Business24 Newspaper 18th December, 2020

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2020

NO. B24 / 141 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2020

Key sectors need support to boost recovery

Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor, Bank of Ghana

Restructure macroeconomic framework to return to growth -- Addison

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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he Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison has stated that the restructuring of the government’s macroeconomic framework is essential in restoring the economy to a growth path in the post-Covid-19 era, Cont’d on page 3

Gov’t urged to set up Renewable Energy Authority to tackle climate change

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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Senior Economist with investment banking firm Databank, Courage Martey says deliberate policy measures are needed to support critical sectors of

the economy to support the economic recovery efforts following the effect of the pandemic.

He was speaking to the Business24 after the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) announced that the economy contracted by 1.1 percent in the third quarter of this year. The

ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

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contraction is a stark contrast to the 5.6 percent recorded within same period last year.

The third-quarter contraction follows a 3.2 percent contraction in the second quarter.

Cont’d on page 2 INTERNATIONAL MARKET

USD$1 =GHC 5.7027

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

POLICY RATE

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

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he Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has called on the government to establish the Renewable Energy Authority to lead the crusade to transform the country’s energy sector.

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

Cont’d on page 3 Follow us online:

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

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Editorial / News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2020

Editorial

Big boost for Made-in-Ghana!

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espite a boom in the business of retail of consumer goods, Ghanaian businesses struggle to participate. Most small-medium scale enterprises have found the process and associated costs to get their products certified by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) highly prohibitive.

This has stifled the growth of these SMEs as they are unable to expand their businesses. The FDA seeing this bottleneck-without relaxing on its stringent requirement that ensures the safety of consumers--eased the processes and attendant cost to product certification to create a respite for these SMEs. For an economy that is largely

dominated by SMEs, this is a major boost as it expands the market of these SMEs. Given the damage the Covid-19 pandemic has caused businesses, the FDA’s Progressive Licensing Scheme (PLS) could not have come at a better time.

The PLS certification enables SMEs to produce local goods that meet international health, safety and hygienic standards.

Currently, 56 SMEs have received the certification from the FDA. Ghana has a very vibrant retail culture and for products of these SMEs to be given a chance to have a go at it, a lot of these SMEs are in line to have their businesses transformed.

This is paper would like to

commend the regulator on its proactiveness to the plight of these small businesses. Indeed, making made-in-Ghana goods a mainstay on our supermarket shelves requires a comprehensive approach.

With the regulatory bit attended to, it is welcoming to see the retailers also expressing their intention of providing more shelves for these products. The increase in access to market is bound to come with it an expansion in capacity.

These SMEs must stand ready to expand or maintain a constant supply when need be. They risk shooting themselves in the foot if they fail to put in place measures that can help them meet demand.

Key sectors need support to boost recovery Continued from cover

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According to the GDP data released on Wednesday, despite the slump, the agriculture sector recorded a remarkable growth of 8.3 percent while the Industry and Services sectors contracted, -5.1 and -1.1 percent, respectively.

“Using agriculture as a case study, we see the 8.3 percent growth reflects the harvest season which was largely supported by policy interventions to boost domestic output in the light of disruptions to global supply chains. We need to continue these kinds of targeted interventions to sustain the recovery,” Mr. Martey said in an interview with Business24.

He described the growth as disappointing given the steady growth in the Real Composite Index Of Economic Activity (CIEA), which indicated a recovery in the index growth from -10.5 percent in April-2020 [during the lockdown] to +10.5 in Sep-2020 [post-lockdown]. “…also, a post-lockdown survey by the government showed that

95 percent of businesses were optimistic about recovery on account of the continued FX stability and improving economic activity. Against this backdrop, we expected that we creep into positive real GDP growth as quickly as the third quarter of 2020,” the Senior Economist said.

With the economy still in the woods following a quarter-onquarter contraction, Mr. Martey was doubtful government’s growth target of 1.9 percent for 2020 could be realised.

The Senior Economist noted that the trade sub-sector, a major pillar within the services sector, showed a quarter-on-quarter expansion, reflecting the gradual reopening and improvements in economic activity.

