate that a similar effect can be achieved with digitisation. Digitisation is

allowing African SMEs to accelerate their adoption of quality-control standards and speed up their routes-to-market.

In finance, digitisation allows banks to solve challenges that hampered extending funding to SMEs, especially as regards data.

Digitisation allows us to access data that improves the credit process, for instance, allowing us to extend the right credit to customers due to an enhanced KYC regime. At UMB, for instance, we are pioneering using digital inventory systems as the basis for an inventory-backed credit line for SMEs here in Ghana.”

In further comments during the panel, Nana Dwemoh Benneh noted “UMB’s analysis supports the view that one of the most viable start-up ecosystems for the Ghanaian and African economy is the technology/fintech ecosystem.

The evidence from markets like Nigeria where start-ups like OPAY and Flutterwave have raised over USD$200million in less than four years makes the point. We believe banks collaborating with fintech will be beneficial to SMEs as the fintech companies are delivering innovation of financial products to the SME sector.”

On the panel with Nana Dwemoh Benneh were Eric Osiakwan, Managing Partner, Chanzo Capital; Peace Ayebazibwe Kabunga, Executive Director, HFB; Patricia Omallah, Head Legal & Compliance, Ecobank; Michael Mukasa, Chief Commercial Officer, Roke Telkom, and Badru Ntege, Director/coowner of NFT Consult. The 4th Strategic Leaders’ Summit 2022 is an initiative of the Human Capital International in partnership with Shared Value Africa Initiative.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Limits of human rights T

his article has been prompted by the grandiose delusion of Western nations that their standard of human rights is what should prevail in the world, and Africa, especially, would do well to fall in tow, otherwise it would suffer sanctions.

Rights have been predicated of human beings, so we answer the question: What is the human being, that he should have rights? And, what rights?

We begin with the Holy Bible, where we read the following: So God created man in His own image; in the image of God created him: male and female (Genesis 1:27).

Man has been designed as a “god” (image of God), and as a child of the most High (with the DNA of God). It is the supernal nature of man that has enabled man to go to space and explore the galactic universe; it is the DNA of God that has made man to do all the exploits of technology, music, science, architecture, and things too numerous to mention. Man is far from ordinary; man is a species of divine wonder!

Invariably, the creative impulses within us require space and exercise of free will for their actualisation.

First The first “human rights” conferred on man by the Creator is found in Genesis 1: 28-30. Summarily, man is to “multiply and fill the earth”, and also to “subdue” all things placed under him.

Fulfilling the mandate to fill the earth required “male and female” species, whose sexual copulation would yield the seed to fill the earth, and this principle is also apparent in animals, reptiles, birds, insects and plants.

With the growth of human population, “human rights” and laws evolved to create the desired environment for peaceful co-existence and development of the human race.

That environment is social order.

We must understand social order to be a confluence of laws and rights that create a disciplined, legal, predictable and safe social environment for man’s optimum development.

A unit of that social order is the family, then the community, and, finally, the nation.

The book of Deuteronomy states some of the laws and “rights” that man needed to be a fuller person.

UNDHR The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has 30

articles, some few of which are: • • We Are All Born Free & Equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way.

• Don’t Discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.

• Freedom of Expression. We all have right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people.

• We’re All Equal Before the Law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.

• The Right to Democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders.

• Social Security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education and childcare; enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old.

• Marriage and Family. Every grownup has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated.

The vision of the UN is to create an international social order where laws and rights within and among nations shall protect and promote humanity’s highest good.

It is in pursuance of that social good that, universally, nations have laws against crime, and various infractions of civil order.

Where any law or movement tends to overthrow this established social order, that law or movement becomes subversive of humanity’s progress and development.

Focus It is here that the Western nations come into focus.

Currently, the Western nations have promulgated laws that allow same sex marriage, and transgender through surgical operations.

A man would have his penis and testicles removed and have inserted a vagina, because

he prefers to be a woman!

Similarly, a woman would have the breasts removed and hormones injected into her to be masculine, because she prefers to be a man!

It is now being promoted that when a child is born, it is neither “male” nor “female”; regardless of the sex, it is an “it”!

When the child is grown, the child would then have the “right” to choose the “sex”!

Besides the promiscuity of sexual perversions, the Western nations are now promoting Gender Ideology.

Gender ideology Gender ideology is an educational curriculum that is being promulgated to teach “sexual rights” to children. In other words, the LGBTQ++ shall be inculcated in children at school.

It is apparent that human rights have gone beyond the pale of normalcy into the realm of the absurd. It is needless saying that such obvious aberration of “human rights” is fundamentally contrary to the divine order of procreation, and purpose for man’s being. The Western nations are playing God! They would determine who is male and female; no more the divine order.

The permissive trend apparent in Western nations would overthrow the social order that functions as the energising culture that sustains a nation.

They are creating centripetal forces that would operate like a black hole in space, and suck them inside the maelstrom of destruction.

There are limits to human rights.

The social order is paramount to the growth and survival of every nation.

Humanity owes itself a duty to protect the social order from the disintegrative forces of mindless human rights spreading like the dreaded COVID-19, and bound to destroy the nations.

The writer is a lawyer. E-mail: akwesihu@ yahoo.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

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Gov’t to provide 600 new buses for MMTL -Transport Min The Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has told Parliament that a value for money assessment is being carried out for the supply of 300 Hyundai buses from Korea and additional 200 buses from China, as government explores avenues to bring in more buses to revamp the operations of the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) “We are also pursuing other avenues to bring in more buses to revamp the operations of the MMTL. Currently, Value for Money Assessment is being undertaken for the supply of 300 Hyundai Buses from Korea and additional 200 buses from China. We expect to add a total of 600 new buses within the short-medium term period.” The minister said this on Tuesday when he appeared to answer questions relating to his sector.

According to the minister, the first batch of 45 buses are in production and expected to be delivered by the second quarter of this year.

He added that government has signed a contract with VDL Bus Roeselare for the supply of 100 intercity buses, spare parts, and training services. Under the same

contract, a total of 50 broken down VDL buses at MMTL would be repaired to augment the fleet. This project is also being financed with a €25.49 million mixed credit facility from the Government of Belgium and Belfius Bank SA/NV. MMTL, was established with an objective to provide intra-city, interurban and rural-urban bus services in the country.

The policy framework for the financing and operations of the MMTL was that government will provide support for the acquisition of buses to enable MMT provide relatively cheaper and affordable mass transportation services to the public as a necessary social service.

A total of 100 new intercity buses have so far been supplied to the MMTL at a total cost of US$17.5million. This was financed by government.

One of the key interventions of government has been to assist public and private transport operators to renew their fleet to improve on the safety and comfort of passengers. Transport operators in most cases find it difficult to provide the needed collateral necessary for

acquisition of new buses.

Already, the MMTL and ISTC have both been supported with new fleet. We are also pursuing other

arrangements to bring in 300 buses from Korea to support the private sector operators.

GCB finances acquisition of four security vessels for Ghana GCB Bank PLC has provided funding for the acquisition of four brand new 40-metre multi-role offshore security vessels for the Ghana Navy.

The vessels will provide dedicated security to offshore oil and gas facilities and other maritime security issues and to promote a burgeoning blue economy.

The multi-purpose vessels were commissioned by the President Nana Akuffo-Addo, at the Naval Base in Sekondi, Western Region.

Speakers upon speakers were full of praise for GCB Bank for providing the funding for the acquisition of the vessels.

President Akufo-Addo said all efforts at transforming the economy would be futile unless there the security of the nation was secured.

He said his government would not waiver on security and integrity of the nation and that the government was committed to safeguarding Ghana’s territorial integrity.

The Managing Director of GCB, Mr Kofi Adomakoh, expressed delight in partnering the Ghana Navy to facilitate further development in Ghana’s hydrocarbon industry.

“The financing of these vessels is yet another example of how deep local-market knowledge and international best practice paired with our core mandate of supporting Ghana’s oil infrastructure development, enables us forge partnerships in providing complex

financing solutions which promote long term and sustainable economic development,” he said.

