Business24 ePaper (June12, 2020)

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FRIDAY JUNE 12, 2020

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Oil prices to remain lower, exporters to bear the brunt

Gov’t targets 1GW power from nuclear sources

BY NII ANNERQUAYE ABBEY

MORE ON PG 3

Energy Minister John Peter Amewu would hope to leave a mark where his predecessors have faltered

BY BENSON AFFUL

Rating agency Moody’s says despite the increase in oil prices in recent weeks, it expects prices to remain lower for longer, which will worsen pressures for oil exporters.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, as optimism about recent commitments from major oil producers to curb production offset concerns that resurgence in coronavirus cases could hurt fuel demand.

Brent crude rose 38 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at US$41.18 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose 75 cents, or 2

percent, to end at US$38.94 a barrel.

However, Moody’s said it has revised its oil price assumptions further downwards to account for the deeper and longer-lasting shock to global oil demand as a result of the coronavirus shock, which will be only partially offset by some adjustments to supply.

According to the rating agency, the deeper global economic recession that is expected in 2020 in all major advanced economies and the drastic reduction in travel in particular have reduced demand for oil beyond its previous assumptions, saying “adjustments in supply are MORE ON PG 2

Insurance claim: Would you fight for your car?

BY RICHARD NUNEKPEKU MORE ON PG 7

USDGs and the Beyond Aid Agenda– At least 1% of GDP must be committed to R&D funding

BY PROF. DOUGLAS BOATENG MORE ON PG 13

Let’s shift from supplybased to demanddriven agriculture— NDPC boss MORE ON PG 3

BY PATRICK PAINTSIL

Covid-19 threatens food safety –FDA

ECONOMIC INDICATORS *EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

USD$1 =GHC 5.6230*

*POLICY RATE

14.5%*

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

6.6 % OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE PRIMARY BALANCE.

1.5% -1.1% OF GDP

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

GHc 5.13*

INTERNATIONAL MARKET

BY EUGENE DAVIS MORE ON PG 5

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

42.30

NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

1.78

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

1,685.06

CORN $/BUSHEL

329.50

COCOA $/METRIC TON

2,384.00

COFFEE $/POUND:

+5.70 ($108.30)

COPPER USD/T OZ.

220.15

SILVER $/TROY OUNCE:

17.07

Copyright @ 2020 Business24 Limited.

All Rights Reserved.

Tel: +233 030 296 5297 editor@thebsuiness24online.net

NEWS/EDITORIAL

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FRIDAY JUNE 12, 2020

EDITORIAL

Business approach to agriculture is the way forward 1

Wash your hands 2

Cover your cough 3

Questions raised by the head of the country’s National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, about the current approach to reviving the fortunes of the agricultural sector must the taken serious.

A business approach to the sector is required if crop yields are to be improved, market demand met, and post-harvest losses reduced to the barest minimum.

Currently, agriculture is based on the usual supply-focused approach where farmers receive seedlings, fertilizers, and other inputs from government which informs what they grow for a particular season and not based on demand.

Because of this approach, some basic food items such as maize, rice, mango, avocado, tomatoes and others flood various markets and

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

We associate with the comments by the NDPC boss that farming is a business and must be approached with entrepreneurial skills.

Going forward, training of farmers to be able to identify opportunities and anticipate risks with the relevant means to adapt to and survive the associated threats must ne paramount.

Indeed, demand-driven agriculture where farmers will be able to determine the volume of various crops to produce to be able to curtail the perennial issue with seasonal food gluts and wastages across the value chain should be consciously pursued by the sector ministry and enough resources committed to training.

Oil prices to remain lower, exporters to bear the brunt (…CONTINUED FROM COVER )

Wear a mask

food points across the country at a particular time, after which they gradually disappear from our markets.

As Dr. Mensah-Abrampa notes, this has been the “cyclical approach to agriculture which ends up making the farmers even poorer when they produce more based on ‘cobweb theory’ because they cannot obtain markets to sell.”

“If we want to modernise agriculture, this is the time to put the resources at where agriculture can be modernised. If we want to modernise industrialisation, this is the time; and the opportunities have been created. Governance elements of agriculture must be looked at; where are the policies, regulations and road infrastructure; these are very important and there must be a conscious effort to bring about these changes,” he added.

only likely to mitigate the impact of the demand shortfall on prices.”

