Business24 Newspaper 16th July, 2021

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The Future of Work Capsules: Let’s start imagining work post Covid -19

Standard Chartered commits $200m to provide vaccines for Africa

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NO. B24 / 222 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

FRIDAY MONDAY JULY MAY 16,3,2021 2021

Ghana-UK trade pact to cost GH₵115.7m in lost fiscal revenue

By Richard Annerquaye Abbey abbeykwei@gmail.com

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conomists have said the recent 4 percent increase in public sector workers’ base pay— one of the lowest for many years—must signal the government’s long-term approach to public sector

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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hana is expected to lose trade tax revenue of GH₵115.7m over tariff cuts and the removal of export taxes under the country’s interim Trade Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom, a parliamentary report has revealed.

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Limiting 2021 public pay increase is good policy, say economists

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Alan Kyerematen believes Ghana’s interest is well protected under the trade agreement with the

Veep: 86% of adults taxregistered after digital reforms

By Henry Martinson

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he adoption of Ghana Card numbers as Tax Identification Numbers has increased the proportion of the adult population registered as taxpayers from 4.1 percent to 86 percent, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said.

Furthermore, he added, the

Africa urged to use AfCFTA’s political momentum to advance integration

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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he African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) has released the African Transformation Report 2021, with a call on African countries to achieve growth with depth in order Cont’d on page 5

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Editorial / News

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021

Editorial

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Africa’s growth needs a collective push

he coming into force of the single continental market for trade, AfCFTA signaled a strong political momentum towards the socioeconomic advancement of Africa, a continent that boasts the world’s youngest and fastest growing labour force.

It is also a tangible evidence of the power of cooperation among African governments seeking a common interest: sustainable growth.

Africa’s growth is hinged on a number of pillars and trade is definitely one of them. However, consolidating the gains so far achieved will require more than moving goods and services across borders.

A report by the African Centre

for Economic Transformation (ACET) has aptly outlined the critical need for the continent’s economies to work together beyond trade to tackle shared challenges, harness regional opportunities, and enable economies to scale—and in turn, accelerate Africa’s economic transformation.

The report captured three core pillars: productive employment, a thriving manufacturing sector and services as sustainable drivers of regional integration.

Of course, feeding the world’s youngest and fastest growing labor force with jobs and the requisite technological and digital is a perfect call for a continent that’s not yet

out of the woods from an unprecedented pandemic.

To achieve this, however, regional governments will need to deepen collaboration in several areas including digital innovations that will boost sectoral productivity, reduce poverty and build a robust private sector.

It is without a doubt that Africa’s economic emancipation is a collective project and the survival of its economies is tied to sustained cross-border cooperation because no single nation can grow its economy on its own.

The AfCFTA offers the perfect opportunity for that and this trump card must be well utilized.

Ghana-UK trade pact to cost GH₵115.7m in lost fiscal revenue Continued from cover

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The loss represents 10.2 percent of Ghana’s total fiscal revenue from trade with the UK, the report by Parliament’s Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism said.

Parliament on Wednesday ratified the trade agreement, which is intended to avoid disruptions to trade between the two countries following the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The agreement makes provision for the protection of sensitive industries as well as financial adjustment support to facilitate reforms of the fiscal revenue system, said the report.

Alan Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said on Thursday that the country’s interest will be protected under the agreement.

“The agreement provides an opportunity for our country to export to [the] UK dutyfree, quota-free. And I am fully convinced that exporters who are currently exporting to [the] UK would also provide the lead for other exporters of non-traditional products to take advantage of the UK market,” the Minister told Parliament.

Between 2016 and 2019, Ghana

exported over £1.5bn worth of goods to the UK. The agreement will ensure this trade is not disrupted and will protect the country’s gains, Mr. Kyerematen said.

Under the pact, most products originating in Ghana would be imported into the UK free of custom duties, while Ghana has undertaken to progressively reduce and eliminate custom duties on products originating in the UK.

“The removal of tariffs on intermediary goods and machinery from the UK will mean cheaper inputs for Ghanaian businesses. This would make locally produced goods more competitive and support industrial development and the country’s integration into global value chains,” said the parliamentary report.

It added that the UK has also agreed to facilitate customs reforms within the Ecowas region.

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Veep: 86% of adults taxregistered after digital reforms Continued from cover implementation of the mobile money interoperability platform has raised the proportion of the adult population with access to banking services from 30 percent to 90 percent.

Dr. Bawumia was speaking during the virtual Third African Transformation Forum (ATF2021) organised by the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), which had the theme “Integrating to Transform”.

He used the occasion to highlight other digitally driven projects undertaken by government, including the digital address system for all properties and locations and drone technology to deliver medical supplies and vaccines.

“The last year has demonstrated the relevance of digital transformation to

delivering contactless payments, direct rapid transfers to the adult population, and effective track and trace mechanisms,” he said.