Mr Adomakoh said GCB was encouraged to look beyond the commercial benefits and focus on patriotic and developmental national agenda in providing the finance.

He expressed the hope that the financing arrangement could “serve as a blue print and a launch pad for further collaboration between the Ghana Armed Forces, GCB and other private and public institutions to raise funding to support projects that otherwise will be funded by Government alone.”

“The transaction once again demonstrates GCB Bank’s readiness and capacity to partner stakeholders to transform our economy. As market leaders, we urge the support for more private and public sector collaboration that yields results for national development,” GCB MD said.

The Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, announced that the government has changed all old and unserviceable vehicles of the Military.

He said a new Army Headquarters is being constructed in Accra and that roads in various barracks are

being asphalted.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Issah Yakubu, noted that it has been almost 10 years ago since new ships were commissioned for the Ghana Navy.

He said the Ghana Navy has supported the international oil companies in diverse ways to facilitate and protect their assets offshore.

The vessels were respectively named after the River Volta, River Densu, River Pra, and River Ankobra to signify the very important roles these water bodies play in the lives of Ghanaians.

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Businesses urged to cut cost with prudent storekeeping and inventory

By Patrick Paintsil

Private businesses and managers of public sector institutions have been asked to pay particular attention to their stores and inventory units if they want to save cost on sourced goods and works, ensure value for money and drive sustained operational efficiency.

Astute procurement consultant, Collins Agyemang Sarpong, in an interview with Business24, disclosed severe wastages due to the lack of structured measures to ensure the prudent and needsbased procurement in both public and private organisations.

“In Ghana, there is a huge gap in the area of inventory management; we use millions to buy goods and works but do not look at how they could be properly managed to create value to the organization and save cost,” said at the end of a threeday workshop on contemporary stores and inventory management in Accra.

“How do you take money to buy something, keep it in the stores for five years only to throw it away without adding any value to the organization?, he queried, adding that it is one key gap that business leaders and managers need to pay attention to.

There is a gap between when the items are sourced and when they are going to be disposed and, in that space, comes inventory

management which call for the prudent use of the goods or materials to the maximum benefit of the business and to ensure value for money.

According to Mr. Sarpong, most organisations pay attention to procurement department that brings in the items and materials but when the items are in the stores, there is very little about how they are handled or managed till they become unusable and disposed of.

“Stock represents cash or a current asset because they are liquid enough to be turned into money and they help in the continuous operation of every organization,” he indicated.

The three-day capacity building training was organised by the multidisciplinary firm, ProSupp Consult, on the theme: “Contemporary stores and inventory management”.

It was targeted at public and private sector stores and inventory

managers, supply officers, procurement managers, logistics managers, internal auditors, finance managers, entity tender committee members and all responsible for overseeing stores and inventory operations in their organisations.

About 15 participants drawn from the manufacturing, power, banking and the public sectors of the economy participated in the training programme.

Voting officially opens for 6th Ghana Beverage Awards Following the closure of nominations and an eventful beverage industry tour, Global Media Alliance, organizers of the prestigious Ghana Beverage Awards, have officially opened the polls for voting for the most coveted award category, ‘Product of the Year’.

The voting exercise scheduled from March 1st to 18th this year would provide the opportunity for beverage companies and individuals to vote for their favorite product to emerge the ultimate winner.

The product of the year category features beverages such as Coca Cola, Verna Natural Mineral Water, Alomo Bitters, Bel Aqua Active, Blue Skies Fruit Juice and Vitamilk Speaking, Chief Executive Officer for Global Media Alliance, Ernest Boateng, lauded the GBA Secretariat for a successful industry tour.

“I must commend the GBA Committee for visiting the various companies during the Industry Tour to properly assess the information which was provided by the

companies upon the submission of their entries and also to familiarize themselves with their production processes. Undoubtedly, this tour plays a critical role in the selection of winners for the 18 keenly-contested categories,” he said.

He further spelt out the voting modalities while urging the general public to vote massively for their favourite product in the category.

“We have now officially opened the polls to allow the public to vote for their favourite beverage product. Individuals and beverage companies can cast their votes for their favourite product in the Product of the Year category via the GBA website, www. ghanabeverageawards.com or via the USSD code *711*101# across all networks.

Since the introduction of voting as part of the processes for adjudging the ultimate winner, we have witnessed a year on year increase in the number of votes accrued by the ultimate winner. It is on the back of this that we are urging individuals and the beverage companies to

vote massively for their preferred product in this category,” he stated.

Ghana Beverages Awards, currently in its sixth year, is organized under the theme “Inspiring Excellence in Ghana’s Beverage Industry.” Since inception, it has championed the cause of increasing local beverage consumption while promoting the highest standards of practice within the beverage industry.

GBA is proudly supported by the Food and Beverage Association of Ghana (FABAG), Consumer

Protection Agency (CPA), Food Research Institute (FRI) under CSIR, Perception Management International (PMI),Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA).

It is partnered by Citi FM, Happy FM, YFM, Akonoba FM, Neesim FM Bolga, Neesim FM Tamale, eTV Ghana, Business and Financial Times, Daily Guide and Ghanaweb on the media front.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Dredge Masters donates to Korle-Bu Children’s Ward Dredge Masters Ghana Limited, a subsidary of the Jospong Group of Companies donated items worth thousands of Ghana Cedis to the general Children’s ward, Emergency ward and the Daycare center of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for the upkeep of children at the centres.

Speaking at a short ceremony, Deputy Managing Director of Dredge Masters, Samuel Borquaye said it was important for the company to spend the day of love with the children at the hospital since these children have become children of Dredge Masters.

“On this day of love, Dredge Masters again donated toiletries, chocolates and school stationaries to the children admitted at the children’s ward of the Hospital” he said.

The gesture, set in commemoration of Valentine’s Day, forms part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

On the 25th of August, 2021, Dredge Masters handed over a fully renovated children’s ward which was done at the cost of GH¢1,823,200.41 for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

Speaking on behalf of the hospital, Principal Nursing Officer at the hospital, Agnes Ofosu Boateng thanked the company and assured them that their donation will leave an indelible mark in the hearts of the children.

Accra Academy 90th Anniversary Public Lecture March 3 The Accra Academy as part of activities to mark its 90th Anniversary will host the ‘8th Koduah, Halm-Addo, Awuletey, Alema Memorial Lecture’ on Thursday at the school’s hall (K.G Konuah Hall) in Accra.

Under the auspices of the Board of Governors, Headmaster, Anniversary Planning Committee, Accra Academy Old Boys Association(AAOBA) Bleoo 1974 Year Group, Parents and Teachers Association (P.T.A) and Staff, the lecture would be held on the theme “Hydroxyrea Treatment for Sickel Cell Disease in Ghana: Bringing Comfort to Many More.”

Guest Speaker would be Bleoobi Prof. Isaac Odame, a Paediatric Haematologist at Toronto, Canada with Bleoobi Wilson Tei as Chairman while former Speaker of Parliament Bleoobi Dr Edward Doe Adjaho would be the Special Guest of Honour.

The event is in honour of the founders of Accra Academy, Kofi George Konuah, James Akwei HamAddo, Samuel Neils Awuletey and Gottfried Narku Alema.

Side attraction would be the launch of the 80th Anniversary Book of Bleoo74, the lead sponsors of the event.

The event is aimed at promoting the use of Hydroxyrea to treat sickle

cell disease in the country especially among children.

The event would be supported by the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana, Sickle Cell Association of Ghana, Ghana Medical Association and Ghana Registered Nurses Association.

The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives, Ghana College of Pharmacists and the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana would also participate in the lecture.

Ghana in 2018 become the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to provide quality healthcare for sickle cell patients following the introduction of Hydroxyrea drug in the country.

The drug which was brought into the country following a collaboration between the Sickle Cell Foundation, Ministry of Health and Novartis had been available across the country to help patients live a normal life.

The initiative was borne out of a Memorandum of Understanding between Ghana and Novartis (a global healthcare company based in Switzerland) at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2018.

Since then, efforts had been made by the government with support from private healthcare

practitioners to utilize the drug in the treatment of the disease.

