Business24 Newspaper 11th November, 2020

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

NO. B24 / 125 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

80% of businesses project recovery by mid-2021

Gov’t domestic borrowing costs inch upwards Treasury yields rise across maturities Yields remain below pre-lockdown levels

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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ollowing months of decline in the yields on short- and medium-term government treasuries, there has been a gradual reversal since July, given prevailing domestic borrowing and refinancing pressures.

Cont’d on page 3

While businesses predict a faster recovery, prospects for new jobs remain weak

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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majority of businesses are optimistic of recovery from the devastating effects of the novel coronavirus by the middle

of 2021, the latest survey by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has shown.

The survey, which was aimed at assessing the impact of COVID-19 on businesses in Ghana, revealed that about 80 percent of firms across the

manufacturing, services and construction sectors expect to recover by June 2021.

About 40 percent of the firms said they are likely to invest in the next six months.

New cybersecurity law to detect early warning risks

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

Cont’d on page 2

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overnment is to establish a cybersecurity incident monitoring and response system to detect in real time incidents that could undermine the country’s cyber-ecosystem, the new cybersecurity law has revealed.

Special Report Maritime and Logistics Sector

Building a Resilient Maritime Sector to Support Economic Growth

Cont’d on page 3

Inside ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

Business24 Limited.

Copyright@2020 All Rights Reserved.

Tel: +233 030 296 5297 Editor@thebusiness24online.net

POLICY RATE

INTERNATIONAL MARKET USD$1 =GHC 5.7027 14.5%

NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4% OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

0.9% GHC 5.13

Follow us online:

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

CORN $/BUSHEL COCOA $/METRIC TON COFFEE $/POUND:

$41.26 2.622 1,922.57 329.50 $2,339.27 $109.65

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NEWS/EDITORIAL Editorial / News

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 142020 2020 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11,

EDITORIAL Editorial

Pay before boarding order needs a rethink 1

Wash your hands 2

Cover your cough 3

Recovery, a must!

The new directive for all passengers to pay for their COVID-19 test online before their he coronavirus pandemic arrivalhas at left Kotoka International in its wake a Airport has been meet with devastation never seen resentment by airlines and before since the World War 2. passengers.

TheAtnumber of people who have a time when passengers are stilltheir coming tounimaginable. terms with the lost jobs is US$150 900� mandatory Indeed,� GHC government’s decision payment for COVID-19 test upon to proactively ease some of its arrival at KIA, the new directive restrictions, benefit of has generated with more debate. hindsight, gave way for Passengers travelling atoquicker Ghana return to normalcy for the local will from Tuesday, September 15 be required to make online economy. payments for the even mandatory Some economists argue C OV I D -1 9 te s t at Ko to k a that the reason why the local International Airport prior to economy escapea boarding isoftipped their toflight, d i r e c t i vunlike e b y many F r o nother tier recession H e a l t h C a r e � t h e c o m p any economies in the world was down contracted to carry out the to government’s faster all easing of antigen test at KIA--to airlines the restrictions imposed. on Friday has revealed.

While B y t h ethen e wpandemic d i r e c t i v eis, supposed to are have a long-lasting “Passengers required to show proof of to airlinesitasisa effect onpayment the economy,

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welcoming to see businesses predicting a quick recovery.

According to a survey by the

condition for boarding of flights to KIA.” Association Industries T h e n e wof Ghana d i re c t ive , has however, beenof described by (AGI), majority businesses are airlines as detrimental to the optimistic of recovery from the renewed efforts to stimulate devastating effects of the novel demand for air travel, given that coronavirus by the middle the of cash payments remains predominant mode of payment 2021. forThe most Ghanaian travelers. survey, which was aimed at An airline operator who assessing the impact of COVID-19 wishes to remain anonymous, on businesses in Ghana, revealed told Business24 that “The cost is that about percent of firms already too 80 high and now this across theis also manufacturing, new policy going to be i m p l e mand e n tconstruction e d . T h e r esectors are services hundreds of Ghanaian traders expect to recover by June 2021. who travel to buy goods to retail 40 percent of the firms in About the country. said they are likely to invest in “Most of them don� t carry any the next six months.

However, electronic payment cards to be able to pay They should chances of online. employment in the have the to pay cash next six flexibility months remain low, when they arrive.” given that only 26 percent of TheareConsumer firms likely to hireProtection additional Agency � CPA� has also raised workers. critical questions about the Given that thecost number of relatively high of the COVID-19 positive cases in Ghana has been on the rise in recent weeks, about 45 percent of the

country� s COVID-19 testing regime. firms in the survey that Theindicated CPA� s Chief Executive Officer, Kapito, said in asa they areKofi likely to implement much the to plan toaslay offgovernment between 25want percent curb imported cases of the and 50 percent of their current respiratory disease, it must not employees, if the crisis burden the passenger but persists charge what is year. enough to cover their till next cost and notthat to profit the It is a fact Ghanafrom has been passenger. spared by the huge mortality as “Look around Africa and seen in other countries but you that see that what is paid in Ghana for does not give citizens a free pass the test is the highest. Why to act that reckless should be� ” and ignore the protocols put in place to curb the He also raised questions about virus. the Noguchi Memorial why Institute Medical of There for is still a lot Research that we are the University of Ghana, was not learning about this virus and made to handle the testing for a as such thisfee paper want reasonable butwould rather a citizens togiven err on side of contract to the a foreign company caution. to do what Noguchi could adequately handle.

It should be our priority Business24 would to urge to protect the littlelike gains the a flexible approach that allows economy has made pay by abiding passengers to either online by the measures to keep the or cash on arrival. virus at bay. We all have a duty of care in this regard else we suffer together!

COVID-19: Banks deferred GH¢3bn in loan repayments CONTINUED FROM COVER

achieved of andbusinesses the economy operations, the bank chiefs working order to maximise 80% project recovery byinmid-2021 brought back on track.” responded that the immediate efficiencies of digital banking, that the desired outcomes are outbreak had transformed their team structures to the new way of

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Continued from scover Mr. Awuah� remarks were reinforcedchances by majority of the top However, of employment bank executives who responded in the next six months remain to the survey. The respondents low, given that only 26 percent of advised the Bank of Ghana to firms are likely to hire additional increase stakeholder consultation workers. in order to propose more Given that the number of beneficial policies.

COVID-19 positive cases in Ghana This, they said, will help has been on the rise in recent estimate the timelines and extent weeks, about percent of to which the45 policies of the the firms indicated in the survey that regulator will remain available. they are r likely Some e s p o nto d eimplement n t s s i m p al y plan to lay off between 25the percent thought that there was need and 50 percent of their from current for detailed guidelines the governmentifand Ghana employees, the Bank crisis ofpersists onnext theyear. implement ation of till measures in place to curb the Speakingput during a discussion impact of the pandemic. of the findings of the survey, the In Executive their view,Officer clear (CEO) guidance Chief of was missing, and though this AGI, Mr. Seth Twum-Akwaboah, c o u “tax l d bwaivers e s h a or r e dtemporary during said stakeholder consultation, they tax breaks, stimulus package could not fully embed the from government, reduction new of policies in operational strategy corporate tax, flexible loans from without a detailed documented commercial banks, electricity and directive. water subsidies are in this order the most important things firms Post-pandemic banking expect to alleviate the impact of COVID-19.”

When asked by the audit firm Mr. Twum-Akwaboah added about how the pandemic� s that firms across the various

response was to enforce remote and ensure less-paper operations working while realigning workers� and requirements for social roles. distancing. In the long run, these While the majority, 69 percent, measures may result in possible of respondents indicated that layoffs for some whose jobs remote working will become a become automated,” the report permanent option going forward, said.

Commenting on the findings of there was general consensus that the new norm will ultimately lead the survey, which was on the to the shedding of workers whose theme “The new normal� banks� response to COVID-19”, PwC� s jobs have become automated. “ M o s t b a n k s i n t e n d t o Country Senior Partner, Vish permanently incorporate remote Ashiagbor, cautioned that for working as an option available to workers that survive the digital staff based on their roles. 12.5� of p ro g re s s i o n , t hey h ave to banks confirmed that they have upgrade their skills to remain Mr. Seth Twum-Akwaboah, CEO, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) already begun and will continue relevant. sectors need support to the services and manufacturing to realign the timely job roles and work increase production, as most sectors. In terms of company size, of them are currently operating small and medium companies below their normal capacity. bore the brunt of the pandemic “Government must make a compared with large firms. dedicated effort to scale up and However, the CEO noted that ensure policy-driven local content in quarter three, a significant in contracts and procurement improvement was observed across key sectors. This will help across sectors and groups of stimulate demand for goods and companies by size. services to speed up recovery “The services sector is ADVERTISE WITH faster, US with 33 percent while developing local supply recovering TEL: +233 024 2742 chains,” he said. of 212 businesses moving out from The construction sector, it was worse-than-normal situation— www.thebusiness24online.net revealed, was affected more by and same for the medium size the pandemic compared with companies,” he said.