“The integration of the Ghana Card, the Digital Address System, the National Health Insurance, Passport Services, and the Nations Pension Systems enhances the delivery of public services,

improves the convenience of citizens, brings considerable cost saving and improves revenue generation capacity of service providers,” he emphasised.

On integrating the continent’s economies, Dr. Bawumia indicated that “digital integration and innovation will play a crucial role in the implementation of the

AfCFTA and the country’s ability to seize the opportunities.”

“As host of the AfCTFA secretariat, Ghana sees her role in this call for the integration and collaboration as crucial. Our commitment to the integration process is currently at its strongest since independence,” he said.

Limiting 2021 public pay increase is good policy, say economists Continued from cover wage management, which should aim to keep wage growth below revenue growth.

Economist and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Dr. Said Boakye told Business24 that the relatively low increase would create room for government to address the wide fiscal deficit created by the pandemic.

Government earlier this month agreed with organised labour to increase public sector workers’ base pay by 4 percent and 7 percent for 2021 and 2022, respectively.

According to Dr. Boakye, over the years the increase in public sector workers’ pay has exceeded

the increase in government revenue, deepening Ghana’s fiscal imbalances.

“The truth of the matter is that workers want higher wages, and it is understandable. The ability of government to pay, however, is very critical. Compensation, as well as interest payment alone, is consuming government’s revenue—so the government has to manage it, and that is what IFS has been calling for,” he said.

“We believe that the growth of the compensation bill as a whole has to be smaller than the growth of government revenue, and that is what perhaps the government is beginning to do, which is right,” he added.

The fiscal impact of the pandemic saw the government

miss its 2020 revenue target by nearly GH¢12bn, whereas spending ballooned as the government battled to contain the virus’ spread.

Dr. Boakye stated that while government may have used the pandemic’s impact on the economy as justification to limit the public pay rise, it would have to consider other means of keeping the wage increase below the rate of increase in revenue.

In his view, Ghana’s wage spending has to conform to spending by its peer countries, who have been able to control the rate of wage increases vis-à-vis revenue mobilisation.

“If you compare Ghana’s compensation bill as a share of revenue, it is way higher than

the country’s peers. It is so huge, consuming a very big chunk of the revenue, and for that matter it is affecting things like capital investment, which is also needed to enhance the growth potential of the country.

“We’re not saying don’t increase workers’ compensation; you can increase it, but make sure that revenue growth is faster than the growth in the compensation bill so that over time, Ghana is able to bring it down to the level of its peers. This should be a longterm plan until Ghana reaches the level of its peers,” he added.

Another economist, Courage Martey, who works with investment banking firm Databank, said government would be able to contain the impact of the recent wage increase as it is below the medium-term inflation forecast.

“Ultimately, the negative impact of the higher wages on government expenditure should be offset by the relatively higher inflationary push to nominal revenue,” he said.

“The main thing is to keep inflation down. If inflation remains low and around the target levels, the erosion in workers' disposable income would be low and they would find it easier to accept proposals of low wage growth,” he added.

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Africa urged to use AfCFTA’s political momentum to advance integration Continued from cover to advance regional integration.

The report, which has the theme “Integrating to Transform”, explores the critical need for African countries to work together beyond trade to tackle shared challenges, harness regional opportunities, and enable economies to scale—which, in turn, will accelerate Africa’s economic transformation.

“Too many countries are working in isolation. The solution lies in coming together,” the report said.

It called on African countries to use the AfCFTA’s political momentum to look beyond trade and markets to advance integration in other areas.

“Greater regional collaboration—especially through the delivery of regional public goods such as transport corridors and digital connectivity—will help remove barriers that have slowed progress in the past,” it said.

It added that reframing regional collaboration as a mechanism for addressing national problems will

be key to working across borders to jointly tackle issues that pose significant long-term challenges to Africa’s transformation.

“Integrating to transform focuses on three areas: ensuring productive employment for the world’s youngest and fastest-

growing labour force by imparting skills for work in 21st century agriculture, manufacturing, and services; supporting digital innovation by enabling the private sector to deliver the many benefits from digital technologies in creating jobs, boosting

productivity, and reducing poverty; and managing climate risks by promoting climate-smart agriculture, protecting green and blue ecosystems, and exploiting renewable energy,” the report said.

Total increases offshore wind investments Renewable energy has a critical role to play in meeting rising global electricity demand while helping to combat global warming, energy giant Total has said.

The company said wind power, a low-carbon, naturally renewable solution, has a particularly bright future.

“That’s why we are leveraging our expertise to develop this resource. In particular, we are

focusing our efforts on offshore wind power,” the company said in statement.

According to the company, the technology has great potential because it can be deployed far off the coast, tapping larger wind resources than onshore wind turbines while having less of an impact on the landscape.

To ensure success, Total said they are applying it recognised, longstanding expertise in

managing large offshore projects.

“In 2020, we invested in a number of landmark floating and fixed-bottom wind projects, in both mature and growth regions across Europe and Asia,” the statement added.