“The data revealed that the perceived improvements are real because the level of contractions recorded in the third quarter was smaller than the contractions earlier recorded in the second quarter. So the recovery is taking place steadily but still fragile at the moment,” he added.

Commenting on the latest GDP data, Emmanuel Ashley, Chartered Economist said the reasons for the significant improvement in the performance of the agriculture sector and relatively poor performance of the respective industrial and services sectors are not farfetched as the impact of COVID-19 on rural communities has been minimal during the period.

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Restructure macroeconomic framework to return to growth -- Addison Continued from cover The country faced severe shocks with the advent of the pandemic, including domestic economic disruptions due to containment measures, which reflected in negative growth rates, declining GDP per capita, and increasing extreme poverty.

Dr, Addison in a speech at the University of Ghana Alumni Lecture, said: “at the end of the year, the stage is set to redesign a medium-term macroeconomic framework to return the economy to fiscal consolidation and to further consolidate macroeconomic stability to provide an essential lever for positioning the Ghanaian economy on a path of higher growth, job creation, and a faster pace of poverty alleviation.”

Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister

Containment of the pandemic and for necessary fiscal expansion in the short-term, public debt levels rose higher reaching 71 percent of GDP at the end of September 2020.

According to Dr. Addison,

there is the need to design a plan to bring down the debt to sustainable levels to contain risks posed to future financing of the budget, exchange rate stability, and financial sector stability post-Covid-19.

It is estimated that the fiscal cost, in terms of stimulus package deployed to moderate the adverse socio-economic consequences on the households and businesses, is more than GH¢ 11 billion.

“If you add the financial sector costs and the energy sector costs raises the estimate of the financial burden from these three sources alone to GH¢ 24 billion.

As of half-year, it was estimated that the government paid GH¢ 4.7 billion in excess capacity payments in the energy sector.

This has pushed the debt/GDP ratio above the threshold for the Market Access Countries,” the Governor explained.

He recommended that the framework should include a clear priority towards expenditure rationalization and efficiency, as well as improving revenue collection capacity.

Gov’t urged to set up Renewable Energy Authority to tackle climate change Continued from cover According to him, the establishment of the authority will also help curb the traditional carbon-emitting energy generation practices that have resulted in climate change and the threat to the ecosystem.

In a statement presented in Parliament, on the urgent need for the establishment of the Renewable Energy Authority, he indicated that when it finally takes off, the country can be confident of full dedication to the implementation of renewable energy policies, and situationbased regulation of activities specific to renewable energy industry to ensure its growth is well supported.

“I believe that we are wellpositioned as a country with a robust policy framework that supports renewable energy even as a viable venture for investment.

With the Renewable Energy Act and the Master Plan in place, the missing piece is, without doubt, the respective Renewable Energy Authority,” he said.

Drawing inferences from India, he explained that India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, responsible solely for renewable energy is a stark difference to the institutional set-up presently in Ghana.

On the barriers preventing the establishment of such an authority, he stated that in Ghana, and other countries like United Arab Emirates studies reveal that some of these barriers relate to economic and political complications in the implementation of feed-in-tariff and quota systems for generated renewable energy.

Whiles acknowledging the immense contributions of stakeholders in the energy sector, he maintained that it is undeniable that the establishment of the Renewable Energy Authority is deficient in all of the country’s achievements under renewable energy.

Even though Parliament recently amended the Bui Power Authority Act (Act 740) to empower the Authority to develop renewable energy and

Frank Annoh-Dompreh is keen for the establishment of an authority to boost the renewable energy sector

other clean energy alternatives in the country, the Renewable Energy Act (Act 832) remains resolute in its purpose for renewable energy, which will also ensure that projects undertaken

by the government in renewable energy are better organised.

Frank Annoh-Dompreh is keen for the establishment of an authority to boost the renewable energy sector

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News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2020

GSS launches Ghana’s first compendium on environment statistics

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he Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has launched Ghana’s first Compendium on Environment Statistics (ES), adopting the UN Framework for the development of environment statistics (FDES, 2013).

The FDES is a multipurpose statistical framework that is comprehensive and integrative and defines the scope of environment statistics, and provides an organised structure to guide the collection and compilation of environment statistics at all levels, bringing together data from the various relevant subject areas and sources.