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Gov’t domestic borrowing costs inch upwards Continued from cover Between the end of July, when yields were at their lowest point for the year, to November 9, the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day bill yields increased by 11 basis points (bps), 8 bps and 15 bps, respectively.

At the end of July, the 91day, 182-day and 364-day bill yields were at 13.97 percent, 14.05 percent and 16.82 percent, respectively, but have increased since then to 14.06, 14.13 and 16.97 percent this week.

Yields on medium-term treasuries during the period increased by 25bps and 15bps for the 2-year note and 3-year bond, respectively. The yield on the 2-year note rose from 18.5 percent to 18.75 percent, while the yield on the 3-year bond increased from 18.85 percent to 19 percent.

But despite the increases since July, on a year-to-date basis, the short- and medium-term treasury yields have contracted. The 91day, 182-day and 364-day bill yields have contracted by 63 bps,

102 bps and 93 bps, respectively, while the yield on the 2-year note has fallen by 220 bps.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in the 2020 mid-year budget statement, indicated that domestic financing of the fiscal deficit will amount to GH₵25.6bn, which represents 6.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Responding to the development, Mr. Courage Kingsley Martey, Senior Economist with Databank, said the market currently is anticipating further upward pressure on yields in the coming weeks, although this may be tamed by government’s target to keep yields low.

“While we expect the upward pressure to persist on yields across the maturity spectrum for treasury debt, we also believe the treasury is very mindful of its cost of borrowing. As a result, we expect yields to remain around current levels until end-2020, albeit with potential for a slight uptick due to the prevailing domestic refinancing pressure.”

Foreign portfolio investors

Following earlier concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Ghana’s external account balances, there was a substantial sell-off by foreign portfolio investors, which reduced the total foreign holdings of domestic debt to GH₵24.8bn in June from GH₵29.1bn in February, according to the Central Securities Depository (CSD).

Since then, there have been a slight recovery and stability in foreign investor holdings, which stood at GH₵25.5bn in August.

“We believe that most of the election-related outflows had

already happened together with the earlier outflows during the second quarter of 2020,” Mr. Martey said.

He added that for the remaining weeks of 2020, the market expects the generally stable position to persist.

“Foreign inflows are being hindered by risk aversion, underpinned by Ghana’s upcoming elections and continued rise in global COVID cases. However, we also do not anticipate any sizable outflows as the [cedi’s] stability against the all odds seems to have eased investor concerns,” he said.

New cybersecurity law to detect early warning risks Continued from cover The recently passed cybersecurity law requires that a Cyber Security Authority is established with the objective of regulating cybersecurity activities in the country, prevent, manage and respond to cybersecurity threats.

The Authority is also required to manage the Cyber Security Fund, as well as ensure the proper and effective performance of the functions of the Authority.

Monies from the Fund are required to be applied to relevant activities that the board may determine including research and development in cybersecurity and support of domestic, regional and international capacity building exercises in cybersecurity.

Threats Despite the huge benefits derived from the use of the internet, there has been a surge in the number of cybersecurity incidents in the country including

Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, Communications Minister

ransomware, cyber theft, banking fraud, cyber espionage and other cyber-attacks targeted at critical information infrastructure.

The new law mandates the Authority to conduct periodically, cybersecurity

awareness programmes involving government representatives and private sector stakeholders in order to promote public awareness and education on cybersecurity in public and private sectors.

A research and development programme to promote the development of cybersecurity in the country is expected to be spearheaded by the Authority.

Additionally, a Sectoral Computer Emergency Response Team is required to submit to the Authority, a monthly report covering the operations of the sectoral computer emergency response team are complied with, the bill captured.

These cybersecurity incidents have permeated critical sectors of the country including the energy, telecommunications, banking and financial sectors and have caused disruptions in essential services that have the potential to undermine the security and economy of the country.

A successful economy is hinged on a secured, safe and resilient national digital ecosystem.

Cybersecurity is therefore very critical to the economic development of the country and essential to the protection of the rights of individuals within the national digital ecosystem.

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News

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

Virus crisis to bite retail sector, spur industrial growth – Moody’s

By Benson AFFUL affulbenson@gmail.com

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nternational ratings agency Moody’s says demand for inner-city office space and housing is likely to be materially lower after the virus crisis, stressing this will also affect the growth of online shopping which will have a lasting impact on the retail sector.

The travel sector, including airlines and hotels, will similarly be transformed, Moody’s said.

While these far-reaching transformations could ultimately create more efficient economic structures or open up new industries, the social and economic costs will prove challenging for policymakers, Moody’s said.

The rating agency, however, cautioned government to strengthen their institutional framework in order to withstand and respond effectively to the virus crisis in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic seen in other countries.

“The strength of a government’s institutional framework is a critical

driver of its ability to withstand and respond effectively to crises.

In the current crisis, governments that are better able to develop and implement policies that effectively support the economy at the lowest fiscal cost – which will generally be those with the highest institutional strength scores – will tend to fare better,” Moody’s said.

Conversely, the rating agency said in countries with weaker institutional frameworks, particularly those with less developed financial markets and limited demand for local-

currency government debt, measures perceived as debt monetization can very quickly undermine credibility and create instability.

“The inevitable alternative of high reliance on external funding, most often in foreign currencies, implies costly and volatile borrowing costs for these governments, especially if they have a weak record of effective policymaking,” it added.

The rating agency said highly rated sovereigns with strong economies and institutions and low borrowing costs have been

and will remain better able to withstand the impact of the crisis.

Their credit profiles are consequently more resilient and their ratings likely to prove more stable. Conversely, those exposed via any of the channels previously identified – through a sustained fall in growth and rise in debt, or through exposure to energy and commodities prices or to refinancing risk – are more exposed, Moody’s said.

Ghana was rated B3 negative

by Moody’s and is among the countries most exposed to such risk.

Vivo Energy Ghana gets ISO 9001:2015 certification

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ivo Energy Ghana, the marketers and distributers of Shell branded products and services has been awarded ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System) certification by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

The International Standards Organization is the global, independent and nongovernmental standard-

setting body, comprising of representatives from 165 national standard bodies.

The ISO certification is an important milestone for Vivo Energy Ghana and demonstrates its commitment to continually seek excellence in the Procurement, Distribution and Marketing of Shell branded fuels and lubricants across the country as a key player in the

downstream petroleum sector.

Commenting on the certification, the Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Ben Hassan Ouattara said the certification reinforces Vivo Energy Ghana’s position as the most respected energy business in Ghana by ensuring quality standards and complying with all applicable regulations.

“This is an important

achievement for us because aside the provision of quality Shell products and services we offer to our cherished customers, the ISO 9001:2015 certification reaffirms our consistency in products and services delivery that meet customers and regulatory requirements, enhance customer satisfaction and demonstrate to customers’ conformity to a specified Quality Management System requirement.

He added, “achieving the ISO 9001:2015 certification will enable a major player like Vivo Energy Ghana to meet our customers’ needs and expectations through the continuous pursuit of innovation and excellence in order to improve our product and services for our cherished customers and stakeholders.”

He further expressed his gratitude to the entire team especially the ISO Project Team for the passion, commitment and selfless support towards the achievement of this important certification.

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News

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

50 students trained under Huawei’s Seed for the Future programme

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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uawei has successfully trained 50 university students from three tertiary institutions across the country in STEM, under its Seed for the Future Programme.

The intensive five-day experience, which was held online, provided students with the opportunity to expand their scope in ICTs whiles advocating

more female participation.

Speaking at the virtual closing ceremony of the Seed for the Future programme, Geoffrey Li, Deputy Managing Director, Huawei Ghana, said: “This year, through the hard work of our abled partners, 50 students across all universities in the country had the opportunity to experience latest technologies in ICT, dialogue with tech experts, learn from the best and build on their knowledge and skills in ICT.”

“We hope the seeds sown in you our talents will not only be useful to you as individuals but to your institutions, society and the country at large,” he added.

In view of the company’s gender balance policy, which provides equal opportunities for all, the Deputy Managing noted this year’s Seeds for the Future Program ensured gender balance by encouraging more female participation, which witnessed over 45 percent of the graduands

Mr. Geoffrey Li, Deputy Managing Director, Huawei Ghana

being women.

“For the first time in the history of the Seeds for the Future Program in Ghana, there are more ladies than men among the top 10 performers,” Mr. Li added.

Students were introduced to new technologies, and equip with necessary skills to enable them identify and harness new opportunities in ICT while offering them the opportunity to meet and connect with top ICT professionals in the tech space.