Ghana then took the lead in Africa in the provision of the drug which would help prevent the crisis that patients experienced.

The lecture would support the government’s effort as far as research and advocacy to ensure that, the drug is accessible and used across the country.

Globally, more than 400,000 babies are born with sickle cell diseases annually with 80 per cent of the number in sub-Saharan Africa.

It is also estimated that approximately 1000 children in Africa are born with the disease every day and more than half will

die before they reach five. Ghana estimates 15,000 births are affected by sickle cell disease every year.

Sickle cell disease is recognised by the World Health Assembly as a public health priority and a neglected health problem in subSaharan Africa.

The step taken by Ghana to provide the drugs to health centres across the country is aimed at ensuring that death caused by the disease would become a thing of the past.

Countries like the United States and Jamaica have more than 80 per cent of sickle cell children’s survival and Ghana could also achieve that feat with the application of the drug after screening newly born babies.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

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CBG donates GHc 100,000 to Appiatse Support Fund The management of Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd (CBG) led by the Managing Director, Daniel Wilson Addo, has donated GHS 100,000 to the Appiatse Support Fund to help with the reconstruction of the community.

This Follows a huge explosion on January 20, 2022, along the Tarkwa Bogoso-Ayamfuri road when a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine crashed with a motorcycle.

The crash claimed the lives of 13 completely, damaged vehicles, leaving many inhabitants with various injuries, and social and economic challenges.

Presenting the cheque to Appiatse Support Fund Mr Daniel Addo explained that the Bank has an obligation to extend a helping hand when a challenge of this nature befalls a community. He said, “We are here to add our contribution to establish a new township for brand tagline, ‘We Stand With You’.

This brand promise puts a social responsibility on us to stand with our communities.”

Mr. Addo further mentioned that CBG is aligned with the support fund’s vision of building a model

community. “We identify with your pillars of building a green, and environmentally-friendly township that serves as a model for building townships in Ghana”.

Receiving the donation, chairperson of the 5-member committee, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, expressed appreciation to CBG saying, “Thank you CBG for coming out to support the fund to rebuild Appiatse community and

victims of the explosion. We call on individuals to come on board and support”.

Rev. Dr Aryee further called on Ghanaians to assist with donations to the Fund to support the victims and rebuild the community.

Other members of the CBG delegation were Nana Ama Poku Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Corporate Resources and Angela

Forson Director, Corporate and Institutional Banking.

The CBG donation is to support the Government in the rebuilding of the community, as well as the rehabilitation of the about 900 victims who are lucky to have escaped the disaster The Appiatse Support Fund is expected to coordinate the mobilization of resources to reconstruct the community.

Vodafone Foundation organises free ultrasound scan for pregnant women in Tamale Instant Schools initiative, which provides online educational content for free and ICT hub initiative where the organisation set up ICT hubs in libraries across the country, fully equipped with equipment such as computers, scanners, projectors amongst others”, she concluded.

On her part, Midwife in-charge of Tamale Central Health Centre, Genevieve Jimpetey, thanked Vodafone Ghana Foundation for its support.

“On behalf of the Tamale Central

Vodafone Ghana Foundation, the charity arm of Vodafone Ghana has organised a free ultrasound scan for over 250 pregnant women in Tamale.

The exercise aimed at providing

is back again to Tamale having

be screened for various antenatal services.

Speaking on the gesture, Director

pregnant women to have an ultrasound scan. As a result of our strong ties with the people of Tamale, we will continue to spread our goodwill through this initiative and many more. We hope that this exercise will go a long way to help with the general healthcare of the

Vodafone Ghana, Geta StriggnerQuartey added that the exercise was to give the pregnant women quality healthcare and to help them know the conditions of their babies.

“Vodafone Ghana Foundation

babies”.

Madam Striggner-Quartey noted that the Vodafone Ghana Foundation has strong focus on Health and Digital.

“This ultrasound scan initiative

is part of the many gestures to help the health sector. We have the Homecoming programme, where we pay the bills of insolvent patients and reunite families across the country. We also have the Healthfest initiative which provides free medical screening via medical team as well as the Healthline Medical Call Centre, which continuously provides accurate and other medical complications to the public for free by dialling 255”.

“Also, through the Vodafone Ghana Foundation, we have initiated education programmes such as

of this programme, I want to thank the Management of Vodafone Ghana and Vodafone Ghana Foundation. I believe this gesture is key for these women to know more about the development and health of their babies. We are grateful”.

“I want to use this opportunity once again to advise all pregnant safety protocols as part of curbing the spread of the coronavirus disease. Observing the protocols religiously is crucial to your health and that of the unborn child”, she advised.

The pregnant women who expressed gratitude to the Vodafone Ghana Foundation for the gesture.

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| I N T E R N AT I O N A L N E W S

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Wang Yi expounds China’s five-point position on the current Ukraine issue

On February 25, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had phone conversations with UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, and French Diplomatic Advisor to the President Emmanuel Bonne respectively.

They had in-depth exchanges of views with a focus on the situation in Ukraine. Wang Yi expounded China’s basic position on the Ukraine issue, which can be summarized as the following five points: 1. China maintains that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and protected and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter abided by in real earnest. This position of China is consistent and clear-cut, and applies equally to the Ukraine issue.

2. China advocates common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. China believes that the security of one country should not come at

the expense of the security of other countries, still less should regional security be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs. The Cold War mentality should be discarded completely.

The legitimate security concerns of all countries should be respected. Given NATO’s five consecutive rounds of eastward expansion, Russia’s legitimate security demands ought to be taken seriously and properly addressed.

3. China has been following the developments of the Ukraine issue closely. The current situation is not what we want to see. The top priority now is for all parties to exercise the necessary restraint to prevent the current situation in Ukraine from getting worse or even getting out of control. The life and property safety of civilians should be effectively guaranteed, and large-scale humanitarian crises, in particular, must be prevented.

4.

China supports and encourages all diplomatic efforts conducive to a peaceful

settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

China welcomes the earliest possible direct dialogue and negotiation between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukraine issue has evolved in a complex historical context. Ukraine should function as a bridge between the East and the West, not a frontier in big power confrontation. China also supports the EU and Russia in entering into equal-footed dialogue on European security issues and implementing the philosophy of indivisible security, so as to form eventually a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism.

5. China believes that the UN Security Council should play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine issue, and give priority to regional peace and stability and the universal security of all countries. Actions taken by the Security Council should help cool the situation and facilitate diplomatic resolution rather than fueling tensions and causing further escalation. In view of this, China has always

disapproved of willfully invoking of UN Charter Chapter VII that authorizes the use of force and sanctions in UNSC resolutions.

State Councilor Wang Yi noted that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, China has always faithfully fulfilled its international obligations and played a constructive role in maintaining world peace and stability. When it comes to peace and security, China has the best record among major countries.

We have never invaded other countries or engaged in proxy wars, nor have we ever sought spheres of influence or participated in military bloc confrontations.

China stays committed to the path of peaceful development and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. We will continue to firmly oppose all hegemonies and power politics and resolutely uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

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| F E AT U R E

Could the COVID-19 virus evade the vaccines?

By William A. Haseltine

I

t is now well known that SARSCoV-2 can mutate to evade vaccine protection against infection. The Omicron variants – BA.1, B1.1, and BA.2 – can infect those who were previously infected by other variants, even when vaccinated. And though a third booster shot offers some protection from an Omicron infection, it wanes after three or four months, leaving most people susceptible to reinfection. That said, the immunity conveyed by prior infection or vaccination still dramatically reduces the incidence of hospitalization and death.

We also have come to realize that our main saviors against COVID-19 turn out not to be antibodies, but rather another part of the immune system: our T cells.

Studies show that the strength of our long-lived T-cell response to SARSCoV-2 proteins – especially by T cells that recognize the virus spike protein – strongly correlates with the degree of protection.

There are two types of T cells, CD4+ and CD8+, which are distinguished by proteins on their surface. Because CD4+ T cells mostly assist in the production of antibodies, the CD8+ T cells are the real heroes of the story.