Dr Bernice Serwaah OfosuBaadu, Head of Agricultural & Environmental Statistics at GSS, presenting the findings during the launch of the Compendium on Environment Statistics (ES) said, the framework which is broad and holistic, covers the issues and aspects of the environment that are relevant for policy analysis and decision making.

“The compendium is the first to be compiled on Environment Statistics in the country to

Dr Bernice Serwaah Ofosu-Baadu, Head of Agricultural & Environmental Statistics at GSS, presenting the findings during the launch of the Compendium on Environment Statistics (ES)

help policymakers understand the interlinkages within and between environment-related goals and targets; promote policy coherence and integration of the environmental dimensions of the SDGs,” she said.

In addition to providing data for planning, data from the FDES will also help policymakers monitor the progress towards

the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union Agenda 2063, the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies 20172024, the National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework and other relevant national policy initiatives.

This is expected to make it even

more crucial for the availability of relevant data on ES to monitor the state of progress in addressing these issues.

The Compendium reports on some indicators of the 17 SDGs except Goal 10, reducing inequalities in income as well as those inequalities based on sex, age, race, among others, as the indicators under Goal 10 use information which is not currently in the Basic Set of Environment Statistics of the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013). Progress in reducing inequalities supports the achievement of environmentallyrelated SDGs. The compendium has been prepared by the National Implementation Team (NIT), a collaboration between Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with technical assistance from United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is based on the Basic Set of Environment Statistics (BSES) contained in the Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013).

The Compendium will be updated on an annual basis.

German Cooperation, GIPC sign €762,000 financing agreement

By Eugene Davis

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he Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and Invest for Jobs, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), on Thursday signed an agreement worth €762,300 to mobilise investments and promote job-creating growth of enterprises.

The cooperation between the two parties will address investment promotion challenges reinforced by the coronavirus pandemic to help maintain and create new jobs in Ghana.

The Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation, the official title of Invest for Jobs, is implemented, among others, by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. With a decline in foreign direct investment around the world, partly because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has become imperative for governments to maximise developmental support

to retain investment, encourage follow-on investment and achieve greater local economic impact.

Investment promotion agencies in most countries are now focusing primarily on keeping investors in the country, strengthening their resilience, and encouraging restructuring to preserve companies and safeguard jobs. “ I am delighted to be a part of this initiative, which is anchored in addressing private sector needs,” noted the Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Ms. Dorothee Dinkelaker. We look forward to the cooperation with GIPC to help build a more enabling environment for investors and raise awareness on investment opportunities in Ghana,” added Ms. Dinkelaker.

“This joint effort comes at a crucial time for Ghana in the global context, where governments are designing more strategic and innovative ways to promote investment and boost economic growth,” highlighted the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC Mr. Yofi Grant.

“The pandemic has made aftercare of investors particularly important and therefore the cooperation between the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the German Cooperation through Invest for Jobs will facilitate the provision of information to investors, and support to relevant companies to address investment barriers,” added Mr. Grant.

A further focus of the cooperation between the two parties include supporting potential investors who, due to

COVID-19 restrictions are unable to travel to Ghana to obtain relevant information.

The intervention will also facilitate the design of a matchmaking platform to connect international investors to local businesses. Thus, investors can again obtain long-term perspectives to create new jobs.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Head of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation at GIZ Ghana, Geraid Guskowski, and Yofi Grant, on behalf of GIPC.

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Feature

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2020

Minimizing work place negativity

othing affects employee morale than persistent workplace negativity. It saps the energy of the organization and diverts critical attention from work and performance. A negative work environment leads to diminished performance and poor employee morale. In the long run, it harms the company’s reputation and affect ability to attract talent. Negativity can occur in the attitude, outlook, and talk of one employee, or in a crescendo of voices responding to a workplace decision or event.

Diagnosing Workplace Negativity Negativity is an increasing problem in the workplace, according to Gary S. Topchik, the author of Managing Workplace Negativity. He states, in Management Review, that negativity is often the result of a loss of confidence, control, or community. Knowing what people are negative about is the first step in solving the problem.

When rumblings and negativity are surfacing in the organization, talking with employees will help the organization understand the exact problems and the degree to which the problems are impacting the workplace.