This, it said, has positioned the company as a key player in the industry – with cumulative wind power generation capacity of more than 3.5 gigawatts – and contributed to it goal of being one

of the world’s top 5 renewable energy companies.

The statement said large-scale projects in the pipeline set to start operations in the years to come include Erebus, a pioneering floating wind project located off the coast of Wales in waters 70 meters deep, making Total one of the first movers in this technology in the United Kingdom, the world’s largest offshore wind market.

“Seagreen, the largest fixedbottom offshore wind project in Scotland, with a production capacity of 1,140 megawatts, equivalent to the daily electricity consumption of one million homes in the United Kingdom.

Bada, the biggest floating offshore wind project in the world, with a production capacity of 500 megawatts, which we are developing off the coast of South Korea in partnership with Macquarie,” the statement added.

These projects, the company said, will bring them closer to it ambition of getting to net zero by 2050, together with society.

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Standard Chartered commits $200m to provide vaccines for Africa

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frican Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Standard Chartered has signed an agreement for Standard Chartered to provide US$200m of not-for-profit funding towards Afreximbank’s structured framework to help finance the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines for African nations.

The collaboration between Standard Chartered and Afreximbank will help ensure that 55 countries across Africa have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

This facility will play a part in ensuring that Africa can achieve its COVID-19 strategy, which targets vaccinating a minimum of 60 per cent of Africa’s population.

This facility is part of the Advance Procurement Commitment (APC) framework structured by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Vaccines Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), under which Afreximbank provided a guarantee of US$ 2bn to vaccine manufacturers to secure access to COVID-19 vaccines for African countries.

Over the last year, Afreximbank has also launched a number of facilities to support its member

countries.

These include the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation facility (PATIMFA), under which the bank has disbursed over US$ 6.5bn to mitigate and manage the financial, economic and health impacts of the pandemic.

In addition, Afreximbank put in place a US$ 1.5bn Collaborative Covid-19 Pandemic Response Facility (COPREFA), working with partners to support African economies during the pandemic.

A statement from the bank explained that the funding is part of the bank’s US$ 1bn financing commitment that was launched in March 2020, which aims to

tackle the pandemic by financing vital equipment such as personal protective equipment, ventilators and now vaccines.

The bank said to date, US$ 900m of this has been allocated and over US$ 700m disbursed to clients.

Prof.

Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said they are delighted that Standard Chartered has committed US$ 200m to support the ongoing work of Afreximbank and AVATT in helping African countries secure access to COVID-19 vaccines.

“Having an effective financing solution for vaccine procurement

in place for Africa is of paramount importance to ensure we are not left further behind in the ongoing race. This agreement demonstrates the unwavering commitment of Afreximbank and Standard Chartered to helping Africa overcome the challenges of the pandemic,” he said.

Simon Cooper, Chief Executive, Corporate, Commercial, and Institutional Banking at Standard Chartered, said the speed of vaccine rollout is not only a healthcare issue but is increasingly a differentiator of near-term, post pandemic economic recovery for African nations.

“We are acutely aware that Africa accounts for under 2 per cent of vaccines administered worldwide; we welcome Afreximbank’s efforts to tackle this and we want to use our USD 1bn facility to help,” he said.

According to the bank, using financing provided by Standard Chartered, Afreximbank is helping to ensure Africa’s access to COVID-19 vaccines by ensuring payment to identified vaccine manufacturers that have vaccine orders placed by African nations through the African Medical Supplies Platform

Travel season intensifies as Emirates expects another busy weekend ahead

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mirates says it is expecting high passenger volumes to pass through Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport this weekend as traveller numbers reach among their highest levels since the pandemic began.

With added safety measures and COVID-19 travel requirement checks in place, the airline said

travellers may encounter longer than expected waiting times at Emirates check-in counters.

“Customers starting their journey from Dubai are encouraged to physically check-in & drop their bags early to avoid long wait times. Customers can check-in for their flights up to 24 hours before departure, and

those flying to the US can check in 12 hours before departure,” the company said.

It said customers are also reminded to ensure they have all the relevant documents ready and review the latest travel requirements to their booked destination, including whether forms, vaccination certificates or

negative PCR tests are required on the Emirates Travel Hub, which has the latest information for every country on the airline’s route network.

It added that all passengers are requested to check in no later than 3 hours prior to departure, saying customers who present themselves less than 60 minutes prior to their scheduled flight departure will not be accepted for travel.

Online Check-in is also available from 48 hours before departure and customers are reminded to visit the Emirates check-in counters or contactless kiosks to complete the required travel documentation checks and formalities, Emirates said.

It also advised customers to make sure they get to their boarding gate on time as gates open 90 minutes before departure, and close 20 minutes before departure.

“If passengers report late Emirates will not be able to accept them for travel,” it said.

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FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021

We needed to create strong digital pillars to implement Ghana.Gov – Vice President

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ice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says the successful launch of the Ghana.Gov platform is a culmination of strategic steps to digitise government sectors over the past four years.