“As a result, and notwithstanding the recent increase in prices, we now assume that Brent will average US$35/barrel (bbl) this year and US$45/bbl in 2021, or US$8/ bbl below our March 2020 assumptions.

“We also expect oil prices to remain below their path pre-coronavirus, as long-lasting changes to oil-intensive travel and transport in particular lower oil demand for several years to come.

Our medium-term oil price assumptions are now US$45-US$65/bbl, compared with US$50-US$70/bbl in March,” Moody’s said.

Analysts have predicted that the oil sector may not fully recover from the virus shock this year, and job losses in the industry will take a while to be regained.

Energy expert Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi told Business24 in an earlier interview that the extent of economic destruction accompanying the coronavirus crisis is thought to be much greater than the 2008 crisis, hence full recovery is not expected anytime soon.

“The recovery this time around would be slow and gradual because the oil sector took the hardest hit in the wake of the pandemic.”

He said it would be difficult to say demand and prices would get to the pre-

Covid-19 levels, because there are several risks likely to distort that forecast.

Ghana, an oil producer, is likely to miss its revenue target from oil by some 53 percent due to lowerthan-projected prices on the global market.

The government in the 2020 budget projected to receive US$1.57bn from oil revenues, anchored on a price prediction of US$62.6 per barrel.

However, oil prices have dropped largely due to the pandemic.

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Gov’t targets 1GW power from nuclear sources

BY NII ANNERQUAYE ABBE

The Energy Ministry is confident of harnessing at least one gigagwatt of power from nuclear sources, as it finalises proposals to be submitted to Cabinet for approval.

Officials of the ministry yesterday held a meeting with the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation as well as other stakeholders, where agreement was reached to nearly triple the country’s current installed power capacity.

Ghana has over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of installed electricity generation capacity including renewable sources, though actual availability barely exceeds 2,400 MW due to changing hydrological conditions, inadequate fuel supplies and poor energy infrastructure.

According to the Communications Director at the Energy Ministry, Nana Damoah, the nuclear energy plan will be laid before Cabinet for approval soon.

The latest move is part of attempts by government to diversify the country’s energy mix, having set up a Nuclear Regulatory Authority to spearhead the implementation of Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme (NPP).

The country has passed all 19 infrastructural requirements to be considered for the commencement of an NPP, which is the first of three phases required by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) before the development of a national infrastructure for nuclear power.

Despite the progress made to add nuclear power to the existing thermal, hydro and other renewable sources, it is expected that power from nuclear will be ready after a decade.

Nuclear Power Ghana Last year, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, announced that a team had been constituted to embark on a reconnaissance trip for a preliminary assessment and collection of site data for the Nuclear Power Programme.

The nine-member team, known as “Nuclear Power Ghana”, is to oversee the full implementation of the programme.

The Volta River Authority, Bui Power Authority, and Ghana Atomic Energy Commission have been tasked to support the setting up of the structures for a nuclear power plant, taking into consideration the

Energy Minister John Peter Amewu would hope to leave a mark where his predecessors have faltered

timelines outlined by government.

Prof. Frimpong Boateng said China, France, Russia and the United States have all expressed interest in Ghana’s Nuclear Energy Programme and expressed their readiness to collaborate with the nation towards the realisation of the plan.

The Minister noted that the nation has competent and welltrained scientists and functional institutions, including the Nuclear Power Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, and School of Allied and Nuclear Sciences, that can champion the country’s Nuclear Energy Programme.

According to him, for more than 25 years, the country has been

operating a research reactor—which is a miniature of a nuclear power plant—noting that Ghana has trained nuclear scientists from other African countries as well as students from Pakistan and Iran.

He said some sites have been identified for the establishment of a nuclear power plant and that a team was collecting data on the candidate sites.

Prof. Frimpong Boateng said Ghana had completed the construction of a replica of a research reactor to serve as a training facility for any country embarking on reactor core conversion, with a training programme completed for some Nigerians.

Let’s shift from supply-based to demand-driven agriculture—NDPC boss

BY PATRICK PAINTSIL

Agriculture should be moved from the usual supply-focused approach to a demand-driven one whereby government works with farmers to identify readily available markets to inform what they produce, Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Kodjo Esseim MensahAbrampa, has advised.