The exact employee groups who are experiencing the negativity and the nature of the issues that sparked their unhappiness will first have to be identified.

Perhaps the organization made a decision that adversely affected staff. Perhaps an executive manager held a staff meeting and was perceived to threaten or ignore people asking legitimate questions.

Whatever the cause of the workplace negativity, the issues must be addressed. Otherwise, like a seemingly dormant volcano, they will boil beneath the surface, and periodically bubble up and overflow to cause a lot of damage.

Causes of Workplace Negativity Every workplace has its own perks and perils in terms of employee negativity. Even the most employee-friendly workplace can shake under the influence of negative energy within the organization.

Negativity can spread like a viral infection over a positive workplace. It may be difficult to understand and control in its prime state. However, employers have the opportunity to learn the reasons behind employee negativity. An early detection and measure can hinder it from winning a strong hold.

Preventing negativity from going out of hand and filtering the workplace should be one priority for all employers. It is important for employers to stay updated on everything going on around and know what their employees want and need. You need to nibble employee negativity at its root before it reaches and plagues the organization.

Many studies determined that the reasons for most of the employee negativity mainly included the following: • An excessive workload that is unmanageable within a time-frame.

• Anxieties about management’s capability to drive the company advancing successfully.

• Worry about the future, especially longer-term job security and retirement assurance.

• Lack of favorable challenge in the work and boredom from the same and repeated work.

• Inadequate appreciation for the level of contribution and effort presented, moreover, concerns that pay is not equivalent to performance.

• Negative attitudes and gossips within the teams.

• Acting ignorant over the temporary adverse circumstance of an employee and biting from behind.

Effects of Negativity in the Workplace Negativity in the workplace takes on many appearances including dishonesty, self-regard and grief. When a negative workplace is left to continue, it can start to affect everyone in the company. Organizations should recognize the effects of negativity in the workplace so that you can overcome before it overwhelms

your workplace.

1. Lack of Creativity A steadfast negative attitude in the workplace suffocates creativity. When negativity takes over, people follow existing and proven practices in their work for the fear that something new may not get appreciated. A negative environment prevents the spirit of innovation that can actually improve a company to invent new products or produce more fruitful ways of making business.

When the workplace is unfriendly in nature, people do not feel the necessity to share opinions with each other. New ideas do not flow, and the company will not move ahead progressively.

suspicion or a lack of confidence in authority to improve among employees. Employees no longer get into the company vision and lose motivation. Their spirit starts to fall, and the organisation may encounter employee turnover as a consequence.

A perception can arise that progress in the company is no longer a worthy effort, and employees begin to lose interest in elaborating their skill set. An unmotivated workforce supplies your opponent the chance to take over the market and damages your company profile.

Authored by: Mrs. Margaret TitusGlover

2. Lack of Communication Communication slowly stops in a discouraging workplace.

Team members have either had disagreements with each other over matters concerning negative speech and no longer articulate to each other. Sometimes the trust will be gone, in an air of negativity, it longer trusts the information that others present.

Ego can be an element of negative work conditions, and that can direct people to assume that their interpretation is the single resolution. They ignore all other input as illogical, and communication throughout the whole organization disintegrates.

3. Lack of Teamwork A team can be a team only if there is positive energy. Strong teamwork builds a rich workplace and supports the transfer of information among members.

Negativity in the workplace can make everyone rigid, it can cause qualified representatives to neglect on newly hired employees and decline to offer any support in employee development. Gossip and misinformation can fill a negative workplace and cause the team to break into smaller gatherings that are not capable to give the results the company requires.

4. Lack of Confidence Negativity can leave a feeling of

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She is experienced in HR Strategy, Benefits Management, Recruitment and Retention Strategy, Performance Management, Orientation/On boarding Programs, Recognition Programs, HR Compliance, Compensation, Employment Policies, Employee Engagement Initiatives and Professional Development.

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Feature

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How to transact safely online and avoid card fraud over the holidays

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s we start the holiday season, it is important to empower yourself not to fall victim to Card Not Present (CNP) fraud, which occurs when neither the card nor the cardholder is present whilst a fraudulent transaction is being conducted.