So far, Huawei’s Seeds for the future programme has benefitted 110 university students. Of this, 60 students in STEM were trained in 2019, while in this years’ programme 50 more have been trained.

This year, beneficiaries experienced a virtual tour of the Huawei Head Quarters in China as they were taken through advanced courses like the Internet of Things (IoT), Cybersecurity, Digital Trade, Digital Economy, Cross-Cultural Management, Strategic Management, Leadership Skills and other open ecosystem trainings.

Participants also got the opportunity to experience Chinese Culture and hi-tech Huawei laboratories through various scheduled virtual tours as well as live interactions with industry leaders in Ghana and China.

G4S Security Services MD inducted into Ghana Corporate Hall of Fame

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he Managing Director of G4S Security Services, Michael Gyapah, has been inducted into the Ghana Corporate Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony was held at the 2nd Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame event held Friday, October 31, 2020, at the Marriott Hotel in Accra.

The Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame is conceptualized as a grouping of selected current and former Chairpersons and Overall Top CEOs in Ghana’s Business Sector whose accomplishments deserve to be recognised and celebrated for posterity to commemorate and emulate.

Mr. Gyapah was inducted with fifteen other accomplished Ghanaian businessmen and distinguished chief executive officers of state institutions and private organizations.

The event was attended by invitees comprising government officials, Ministers of the Economic Sector, and CEOs of regulatory agencies and top-tier CEOs.

Michael Gyapah, left, receiving his certificate

A citation presented to Mr. Gyapah acknowledged his knack for business and leadership capabilities while supporting corporate Ghana and the Ghana economy in general.

With a specialisation in the development of security solutions and services, G4S Security Services has a workforce of over 7,000 and continues to provide Manned security services,

electronic security solutions, cash management solutions, and secured movement of valuables.

As a result of strict adherence to best practices and good corporate relations, the company is a well-respected member of the Association of Private Security Companies and contributes well to the economy of Ghana as a top employer.

Commenting on his induction,

Mr. Gyapah said: “I am elated.

Clearly, this is a testament to our business’ contribution as one of the biggest employers in Ghana and the many lives we’ve touched in the nearly 20 years of operations in Ghana.

We aim to expand and diversify to create more opportunities for the Ghanaian youth while supporting and contributing to the continual growth of the Ghanaian Economy.”

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Feature

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

The value of partnerships in Africa post COVID-19

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s the world strives to kickstart economic activity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of partnership could not be more critical. The words Africa and partnership are synonymous. The concept of ubuntu runs deep in our DNA. Yet, what does this mean from a business perspective?

Authentic, broad-based economic recovery relies on a thread of partnership through all business and banking engagements on the continent, pulling together financial institutions, corporations, governments and communities to co-create a sustainable future.

This requires concerted effort in understanding what African economies require to thrive, and interrogating the role of the African bank in this process.

COVID-19, and its resulting disruption, has brought this issue into the spotlight. Fraying economies need urgent stimulus, and banks need to act, fast.

At RMB we have internalised the concept of partnership, and are continually investigating how African banks and global institutions can partner in innovative ways. This has already shaped and has gained significant traction in the way we have partnered and funded our domestic economy and the wider ecosystem, but also in the way we have partnered with banks and development financial institutions, large and small, across Africa through funding, solutioning and keeping the wheels of trade turning to ensure continuity of business.

Finding the COVID-19 silver lining COVID-19 has had a devastating impact across the globe, with no country left unscathed.

Businesses, SMEs, and corporates have all had their capacity decimated by the pandemic. The impact of low economic growth is felt everywhere from government challenges, stunted capacity development and budgetary constraints.

Many African countries are largely commodity dependent, which has been understandably frozen by COVID-19, leading to negative GDP growth and job losses. As a continent, we are at a crossroads. Governments and the private sector have an urgent responsibility to create employment.

With World Bank data estimating that SMEs contribute

up to 60% of all employment and as much as 40% of the GDP in emerging economies, it is clear that budgetary spend should be channeled to stimulate this sector.

Trade (and the facilitation thereof ) therefore plays a critical role in emerging markets. When regional confirming banks such as RMB foster trade in emerging markets, it assists thousands of underlying businesses that would not usually be large enough to access the global trading system.

This role has become even more significant in today’s global economic climate, in which some global banks have begun to reduce their support for trade finance due to de-risking.

In addition to global trade opportunities, COVID-19 has also introduced a huge opportunity for Africa to transform financial services, bringing about massive, impactful digitisation of the sector. Redefining economies post-pandemic gives banking institutions the opportunity to reduce cost in doing banking through digital measures, and promote greater financial inclusion. COVID-19 forced many unbanked or digitally illiterate consumers to move to digital, and empowered the vulnerable to bank online. Countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Mozambique all boast high digital adoption levels that continue to grow. Wherever each African country is in its digitisation journey, banks have a responsibility to serve each territory with innovative online solutions.

Rebuilding frayed economies – the role of the bank Digital banking and increased opportunities to trade for SMEs do not constitute a panacea for the number of issues facing African economies. Rebuilding the damage is going to take time. Banks operating in Africa can contribute to rebuilding economies by listening carefully to the markets and devising truly African solutions.

Development finance institution (DFI) financing has been explored by both governments and companies in several countries as a good source for low- and middle-income countries where the commercial, political or regulatory risks are too high for private capital investment. However, proving that investments will have a positive developmental impact remains difficult for private

businesses. A significant factor limiting access to support from global DFIs is that they have specific rules and regulations that some developing countries cannot yet adhere to.

Both DFIs and commercial banks have the ability to assist in rebuilding economies, even though both their terms of measurement and contribution are completely different. As a sector, development finance will focus on keeping people in their jobs, which means keeping SMEs running and in business as an integral part of sustaining the economy.

DFIs also need to focus on keeping critical institutions going that have an intrinsic socioeconomic impact during the pandemic, such as healthcare.

In the spirit of true partnership, this means not just channeling investment into the issues faced by developing economies, but becoming part of the ecosystem and an active participant in solving complex challenges.

How banks can partner for good Commercial banks can take great strides in assisting economies by building mechanisms that develop debt capital markets in Africa. RMB’s partnership with African Development Bank and CDC has enabled us to mitigate risk and assist African countries and companies with trade financing.

This allows an individual SME to scale his business from USD 100 million to USD 300 million, achieving scale and creating jobs they wouldn’t have otherwise.

Another challenge we have identified is that of derisking.

RMB has taken the lead, working with African bank on fulfilling the derisking role for African SMEs that may not have fit an acceptable risk profile in traditional financing models. RMB is also working with Citi and Lloyds on the Africa Gateway initiative in order to create more financial inclusion.

This captures the essence of what partnership means on the continent – industry peers working together with economies towards a common objective.

Supporting sustainability through with IFC When two parties join forces, partnership can operate on a large scale. In its partnership with IFC Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) in Africa, RMB has facilitated trade and commodity

transactions in the region to the value of $450 million. Through the GTFP, IFC actively pursues partnerships in support of its growth objectives around the world, in this case Sub-Saharan Africa.

Partnering with a development financier in this manner, RMB can follow its mandate to invest responsibly and enrich emerging economies. The deals facilitated

by RMB relate directly to infrastructural or commoditiesbased development, and create much-needed employment in local economies and communities. For example, RMB has assisted businesses across Sub Saharan Africa with import of capital goods to help with the development of infrastructure, medicine and food.

Another partnerships that really makes sense is the First (Facility for the Investment in Renewable Small Transactions), led by KfW development bank and supported by RMB. Under this banner, our team has been able to achieve significant commercial successes by aggregating clean energy projects that would not usually qualify for financing owing to their risk profiles, and share risk significantly within these projects. This created the capacity to fund smaller projects and empowered entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully and sustainably to the South African economy.

At RMB’s inception, our founders placed an emphasis on trust and endearing partnerships.

This age-old concept stood us well over the years and continues to evolve alongside the current economic context. It is up to us, our banking peers and our network of relationships.

We will not rest, we take our role as economic partners seriously, and must consistently interrogate what that means in the African economies in which we operate.

By Suresh Chaytoo, Sector Head for Banks and DFIs at Rand Merchant Bank

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Special Report on Maritime and Logistics Sector

THEBUSINESS24ONLINE.NET

WEDNESDAY, 11TH NOVEMBER, 2020

Trade-offs will be crucial for a resilient maritime sector amid pandemic

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

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he coronavirus pandemic has had a disruptive impact on the global supply chain, particularly on the port and shipping business and like all port nations, Ghana has had its fair share of the viral sting.

On the global front, the shipping sector’s recovery has been tied to the ongoing reorganisation of economic production system which could push shipping companies to rationalise services on specific routes whilst reinforcing intra-regional maritime transport networks, in the longer term.