“Traditionally, what we [government] do is to provide seedlings, fertilisers and related support to farmers, telling them what to grow or produce. When their produce is ready for the market, they are ignored, leaving them to struggle to sell what is produced.

“This has been the cyclical approach to agriculture, which ends up making the farmers even poorer as they produce more based on ‘cobweb theory’ because they

cannot obtain markets to sell,” he said at a national dialogue on vegetables in Accra organised by the Agency for Health and Food Security (AHES).

The one-day forum was held on the theme “Systems approach to vegetable value chain policy, pandemic response and AfCFTA”.

According to the NDPC boss, it is only with demand-driven agriculture that farmers would be able to determine the volume of various crops to produce to curtail the perennial food glut and wastage across the value chain.

In Ghana, there are seasons when basic food items such as maize, rice, mango, avocado, and eggs flood various markets and food points across the country, after which they gradually disappear from the markets.

Dr. Mensah-Abrampa said the Covid-19 crisis calls for prioritising and investing in areas where change is mostly needed, especially the

Director-General of the NDPC, Dr. Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, wants a new paradigm for the agricultural sector to help better the lives of farmers and other actors.

dominant agricultural sector.

“If we want to modernise agriculture, this is the time to put the resources where agriculture can be modernised. If we want to modernise industrialisation, this is the time; and the opportunities have been created,” he said.

“Governance elements of agriculture must be looked at— where are the policies, regulations and road infrastructure? These are very important, and there must be a conscious effort to bring about these changes,” he added.

He said farming is a business

and must be approached with entrepreneurial skills and effective training of farmers.

In the absence of such capacity building and empowerment, he said, most farmers just offer their labour in a very tedious way in order to get something out of it, instead of seeing farming as an entrepreneurial activity that they can invest in.

“Whenever there is a disaster, our farmers just throw their arms in the air and cry because we have not taught them the means to identify risks and adapt, and therefore, they are not entrepreneurs,” he noted.

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Covid-19 threatens food safety –FDA

BY EUGENE DAVIS

The coronavirus outbreak is likely to significantly impact the food supply chain and compromise food safety, the Food and Drugs Authority has said.

The CEO of FDA, Delese Mini Darko, speaking in a webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on the regulation of food in Ghana, stated that is imperative to ensure food safety in order to prevent foodborne illnesses while building and maintaining the body’s immune system to fight COVID-19.

She said the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in food supply chains being disrupted with some products, ingredients, or materials being unavailable or in short supply.

“In the rush to identify new suppliers, food businesses may focus less attention on the integrity of the supply chain, thereby compromising on food safety and food fraud. In this respect, every stakeholder along the food chain in Ghana has a key role to play towards achieving the ultimate goal of food safety and sustainability.

“Every stakeholder institution must also be committed to implementing policies and legislation that support sustainable food systems.”

She added that as the country look to the future, it is vital to continue to strengthen food control systems.

“One particular area that has to be prioritized is food waste due to poor storage practices and sanitation in country’s markets,” she added.

According to the World Health Organisation, unsafe food accounts for 600 million morbidity and 420,000 mortality every year, which calls for an urgent need for action if SDG 3, which is : “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing

for all at all ages” is to be achieved.

Mr. Essel who is also the head of Food Industrial Support Services Department, of the FDA noted that the absence or reduced regulatory control during this period could potentially put consumer health and safety at risk.

This he explained can lead to increased risk of food fraud, increased risk of compromised hygiene practices in food processing facilities leading to food contamination ,increased

risk of unwholesome food sold to unsuspecting consumers, and delayed investigations of food complaints.

Speaking to Business24 in an interview after the webinar, he noted that concerns about infections, resulting from exposure to the virus, have had an impact on some existing regulatory frameworks such as inspections (local and foreign), market surveillance, import controls, and laboratory testing.

Webster University Ghana Khosa appointed GM of AH introduces college transition Hotel & Conferences programme in June High school students can make their long vacation more memorable with the first-of-itskind Summer Virtual Learning programme by Webster University.

This online program is specifically crafted to help high school seniors and recent graduates transition smoothly to college, earn college credits in advance and build a network of friends and mentors from around the world.