Once they identify an invader they remember from a previous encounter, they act quickly to move in for the kill, demolishing infected cells and cutting short the life cycle of the virus.

Until Omicron, the differences in neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies and by monoclonal antibodies were relatively minor. But the process by which T cells recognize viral proteins is very different from that of antibodies, which recognize structures on the intact viral protein.

We know that these critical structures, particularly those of the exterior spike protein, differ from variant to variant.

It is precisely such structural diversity that allows the virus to evade most antibodies made in response to natural infection and vaccination.

By contrast, our T cells do not recognize intact proteins. Rather, T-cell recognition occurs when a viral protein within a cell is chopped into short segments and cradled in the grip of a cellular protein called MHC type 1. MHC type 1 presents the viral fragment to the T cell at the cell surface, where the T cell can recognize the combination of the viral fragment presented by the MHC type 1 protein.

All told, T cells recognize and react to a very broad array of viral protein fragments. For SARS-CoV-2, these fragments overlap very little with the regions of the virus that are sensitive to neutralization by antibodies. That is why T-cell responses to viral infection are generally preserved across variants. Until Omicron, vaccines

that use one viral protein raised almost the same T-cell response to all variants. But now the situation has changed. Not everyone is alike when it comes to binding viral protein fragments. Our MHC type 1 proteins are diverse, and each recognizes a unique set of viral protein fragments. Our reaction to viral proteins thus depends on their sequence and that of our own particular MHC type 1 set of proteins.

Consider a recent study by Gaurav D. Gaiha and his colleagues, who examined T-cell responses to the Wuhan, Delta, and Omicron strains in people who have been either infected, vaccinated, and boosted, or infected and vaccinated (but not boosted).

They found that most people who are infected after vaccination have strong and durable CD4+- and CD8+-positive responses to all three variants.

But there was one worrying discovery.

Approximately 20% of those vaccinated showed a decline of greater than 50% in T-cell response to Omicron, compared to the Wuhan and Delta variants; and in some the decline was even more profound. These poor T-cell responses were not correlated with sex or age, and follow-up experiments revealed that the difference was due to lower CD8+ reactivity, rather than to the CD4+ T-cell response.

The authors therefore refined the analysis by examining T cells’ ability to recognize specific fragments of viral proteins. To that end, they used a set of short protein fragments to recreate the entire spike protein, and they used a similar set of protein fragments corresponding to the virus’s other structural proteins. They found that whereas T cells recognized all the viral fragments of the spike protein used for vaccination, they failed to recognize some of the protein fragments.

The authors thus speculate that CD8+ T cells’ inability to respond to Omicron may be due to a lack of recognition of the mutated peptides. Indeed, their theoretical calculations are consistent with the hypothesis that changes in the amino acid sequence of the Omicron spike protein underlie the observed blind spots in T-cell recognition. Inherited differences in the ability to recognize specific protein fragments likely account for some people’s failure to mount anti-Omicron defenses. The authors have conjectured that “it is possible that these individuals will have reduced protection against severe disease.”

One sobering conclusion, then, is that Omicron has drifted so far from the original strain that the 20% cohort in the study may not be fully protected either from infection or from hospitalization and death. However, after finding that a third vaccine dose increases T-cell responses by twentyfold or more, even for those who respond poorly, Gaiha has a more optimistic take. “While the Omicron spike protein was able to escape T cells in a subset of individuals,” he told me, “what we learned is that this deficiency in T-cell recognition can be overcome by booster vaccination. In addition, we found that non-spike proteins could be attractive targets for second-generation vaccines to protect against future SARS-CoV-2 evolution.”

Gaiha espouses the optimistic interpretation. But Omicron is a warning that future SARS-CoV-2 variants may escape protection from both antibodies and T-cell immunity. We cannot predict that a variant that evades vaccines’ ability to protect against infection and serious illness will arise, but we must be prepared for such a threat, lest we remain unguarded against it.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Mobile commerce in Africa – UK unveil analysis into digital trade’s opportunities and challenges At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a new whitepaper titled “Towards A Flourishing Digital Economy for All – A Spotlight On Africa” was published - and discussed for the first time by a panel including senior executives from Vodacom, SafariCom, Smart Africa and the World Bank.

The paper was commissioned by the UK’s Department for International Trade and conducted

by GSMA’s Mobile World Live team of analysts.

The report examines how the mobile industry and its partners are working to open up a $180bn market opportunity by 2025*.

“Towards A Flourishing Digital Economy for All – A Spotlight on Africa” explores the progress made in building Africa’s mobile driven digital economy and discusses how mobile commerce is booming across the continent with four nations that are leading the way – Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa. It examines how a growing cohort of dynamic businesses are adapting their services to address

the specific challenges of the African mobile commerce market including unbanked customers, the lack of reliable identity credentials and last mile delivery issues.

• Additional obstacles to growth are discussed in detail and include: •Digital infrastructure •Mobile connectivity and internet access •Mobile money •Social and digital inclusion •Mobile commerce However, the DIT and GSMA are strong in their belief that Africa’s innovative and dynamic tech community of entrepreneurs can address these barriers and are confident that the private and public sectors can work together to find solutions that will see the continent become a flourishing hub for digital trade.

Speaking at the launch event in Barcelona, Dr Mike Short, Chief Scientific Adviser, DIT, UK, said “Our report triggers a muchneeded discussion on how to advance the mobile commerce

revolution in Africa, which will in the long-term lead to mutually beneficial digital trade between the continent and its trading partners, including the UK”.

The UK Government and GSMA are long-term partners

and created the Mobile for Development initiative to drive innovation in digital technology across Africa and improve connectivity/inclusion for the underserved.

IFC appoints Kyle Kelhofer as Senior Country Manager for five W/A nations IFC has appointed Kyle Kelhofer as Senior Country Manager for Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Kelhofer, who previously worked for IFC in Ghana, brings almost 30 years of global development experience to his new role supporting private sector growth, job creation, and recovery from COVID-19 in West Africa.

A United States national, Kelhofer joined IFC in 1998 and has worked on energy-efficiency financing in Eastern Europe, SME financing in sub-Saharan Africa, post-conflict finance in the Middle East, and on IFC’s first subnational financings in Latin America.

He was based in Ghana with IFC from 2007-2010, focused on strengthening the country’s oil, telecoms, and financial sectors, among others.

Kelhofer’s most recent role at IFC was Senior Country Manager for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, and previous to that, Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. He will be based in Accra.

“It is exciting to be back in West Africa and I look forward to working with the IFC team to make a positive impact here. COVID-19, climate change, poverty, and unemployment are all serious and interlocked challenges, but working

with public and private sector partners, we can help the region build a foundation for strong and sustainable growth,” Kelhofer said.

IFC’s focus in Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo includes supporting the agribusiness sector, bridging the infrastructure and connectivity gaps, promoting digital inclusion, and financing micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Before joining IFC, Kelhofer worked at Ernst & Young’s National High Technology Practice in San Francisco. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in international finance from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Kyle’s broad experience across multiple sectors and regions, including West Africa and Asia, will serve him well in his new role.

I welcome him to the region and look forward to working with him to help bring greater opportunity to the private sector and support economic development in his cluster of countries and beyond,” said Aliou Maiga, IFC’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

Kelhofer succeeds Ronke-Amoni Ogunsulire.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

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| AGRIBUSINESS

Strengthening South-South and Triangular Cooperation for global agricultural development and transformation …FAO in partnership with China co-organizes international event focusing on efforts to tackle hunger, malnutrition and inequality

E

ffective cooperation between countries in the Global South and other development partners is critical in reversing the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic which is pushing more people into poverty and hunger.

This was one of the main messages that resonated today from an international high-level event on South-South and Triangular Cooperation co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

Titled “Strengthening South-South and Triangular Cooperation for Global Agricultural Development”, the hybrid high-level event was held in the context of the recent launch of Phase III of the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme, which supports countries’ national development goals, including by helping to solve constraints that farmers face. It achieves this by providing technical cooperation among countries in the Global South, including the sharing of knowledge, skills and successful initiatives in specific areas, such as agricultural development and addressing the impacts of the climate crisis, that contribute to food security, poverty reduction and the sustainable management of natural resources.