In 2019 the Bank of Ghana (BoG) reported a total number of 2,295 fraud cases in the banking industry as compared to 2,175 fraud cases reported in 2018.

The marginal increase in the number of fraud cases reported may partly be attributed to the improved efforts by the Financial Stability Department of the BoG, to identify, monitor and to ensure compliance with reporting of fraud cases in the industry.

While banks take on measures to curtail the menace of cyber and monetary fraud, consumers ought to be more aware of the risks of card fraud and the ways in which they can protect themselves from falling victim.

And while the Covid restrictions and the Christmas rush draws thousands of shoppers online, it is now more important to take extra precautions when shopping online this year.

Ellis Atekpe, Chief Operations Officer at First National Bank says, “The growth of online shopping globally has been significant, and the outlook is particularly encouraging.

More and more consumers are regularly purchasing everything from basic household necessities to clothing and gadgets at the click of a button. Not only is it safe and convenient, you earn cash rewards back every time you pay with your First National Bank Visa card”.

Nonetheless, to continuously get the best experience when shopping online, it’s equally as important to ensure that you are not caught off guard by online “fraudsters.”

Ellis shares some tips for consumers to consider when shopping online with their Visa debit cards.

• Ensure that you are buying from reputable vendor websites and Apps.

• Enter the vendor’s details by typing in the site URL yourself instead of accessing it via a search engine as it might lead you to a spoofed site.

• Never access the website from a link you receive in an e-mail or SMS. • Make sure that you are not on a spoof site by clicking on the security icon on your browser tool bar, to see a Padlock and that the URL begins with https rather than http.

• Never save your personal and banking details on any merchant website. If the option presents itself, always remember to click ‘No’.

• Always remember to log off immediately when you have finished shopping.

• Always ensure you download the latest anti-virus software on your PC and mobile device, where possible.

• Never provide your card details unless you’ve initiated the transaction.

• If you are a First National Bank customer, ensure that your in-Contact details are up to date in order to get notified when money leaves your account.

• Should you suspect any fraudulent activity, immediately

report the incident through the Banking App or contact the number at the back of your card.

There is an extra layer of security on your First National Bank Visa Card on the App. This allows you to instantly block your card if you suspect any fraudulent activity on it. Remember, First National Bank will never ask you to share your One Time Pin (OTP) over email, SMS or phone, so keep it safe.

“Following the above quick safety precautions and keeping up to date with the measures that your bank is using to prevent online fraud will give you peace of

mind when shopping online with your Visa card,” concludes Ellis.

Ellis Atekpe, Chief Operations Officer at First National Bank

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Open Data for Sustainable Development

By Richard Kafui Amanfu

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ccording to the open data handbook, Open data is data that anyone can access, use, or share. It is the idea that some data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions from copyright, patents, or other mechanisms of control. Advocates of open data argue that these restrictions are against the common good and that these data should be made available without restriction or fee. The goals of the open data movement are like those of other “open” movements such as opensource, open hardware, open content, open government, and open access.

Open Data plays a critical role in improving governance by exposing and preventing mismanagement and corruption. It also helps ensure environmental sustainability through transparent data that can help reduce pollution, conserve natural resources, and build resilience to climate change.

Why “Open” Availability and Access: the data must be available, and at no more than a reasonable reproduction cost, preferably by downloading over the internet. The data must also be available in a convenient and modifiable form.

Re-use and Redistribution: the data must be provided under terms that permit re-use and redistribution including the intermixing with other datasets.

Universal Participation: everyone must be able to use, re-use, and redistribute - there should be no discrimination against fields of endeavour or against persons or groups.

It is so important to be clear about what open means -- Interoperability. It denotes the ability of diverse systems and organizations (different components) to work together (inter-operate). In this case, it is the ability to interoperate - or intermix - different datasets.

This interoperability is key to realizing the main practical benefits of “openness”, that is, the dramatically enhanced ability to combine different datasets together and thereby to develop more and better products and services.

However, the key point is that when opening data, the focus is on non-personal data, that is, data

that does not contain information about specific individuals, some kinds of government data, and national security data.

Open data impacts everybody.