Webster’s Summer Virtual Learning program is also open to continuing university students from universities across Ghana who wish to earn extra academic credits that may be transferable to their higher education institutions.

Running from June 29 - July 24, participants in the program will take two foundational academic courses carefully designed and taught online by Webster Ghana faculty. They will also be exposed to life skills needed to excel as young adults through a number of ‘beyond the classroom’ activities, purposed to encourage well roundedness.

“The truth is college success is hardly ever about the books alone.

That’s why we included these ‘beyond the classroom’ activities.

This largely includes online

workshops and activities meant to groom soon-to-be freshmen so they can excel beyond their academics as well,” says the university’s Success Center counselor, Angela Baxter.

Admissions into the Webster’s Summer Virtual Learning program is open and interested parents and students can find out more about it or get in connect with the SVLP team.

Webster University is an American University based in St. Louis, Missouri with international campuses in 10 countries around the world, including Ghana.

The Board of Directors of AH Hotel & Conferences has appointed Mr. Eddy Rhulani Arnold Khosa as the General Manager of the hotel effective November 2019.

For over 28 years, Mr. Khosa has taken on a number of South Africa’s hospitality industry’s most significant challenges—including business development, policy and strategy formulation, as well as rescuing ailing hotels—and made it his personal mission, having served as the National Chairman of Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA).

His unique mix of strategic vision, passion, leadership skills and discipline, combined with his intimate understanding of the hospitality industry, make him the right person to lead AH Hotel.

His special talent is that he possesses both an insightful understanding of the strategic imperatives of hospitality, tourism, meetings, incentives, conference & events, sector business, as well as a savvy operational focus.

Among his major achievements is the transformation of every hotel he has managed into a customerfocused and service quality global enterprise dedicated to leadership in hospitality services.

Khosa comes to this position with over 28 years of continuous working experience in the

Mr. Eddy Khosa

hospitality industry, 18 years of which have been in leadership and senior management positions in financial management, marketing, business development and general management.

A member of the Institute of Directors, South Africa, Khosa holds an Msc in Global Management from the University of Salford, Manchester, UK, and is currently pursuing his PhD with the Business School of Switzerland.

He has also attended both local and international professional development programmes.

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Insurance claim: Would you fight for your car?

ELSY ADADEY

I

have observed with great concern over the years how people fight on the streets of our country when their vehicles get involved in an accident. Between January and March this year provisional data shows 393 deaths emanating from road crashes. In the year 2019, road crashes claimed a total of 2,284 lives. The rich and the average income vehicle owners alike, have intense emotional connections to their vehicles.

When accidents occur, beyond the damage caused by the accidents, several people sustain various degrees of injuries through fighting.

The fights are not just limited to the uneducated people, but various professionals in different fields.

Two major questions l keep asking myself are, are the vehicles insured, and do people understand their rights under their motor insurance policies? Do they know how to file for a claim from the insurance Companies? Do people know what is covered and what is not covered under the policy?

A clear understanding of these questions will help prevent some of the disputes associated with accidents.

Insurance is simply a risk transfer mechanism from an individual to an Insurance Company. The individual pays premium to cover the risk. In the case of vehicular use, the risk could be injury to/death of drivers, passengers or pedestrians and their properties.

In Ghana, the Road Traffic law,2004

(Act683) made it compulsory for all persons who used motor vehicle on road to have in force an insurance of their liability for personal injury to third parties other than passengers carried free of charge. Road Traffic Act has been amended in the light of experiences over the years.

There is a duty on the driver of the motor vehicle to observe care or skill towards others using the road, whom he could reasonably foresee as likely to be affected as a result of a breach of that duty of care. It is not uncommon for passengers in a vehicle to incur liability, typically by carelessly opening a car door into a passing vehicle, cyclist or pedestrian, or throwing an object from the vehicle.

The role of the Insurance Company is to analyse the possibilities of the risk occurring and charging equitable premium to cover the risk.

Accidents sometimes occur through negligence yet that is one of the reasons Insurance Companies are in business. It is therefore needless to engage in fights when accidents occur.

There are two main covers associated with motor vehicles: comprehensive cover and third party cover. We will share details about the cover in our next article next week. Stay safe….

Comprehensive Insurance Cover This type of policy may provide cover on an all-risks basis (all potential risks) and includes comprehensive cover on vehicles in the insured’s custody or control which are garaged away from their ‘normal’ business premises.