“South-South and Triangular Cooperation is one of the key channels to address the challenges posed by global hunger, malnutrition, poverty and inequality,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in his opening remarks. “Global solidarity is vital,” he added, noting that around 811 million people go hungry every day, and about 3 billion do not have access to healthy diets.

“Walking alone may not be fast, but walking together will definitely take us far,” said China’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, TANG Renjian. He noted that China believes in a shared future for mankind and looks forward to working with FAO and other partners to strengthen exchanges and deepen cooperation, contributing to the mission of fighting hunger and poverty alleviation.

The FAO Director-General pledged that FAO will continue to strengthen its partnerships to harness the full potential of South-South and Triangular Cooperation to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs by focusing its efforts on the following five key areas: (i) science, technology and innovation; (ii) agriculture and emergencies; (iii) financial investment; (iv) diversified support; and (v) collaboration and partnerships.

In particular, Qu thanked China for its “generous and consistent contributions” to the Programme and pledged that FAO will continue working to engage more closely with the private sector

on responsible investment and marketing for agrifood systems, including through the Handin-Hand Initiative.

In her remarks, The Gambia’s Minister for Agriculture, Amie Fabureh, stressed the connection between agriculture and development, and that South-South Cooperation contributed significantly to hunger elimination and the advancement of agriculture.

Mongolia’s Minister for Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Mendsaikhan Zagdjav; Sri Lanka’s Minister for Agriculture, Mahindananda Aluthgamage; and Uganda’s Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank K. Tumwebaze, in messages sent to the event underscored the vital importance of sustainable development and how South-South Cooperation can help countries through the sharing of experiences and technologies.

Other participants in the event included representatives from the International Fund for Agricultural Development the World Food Programme and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, Senior Agricultural Officers from Oman, as well as Ambassadors to China and Permanent Representatives to the UN Romebased agencies from Argentina, the Netherlands and Samoa.

FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) Programme As one of FAO’s main South-South partners in food and agriculture, China has contributed a significant amount of knowledge, experiences and good practices, policies, technology, and resources to assist developing countries facing a variety of challenges.

The FAO-China SSC Programme began in

2009 when a $30 million FAO-China Trust Fund was established. In 2015, China contributed a new $50 million for Phase II. Following the recent signature of the General Agreement of the Trust Fund (Phase III) between the Government of China and FAO in 2021, an additional $50 million fund was injected to support Phase III. FAO-China SSC projects currently operate in 20 countries, including Uganda and Sri Lanka, and have seen the deployment of over 1000 experts to countries in the Global South. The Programme has reached more than 100,000 direct beneficiaries and several hundred thousand indirect beneficiaries at grassroots level in rural areas.

FAO’s role in South-South and Triangular Cooperation FAO has been at the forefront of South-South and Triangular Cooperation for over 40 years, with extensive experience, a wide network, and a large portfolio of cooperation initiatives.

Through this form of cooperation, FAO brings together countries, facilitates dialogue and provides a framework for cooperation, in addition to providing extensive technical capacity and resources.

FAO’s Guidelines for Action 2022-25 provide a framework for scaling-up technical and financial partnerships like South-South and Triangular Cooperation. With its Strategic Framework 2022-31, FAO is leading global efforts towards the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all – leaving no one behind.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

| E N E R G Y A N A LY S I S

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

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Statement by PIAC on the publication of its report on the assessment of 10 years of petroleum revenue management in Ghana

T

he Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has published a report titled “Assessment of the Management and Use of Ghana’s The report assesses Ghana’s management and use of petroleum revenue over the the requirements of Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA), 2011 (Act 815, as amended by Act 893) and Petroleum Revenue Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2381).

It encompasses an assessment of the performance of the institutions assigned duties by the PRMA for the past decade and a thorough evaluation of the socioeconomic impact of the management and use of petroleum revenue on the development of Ghana.

The study was carried out by Stobe Law Limited, and was funded by the State of Switzerland through the Governance for Inclusive Development programme Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The Committee is equally grateful to the Government of Ghana (GoG) for its continuous support.

KEY FINDINGS Emerging issues after ten-plus years of oil and gas production Ghana has signed eighteen (18) petroleum agreements with various international and local oil companies since the early 2000s. namely the Jubilee, Tweneboa-EnyenraNtomme (TEN) and Sankofa-Gye Nyame (SGN), account for petroleum revenues as of end-2020. The data shows that total production from Ghana’s three of 71,439 barrels before commencing a decline to 66,926 barrels in 2020.

Production will continuously decline

Peaking is further compounded by reservoir challenges leading to production the above-surface issues include FPSO reliability challenges and delayed gas processing infrastructure forcing gas reinjection, which is ultimately negatively impacting well performance.

The country has made commendable accrues to the State by making changes in legislation to control petroleum costs

claimed by the IOCs, statutorily increasing its Carried Interest stake, and contractually preventing the petroleum agreement from imposts that the State can levy. However, there is the need for a laser-like approach to cost monitoring as this, along with transfer State loses money in the industry. fundamental re-think of how things are done in the industry, including licensing.

The challenge is attracting new investors to There is the need to consider the changing landscape and evaluate whether competitive bidding remains the best option for now.

Ghana’s upstream petroleum industry is still primarily an enclave with participation of local companies limited mainly to the nontechnical aspects of the industry. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has also necessitated a rethink of local content no longer exclusively on the local level but the regional.

Hydrocarbon

accounting:

Petroleum

we estimate that about US$31.22 billion of value has been generated from all of Ghana’s entitlements due to the contractor parties and the Ghana Group.

The achieved selling prices of the Ghana Group’s crude entitlement was closely aligned the country. The Ghana Group has earned US$6.55 billion in total petroleum receipts between 2011 and 2020, equivalent to (9.97% of 2020 GDP).

Regarding the breakdown of petroleum carried & participating interest (CAPI) has by far generated the highest share for Ghana, accounting for 58% or US$3.81 billion of the total US$6.55 billion revenue earned. This is followed by royalties at 25% (US$1.64 billion) and then corporate income tax at 17% or US$1.08 billion.

Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) has been allocated the highest amount of US$2.6 billion (40%) over the period. This is followed

by Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) receiving US$2.0 billion (30%).

Also, the Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF) has received US$1.39 billion (21%) of total revenues, whereas the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) has received US$586 million (9%) of the total allocation. These allocations are broadly consistent with the PRMA as amended.

GNPC’s evolution and use of petroleum revenues Over the past ten-plus years, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has sought to maintain a sole focus

on its commercial mandate by forming joint ventures and other forms of cooperation with international or local partners, particularly with IOCs and major supply chain companies.

Of Ghana’s US$6.55 billion total oil revenue entitlements since the commencement of oil exports from 2011 to 2020, GNPC has received 30% (US$2 billion) of this amount, representing and other operational expenses (Level B (Level A receipts) amounted to US$1.14 billion over the period, representing 55% of the total GNPC allocations. Level B receipts for operational costs amounted to US$921 million or 45% of total allocations.

Analysis of the data and trends over the past ten years reveals that GNPC has been used to meet other government priorities/needs/ programmes, which are not aligned with the letter and spirit of the NOC’s mandate subject to external interference or political capture, which often compels it to undertake other parastatals.

Impact of petroleum revenues on Ghana’s socio-economy and real sector Ghana has earned US$6.55 billion in total petroleum receipts between 2011 and 2020, equivalent to 9.97% of 2020 GDP. Out of this amount, the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) has been allocated the highest amount of US$2.6 billion (40%) over the period. This is followed by the Ghana National Petroleum Cooperation (GNPC) which has received US$2.0 billion (30%), the Ghana Stabilisation Fund (GSF) an amount of US$1.39 billion (21%) of total revenues, whereas the Ghana Heritage Fund (GHF) has received US$586 million (9%) of the total allocation. for the national budget. Nevertheless, while total benchmark revenue allocations to ABFA amounted to GHS9.41 billion (US$2.61 billion), allocations amounted to GHS8.51 billion (US$2.28 billion), leaving the balance being swept into the Consolidated Fund under the government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

In essence, ABFA investments have yielded some successes, but its overall impacts have been minimal, delayed, or negligible. Many stakeholders believe that the ABFA has not delivered on its expectations in maximising the rate of economic development and enhancing the well-being of citizens. Many

The potential for ABFA to deliver optimal outcomes is hinged on several underlying

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Statement by PIAC on the publication of its report on the assessment of 10 years of petroleum revenue management in Ghana CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

implementation, monitoring and evaluation, accountability, efficient macroeconomic management, among others. The evidence points to weaknesses in these underlying factors; hence the implementation of ABFA in the last decade has suffered from broader challenges associated with macro-fiscal management.