Through it, we can improve how we access healthcare services, discover cures for diseases more efficiently, understand our governments better, and of course, travel to places more easily. When big companies or governments release nonpersonal data, it enables small businesses, citizens, and medical researchers to develop resources that make crucial improvements to their communities. Open data has the power to create and transform a better future for everyone and supports sustainable development. It is changing and shaping our world.

What makes data open As mentioned earlier, open data is data that anyone can access, use, and share. Open data must have a license that says it is open data. Without a license, the data cannot be reused. The license might also say: • That people who use the data must credit whoever is publishing it (attribution).

• That people who mix the data with other data must also release the results as open data -- share-alike. For example, the Ghana Education ministry makes available open data about the performance of schools in Accra.

The data is available as Excel and is available under the Open Government License, which only requires re-users to say that they got the data from the Ministry of Education.

Good open data can be linked to so that it can be easily shared and talked about. It is available in a standard, structured format so that it can be easily processed. It also has guaranteed availability and consistency over time, so that others can rely on it. Open

data is traceable, through any processing, right back to where it originates, so others can work out whether to trust it – integrity.

Open data must be shareable, structured, reliable, and traceable.

With data quality issues, as the world bank puts it, data origin or attribution can be difficult to determine. Knowing where data originates and by what means it has been disclosed is key to being able to trust data. If end users do not trust data, they are unlikely to believe they can rely upon the information for accountability purposes. Similarly, if people think that data could be tampered with, they are unlikely to place trust in it; full comprehension of data relies on the ability to trace its origins. Without knowledge of data attribution, it can be difficult to interpret the meaning of terms, acronyms, and measures that data creators may have taken for granted but are much more difficult to decipher over time.

Poor quality data, lack of information about data attribution, and data stewardship issues present common barriers to the implementation of Open Data initiatives.

What the future holds for open data The growth of data is the next great thing. With available data, we can respond to problems around us, such as financial, transport, science and environment, natural disasters, and climate change, etc., and to which we can have structured solutions.

It helps us plan, account, and monitor our responses.

With open data, open systems, open communication, open government, open health, etc., responses become more reliable and appropriate. This propels the engine of growth. For instance, in health, open systems require setting up information

management systems to gather information (with all resources – both manually and remote/ mobile platforms) and making that usable and accessible in the future. This must not be personal/ private data but reusable data useful to the public that can shape ideas and inform how issues/problems can be managed and responded to. Examples of such data; budget, statistics, distribution of resources, etc.

Open data does not work in isolation. Goes hand in hand with the right bylaws or bills, guiding what kind of data can be made open. Notably, Ghana’s Right to Information bill is a right of access to information or part of the information in the custody of any public institution. In this regard, data protection plays a vital role in the open data ecosystem. It deals with the compliance framework (as a tool) and to what extent data can be made open.

The right use of data collected transcends into good information.

Information is key. With open data, there is more open engagement.

It is more about promoting civic engagement (health, education, local government, business, etc.) and decision making. It increases citizens’ voice and accountability.

Open data is a great resource that is yet largely untapped. Many individuals and organizations collect a broad range of different types of data to perform their tasks. Government is particularly significant in this sense, both because of the quantity and centrality of the data it collects, but also because most of that government data is public data by law, and therefore could be made open and made available for others to use.

This is of much interest because there are many areas where open data is expected to be of value, with already existing examples of how it has been used. There are also many different groups of people and organizations who can benefit from the availability of open data, including the government itself. At the same time, it is impossible to predict precisely how and where the value will be created in the future, as developments and the nature of innovation often comes from unlikely places.

Author: Richard Kafui Amanfu – (Director of Operations, Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana) For comments, contact author richard.amanfu@iipgh.org or Mobile: +233244357006

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The Brussels Effect comes for Big Tech

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he European Commission has just unveiled landmark regulations for the digital economy, setting yet another global standard. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), designed to curtail the power of Big Tech, will have a far-reaching impact on the business practices of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and other primarily US-based giants.

The European Union is expected to designate these companies as the “gatekeepers” of the Internet, justifying a targeted regulatory push to rein in their outsize market power.