Third Party Cover

This type of policy covers damage or injuries to third party (other people) This means that, should there be an accident and other people get injured or properties like their cars get damaged, the insurance policy will take care of the damages up to the limit of cover.

Is it the lack of knowledge about people’s rights under the Insurance policy or their strong emotional attachment to the vehicle or uncertainty about the payment of claim by the Insurance Company that influence confrontations when accidents occur?

Regardless of what may influence your action, once the vehicle is insured and the policy is in force, you can exercise your rights under the policy for the Insurance Company to assume liability after investigations are conducted by relevant parties, including the police.

All road accidents must first be reported to the police for investigations to be conducted and liability established. The second step is to report to the Insurance Company. Upon completion of all relevant documentations, claims are paid for repair of the vehicles. The injured persons are compensated.

The real essence of having a motor insurance is to fulfil the legal requirement of having a cover on your motor vehicle and provide financial support when damages occur. The police service in Ghana checks vehicles to ensure compliance with the Road Traffic Act. Accidents are unforeseen occurrences which may happen

when you least expect them. It is therefore essential for you to see Insurance as your solid backbone and report accidents promptly.

Elsy Adadey is an experienced insurance professional with extensive expertise in Operational Management, Corporate Communication, Marketing and Sales and Event management. She is a member of Chartered Insurance Institute, UK, and holds a diploma in Insurance.

She also holds an MBA in Marketing from Graduate School of Business, Central University College. She is a business coach, a sales trainer and event consultant. She was formerly the Executive Head of Programmes at First Insurance Company Ltd. For comments, please contact Elsy via mail through kobels99@yahoo. com

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The Post-Pandemic Social Contract

BY DANI RODRIK AND STEFANIE STANTCHEVA

COVID-19 has exacerbated deep fault lines in the global economy, starkly exposing the divisions and inequalities of our current world.

It has also multiplied and amplified the voices of those calling for farreaching reforms. When even the Davos set is issuing calls for a “global reset of capitalism,” you know that changes are afoot.

There are some common threads running through the newly proposed policy agendas: To prepare the workforce for new technologies, governments must enhance education and training programs, and integrate them better with labor-market requirements. Social protection and social insurance must be improved, especially for workers in the gig economy and in non-standard work arrangements.

More broadly, the decline in workers’ bargaining power in recent decades points to the need for new forms of social dialogue and cooperation between employers and employees. Better-designed progressive taxation must be introduced to address widening income inequality. Anti-monopoly policies must be reinvigorated to ensure greater competition, particularly where social media platforms and new technologies are concerned. Climate change must be tackled head-on. And governments must play a bigger role in fostering new digital and green technologies.

Taken together, these reforms would substantially change the way our economies operate. But they do not fundamentally alter the narrative about how market economies should work; nor do they represent a radical departure for economic policy. Most critically, they elide the central challenge we must address: reorganizing production.

Our core economic problems – poverty, inequality, exclusion, and insecurity – have many roots. But they are reproduced and reinforced on a daily basis in the course of production, as an immediate byproduct of firms’ decisions about employment, investment, and innovation.

In economist-speak, these decisions are rife with “externalities”: they have consequences that spill over to other people, firms, and parts of the economy. Externalities can be positive: think of learning spillovers from research and development, which are well recognized (and form the rationale for tax credits and other public subsidies).

Obvious negative externalities are environmental pollution and the effects of greenhouse-gas emissions on the climate.

Such spillovers also include what could be called “good jobs” externalities. “Good jobs” are those

that are relatively stable, pay well enough to underpin a reasonable living standard with some security and savings, ensure safe working conditions, and offer opportunities for career progression. Firms that generate them contribute to the vitality of their communities.

By contrast, a shortage of good jobs often carries high social and political costs: broken families, substance abuse, and crime, as well as declining trust in government, experts, and institutions, partisan polarization, and populist nationalism. There are also clear economic inefficiencies, as productivity-enhancing technologies remain bottled up in a few firms and do not spread, contributing to anemic overall wage growth.

Firms’ decisions about how many workers to employ, how much to pay, and how to organize work do not affect only the bottom line. When a company decides to automate its production line or outsource part of its production to another country, the local community suffers long-term damage that is not “internalized” by its managers or shareholders.