Management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds The lack of a clearly defined investment policy has constrained the ability of Fund Managers to earn higher returns on the GPFs. These constraints were also compounded by the non-constitution of the Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) between 2017-2019, leading to organisations such as PIAC citing breaches of the PRMA. The GPFs’ investment policy has been given impetus eight years down the line in the Petroleum Revenue Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2381). The Minister for Finance has approved the policy and is awaiting Parliamentary approval. Another issue that stakeholders have raised over the years is the perceived politicisation of appointments onto the IAC. The study finds that 74 percent

of the withdrawals from the GSF have been used for debt repayment, while 21 percent has been allocated to the Contingency Fund to deal with national emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, only 4% has been utilised to shore up ABFA shortfalls for which the GSF was intended.

Given the historically low returns, there is a need to rethink the GPFs’ investment strategy to generate comparable returns to a benchmark portfolio. Institutional assessment of petroleum revenue management The study finds that the Bank of Ghana, Auditor-General, Public Interest and Accountability Committee and Petroleum Commission have demonstrated satisfactory progress in implementing the relevant provisions of the PRMA. On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance, Parliament, The Ghana Revenue Authority, and The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation have demonstrated meaningful progress in implementing the relevant provisions of the PRMA. Lastly, The Investment Advisory Committee has demonstrated inadequate progress.

There is a strong imperative to provide the GRA and other institutions such as the Petroleum Commission, IAC and Ministry of Finance with all the requisite human resources and tools to undertake their critical mandate of petroleum revenue management more effectively and efficiently. The requirements under 21(2) of the PRMA (as amended) for the ABFA to be used to (1) maximize the rate of economic development; (2) promote equality of economic opportunity to ensure the well-being of citizens; and (3) undertake even and balanced development of the regions, are yet to be fully attained.

RECOMMENDATIONS Stabilisation agreements: The Ghanaian state needs to ensure that a material change has been well-established before changes are made to a petroleum agreement. As Stephens and Acheampong (2021:21) have argued, “equilibrium economic balancing clauses, which were enshrined in Section 13 of PNDCL 84 and currently in Section 20 of Act 919, must be able to be triggered by the IOC only where there is demonstrable proof that

material changes in circumstances have indeed occurred that adversely affects the economic balance of the agreement and must not be used as a backdoor to re-negotiate terms already agreed upon, thus rendering ineffective the licensing process”.

The Committee also advocates for official public criteria to guide the technical prioritisation of ABFAfunded projects by the Ministry of Finance and beneficiary MDAs. To improve effective disbursements of the ABFA, all beneficiary MDAs must be required to prepare ABFA projects, complete procurements, and ensure clear projects are ready for disbursements before they qualify to be funded by the ABFA. As a matter of priority, the Minister for Finance should forward to Parliament for approval the long-delayed investment policy and qualifying instruments for the overall management of the Ghana Petroleum Funds, which was drafted by the IAC and approved by the Minister in 2020.

PIAC is thankful to all stakeholders for the diverse contributions they made towards the successful implementation of this project.

A copy of the full report can be accessed on PIAC’s website, www. piacghana.org

3 Days Training Workshop Theme: Contemporary Stores and Inventory Management Company ProSupp Consult is a multidisciplinary professional service group drawn from diverse top quartile multinational and public firms providing dynamic procurement and supply chain management services and trainings.

Course Overview It has become imperative to focus on Strategic Stores and Inventory because most organisations are struggling with dwindling working capital and cashflows for effective operations; but still have high investments and cash locked-up in goods, spare parts, items, MROs, stationeries etc. The strategic application of Stores and Inventory helps to contribute to the efficient and effective utilisation of public and private financial resources; which significantly improves the competitive advantage of companies, financial and sustainable business objectives and an increased Return On Investment (ROI). Again, Public Sector Stores and Inventory Practitioners feel marginalised, but this course will let them appreciate how they can contribute strategically to the reduction of government’s expenditure.

This module is designed to put the public and private sectors’ Stores and Inventory systems in context. It will be based on an experiential learning; applying theory in a practical way to foster good practice and application.

The Facilitator The Facilitator is an Award Winning Procurement and Supply Chain Management Professional with over twenty years practice in both local and international organisations in various industries including Financial Institutions, United Nations, Construction, Embassies and Manufacturing.

Serves on Entity Tender Committees for a number of Public and Private Organizations.

An Adjunct Lecturer, Board Member, Independent Consultant and the Current President, Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply.

Collins Agyemang Sarpong MGIPS, MCIPS, MBA, CIPP

COURSE OUTLINE • Inventory Control (Stock Controls) Definitions, Systems and Management • Best Practices for conducting an inventory counts • Stakeholder Management and Engagement for efficient operations • Economics of Stores and Inventory (Order Levels and EOQs) • Strategic Stores and Inventory (Cashflow and Working Capital Impact ) • Codification and Digitization for efficient operations • Different Inventory Modules, Methods and Techniques • Stores Space optimization • Practically undertake disposal of unserviceable items as per Act 663 • Heath, Security and Safety in the stores (OSHA Regulations) • Lowering carrying cost strategies • Case Studies • Development of 90 days Actions Plans Who should attend?

Public and private sector Stores and Inventory Managers, Supply Officers, Procurement Managers, Logistics Managers, Internal Auditors, Finance Managers, Entity Tender Committee Members and all responsible for overseeing Stores and Inventory operations in their organisations.

Date:

23rd - 25th February 2022

Theme: Fee:

Contemporary Stores and Inventory Management

GHC 2,000 per participant (Inclusive of Course Materials, Certificates, Lunch and Coffee/Tea breaks)

Venue:

Coconut Groove Hotel, 5th Mozambique Link, Accra

REGISTRATION Please make the necessary payment into the following account details;

Account name: ProSupp Consult, Account Number: 1114682 Bank: ABSA Bank, Branch: Osu. Please contact the ProSupp office on 0302733425 / 0546896814 for any assistance and clarifications and also please alert the office when you have made payment.

17

| F E AT U R E

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 25, 2022 Best 5 Traded Equities by Volume for the Week Ending 25/02/2022

Trend in Market Indices - 2022

MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS 3,000

2,000

8.65%

1,500 1,000

82.46%

500 SIC

0

9.7%

GSE CI

7.4%

12.10%

2/2 2 22 /0 2/2 2

15 /0

2/2 2 /0

2/2 2

08

SIC

0.1

0.14 ▲40.00%

3

3.3 ▲10.00%

0.85

0.82

▼3.53%

2.15

2

▼6.98%

100.00%

-4.00%

80.00%

SCB

EGL

CAL

OTHERS

75.00%

60.00%

GSE FSI

18.28% 17.78%

40.00%

11.76%

20.00%

Volume and Value of Trades for Week Ending 25/02/2022 3,500,000

-60.00%

SS CE

L

PB C

AC

-7.14%

FM

I BO PP

ET

L

BL GG

EG

SI

-20.00% -40.00%

C

0.00% TB L

GSE CI

-9.77%-25.00% -33.33% -36.51%

3,000,000 2,500,000

CURRENCY MARKET

2,000,000

The Cedi continued its downward trend against the USD for the Sixth consecutive week. It traded at GH¢6.6004/$ on Friday, compared to GH¢6.4227/$ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 2.69% and 9.00% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 0.40 a year ago.

The Cedi also retreated against the GBP for the week. It traded at GH¢8.8311/£, compared with GH¢8.7391/£ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 1.04% and 7.97% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 1.50% a year ago.