The Ghana.GOV platform, which is available to all citizens, residents and non residents, is the payments and revenue collection platform that provides a single point of access to all services of ministries, departments and agencies of government.

Speaking at the launch of the digital platform in Accra, Dr. Bawumia said there had been unsuccessful attempts by previous governments to roll-out the digital platform, but the Akufo-Addo-led government knew exactly what it wanted to achieve with Ghana.

Gov. "So right from the onset of this administration in 2017, we set up strong pillars, which would allow the implementation of an effective and efficient Ghana.Gov. "While Ghana.GOV is not a government’s first attempt at digitising the provision and delivery of all government services on a single platform (the

previous government attempted to do so), the approach this time is novel.

"We knew from the beginning that certain key pillars have to be in place before a single platform for the effective delivery of government services can be implemented,” Dr. Bawumia said.

These pillars, the Vice President stressed, include providing a unique national identity card for citizens and residents, digital residential and business addresses, financial

inclusion for citizens and residents through mobile money interoperability, the expansion of Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) of tax payers, as well as the digitisation of government operations such as the paperless port, passport office, DVLA, NHIA, Registrar General's Department, among others.

"It is only after putting all these key elements in place that we have built this Ghana.Gov platform," Dr. Bawumia added.

The Vice President expressed

delight at the successful creation of the Ghana.Gov, saying, its operationalisation would be of immense benefits to both citizens and the government.

"Ghana.Gov is a one-stop-shop to enable citizens to easily access government services, simplify payments for public services, ensure prompt payments for the services and promote transparency and visibility of internally generated funds. It is a real weapon in the fight against demons and principalities in the public sector," Dr. Bawumia said.

The Vice President also expressed delight that such a remarkable platform was powered by a local consortium (Hubtel, Expresspay and IT Consortium).

"I am excited that we did not have to go beyond our shores to develop and manage a platform like this. Indeed, the spirit of collaboration and innovation exhibited by the local technology companies (Hubtel, Expresspay and IT Consortium) who are powering this payments platform is most admirable," he said.

GNA

WTO members edge closer to fisheries subsidies agreement

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TO members on Thursday edged closer to an agreement which would set new rules for the global fisheries industry and limit government subsidies contributing to unsustainable fishing and the depletion of global fish stocks.

During an all-day meeting with 104 ministers and heads of delegation, WTO members pledged to conclude the negotiations soon and certainly before the WTO's Ministerial Conference in early December, and to empower their Genevabased delegations to do so.

Members also confirmed that the negotiating text currently before them can be used as the basis for the talks to strike the final deal.

“I feel new hope this evening.

Because ministers and heads of delegation today demonstrated a strong commitment to moving forward and doing the hard work needed to get these negotiations to the finish line. I applaud you for this. In 20 years of negotiations, this is the closest we have ever come towards reaching an

outcome – a high-quality outcome that would contribute to building a sustainable blue economy,” said Director-General Ngozi OkonjoIweala.

“One fundamental conclusion that I draw from your interventions today is that members are ready to use the text as the basis for future negotiations. A second takeaway from today was that there is universal agreement about the importance of the food and livelihood security of artisanal fishers in developing

and least developed countries.

The prospect for a deal in the autumn ahead of our Ministerial Conference has clearly improved."

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that onethird of global fish stocks are overfished and most of the rest is fully exploited. This is up from 10percent in 1970 and 27percent in 2000.

Depleted stocks threaten the food security of low-income coastal communities, and the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable

fishers who must go further and further from shore only to bring back smaller and smaller hauls.

Each year, governments hand out around $35 billion in fisheries subsidies, two-thirds of which go to commercial fishers. These subsidies keep at sea vessels which would otherwise be economically unviable. World leaders in 2015 made a fisheries subsidies agreement by 2020 part of the Sustainable Development Goals and trade ministers reaffirmed this pledge in 2017.

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The Future of Work Capsules: Let’s start imagining work post Covid -19

By Baptista Sarah Gebu (Mrs.)

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ay the spirit of this 2021 Eid bring joy & prosperity in our lives as well as harmony, compassion and love. In celebrating this eid let’s show influence and not affluence.

Happy Eid to everyone.

Covid-19 may last longer than you think. We need to start learning to know how to live with it as flu. This too shall pass. Let’s start imagining then how work is going to be for us all post covid-19.

The way in which a process or event develops over a period of time will be the trajectory.

The trajectory of jobs, skills, and other workforce trends in the COVID-19 recovery agenda will cause us to re-imagine work and workforce trends. “Reimagining work is a cross-functional, topteam decision-making process”.

Capacity Building Let us re-imagine the future of capacity building for the start.

How have we been managing capacity building programs over the period? The trend could be changing. This is because, the future capacity building as a form of learning will become more technology –enabled, custommade and purposeful as we try to learn new skills to enable us adjust, fit in or recreate the ideal new future for ourselves.