The implicit assumption behind much of our current thinking, as well as that of the traditional welfare-state model, is that middleclass “good jobs” will be available to all with adequate skills. From this perspective, the appropriate strategy to foster inclusion is one that combines spending on education and training, a progressive tax and transfer system, and social insurance against idiosyncratic risks such as unemployment, illness, and disability.

But economic insecurity and inequality today are structural problems. Secular trends in technology and globalization are hollowing out the middle of the employment distribution. The result is more bad jobs that do not offer stability, sufficient pay, and career progression, and permanently depressed labor markets outside

major metropolitan centers.

Addressing these problems requires a different strategy that tackles the creation of good jobs directly. The onus should be on firms to internalize the economic and social spillovers they cause.

Hence, the productive sector must be at the heart of the new strategy.

Put bluntly, we must change what we produce, how we produce it, and who gets a say in these decisions.

This requires not just new policies, but also the reconfiguration of existing ones.

Active labor-market policies designed to increase skills and employability should be broadened into partnerships with firms and explicitly target the creation of good jobs. Industrial and regional policies that currently center on tax incentives and investment subsidies must be replaced by customized business services and amenities to facilitate maximum employment creation.

National innovation systems need to be redesigned to orient investments in new technologies in a more employment-friendly direction. And policies to combat climate change, such as the European Green Deal, must be explicitly linked to job creation in lagging communities.

A new economic order requires an explicit quid pro quo between private firms and public authorities.

To prosper, firms need a reliable and skilled workforce, good infrastructure, an ecosystem of suppliers and collaborators, easy access to technology, and a sound regime of contracts and property rights. Most of these are provided through public and collective action, which is the government’s side of the bargain.

Governments, in turn, need firms to internalize the various externalities their labor, investment, and innovation decisions produce for their communities and societies.

And firms must live up to their side of the bargain – not as a matter of

corporate social responsibility, but as part of an explicit regulatory and governance framework.

Above all, a new strategy must abandon the traditional separation between pro-growth policies and social policies. Faster economic growth requires disseminating new technologies and productive opportunities among smaller firms and wider segments of the labor force, rather than confining their use to a narrow elite. And better employment prospects reduce inequality and economic insecurity more effectively than fiscal redistribution alone. Simply put, the growth and social agendas are one and the same.

Dani Rodrik

Stefanie Stantcheva Dani Rodrik, Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the author of Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy.

Stefanie Stantcheva is Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

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

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Top 10 things to know before deciding to go into farming (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 OF WEDNESDAY JUNE 10, 2020 EDITION)

BY RICHARD NUNEKPEKU 4. TIME “Time,” they say is money. So if your money is in, your time must be too. Time in this context includes your physical presence, your involvement in the farming activities, the ability to learn quickly and provide leadership with your knowledge acquired.

You cannot be an absentee farmer/ entrepreneur. If you feel you have earned the right of an investor, just look for the right business to invest in, not farming. You cannot buy time with the engagement of others no matter how competent they are.

We all see things differently and your time may help change a thing or two.

It is never the concern of how you can manage your time with other things you may want to do. Farming is just that one thing you can only do at a time or with the greater allocation of your time.

Do not let the desires of “I can make time” lead you into temptation.

It either you have the time or you don’t dare start it.

5. WHAT TO GROW The sector has endless opportunities across various subsectors and their value-chain. Based on your interest/passion, decide what you want to invest in or grow.

Whilst making the investment decision, be guided that profitability is a factor of crop type/investment.

Underlying that is your knowledge of the seasons. Timing is key. And on a commercial scale with the right investment into irrigation, your production capacities can be managed in ways that increase during the dry season and moderated during the major planting season.

If the local market is your target market then your production must be all year round so you can take advantage of the price windfalls. Do not attempt to produce everything, specialise. Be known for one or at most two crops and do stay ahead of others.

With a strong understanding of what to grow and when to grow it, you can control prices for at least 6 months of the year and increase your profitability.

6. COMMUNITY The community is a unique source of labour, support and problems. It will be expensive ‘importing’ labour from other communities to your growing area. So you will count greatly on the cooperation of your immediate.