The Cedi again lost grounds against the Euro for the week as it traded at GH¢7.4179/€, compared with GH¢7.2865/€ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 1.77% and 7.95% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 1.58% a year ago.

The Cedi further weakened against the Canadian Dollar for the week. It opened at GH¢5.0565/ C$ but closed at GH¢5.1616/C$, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 2.04% and 8.14% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 0.06% a year ago.

1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 21/02/22 22/02/22 23/02/22 24/02/22 25/02/22 VOLUME VALUE

Market Capitalization for Week Ending 25/02/2022 63,500.00 63,400.00 63,300.00 63,200.00 63,100.00 63,000.00 62,900.00 62,800.00 62,700.00 62,600.00

0.00% -0.50% -1.00% -1.50% -2.00% -2.50% -3.00% 24 /0 2/2 2 25 /0 2/2 2

Gain/Loss (%)

-3.50%

22 /0 2/2 2 23 /0 2/2 2

Closing Price

-3.00%

2/2 2

Price Movers for the Week

Access Bank Ghana PLC

MTN

4 Best & 5 Worst Performing Stocks YTD Return

21 /0

Market capitalization declined by 0.76% to close the week at GH¢62,861.21 million, from GH¢63,340.44 million at the close of the previous week. This reflects YTD decrease of 2.53%.

Trading activity recorded a total of 8,224,838 shares valued at GH¢2,952,720.30 changing hands compared with 4,790,054 shares, valued at GH¢3,927,226.53 in the preceding week.

SIC dominated both volume and value of trades for the week, accounting for 82.86% and 28.30% respectively of total shares traded.

The market ended the week with 2 price gainers and 2 price decliners as indicated on the table below.

Cal Bank PLC

25.29%

-2.00%

The Ghana Stock Exchange strengthened marginally for the week on the back of gains posted by SIC and Enterprise Group. The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) gained 1.36 points (+0.05%) to close at 2,694.47 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 3.40%. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE FI) also gained 2.47 points (+0.12%) to close at 2,115.36 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 1.70%.

Enterprise Group Ltd.

28.30%

11.39%

-2.50%

SIC Insurance Company Ltd.

13.66%

-1.50%

STOCK MARKET REVIEW

Opening Price

OTHERS

GSE FSI

/0

/22 01

25 /0

04

-1.00%

11/

/0

1/2 2

-0.50%

Equity

EGL

0.00% 1/2 2

78.4%

PBC

0.50%

/0

Debt to GDP Ratio – Nov, 2021

CAL

Best 5 Traded Equities by Value for the Week Ending 25/02/2022

YTD Performance of GSE Market Indices

18

344.5

MTN

9.26%

1/2 2

13.9% 8.0%

1.24%

2.18%

01

6.6% 5.3% 5.0% 14.50% 12.97%

2,500

04 /01 /22 11/ 01 /22 18 /01 /22 25 /01 /22 01 /02 /22 08 /02 /22 15/ 02 /22 22 /02 /22

Q3, 2021 GDP Growth Average GDP Growth for 2021 2021 Projected GDP Growth BoG Policy Rate Weekly Interbank Interest Rate Inflation for January, 2022 End Period Inflation Target – 2021 Budget Deficit (% GDP) – Dec, 2021 2022 Budget Deficit Target (%GDP) Public Debt (billion GH¢) – Nov, 2021

1.46%

4.02%

MARKET CAP

YTD%

18

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Weekly Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates Change

%

YTD

6.3020

6.4227

▼1.88 ▼6.49

%

8.1272

8.5754

8.7391

▼1.87 ▼7.00

01/01/22

21/02/22

25/02/22

USD/GHS

6.0061

6.4227

6.6004

▼2.69 ▼9.00

GBP/GHS

8.1272

8.7391

8.8311

▼1.04 ▼7.97

EUR/GHS

6.8281

7.2865

7.4179

▼1.77 ▼7.95

CAD/GHS

4.7416

5.0565

5.1616

▼2.04 ▼8.14

YTD Performance of Selected Commodity Prices

Treasury Yield Curve

YTD %

22

21.75 21.00

20

20.20

30%

19.75

19.75 19.00

25%

19.75 18.10

18

20%

16.96

15%

16

10% 14

5%

13.03 13.31

12

0% /0 1

-5%

Da y 4D ay 2y r 3y r 5y r 6 yr 7y r 10 yr 15 yr 20 yr

-10%

36

18 2

91 Da y

01

10

Exchange Rates: Ghana Cedi vs Selected Currencies

Gold

9.0000 8.0000

COMMODITY MARKET

7.0000 6.0000 5.0000 3.0000 2.0000 1.0000

22 /0 1/2 2 29 /0 1/2 2 05 /0 2/ 22 12 /0 2/ 22

1/2 2

CAD

YTD Performance of the Ghana Cedi against Selected Currencies 4.00 2.00

1/2 2 22 /0 1/2 2 29 /0 1/2 2 05 /0 2/ 22 12 /0 2/ 22 19 /0 2/ 22

15 /0

-4.00 -6.00 -8.00 -10.00 GBP

EUR

Commodities

CAD

Year Open Week Open

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET

%

YTD

Government raised a sum of GH¢1,212.80 million for the week across the 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills, compared to GH¢827.14 million raised in the previous week.

The 91-Day Bill gained 4bps to settle at 13.03%, from 12.91% last week whiles the 182-Day Bill settled at 13.31% (+2bps) from 13.29% last week. The 364-Day Treasury Bill settled at 16.96%.

The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.

%

77.78

Previous Yield %

Current Yield %

01/01/22

21/02/22

25/02/22

12.53

12.91

13.03

182 Day TB

13.21

13.29

13.31

364 Day TB

16.64

16.99

16.96

2-Yr FXR TN

19.75

19.75

19.75

3-Yr Bond

20.50

20.50

20.50

5-Yr Bond

21.00

21.00

21.00

6-Yr Bond

18.80

21.75

21.75

7-Yr Bond

18.10

18.10

18.10

10-Yr Bond

19.75

19.75

19.75

15-Yr Bond

19.75

19.75

19.75

20-Yr Bond

20.20

20.20

20.20

WoW Chg (%)

77.78

Gold (USD/t oz.)

1,828.60

Cocoa (USD/MT)

2,520.00

14/02/22

18/02/22

93.10

93.54

21/02/22

25/02/22

93.54

97.93

1,899.80 1,887.60 2,573.00 2,576.00

Chg

▲0.11 ▲0.73 ▼0.18 ▲1.88 0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

15.69

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

& G O L D

B 100 R E 80 N T 60 C 40 R U 20 D E 0

1,000 500 0

Gold

Cocoa

YTD %

▲0.12 ▲2.22

120

1,500

CIDAN Investments Limited is an investment and fund management company licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

▼0.64 ▲3.23

International Commodity Prices - 2022 C 3,000 O 2,500 C O 2,000 A

ABOUT CIDAN

▲4.69 ▲25.91

YTD Chg (%)

▲0.87 ▲4.00

Brent Crude

Watered Stock: Watered stock is shares in a corporation that are sold at a price higher than the value of the underlying assets. This situation can arise when the assets are grossly overvalued, usually through a manipulative scheme.

Source: https://www.accountingtools. com/articles/watered-stock

▲0.47 ▲20.26

Source: www.investing.com

08/01/22

91 Day TB

Year Open

Brent crude oil (USD/bbl)

01/01/22

Security

01/01/22

Week Close

12/02/22

USD

19/02/22

1/2 2 /0

/0

01

08

1/2 2

0.00

05/02/22

EUR

22/01/22

GBP

29/01/22

USD

15/01/22

15 /0

/0

08

01 /0

1/2 2

1/2 2

0.0000

Cocoa

BUSINESS TERM OF THE WEEK

Crude Oil prices slipped on Friday after sharp rises early in the session against concerns over potential global supply disruptions from sanctions on major crude exporter Russia.

Brent futures traded at US$97.93 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$93.54 at week open.

This reflects a w/w and YTD gains of 4.69% and 25.91%.