The future of learning could see a departure from event –based learning where we gather people and institutions at special times and period for group learning activities. For the future, as many up-skills or reskill, the focus will be shifting to create that enabling environment that will support custom-made and purposeful learning to be reinforced by technology. As a prolong activity offering maximum benefits over a long period of time, the changing

nature of work, work systems and elements will cause us to individually plan our capacity building needs and schedules just as most do with gym (exercise) needs. Its tailor based to your needs and flexible schedule.

Prior to covid-19, remote learning wasn’t so appreciated by many.

I remember, encouraging a colleague to register to undertake a remote long distance learning virtually. The perception at the time was that, quality could be comprise and connectivity challenges could affect access and increase the total cost. Many also considered networking opportunities to be too remote and not acceptable. Interestingly enough, all these perceived challenges have rather supported and promoted remote learning for now except for connectivity challenges which is a real issue for most African countries to rub their heads around.

Customer Service Jobs Re-imaging customer service jobs post covid-19, it is common knowledge now to know that robots are supporting and taking over many customer services jobs.

As a business model, companies outsource their customer service needs. For the future, operators in that industry may have to rethink of viable business solutions as they risk sharing those space with robots. At our banks, hospitals, restaurants and with within our telecommunication space just to mention but a few; robots and technology are taking over customer service functions.

Meaning individual professionals must learn to up-skill or reskill or shift to other industry with the right skill sets.

Demand for basic office work – Administrative and bookkeeping.

Same will go for our demand for basic office work and administrative functions.

There will be decline. Apps and tech-tools will support the management of simple routine basic administrative work. If you are a student learning how to be a professional administrator you may want to re-think the future and realign so that by the time you graduate the certificate you possess will be relevant for you in the job market. Basic bookkeeping work will equally be affected. Be agile.

Healthcare, TVET and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Though many jobs will decline we also expect growth in healthcare, STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics], management and creative arts. People in occupations at risk of lower demand might consider moving to one of those growth areas— but that requires a big step-up in skills. People need opportunities to switch careers and learn different skills. In some instances, that will require businesses to help retrain workers. It will require educational institutions to rethink how we prepare young people for the workforce and the need for technical skills or credentials, if not a college degree.

Our institutions of learning and universities may have to rethink and move away from dishing out the usual marketing, accounting and social sciences degrees.

Though needed, the trends show STEM and TVET are gradually gaining momentum.

For Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), governments must put in place long term strategic plans (5-10years) on how the country

can remodel and rebrand that sector for attractiveness and efficiency.

With the introduction of the African Free Trade Continental Secretariat Agreement demanding one market for Africa, governments must make be purposive and intentional in their approach to positioning and to outsource or export quality TVET professionals across board.

Education generally Education seems to have two sides. One will decline and the other will grow. Online schooling – remote schooling will grow but not across board. For instance, adult learning still in line with capacity building as discussed earlier will grow. For easy retention, access to virtual video and link will encourage custommade structured learning. Same cannot be said for kids and youth learning to some extent.

Baptista is a human resource professional with a broad generalist background. Building a team of efficient & effective workforce is her business. Affecting lives is her calling! She is a Hybrid Professional, HR Generalist, strategic planner, innovative, professional connector and a motivator. You can reach her via e-mail on forealhrservices@ gmail.com You can follow this conversation on our social media pages Facebook / LinkedIn/ Twitter / Instagram: FoReal HR Services. Call or WhatsApp: +233(0)262213313.

Follow the hashtag #theFutureofWorkCapsules #FoWC

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FAO moves to increase legality and transparency in timber trade

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he Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new online portal providing information on forest-related laws around the world in order to help promote legal forest management, timber production and trade, and contribute to efforts to make forest resource use sustainable.

The first such portal of its kind, developed with support from the Japanese Government, TimberLex provides information on legislation relating to forest management, timber production and trade from 46 timber consumer, processing and producer countries.

Illegal logging and related trade are estimated to account for 10-30 percent of the global timber trade - or $ 30-100 billion annually - and impairs poverty alleviation, food security and climate change mitigation while undermining efforts to manage forests sustainably. In an effort to address this issue, major wood-consuming countries are increasingly imposing requirements for timber imports to document their legal status.

"One of the challenges to promoting legality and transparency in the timber trade

is knowing what regulations are in place that may impact actions along the value chain, as each country's legal system is of course, unique," stated Daphne Hewitt, Manager of the FAO-European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme.

"It can be very challenging for timber producers, exporters, importers and regulators in timber exporting and importing countries to find reliable information on national legal requirements around timber legality," she added.

Legislation from major timber

producing and consuming countries "By making information on national legislation related to forest management, production and associated trade easily available, TimberLex will help verification and due diligence efforts worldwide," said Blaise Kuemlangan, Chief of the Development Law Service of the FAO Legal Office.

"The unique selling point of the portal is the user-friendly nature which allows easy access to national legislation in three languages."