In Ghana, strict adherence to protocols to curb the virus’ spread had a significant impact on the domestic shipping industry with unprecedented drops in both imports and exports for the first half of the year.

Official first-quarter trade figures released by the Ghana Shippers Authority have revealed the severity of the impact of Covid-19 on the country’s maritime sector, with significant declines in all aspects of the business.

The total volume of cargo— comprising both containerised and general cargo—handled by the country’s two seaports in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by a whopping 44.9 percent yearon-year, the data showed.

As shown by the industry per-

formance for the half year, all service providers also incurred losses in their various fields.

Shipping lines, as movers of Ghana’s maritime industry, are still counting their loss even as they continue to offer their seamless services due to the cushioning they give to the fiscal soundness and resilience of an import-laden economy.

Shipping lines shoulder the nation’s international trade aspirations and with their never-ending voyages, they cart both imports— which keeps millions of traders in permanent employment, and exports—from which the nation gets its most treasured forex earnings.

Despite feeling the brunt of the virus with blank sailings—where sailings have had to be cancelled— and, in most cases, sailing at half of their capacity, they have provided comfort and convenience to Ghanaian shippers on their loss.

The transport logistics sub-sector and by extension all the transit trade facilitators were not spared either. The usual energy and bustle usually witnessed at the Tema Port Transit Terminal drowned as the pandemic pulled the brakes on the haulage business.

Shocks to supply chains and reduced industrial activities that curtailed cargo traffic through the port mean there are fewer products to be moved by both transit and domestic haulers, and this

impacted harshly on businesses on that side of the shipping value chain.

Marine labour were not spared either with Ghanaian seafarers stuck on vessels battling the stress of isolation while those on land continue to rue their lost incomes as the pandemic rages.

The worldwide lockdowns and bans on travel have seen some seafarers stuck on vessels because they are not signing off and since crew change has been halted, those at home cannot go on board vessels.

Thousands of seafarers remain trapped at sea, on containerships and other cargo vessels, by travel restrictions—which is a threat to supply chains, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).

This is certainly not the time for specific or specialised favours for one particular player considering the severity of harm to the sector and its constituents.

At a time that shipping lines were reeling under the shocks of the pandemic, shippers were making some big demands; specifically, they wanted charges such as demurrage to shipping lines, rent to terminal operators and warehouse rent and interest charges payable to Customs all waived.

Much as shippers genuinely needed those waivers to reduce their cost and grow their profit margins, other service provid-

ers—like the shipping lines will need such non-tariff revenue to enable them continue to serve the interest of the industry.

Similarly, it will be extremely harsh for ports and terminal operators to adjust their charges and fees upwards but the odds will go against them should they fail to do so.

In such a situation, industry players will be required to make some sacrifices for their survival and continual dependence on each other’s services.

One thing that must be pointed out clearly is the fact that the pandemic has not spared any aspect of the shipping industry, and for that reason, it will be selfish and unacceptable for a section or group of players to demand favours or fail to accommodate their loss at the expense of other stakeholders.

Generally, we can say that a resilient maritime sector has set sail to explore opportunities off the nation’s shores but it requires the needed policy directions and supportive action from industry stakeholders to ship home the needed economic dividend that will cushion the country’s growth agenda.

But to reposition the sector for sustainable growth post-pandemic, consensus and some level of tough sacrifices that must be made which all parties must tolerate and endure.

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Ghana Link Network Services Ltd leading the future of trade

G

hana Link Network Services Ltd (GLNS), the Ghanaian-owned company was incorporated in 2001 and initially went into the business of destination inspection in 2003 and continued to expand on its product lines around cross border trade and continue to evolve.

GLNS in partnership with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority spearheaded the implementation of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) under the framework of the UNIPASS solution, an end-toend trade facilitation, cargo inventory management, security protection and Revenue enhancement solution.

ICUMS was born out of a strategic partnership between GLNS CUPIA to provide solutions to government. In order for a country to facilitate trade, maximize and ultimately optimize revenue collection as well as ensure safety and security at the borders, it needs a comprehensive and modern trade facilitation solution to manage these functions effectively and efficiently.

On a global scale therefore, the Korea Customs Management System (UNIPASS) provides a holistic solution that ensures a paperless working environment, revenue assurance and safety and security. It is based on high achievements of the UNIPASS that ICUMS was born out of the system.

The technology has been built to suit the need of Ghana; the government changed the name from UNI-PASS to the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

The Korea UNI-PASS is internationally recognised for protection of intellectual property (IPR) and this is critical for Ghana, especially as the government through the Ministry of Trade leads a new age of industrialization by working hard to set up factories in all the districts in Ghana, known as the One District One Factory (1D1F).

It is a modern and worldclass technology acknowledged by international bodies such as

the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Bank, and World Economic Forum (WEF), which is used to facilitate trade, ensure supply chain security and increase revenue.

ICUMS also offers importers and exporters an integrated system of filing all documents and helps businesses to send information regarding consignment simultaneously to each agency concerned for swift response in trade facilitation.

Through the clearance management system in the ICUMS, all customs businesses are currently conducted in a paperless environment with real time cargo tracking through the cargo management system (CMS) whilst it is able to collect bills of lading from shipping lines and agents as well as airway bills airlines.

Consignments can be tracked by authorized person with various tracking numbers and options.

It is important to point out that with ICUMS provides all stakeholders the ability to access relevant information as well as able to check the status of the cargo at each stage of the cargo clearance chain.

By way of information, the ICUMS was first deployed from the start of March 2020 at selected customs land frontiers.

The next phase of deployment was at Takoradi Port from April 1, 2020. Kotoka International Airport (KIA) also went live from April at the close of the month of April, 2020.

The next phase of deployment before going live nationwide was done in May 2020, for downstream petroleum operations. The final phase of the deployment at Tema Port and the rest of the country on June 1, 2020. The deployment of the ICUMS has covered all customs regimes and processes for sea, air, land import, export and transit-related transactions.

In terms of capacity building, we have trained over 2,000 internal stakeholders, made up of customs officers, internal auditors and post-clearance audit staff, as well as some 5,500 external stakeholders which include freight forwarders.

The aim of the ICUMS is to continue to build strong partnership with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as well as other stakeholder to organise cross –border trade information and appropriately make it available to all users for the purpose of revenue collection enhancement, protection of National Security, as well as facilitation of genuine trade.

In the past 3 full months since the nationwide deployment of ICUMS, revenue collection has increased significantly.

In just three months of operation, the ICUMS according to the ICUMS implementation team chairman, who is also the Sector Commander of James Town Collection of Customs, AC Emmanuel Ohene, the system had generated some GH₵4.6 billion as part of the GH₵6.9 billion collected by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) between January and August 2020.

ICUMS processed more than 193,000 bills of entry (BOEs) from March to August

2020. In this, Pre-Manifest Declaration (PMD) constituted 86.71percent and 46.02percent of BOE exited. Tema Collection processed 47.07percent, KIA Collection 16.07percent, Aflao -9.67percent, and Bolga 9.15percent.

To conclude, ICUMS provides the required tools that makes cross border trading activities faster, simpler, more effective and efficient. ICUMS seeks to offer an ideal trade management solution that provide a distinct positive impact on the dayto-day operations of ports by proving the users with complete and timely information, important notifications as well as accurate analysis of data.

Timely exchange of accurate and proper information with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders ensures benefits for all stakeholders and the country as a whole.

In the simplest form, ICUMS solution organises cross border trade information and make the information promptly and easily available to all authorised users and stakeholders.

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Ghana’s ports -- its best bet on AfCFTA

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

G

hana’s maritime sector is witnessing a sea change with aggressive investments in ports infrastructure and trade facilitation by both government and private financiers -repositioning the critical economic area for workable longterm commercial success.

Tema Port, the nation’s busiest and biggest port, is among the best performing ports across the West and Central Africa subregion in all the key port efficiency performance indicators including vessel turnaround time and trade facilitation. There is also a continual effort by government and stakeholders to improve other areas of concern such as the cost and ease of doing business.

In the new MPS Terminal 3, for instance, the country boasts one of the best performing terminals in West and Central Africa; a modern and fully automated port infrastructure that could drive the nation’s aspirations on all fronts of trade.

Lying 230-kilometres off the capital is the Takoradi Port, which is gradually being shifted from an export-based port into an oil and gas services hub with enhanced capacity for large scale impex business.

A multi-million-dollar investment from the indigenous firm, Ibistek Ghana Limited, will see enhanced commercial activity at the port enclave with consequential effect on the socioeconomic enhancement of the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis.