Gold was down on Friday morning as Investors continue to re-assess the situation surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday as well as further Western sanctions against Russia. Gold settled at US$1,887.60 from US$1,899.80 last week, reflecting w/w loss and YTD appreciation of 0.64% and 3.23% respectively.

Prices of Cocoa inched up for the week. The commodity traded at US$2,576.00 per tonne on Friday, from US$2,573.00 last week, reflecting w/w and YTD appreciation of 0.12% and 2.22% respectively.

4.0000

-2.00

08

/2 2

Source: Bank of Ghana

/2 2 22 /0 1/2 2 29 /0 1/2 2 05 /0 2/ 22 12 /0 2/ 22 19 /0 2/ 22

Week Close

/2 2

Week Open

15 /0 1

Year Open

/0 1

Currency Pair

Brent Crude

RESEARCH TEAM Name: Ernest Tannor Email:etannor@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 20 881 8957 Name: Audrey Asiedua Wiafe Email:aaudrey@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 57 840 2700 Name: Moses Nana Osei-Yeboah Email:moyeboah@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 24 499 0069 CORPORATE INFORMATION CIDAN Investments Limited CIDAN House Plot No. 169 Block 6 Haatso, North Legon – Accra Tel: +233 (0) 26171 7001/ 26 300 3917 Fax: +233 (0)30 254 4351 Email: info@cidaninvestmens.com Website: www.cidaninvestments.com Disclaimer: The contents of this report have been prepared to provide you with general information only. Information provided on and available from this report does not constitute any investment recommendation. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed.

19

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

Will the climate agenda unravel?

By Jean Pisani-Ferry

I

n a recent survey, 52% of French citizens cited their purchasing power as a major concern. Only 29% mentioned the environment, putting this issue roughly on a par with the health system (30%) and immigration (28%).

Given this background, it is no surprise that the transition to a climate-neutral economy does not feature prominently in the current French presidential election campaign.

With the start of the war in Ukraine, the French may – for once – discuss foreign affairs and security in the run-up to the vote. But, despite widespread worries about climate change, more immediate economic concerns risk relegating climate policy to the fringes of the political debate.

That is unfortunate, because France, along with the rest of the European Union, has committed to nearly halving its greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 – a threefold increase in the speed of emissions reduction compared to the last decade. Whether France meets this extraordinarily demanding target will depend on actions taken on the winning presidential candidate’s watch. Even approaching the goal will require an accelerated transformation affecting all sectors and every aspect of economic and social life.

In a properly functioning democracy, therefore, immediate climate action would be at the top of the campaign agenda.

But the presidential candidates on the left, who emphasize the need to oaddress climate change, trail in the polls by a wide margin, while those on the right prefer to shun the issue, or even advocate halting the installation of wind turbines on the grounds that they blight the landscape. The only significant discussion focuses on the relative shares of nuclear and renewables in 2050 – an important choice, but not one that will determine if France meets its 2030 target.

Not every EU member state is so indifferent. For example, climate action featured prominently in the campaign preceding Germany’s September 2021 general election, and the resulting coalition agreement devotes 40 pages to it.

But in most countries, the surge in energy prices since last autumn and the resulting rise in inflation have elicited public anger and have diverted policymakers’ attention from longer-term concerns. Governments everywhere have rushed to introduce various patches in the hope of stemming the rise in the price level. According to a survey by Bruegel, many in the EU have reduced energy taxes or levies, thus de facto lowering the price of carbon at a time when they should be contemplating how to increase it.

This situation raises three questions.

First, what explains the current shortsightedness on climate? Second, how should governments react? Third, is there a way to keep democratic debates focused on choices that will define the future?

Today’s shortsightedness may appear puzzling, if only because the best protection against high energy prices would be to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. It is tempting to attribute the prevailing myopia to the growing dominance of social media and the erosion of established political institutions such as political parties.

But there are economic reasons, too. Since the 2008 global financial crisis, many European households have experienced a train of hardships. Although their income has generally been protected from the fallout of the COVID-19 shock, their standard of living has barely increased since the onset of the 2008 crisis.

With the rise in energy prices, those struggling to make ends meet have suffered a further blow to their purchasing power. And better-off households whose financial wealth consists of savings accounts have seen the return on their assets tumble because of ultra-low interest rates. With inflation surging, they now fear an erosion of their savings’ real value.

Energy-price instability is probably here to stay – and may increase. Even abstracting from geopolitical turmoil, the transition from brown to green energy is unlikely to be smooth.

The reallocation of capital from fossil fuels to renewables will be a messy process that will entail phases of energy shortages as well as periods of excess supply.

Governments should therefore prepare for these scenarios. Specifically, they should be clear about their climate goals, endorse and announce a gradual increase in the (explicit or implicit) price of carbon, and provide substantial investment support to those who cannot afford the capital cost of insulating their house or buying a new car. No one should be shielded from the change in the relative price

of energy, but no one should be deprived of the means to adapt.

It is also governments’ role to insure vulnerable households against energy-price increases. They should do it through meanstested schemes that target the lower end of the income distribution, but do not insulate all consumers. Again, such insurance must not weaken incentives to invest in housing renovation or new equipment. Because investment support and insurance against price fluctuations should help households to see through the fog of instability, policymakers must clearly explain the two goals and ensure that the corresponding instruments are distinct.

The third question is a more difficult one.

A society’s ability to identify longer-term challenges and concentrate its efforts on solving them depends on several conditions.

Honesty (about the challenges, and the costs of addressing them), clarity (about policy choices), transparency (about the implications of policies), and fairness (in the distribution of the corresponding burden) are indispensable.

But they are not sufficient.

Climate action will take hold and galvanize voters only if hope replaces fear. Citizens (in Europe, at least) do not need to be lectured about climate threats anymore, but instead need to be told convincingly, “Yes, we can.”

They must stop seeing themselves as victims of climate change or of the fight against it, become actors in the coming transformation, and find a role in building a better future.

This is a tall order in post-truth societies where trust in institutions is at a low ebb. But whoever succeeds in building such momentum will reap a commensurate political reward.

MONDAY, FEBRAURY 14, 2022

B U S I N E S S 24 .C O M .G H

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2.2022

NO. B24 / 311 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

NEWS

GCB donates GHc100,000 to Appiatse Support Fund GCB Bank PLC has donated an amount of GHc100,000.00 to the Appiatse Support Fund established to support the victims and rebuilding efforts of the Appiatse community.

The donation was made by Mr John Adamah, Head of Retail Banking and Mr Kojo Kwarteng, Head of Corporate Affairs Department on behalf of the Management of GCB. Mr Adamah described the Appiatse explosion as pathetic and stated that GCB Bank has three branches from Tarkwa to the Bogoso area and as a responsible corporate citizen, the Bank could not look on unconcerned.

He added that apart from being chosen as one of the banks to receive donations for the Appiatse Support Fund, GCB Bank has also deployed other resources including communication materials to encourage Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians to donate towards the rebuilding of the community.

Dr Joyce Aryee, Chairperson of the Appiatse Support Fund, who received the cheques, expressed delight at the donation by GCB Bank.

She thanked the board and management of the bank for demonstrating love towards the Appiatse community and the people of Ghana.

She reiterated that the committee and the government would use the reconstruction of Appiatse to promote green, sustainable and environmentally friendly township idea which will soon serve as a model for building townships in the country.

Ghana becomes first African country to evacuate its citizens Ghana has become the first African country to evacuate its citizens fleeing the conflict in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

The first group of 17 students arrived on Tuesday morning at Kotoka International Airport, in the capital, Accra.

Ghana’s foreign ministry had earlier said some 460 students were en route to Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

They are expected to return home in coming days.

The total number of Ghanaians living in Ukraine is unknown and the government is currently meeting parents and guardians to document all students in the country.

It is estimated that more than 1,000 Ghanaian nationals are currently studying or working in Ukraine. - BBC Published by Business24 Ltd. Nii Asoyii Street, Mempeasem. East Legon-Accra, Ghana. Tel: 030 296 5297 | 030 296 5315. Editor: Benson Afful editor@business24.com.gh. +233 545 516 133.