The TimberLex portal points

users to specific measures and verbatim citations within legal texts and allows easy and direct comparison between legal frameworks. Country profiles catalogue legislation around four clusters encompassing the different stages of the timber value chain considered critical to the legality of timber: land tenure and forest management; timber harvesting activities; processing, transport and trade; and taxes and fees.

The portal aims to enable more effective law enforcement and contribute to improving forest governance, curbing illegal deforestation and associated forest degradation, and promoting global production and trade in legal timber.

The database is aimed at legislators, policymakers, forestry departments and law enforcement officers, private sector producers, processors and traders, civil society and nongovernment organizations.

TimberLex is a branch of FAOLEX - administered by the Development Law Service of the FAO Legal Office, this is the world's largest electronic collection of national laws and regulations on food, agriculture and renewable natural resources.

Shippers Authority holds 2nd Exporters Forum in Takoradi

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he Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has organized a forum for exporters in the Western and Western North Regions in Takoradi.

The forum which was on the topic “Addressing the Challenges of Exporters in Relation to Letters of Commitment (LOC)” was aimed at educating exporters on the need to obtain LOC’s before exporting their goods.

Mr Eric Hammond, a Deputy Director of the Banking Department of the Bank of Ghana in a presentation on the LOC indicated that the Bank of Ghana uses the LOC generated from the ICUMS Portal to monitor all exports and ensures the repatriation of export proceeds by exporters.

The ICUMS allows sixty (60) days within which exporters are expected to repatriate export proceeds through the banking

system to Ghana. According to him if export proceeds are not repatriated within the sixty days allowed by the ICUMS Portal, the exporter will be blocked and cannot do subsequent exports.

Mr Hammond said any exporter who requires more days to repatriate shall apply to the Bank of Ghana for an extension and that the Bank of Ghana shall upon the request, approve a maximum of sixty (60), and in special circumstances, an additional thirty (30) days for the exporter to repatriate export proceeds.

Mr Charles Darling Asiedu Sey, Branch Manager of GSA on his part mentioned that the GSA had over the years collaborated with sister agencies to help address shippers’ concerns with the day’s forum being a major example.

He indicated that exporters play a key role in the economic transformation agenda of every nation with Ghana being no exception. He said the African

Transformation Report 2014 identified export competitiveness as one of the key pillars needed to transform African economies and specifically Ghana’s economy.

He called on all stakeholders to urgently take a holistic view of the

policies, regulations and practices needed with buy-in from all to create a mutually reinforcing framework that fosters export competitiveness and a businessfriendly environment in Ghana.

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The power of market design

By Paul Milgrom, Silvia Console Battilana

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n 2010, the United States faced a challenging allocation problem. Demand was surging for a resource vital to daily life, but the available supply was being used by incumbents that had built an important industry around it.

Moreover, incremental transfers to new uses were impossible. Could new rules alleviate growing scarcities while respecting existing users’ rights and enabling a voluntary, multiparty reallocation?

The resource was not water but radio spectrum – the electromagnetic frequencies used for wireless phone calls, smartphone data, and emergency communications. Demand for spectrum had grown as more people streamed movies, placed video calls, and used mobile apps. But because spectrum that would have been ideal for smartphone apps was taken up by a fragmented industry of TV broadcasters, there wasn’t enough bandwidth for mobile uses.

Our company, Auctionomics, advised the US Congress and Federal Communications Commission to solve the problem through a series of changes culminating in the Broadcast Incentive Auction. Spectrum would be bought back from lessvaluable broadcast uses and resold for cellular applications, while generously protecting incumbents who wanted to continue their traditional uses.

That auction, held in 2016 and 2017, acquired a large amount of spectrum, reallocated it to higher-value uses, and raised $19 billion in gross revenue.

The success of this initiative demonstrates the power and

potential of market design to create and refine marketplaces and exchanges to improve the allocation of scarce resources.

The auction design was integrated with important legislative changes that made spectrum rights more easily exchangeable while allowing incumbents to continue operating with little or no disruption.

This approach is widely applicable, especially in environmental management.

Additional new scarcities will require a reallocation of resources that pays close attention to both social and environmental challenges and the interests of existing users, who will resist changes they deem harmful. Market design, which has emerged as an important subfield of economics in the past 25 years, provides new economic theory and related algorithms, evidence, and examples to help policymakers implement effective solutions.

Market design methods have already solved several important everyday problems of matching resources to users. Applications include internet advertising (seeing online ads that are appropriate and match your interests), organ transplantation (finding a compatible donor for a loved one), medical residency matching(connecting newly minted doctors to their first job), and charitable food donations (stocking the local food bank with the most-needed items).

Policymakers can adapt the same theory and practices for new and evolving allocation problems. For example, market design can help address COVID-19 vaccine shortages by allowing exchanges of the ingredients and supplies (such as filters, tubing, and pharma bags) needed for vaccine production.

Likewise, financial instruments using cryptocurrencieshave introduced decentralized designs with fully automated trading.