Admittedly, the ports

sector holds immeasurable opportunities for direct industry actors as well as businesses that rely on its output, but its most critical role is hugely aligned to the country’s participation in the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

AfCFTA provides the opportunity for Africa to create the world’s largest free trade area with the potential to unite 1.3 billion people in a US$2.5 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development.

The main objectives of the AfCFTA are to create a continental market for goods and services, with free movement of people and capital, and pave the way for creating a Customs Union. It will also grow intraAfrican trade through better harmonisation and coordination of trade liberalisation across the continent.

In terms of reliable infrastructure for trade facilitation, Ghana’s ports give fillip to the nation’s dreams of the single African market and how it could be leveraged to promote growth and wealth building.

A number of governmentled initiatives including the One District, One Factory (1D1F), which primarily seeks to promote valueaddition amid diversification of the country’s export base clearly tells the nation’s readiness for the continent-wide market.

Also, there are ongoing discussions on the development of new strategic industries such as garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals, automobile assembly and component manufacturing, petrochemical, iron and steel among others, with the hope of diversifying

the economy beyond traditional dependence on cocoa, gold and timber.

It must be stated that the viability of all these programmes and the survival of the factories that are springing up from the 1D1F initiative will be hinged on our ability to move the byproducts onto ready markets off the shores of the country.

At the heart of government’s aggressive industrial drive which is in sync with the AfCFTA dream is the goal to transform the nation’s manufacturing and agribusiness sectors to accelerate inclusive economic growth and job creation, whilst fostering competitiveness of local businesses, both small and large.

And if the crux of the AfCFTA is the creation of linkages for trade in regionally produced goods to spark the much touted industrialisation to create jobs and wealth to grow the continent, then Ghana’s trump card for market, in terms of direct economic impact from its trade and investment transactions with its African neighbours, is its ready port infrastructure.

A United Nations’ Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) assessment of the expected impact of goodstrade liberalisation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) treaty has shown significant economic gains for Ghana with strong potential to promote industrialisation.

UNECA’s assessment tipped the country’s exports in 2040 to increase between 1.7 percent and 2 percent, equivalent to US$867m and US$1bn respectively, relative to the baseline situation.

With AfCFTA, the continent’s

exports in 2040 will grow between 1.5 percent (US$40bn) and 2.2 percent (US$56bn), depending on the ambition of the liberalisation reform.

Given that much of the trade will be seaborne, the relevance of Ghana’s ports to the single market has been boosted by the decision of some of the big liners calling at our ports to make Tema Port their transshipment hub.

Hapag-Lloyd, for instance, has already announced the Tema Port as its transshipment hub in West Africa.

By this arrangement, the Port of Tema will be the first port of call for their vessels stocking cargo that are destined for other ports within the sub-region before the cargo will be moved by smaller vessels to neighbouring ports by sea.

This will provide further logistics and cross-trade opportunities within the subSaharan African markets in an efficient, safe and secure environment.

Within the context of the AfCFTA, this development will lead to a reduction in cargo transport costs, increased trade volume for Ghana, with enhanced connectivity to the continental market.

It is therefore not out of place to suggest that we have the ready port infrastructure that will provide the requisite linkages and to move locally-produced goods to markets across the continent.

Backed with the provision of reliable support systems, notably rail and road connectivity, and collaboration from the private sector and civil society, the nation is sustainably armed for the single continental market.

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Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal: a gamechanger for Ghana’s transit business

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

P

resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of the $330 million Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal (BILT) project near Kumasi on 5th November, 2020.

The project, which will be completed in 2023, is expected to increase the movement of goods and services in the country and also facilitate transit trade between Ghana and the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

It is an ultra-modern integrated logistics terminal consisting of a container service yard (CSY), container freight station (CFS), reefer, warehouses, truck parking area, truckers’ facilities, fuel station, commercial complex, freight forwarders offices, and facilities for postal, telecommunication, utilities services, among others.

After 18 years lull in getting a concessionaire for the BILT, the Ashanti Port Services Limited, a consortium of Afum Quality Limited of Ghana and DSS Associate of South Korea, finally won the bid to bring life to the project.

The concession agreement will last for 30 years including a threeyear construction period for the development of various project facilities on a 413-acre land in Boankra.

The BILT, previously christened Boankra Inland Port, is purposed to be a dry port extension of the Tema Port, specifically to move transit cargo to the middle belt of the country with resultant reduction in the congestion situation at the nation’s busiest port.

Aside reducing the cost of shipping to importers and exporters in the middle and northern part of the country and the Sahel subregion, the facility has also been tipped to serve as a catalyst for Ghana’s export trade, especially in the carting of traditional and nontraditional exports including cola nuts, shea butter, cocoa and cocoa products as well as wood and wood products.

Within the context of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Boankra ‘dry port’ is another masterstroke that will facilitate Ghana’s participation in the single continental market for maximum gain.

“The AfCFTA would be buoyed by the construction of the BILT which will ensure an effective and efficient transport system, especially as Ghana is playing host to the Secretariat.

The BILT, and other similar infrastructure projects, such as the development of the Keta Port, the Tema-Akosombo Railway Line, and the ongoing port expansion projects in Tema and Takoradi Ports, would make a positive contribution in ensuring that Ghana derives maximum benefits from the AfCFTA,” the president aptly stated in his remarks.

With an anticipated surge in commercial activities, the dry port will open up the middle belt economy with the creation of jobs and wealth for the youth of the area.

The project, the brainchild of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, has outlasted the reign of two visionary leaders of the institution

namely Mr. Magnus Teye Addico and Dr. Kofi Mbiah, who made tremendous contributions towards its realisation.

It is therefore gladdening that it is finally seeing the light of day under the leadership, led by Ms. Benonita Bismarck, whose dedication and exploits at the authority has won her the award for “Woman of Excellence—Public Sector” at this year’s Ghana Business Awards.

To her, the facility will bring port services closer to the doorsteps of shippers in the northern half of Ghana as well as those in neighbouring geographically disadvantaged states.

The BILT, she added was intended improve the operational efficiency of the Tema and Takoradi Ports as well as the provision of employment opportunities in the inland port supply chain.

“These objectives are still largely tenable and it is my hope that the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal will deliver these and more for the benefit of our country,” Ms. Bismarck said at the sod-cutting ceremony.

When completed, the BILT will be the pillar to the country’s transit trade ambitions as it will offer the right mix of convenience, affordability and proximity that is needed to win more business from our trading partners from the landlocked countries, making it a gamechanger for that aspect of the shipping business.

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Adam Imoru Ayarna

Robert Oram

The liner-shipper bromance: a forward-looking partnership

A

s movers of Ghana’s maritime industry, they braved the odds of an anomalous pandemic to offer their seamless services to help maintain the fiscal soundness and resilience of an import-laden economy.

Shipping lines shoulder the nation’s international trade aspirations, and with their never-ending voyages, they cart both imports—which keeps millions of traders in permanent employment, and exports—from which the nation gets its most treasured forex earnings.

Despite feeling the brunt of the virus with blank sailings— where sailings have had to be cancelled—and, in most cases, sailing at half of their capacity, they have provided comfort and convenience to Ghanaian shippers to their loss.

It is mostly evident that the industry romance between shipping lines and other maritime stakeholders is firmed up and with the same level of reciprocity, Ghana’s maritime business could be set for even greater heights.

President of the Shipowners and Agents Association of Ghana (SOAAG) and Country Manager for Pacific International Lines (PIL) Robert Oram and his deputy Adam Imoru Ayarna share more insights on this forward-looking partnership…

Q Shipping lines play a pivotal role in Ghana's international trade. Tell us about how your members have contributed to the nation’s development journey.

A&R Considering the reliance on imports by Ghana the role of shipping lines in providing access to key markets is crucial as well as providing service to move the major export commodities from

Ghana such as Cocoa and Cashew which generate much needed foreign currency.

Shipping is a much more cost-effective form of transport especially for high volume commodities. The importance of shipping to the country is clear when you consider the biggest and most important infrastructure project in the recent memory is the port development by MPS. You will be aware that global trade was heavily impacted during the early months of COVID 19, but member lines continued to call Ghana with some blank sailings and other sailings at less than half capacity, costs associated with these calls were not passed on to the Ghanaian economy but absorbed by the lines.

Not forgetting the extended free days and hugely discounted demurrage given to importers during and immediately after the lockdown.

All these were significant costs to the lines and we should not forget the protocols put in place by the lines with the aim to protect both our staff and customers whilst still ensuring that we served the market without any serious down time.

Q To what extent has the expansions to Ghana's ports infrastructure enhanced efficiency of the shipping business for liners calling at our ports?

A&R MPS terminal 3 has improved efficiency of vessel handling and through the increased draft has opened the opportunity to bring larger vessels to Tema. Longer term this may lead to costs savings through economies of scale.