The new regulations will complement the EU’s antitrust authority, which has repeatedly been used to extract billions of dollars in fines from US tech giants and to mandate changes to their business practices. Under the DMA, for example, practices such as self-preferencing will be “blacklisted” – presumed illegal without the need for the EU to bring an antitrust challenge to demonstrate harm to competition.

The DSA, for its part, will impose more onerous obligations on Big Tech companies to disclose their algorithms or remove illegal or harmful online content, including hate speech and disinformation.

Together, these measures will assert significant new regulatory control over the digital economy both in Europe and beyond.

The stakes for the Big Tech giants are particularly high because EU regulations often have a global impact – a phenomenon known as the “Brussels effect.”

Because the EU is one of the world’s largest consumer markets, most multinational corporations accept its terms of business as the price of admission. To avoid the cost of complying with multiple regulatory regimes around the world, these companies

often extend EU rules to their operations globally. That is why so many large non-EU companies follow the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) across all of their operations.

Unsurprisingly, Big Tech leaders and other critics of EU regulation are pushing back, accusing the EU of regulatory overreach and protectionist motives. But the EU is not unfairly infringing on successful US tech companies’ commercial freedom, nor is it undermining US regulators’ autonomy. Even if EU regulations do prove costly for big US companies, many smaller US firms will benefit from them. For years, these smaller US players have had to rely on the EU – rather than on their own government – to challenge the giants in their industry.

Likewise, thanks to their global reach, EU regulations have brought significant benefits to American Internet users, many of whom welcome enhanced privacy protections and less rampant online hate speech.

The United States’ own inaction has paved the way for the EU’s rise as a regulatory superpower.

Embracing deregulation and techno-libertarianism as its approach to governing the digital economy, the US has long watched from the sidelines as the EU sets regulations for the global marketplace. By abandoning international engagement and regulatory cooperation, the Trump administration reinforced this regulatory isolationism – effectively, albeit inadvertently, trading globalization for Europeanization.

But the winds in the US may finally be changing. Legislators and enforcement agencies are starting to wake up to Big Tech’s excesses. Earlier this year, the House Judiciary Committee’s report on competition in digital

markets issued a powerful call to action and outlined a new vision for revitalizing US antitrust laws.

Moreover, the US Department of Justice is now challenging Google’s monopolistic practices (after tolerating them for the past decade), and the Federal Trade Commission – along with 46 of the 50 states, Washington, DC, and Guam – is suing Facebook as an illegal monopoly. It is unclear whether these steps mark the beginning of a progressive antitrust revolution in the US, or whether they will stall in a divided Congress or before conservative-leaning courts that are accustomed to a more limited role for antitrust law.

In any case, the US would do well to abandon its handsoff approach to technology companies. It needs to stop being a rule-taker and start shoring up its own regulations. A federal privacy law would be an ideal place to start, considering that the idea already has support from leading US companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple.

A more robust privacy law would help the US reinstate data flows with the EU, which were halted by the European Court of Justice, owing to the lack of privacy protections in the US. It would also allow the US to address its concerns about Chinese government surveillance of American citizens. The Trump administration’s haphazard effort to ban the Chinese-owned socialmedia platform TikTok from the US market is not a substitute for regulations to protect Americans’ personal data.

The case for renewed US regulatory leadership is even more compelling in view of China’s increasing global influence over tech-governance standards. Chinese companies, all with varying ties to the ruling Communist Party, have

supplied critical technological infrastructure to countries around the world. China has also supplied artificial intelligencedriven surveillance technology to numerous governments that are eager to pursue illiberal ends.

Given China’s authoritarian vision of the Internet, the US would gain much from working closely with the EU on regulating Big Tech and the digital economy.

Their disagreements when it comes to antitrust, privacy, and taxation, are manageable, and should be addressed as part of a broader effort to reset transatlantic relations.

Instead of fighting the EU’s legitimate attempts to defend its vision of the digital economy, President-elect Joe Biden’s administration should explore how it can work with the EU to advance a shared vision. After all, citizens on both sides of the Atlantic want a human-centric Internet that is grounded in the values of liberal democracy and individual autonomy.

About author

Anu Bradford, Professor of Law and International Organization at Columbia Law School, is a senior scholar at Columbia Business School’s Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business. She is the author of The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World.

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