Spectrum-license auctions will need to change again to accommodate 5G technologies and support small-scale Internet-of-Things and artificialintelligence applications. And the success of cap-and-trade programs – for carbon dioxide emissions, fisheries, and other environmental goods – will depend on how well regulators can define the products to be exchanged and set rules that encourage participation while achieving societal objectives.

Market design will also play a critical role in solving the problem of water allocation.

Many of the world’s existing rights to fresh water – both surface water and groundwater – have already been granted and grandfathered in complex ways to cities, farmers, and industrial users. In some cases, each individual trade of these rights requires governmental approval; other jurisdictions prohibit such trading entirely.

These restrictions and historical rules have led to highly inefficient allocations. Water may be unavailable to towns that require more of it as they grow, even when those urban and residential uses are a hundred times more valuable than the rural ones they would supplant.

Certain industrial firms whose rights are based on historical use may have an incentive to overuse water, even during droughts, to retain their rights to future allotments. Where trading of rights is limited or prohibited, poor price signals make it difficult even to assess which uses are most valuable. And water demand will increase and shift as climate change continues to

upend historical usage patterns.

The success of the US radio spectrum auction points to a solution. Instead of revoking incumbents’ spectrum rights unilaterally, Congress redefined them in a way that made trading them possible and simple, and then allowed TV broadcasters to decide for themselves whether to continue their previous uses or decline to participate. The rights that were sold were then reconfigured to be suitable for new uses and efficient trading, while those that were unsold remained fit for existing purposes.

A similar reorganization of water rights could protect existing users not wishing to sell, while creating tradeable rights for others that would allow water to flow to its most valuable use.

Any attempt to compel all current users to participate will likely be thwarted by legal and political opposition, but a fully voluntary market styled on the same principles as the one for radio spectrum could accommodate resisters while drastically improving the allocation of water rights. Moreover, policymakers could use a portion of the value freed by any reallocation to offset inequities – for example, by granting credits to rural towns or small agricultural producers so that they receive the water resources they need.

Allocating water efficiently and fairly will require innovation, collaboration, and regulation.

In this and other domains, market design puts practical economic theory in the service of establishing rights and introducing effective rules and algorithms. That way, we can accommodate diverse market participants, harness new technologies, and maximize the public good.

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FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021

Data protection in Africa

D

ata protection is about safeguarding our fundamental right to privacy by regulating the processing of personal data: providing the individual with rights over their data and setting up systems of accountability and clear obligations for those who control or undertake the processing of the data. Digital rights are basic human rights in the internet era - linked to freedom of expression and privacy, those that allow people to access, use, create and publish digital media, as well as access and use computers, other electronic devices, and communications networks. As a user of digital technology, you also have the right to privacy and the freedom of personal expression.

2020 brought several major developments in the world of data protection legislation. Also, the rise of so many digitally enabled markets in Africa means that more consumers are being asked to give access to their personal data, including financial, demographic, and geolocation data. As the 55 African countries of the African Union (AU) move towards greater integration of trade policies through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), one area of noted trade policy divergence is the governance of digital trade. African nations have varied rules governing the protection of personal data, with some countries offering little to no protection policy while others have extensive digital governance frameworks.

As internet connectivity, broadband access, and digital trade have converged with wider economic development, the extent to which African nations form policies

governing the digital landscape can also shape development across the whole continent.

The Internet has introduced new spaces. The online environment has gone mainstream, and there is more democratic participation.

As we increasingly conduct our lives online—shopping, socializing, and sharing information—our digital rights, particularly the rights to privacy and freedom of expression, are becoming more important. We need to understand how our data is being used by companies, governments, and internet giants such as Facebook and Google.

Is it being handled fairly and carefully, sold, or shared without our consent?

As governments and companies collect our personal data, cybercriminals are also easily collecting our personal data and tracking our movements and activities. It is important to know who has access to the data trail or footprints we create online. Brands want to look at the content that we create and share, such as our social media profiles and location data from mobile phones, because it helps them build a picture of how we spend our time and money. Also, employee records, customer details, transactions, and data collection through surveys need to be protected. This is to prevent that data from being misused by third parties for fraud, such as phishing scams and identity theft.

Thus, the regulations governing the protection of personal data are becoming increasingly important.

Data privacy is a fundamental right that is yet to be completely established across many countries in Africa. Only 32 countries in

Africa have data privacy laws.

The African Union convention on cybersecurity and personal data protection (Malabo Convention) 2014, sets a strong intention of protecting personal data and ensuring cybersecurity in Africa.

The Convention seeks to establish a credible framework for cybersecurity in Africa through the organization of electronic transactions, protection of personal data, and promotion of cybersecurity, e-governance, and combating cybercrime. It also provides a personal data protection framework that African countries might switch into their national legislation for it to have the full force of the law and encourages African countries to recognize the need for protecting personal data. By this, emphasizing the responsibility of African states to respect, protect and fulfil human rights online for all people.