Q What is your position on the Africa Continental Free Trade

Area and how are shipping lines repositioning themselves to drive this novel agenda?

A&R Most shipping lines are active in all the main African markets so will need little repositioning. In the end shipping lines will react by adjusting schedules where necessary in response to changes in customer activity.

For example, if customers in the extreme East or West of Ghana opts to ship via Togo or Ivory Coast because the overall cost is cheaper this may lead to an adjustment in the market and therefore require changes by the lines to meet the new market.

Q Some shipping lines have named Tema Port as their transshipment hub for their Africa operations. What are the direct benefits of such arrangements to Ghanaian shippers?

A&R With lines utilising Tema as a transshipment hub it should provide greater connectivity to a wider range of markets both within Africa and beyond. Given the previous question concerning ACFTA better connectivity with other African countries in this new environment will be key to maximizing the benefits of such an agreement. A free trade agreement with the rest of Africa is rather meaningless unless you can get your goods to those markets.

With Ghana's infrastructure its shippers may be poised to take advantage of the FTA. It should be noted that the current regulations affect transshipment negatively from a cost perspective compared to other similar ports, we expect the authorities to appreciate these facts which has have been raised severally to them, review regulations and processes with its

direct effect on cost.

Naming or targeting Tema port as a hub and actualising it to its fullest are two different issues, but we are confident that once the transshipment regime/cost is reviewed the full potential of Tema becoming an important hub can be realised.

Transshipment is driven by cost, ease and efficiency.

Q In this time of Covid, what do you seek from government, in terms of reliefs and regulations, to maximise the productivity of shipping lines and the resulting impact on the Ghanaian economy?

I do not believe lines are looking for financial support but stability in terms of local regulations etc. make it easier to plan and run a business as you have security in the environment for a number of years.

The government seem to have done a good job especially when we see the impact of Covid on many countries outside of Africa but in terms of impact on the Ghanaian economy I would suggest this is yet to be seen fully.

Import volumes seem to have been resilient but export volumes have been hit and the impact when Government has to begin paying for the measures put in place to combat Covid are unclear.

Q What is the outlook for Ghana's seaborne trade; how brighter or gloomy is the situation?

A&R Given that government is forecasting a return to strong growth next year and the majority of Ghana's economy is based on imports it suggests that seaborne trade to and from Ghana should continue to thrive.

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efficiency levels without compromising on security at Port. To facilitate and save valuable time for our customers a secure online portal open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week has been made available, which allows customers to make appointments through our “Truck Appointment System” (TAS) for their visit to the MPS Terminal 3 at their convenience. This has reduced cost and waiting times as compared to a manual process.

CSI Meridian Port Services Limited (MPS) is a Joint Venture between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Meridian Port Holdings Limited, with Bolloré Transport & Logistics and APM Terminals as the two main shareholders. MPS is the leading Container Terminal/Port in West Africa by virtue of its commitment to continuous improvement in the quality of service provided to stakeholders. This is enabled by the shareholders commitment to investments that are of long-term value to the business. MPS also has a high regard for Health, Safety, Environment and deploying the highest standards in safeguarding men and machines. Our foresight results in our prompt response to changes in the world container market. Our biggest response is the USD 1.5 Billion investment into the Port Expansion Project involving construction of a 3,550-metre long breakwater and an access channel harbouring 4 deep-water berths with a draft of 16m to accommodate larger vessels with sophisticated port handling equipment. This also includes office buildings and a workshop from which operations of the Port will be handled aimed at providing Ghana with a world class harbour infrastructure to last for the next 100 years.

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION Technology drives the company’s activities, the new MPS Terminal 3 is designed to run automated and semi-automated processes, which is achieved by the latest generation of technologies at the various stages of our terminal operations.

Associated technology deployed include the latest Terminal Operating System NAVIS N-4 (TOS), Gate Operating System (GOS), Truck Appointment System (TAS), Biometric Access Control for drivers, License Plate recognition Systems (LPR) for recognizing vehicles numbers, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for recognising container numbers, Weighbridges, X-Ray Scanners, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for recognizing trucks within the terminal. These high-end technology and equipment is synchronized with our fully integrated container terminal operations to eliminate congestion and maximise

Our projects come along with considerable investments into Corporate Social Initiatives (CSI). Two major CSI activities done involved easing the traffic congestion by upgrading the only 2 gateways on the roads linking Tema with the capital Accra (Tema end of the Accra Motorway and the Tema Community 3 Beach Junction with the Meridian Road) which is arguably the biggest social contribution done by a single corporate entity valued at 15 Million USD. Apart from these, we have also made significant contributions in the areas of health, education and environmental sustainability in our communities.

THE PORT, AfCFTA AND THE FUTURE For a successful take off of the AfCFTA, one of the requirements is superior transport systems including ports, rail and roads.

Ports play a major role in the movement of goods in the world economy and trade activity, same will hold for Africa in this new era.

MPS has thus shown the way with the MPS Terminal 3 which presents a cross trading platform strategically located on the West Africa Coast Line. This makes it ideal for transit and transhipment for the sub region. As a first step in the positive direction, shipping lines have started to deploy vessels with MPS as the hub. It is expected that this development will present Ghana with leverage in the continental trade pact. Many countries of Africa still remain largely disconnected however the MPS facility will allow for better connectivity via sea. Again, the facility has allocated a part of the terminal ready for rail construction to allow movement of cargo through rail to the hinterlands and land locked countries such as Burkina Faso, Fortunately the current government is working around the clock to restore rail connectivity. With this development, we believe that the future outlook for the maritime sector is bright as the MPS facility will be harnessed to benefit Ghana in pushing the AfCFTA agenda.

MPS TEMA PORT- WE CONNECT, YOU THRIVE

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MPS enhances border security and port gate capacity at Terminal 3

M

eridian Port Services Limited (MPS) has procured and installed an additional container scanner at MPS Terminal 3 aiming to improve operational efficiency for the port, bringing to six the total number of drive-through container scanners installed in the terminal.

The company’s Head of Construction, Mr. Matthieu Ferraro, handing over the facility to the Operations Team, said the acquisition was backed by MPS’s consistency in port development and innovative vision.

“When you look at the growth of volumes, since the start of operations at MPS Terminal 3 there has been steady volume increase. In addition, I would say this is being proactive to have reserve capacity and a good response to the foreseen future,” said Mr. Ferraro.

He emphasised that the new scanner will serve as a back up to the other five scanners during routine maintenance without interrupting the flow of cargo and that the new facility was not going to result in redundant capacity.

CEO of MPS Mr. Mohamed Samara highlighted the potentials of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which takes off January 2021.

“While we advocate to play a pivotal role as a nation, we must also look at the vital investments that will gear up our facilities to present a secure trading platform and enhance our role as a gateway to the economy,” said Mr. Samara.

The HCVP Scanner is a latest of its kind drive-through portal for the inspection of trucks, containers and other vehicles providing the Customs officers with cargo manifest verification against the captured X-ray images,

reducing the need for manual inspections. It can also detect drugs, explosives and weapons.

Its accelerators allow for steel penetration from 230mm (9in) to 300mm (11.8in) while providing a high throughput. It has a small carbon footprint with the ability to allow a throughput of 100 to 120 vehicles per hour.

The CEO of MPS put emphasis on the sophisticated software of the Container Scanners that has been put to the exclusive use of the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority and the respective government agencies for enhancing boarder security and safeguarding the state revenue while providing the highest operational standards to the port users.

“This cutting-edge machinery is part of the MPS’s long standing vision of creating a digitally advanced port facility integrated

with the latest technology. It is also in line with the Vice President’s ease-of-doingbusiness measures that MPS has implemented to enhance Tema Port’s competitiveness and attract more cargo”, the CEO said.

MPS is a joint venture between the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and Meridian Port Holdings Limited, with Bolloré Transport and Logistics and APM Terminals. Over the years, MPS continued to complement the country’s trade volume growth with investments in equipment and technology to boost Tema Port’s handling capacity.

MPS is the region’s most efficient container terminal, it provides the shipping lines with the highest productivity levels (discharge/load) with real-time electronic data interchange using top-notch terminal operating systems.

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GEPA’s regional events on AfCFTA and NEDS slated for this month

P

resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of the $330 million Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal (BILT) project near Kumasi on 5th November, 2020, signalling The project, which will be completed in 2023, is expected to increase the movement of goods and services in the country and also facilitate transit trade between Ghana and the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

It is an ultra-modern integrated logistics terminal consisting of a container service yard (CSY), container freight station (CFS), reefer, warehouses, truck parking area, truckers’ facilities, fuel station, commercial complex, freight forwarders offices, and facilities for postal, telecommunication, utilities services, among others.

After 18 years lull in getting a concessionaire for the BILT, the Ashanti Port Services Limited, a consortium of Afum Quality Limited of Ghana and DSS Associate of South Korea, finally won the bid to bring life to the project.

The concession agreement will last for 30 years including a three-year construction period for the development of various project facilities on a 413-acre land in Boankra.

The BILT, previously christened Boankra Inland Port, is purposed to be a dry port extension of the Tema Port, specifically to move transit cargo to the middle belt of the country with resultant reduction in the congestion situation at the nation’s busiest port.

Aside reducing the cost of shipping to importers and exporters in the middle and

northern part of the country and the Sahel sub-region, the facility has also been tipped to serve as a catalyst for Ghana’s export trade, especially in the carting of traditional and non-traditional exports including cola nuts, shea butter, cocoa and cocoa products as well as wood and wood products.

Within the context of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Boankra ‘dry port’ is another masterstroke that will facilitate Ghana’s participation in the single continental market for maximum gain.

“The AfCFTA would be buoyed by the construction of the BILT which will ensure an effective and efficient transport system, especially as Ghana is playing host to the Secretariat.

The BILT, and other similar infrastructure projects, such as the development of the Keta Port, the Tema-Akosombo Railway Line, and the ongoing port expansion projects in Tema and Takoradi Ports, would make a

positive contribution in ensuring that Ghana derives maximum benefits from the AfCFTA,” the president aptly stated in his remarks.

With an anticipated surge in commercial activities, the dry port will open up the middle belt economy with the creation of jobs and wealth for the youth of the area.

The project, the brainchild of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, has outlasted the reign of two visionary leaders of the institution namely Mr. Magnus Teye Addico and Dr. Kofi Mbiah, who made tremendous contributions towards its realisation.

It is therefore gladdening that it is finally seeing the light of day under the leadership, led by Ms. Benonita Bismarck, whose dedication and exploits at the authority has won her the award for “Woman of Excellence— Public Sector” at this year’s Ghana Business Awards.

To her, the facility will bring port services closer to

the doorsteps of shippers in the northern half of Ghana as well as those in neighbouring geographically disadvantaged states.

The BILT, she added was intended improve the operational efficiency of the Tema and Takoradi Ports as well as the provision of employment opportunities in the inland port supply chain.

“These objectives are still largely tenable and it is my hope that the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal will deliver these and more for the benefit of our country,” Ms. Bismarck said at the sod-cutting ceremony.

When completed, the BILT will be the pillar to the country’s transit trade ambitions as it will offer the right mix of convenience, affordability and proximity that is needed to win more business from our trading partners from the landlocked countries, making it a gamechanger for that aspect of the shipping business.

GSA wins Trade Facilitation Company of the Year

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he Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has been adjudged the Trade Facilitation Company of the Year 2020 at the 3rd edition of the Ghana Business Awards held recently in Accra.

The award was in recognition of the role of the GSA in protecting and promoting the interest of shippers in Ghana through its services and activities via the engagement of shippers, shipping service providers and

other state agencies whose functions have a bearing on trade facilitation.

Some of the GSA’s trade facilitation activities include the promotion of Ghana’s transit trade corridor by removing

non-tariff barriers, education and sensitisation campaigns on promotion of local marine insurance, ‘how to avoid demurrage’, exporters’ forum to build capacity of exporters, resolution of recurrent shipment challenges, negotiation of port charges, among others.

At the same event, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the authority, Ms. Benonita Bismarck was adjudged winner of the 2020 Woman of Excellence (Public Sector) Award.

The award recognised her sterling contributions in leading the GSA to making major interventions in addressing concerns of shippers in the country.

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Special Report on Maritime and Logistics Sector WEDNESDAY, 11TH NOVEMBER, 2020

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US, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center partner to build disaster management capabilities

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n November 9, U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan officially presented a skillsbased Disaster Management Curriculum to Major General Francis Ofori, Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC).

Also present at the occasion were the Deputy Commandant, Air Commodore George Kweku Arko Dadzie, and some members of KAIPTC’s Executive Management Committee.

During her remarks, Ambassador Sullivan noted that the “collaboration among the U.S. Embassy, USAFRICOM, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center, and the Governments of Ghana, Togo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Senegal is a testament to the extensive network of productive U.S. partnerships throughout West Africa.”

The curriculum was produced by United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) in partnership with KAIPTC and consists of twelve disaster management courses (six in English and six in French) that build and support national capacity and professionalization of disaster managers across civilian, military, private and nonprofit sectors to deepen their knowledge and skills in emergency/disaster responses, actions, and strategies.

It also includes a train-thetrainer course in English and in French to support KAIPTC in the delivery of the curriculum.

The curriculum will be fully owned, managed, and delivered

by KAIPTC to directly enhance West African partner nation capabilities.

The curriculum has already generated positive outcomes across the region as a result of the pilot courses delivered to 250 select representatives from Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra

Leone, and Togo during the development of the curriculum.

Notable outcomes include the enhanced ability to develop training exercises, the creation of disaster management communication plans, and the development of crisis response plans using skills learned during the courses.

The Commandant of KAIPTC Major General Francis Ofori said; “The addition of the DMP to our training portfolio is a great milestone because it

furthers our vision to be the preferred international Center that provides relevant training to make Africa peaceful and secure. We are very grateful to USAFRICOM for their investment and technical guidance/advice to develop and sustain the program.”

USAFRICOM provided funding of over $3 million to develop the curriculum, including reviews by West African disaster management professionals, a pilot of each course in English and in French and technical assistance to ensure the program’s sustainability.

U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan, Eric Nana Agyeman-Prempeh, Director-General of NADMO (3rd from right) Dr. Evans Dzikum, Chief Director, Ministry of Defense (3rd from left) with staff of the U.S. Embassy Office of Defense Cooperation and staff of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center.

EducationUSA to Hold Free, Virtual U.S. College Fair for Interested Ghanaian Students

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he U.S. Embassy invites all Ghanaians interested in U.S. higher education to attend a free, virtual U.S. College Fair from November 18 – 19, 2020. Attendees will learn about the process to study abroad in the United States and have a chance to interact with over 150 U.S. colleges and universities.

The fair will be held on November 18 for those interested in undergraduate studies and November 19 for prospective graduate students. Both days will be from 12:00pm – 4:00pm GMT.

Registration is free and open until November 14.

Register at https://bit.ly/321ZsQU and follow the EducationUSA Africa Connection Facebook page @ EducationUSAAfricaConnection for more information.

EducationUSA is a network of experienced advisers supported by the U.S. Department of State to provide free, comprehensive, impartial and current information on U.S. higher education.

The two EducationUSA Centers in Ghana are located within the U.S. Embassy in Accra and ACE Consult in Asokwa-Kumasi.

To learn more, visit https:// gh.usembassy.gov/educationculture/educationusa-center/

and https://educationusa.state. gov.

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MSME’s need to EVOLVE

SMEs are less robust and more vulnerable to fluctuations in the national economy than big companies. COVID-19 has revealed that the state of world economies can sway any moment. This is the time SMEs need to tactically shift a few gears around and evolve with the ongoing changes or risk the eventual death of their businesses. We have recently seen a reconstruction of how we interact with our financial institutions and how they interact with us. It has seen the rise of FinTechs in the nation and National Digitisation efforts. The rules are changing everywhere.

Things are still evolving.

It’s time for MSME’s to evolve or get left behind. Like the popular meme says: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome! I’m just adding the unspoken but apparent “OR SUFFER!”.

The recent sector reconstructions have been about defining “bottlenecks”.

A bottleneck, in general terms, is simply a situation that limits a process or activity from progressing. So if you prepare a glass of tea with just tea and water while aiming for a certain tea:water ratio, then whichever of these ingredients that finishes first as you aim to maintain this ratio is your bottleneck. The bottleneck ingredient limits the making of the kind of tea you like.

The minimum capital for banks was initially pegged, then it was later scaled up to. That’s the tightening of a bottleneck, to limit the activities of certain banks from progressing, and for good reason. It’s to ensure that, for the next stage of banking activities, financial institutions play in their weight class.

Think of a sieve, with adjustable holes. If you tighten the holes, fewer grains will fall through. If you loosen it, the sieving process progresses faster. And we are going to see some tightening and losing of bottlenecks all over the different areas of the vast economy, like I realised with the passing of the New Companies Act. This act loosened a couple of bottlenecks, like previously sticking with the category of businesses stated in initial filing.

It also tightened others, like what

qualifies one to be a company secretary.

Defining an MSME.

I don’t think there’s a definition of a Medium Small to Medium Enterprise (MSME) that is accepted worldwide. The definitions I were able to dig up clearly show that it depends on who is defining it and from where they are defining it. If a person from one sector defined MSMEs today, he would define it differently if he changed sectors.