The continent is divided along the line of countries with a framework, an insufficient framework, and no framework.

Many countries are also yet to adopt any major data protection regulations.

The divergent framework creates a fractured terrain for data protection and enforcement of the law across the continent, and for establishing a common market for regional trade in digital goods and services.

Despite the gaps, Ghana has spent considerable efforts to update and amend laws and regulations to encourage the establishment of a larger digital trade economy. This includes laws that govern the protection and privacy of personal data.

Ghana’s Data Protection Act came into force in 2012 to protect the privacy of individual and personal

data by regulating the processing of personal information. In 2019 Kenya, Nigeria, Togo, and Uganda enacted data protection policies, followed by Egypt, to create a data protection framework with its Personal Data Protection Law. Next came South Africa, whose Protection of Personal Information Act came into force in 2020. Other countries are revising existing data protection policies or working to establish structures to enforce existing laws and regulations.

Although the gaps and wide flexibility of privacy and data protection laws from country to country, the economic and trade impact on technology firms seems to be minor, as the size of the African digital market is still growing. In the wake of emerging technologies, several new data security laws around the world will be enforced, introducing among others, mandatory data breach notifications, and increased penalties for non-compliance.

2021 will see these changes applied and for Ghana and other African digital economies to grow, we must push for enforcement and compliance, and fall in line with the international standard set by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Cross-border transfers are likely to be one of the big compliance issues being tackled by legislative bodies and data protection authorities must ensure a regularization and normalization of data transfers between countries.

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

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Huawei's 5G virtual private network among top 10 industry application solutions

C

ommunications World Weekly (CWW) Omnimedia, a leading ICT information service provider, has announced the top 10 5G industry application solutions.

The list showcases 5G's disruptive influence on vertical industries and its essential role in accelerating industry digitalisation.

The 5G electric power virtual private network solution deployed by Huawei and China Mobile for China Southern Power Grid (CSPG) ranks among the top 10 industry application solutions which was acknowledged for its future-forward design, cuttingedge technologies, and successful application.

Power grids must provide a highly reliable and stable power supply. As the whole power industry transforms with technologies, power grids are becoming more digital, networked, and intelligent.

For this, the industry needs electric power communication networks that are more ubiquitous, flexible, economical,

secure, and reliable. Providing ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and massive connectivity, 5G is ideal for building such networks.

Recognising this value, Huawei combined the power of 5G with cutting-edge technologies, such as network slicing and edge computing, developing the 5G virtual private network solution for the electric power industry.

Huawei then applied it to tailor a private network for the CSPG on China Mobile's 5G SA network.

With this solution, CSPG's service zones have been horizontally isolated from one another and vertically secured with a well-rounded

authentication mechanism.

This solution also allows China Mobile to open a variety of network capabilities to the CSPG, facilitating management based on rights and domains. Furthermore, it adapts to the various phases in power services by using different types of private networks, either WAN or LAN. For example, power distribution and consumption involve a variety of scattered devices but still require full network coverage. In this case, a private WAN connects all the devices using 5G while also enabling intelligent power distribution and inspection. On the other hand, private LANs are

ARHR calls for submission of abstracts on malaria research

T

he Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) has called for the submission of abstracts on malaria research and interventions to be presented at the up-coming Malaria Research

Conference slated for September 2021.

The alliance requested that the abstracts from research and academic institutions, civil society organisations, government

agencies and other individuals working in the areas of malaria prevention, control, management and research in Ghana, be written only in English.

It said the abstracts should

better for the power generation and transformation systems deployed only in certain areas.

Here, the solution implements local break-out (LBO) to restrict data processing to within the specific areas, yielding ultralow latency and rock-solid data security.

The 5G virtual private network solution has reshaped CSPG into a smart grid. The solution is now more mature with an in-depth understanding of industry requirements. The 5G smart grid project has deployed flagship applications, promoted key technologies, optimised the basic design, accelerated standardization, and developed a robust ecosystem. Using the solution, CSPG has built the world's first smart grid demo in the Shenzhen Greater Bay Area covering every power service phase, from transmission to transformation, distribution, and consumption. CSPG, China Mobile, and Huawei have also built and commercialised China's largest smart grid demonstration area in Nansha, Guangzhou.

cover research or interventions undertaken and completed within the last five years, that is not earlier than September 2016, explaining that the alliance is interested in synopsis describing malaria research and related interventions including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, management and control, surveillance and evaluation.

“They must also emphasise on how the results of the research and interventions were, or would be used to direct public health action, and describe or estimate the public health impact,” the alliance said.

It said abstract submitted for consideration should be original.

In particular, the abstract should not represent work already published in peer-reviewed journals or previously accepted to international conference.

Other guidelines include the fact that the abstracts must not exceed 300 words and should be divided into four (4) sections involving the background, methods, results and conclusion.

The alliance said in addition to the abstract, applicant should complete the application form and submit, after which shortlisted applicants would be contacted.