MSMEs are usually characterised by the number employees, their capital, and sales turnover. MSME classification by size is a very good way to go about it because everyone can utilize this easy and simple method, but each sector would still come to different results.

A company of one size would be considered small in a sector where the market is huge with many competitors. This same company would be considered as big in a sector with generally smaller companies or fewer players.

So MSME definition is a matter of perspective. Government Agencies usually prefer classification through number of employees, even though recently many governments have opted to classify using their turnover.

The role of SMEs in national development.

It is generally acknowledged that MSMEs are a powerful engine for a country’s economic advancement and work creation.

MSMEs have the capacity to fuel economic growth because they readily explore new opportunities that lead to new jobs and by so doing, they extend Ghana’s tax base, while being a major driver for innovation with an endless supply of ideas and relevant skills.

The creation of new companies is a significant indicator of a good, economic atmosphere that enables enterprising activities.

The majority of big companies started out as MSMEs and the number of MSMEs far outnumber any others. MSME’s also employ a lot more people, yet their full potential remains remarkably untapped for many reasons.

Difficulties facing MSMEs.

Small to Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) all over the world have similar characteristics and so face similar obstacles.

Cultural, societal, legal and other institutional differences change the understanding and the approach to fixing these issues in each country.

One previously stated problem facing MSMEs is the increased vulnerability to economic fluctuations that typically would not affect the larger companies. Uncertainty with present situations because of the core “hustling” nature of MSMEs also stifles most of the long-term planning and strategic innovation.

MSMEs are unable to cushion against even the regular risks that come with growth and expansion. Insurance cover, for instance, will seem like luxury when your operating capital can all be sucked up with one good order from one good client.

The most common MSME issues have to do with inadequate access to funds, taxation, problems with workforce, lack of coordination and inefficient internal communication mechanisms or irregular information exchange.

What can be done for MSMEs. All I want for Christmas is a PUBLIC CREDIT RATING SYSTEM. The creation of credit-rating agencies will greatly propel MSMEs that are building credibility and only need a good chance. It’s a self-explicable concept. My wife is obsessed with her credit score in the UK because of all the goodies that good credit brings. A ratings system like that which encompasses MSMEs could be the springboard that shoots forward the capable MSMEs earlier than they would have been. Ghana wins in the end.

Could asset-based financing be the answer? It’s not new. It tends to get messy but without a credit rating, without a reputation or long record and most times without even audited books, what can be done?

Some banks are making strides in aiding MSMEs reach their full potential… and also of course calling dibs on the potential today-thousandnaire-tomorrowmillionaire MSME owners out

there.

Barclays I know has some attractive MSME programs out there that aids many business owners. Zenith bank is also very responsive to the peculiar ecosystem that is ‘running an MSME’. There are others. Do a little research and give them a ring.

So MSMEs, you’re not alone!

Help is out there.

Demonstrate your potential and demand to be noticed. This economy now has redefined bottlenecks. Do not be the bad grain. Restructure your thinking and your actions to go with what has been happening now, or risk being unadaptable with the current economic settings.

Facilities like invoice discounting are easy to understand, and easy to setup if you have the right parts… so get the right parts! Know what’s new and what’s faded; do your research. Utilise the free consultations our institutions offer. You are not alone! Help is out there. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, EVOLVE! Hit me up on social media and let’s keep the conversation going!

I read all the feedback you send me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Go to bit.ly/maxwrites to read all my previous articles.

Have a lovely week!

Maxwell Ampong is an AgroCommodities Trader and the CEO of Maxwell Investments Group, a Business Solutions Provider. He is also the Official Business Advisor to Ghana’s General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). He writes about trending and relevant economic topics, and general perspective pieces.

LinkedIn:/in/thisisthemax Instagram:@thisisthemax Tw i t t e r : @ t h i s i s t h e m a x Facebook:@thisisthemax Website: www.maxwellinvestmentsgroup. com Email: maxwell@ maxwellinvestmentsgroup.com Mobile: 0249993319

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How intra-African trade is progressing amid the pandemic

Convoys of trucks queuing outside a border post in Zambia due to coronavirus restrictions

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ast year African countries signed an agreement aimed at increasing trade between them. If implemented successfully, they believe it could create a single African market of over a billion consumers.

The plan is that services and goods should be flowing freely in and out of the participating countries, making the continent the biggest free trade area in the world.

The free trade initiative could create an integrated market with a total GDP of over $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion), according to US think tank Brookings.

Currently, Africa lags behind other regions of the world in terms of continental trade. According to the African Development Bank (ADB), intra-Africa exports amount to only 16.6% of total trade.

Unfortunately, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) did not kick off on 1 July as originally scheduled, due to the coronavirus crisis, but there are other reasons for the stall.

According to Trudi Hartzenberg, executive director of the Trade Law Centre (Tralac) in Stellenbosch, South Africa, negotiations between African nations are ongoing virtually, but they have now hit “some sensitive issues”.

“The negotiations are pretty complex because the countries who are negotiating would lose tariff revenues. Reducing the tariffs means the import duties are lower so they would be gathering less revenues than before,” she explains.

“For some countries, the tariff revenues they get from trade taxes amounts to 25% or more of their total fiscal tax revenues.

The easiest taxes to collect are import duties.”

A t-shirt imported from Chi-

na into any of the nations in the Southern African Customs Union can be taxed by up to 45%, and there isn’t an easy way to replace this income, says Ms Hartzenberg. Plus, countries are keen to protect their domestic economies and jobs.

Another sticking point are the rules of origin - the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product - which Ms Hartzenberg says are “extremely complex”.

Despite this, officials from the various nations are persevering.

“The virtual negotiating process started on Zoom in May, but the problem is connectivity across the continent is really uneven so it’s been really hard to maintain momentum,” she says.

“We’ve literally got negotiations happening every single day. There is a rush and there is commitment, but time really is running out now.”

Transport during the pandemic Poor communication and a lack of adequate transportation infrastructure between African nations is another problem affecting intra-African trade. Add a pandemic, and it becomes chaos.

“Most intra-African trade goes by road and there have been delays at border posts with queues that were literally several kilometres long during lockdown, as all countries have adopted some kind of border restrictions,” says Ms Hartzenberg.

Trucks from South Africa that import products into Zambia have to first pass through Botswana, which is making life challenging for truck drivers like Likando Mwiya.

“Wherever we go, whichever country you cross in, you have to be swabbed, then you wait

for the results that might take about a day or two, and in other circumstances there’s a 14-day quarantine given where they observe you,” he tells the BBC. “The other challenge is that most of the time you have to move in convoy...so you have to move from your normal schedule and [follow] the schedule of those you are moving with.”

In order to ensure a faster, smoother transit of goods, the nations have had to discuss ways to standardise customs and border management, as well as transit trade.

Ms Hartzenberg says that these negotiations have been concluded, but the changes have yet to be implemented.

When they are implemented, these will include: • Cross-border road transport permits • Standardised axel load limits (the amount of weight a truck is allowed to carry on a road) • Standardised border post opening hours • Digital custom duty certificates • Standardised tariff books Improving payments Another challenge that needs solving to enable intra-African free trade across the continent is improving payments.

“The digital economy is absolutely critical,” says Kevin Njiraini, regional director of International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm.

“We have to further develop financial platforms, mobile telephony, allowing money to flow digitally a lot smoother and a lot quicker.”

Nigerian entrepreneur Shola

Akinlade co-launched Paystack in 2016 as a solution for merchants in Nigeria and Ghana to get paid by anyone, anywhere in the world.

Paystack now processes over 50% of all web payments in Nigeria, as well as payments for over 60,000 organisations, including FedEx, UPS, South African mobile operator MTN and many others.

“I think Africa is the most under-penetrated payments market in the world - like, digital payments have to work. That is a very simple way to unlock the economic potential of the continent,” he says.

“How is it easier for me to buy something from somebody in California, than from somebody in Bamako, Mali?”

Ms Hartzenberg agrees: “A payment and clearing system on the continent could save time and costs. It would be particularly important for smaller businesses and small traders - the majority of whom are women to be paid more quickly.”

There are still many challenges that need to be solved to enable an African free trade zone, such as the fact that nations need to be exporting products, rather than unprocessed commodities, in order for other nations to want to buy more African-made goods.

But this will still take some time to achieve.

“It will happen incrementally - ACFTA can attract interest from global sources to come and produce in African nations, and that will help countries to expand their capacity to produce goods and services,” she says.

“What Africa needs to do is improve its productive capacity and that’s another lesson learned due to the coronavirus crisis.”

BBC

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2020

www.surflinegh.com

WEAR YOUR FACEMASK ALWAYS surfline ...it’s about time

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