You will need to quickly get the

buy-in of the community into your project. Make plans for interventions that support skill development, support for community project etc apart from employment opportunities.

Not long, you will start receiving all kinds of letters/appeal for fund envelops from churches, youth groups and don’t be surprised traditionalist may come too.

These form part of community expectations for development and progress.

You should be excellent at managing these expectations if not your project may suffer the repercussions. Engage opinion leaders, the chief or assemblyman on how to navigate these and build partnerships for the growth of your farm and the community.

Take this for granted and the risk of community agitations (all of a sudden, it may be your project that has taken over their lands and livelihoods), theft, increase animal (goats, sheep, cattle etc) destructive activities will run in your face.

Some of these associated challenges you could manage with siting decision of your farm. You can mitigate any concern for inclusion if the community is carried along.

7. INPUTS What you put into the soil is what comes out as fruits/yields. Inputs play a great role in determining your actual yield. A bad seed performs badly. A wrong fertiliser composition is of no value to the plant.

Input sourcing is highly tricky.

Nice packages and powerful brand propositions do not reflect reality.

Few accredited and credible input dealers exist on the market.

Establish a technical support relationship with them and leverage

it for the growing process.

Let your technical team lead in any decision of purchase of inputs and if possible run series of test before purchasing in bulk. You should anticipate disagreement should the inputs turn out to be below standards, so keep records in proof of your claims.

Finally, buy for cash or establish a credit line – but honour the terms.

8.TRIALS AND TRIALS Practice does not only make you perfect. More practice (trials) gives you the opportunity to understand the performance of your inputs, the response of the soil, climatic conditions, workers’ approach & attitude to work among others.

Your scaling up decisions will be measured if you have conducted enough trials. Less risk, more control is all you need to be successful.

Be innovative at this stage. Backed by science do the nonconventional things, keep the records and evaluate the results. You may have discovered new ways of growing.

9. NETWORK Learn by sharing ideas. Engage in peer review with service providers, other stakeholders in the sector.

Count in on the expertise of others.

They may have learnt the valuable lessons worth sharing.

Except for your highly guarded innovations, bring in the 3rd eye at least each month to assess your progress and give you feedback. If you operate in an enclave with other farms, visit them, see what they are doing differently, ask permissions and copy where necessary.

Keep a word within your network.

Let them know you are open to new ideas and looking at growing together. You may not know where your next investment in the form of

a grant, equity or debt or technical support may come from.

10. DO NOT BELIEVE IN MICROSOFT EXCEL, REALITY IS KEY! Microsoft Excel is a great invention!

It is a great productivity tool. But do not be excited about its output – projections. Farming does not obey the rules of 5 - 3 = 2. Nothing is real until it happens.

Worse is the assurances of your technical team when clearly they have missed it. Expect no miracle beyond that point. There is no perfect picture moment beyond the reality you have seen.

Learn the art of managing one’s expectations. Master the skills of managing disappointments.

Be Strong. Be Resolute. Stick around. You can still turn things around but not on Microsoft Excel projections or workings.

Richard Nunekpeku, Lawyer @ E.L Agbemava Law Office and an Agribusiness Entrepreneur. © Richard Nunekpeku, 2020.

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USDGs and the Beyond Aid Agenda– At least 1% of GDP must be committed to R&D funding

BY PROF. DOUGLAS BOATENG

S

o far, Ghana and the rest of Africa seem to have escaped the cataclysmic consequences of the elusive and cunning Coronavirus.

While calculated, bold decisions and quick interventions from the President have certainly helped our beloved Ghana to minimise the severity of this unprecedented global crisis on our nation, certain natural factors, behaviours and products may have also contributed to reducing the impact.

Indeed, the role of the sun, and its natural vitamin D, humidity and natural nutriments including, Ayoyo leaves, Cassava roots, Shea nut leaves, Cocoa seeds, Neem (nim) tree, Cocoa leaves, Cocoa roots, Cassava leaves, Prekese, Shea nuts, Roselle leaf(for sobolo), Tiger nuts(atadwe), Neem leaves etc may also have helped to alleviate the spread and severity of the virus for some local communities . However, a relative lack of R&D funding in Ghana has meant that no substantive evidence-based direct studies examining their health and risk suppositions have been conducted by our esteemed scientists.

Equally, recent assertions relating to the potential of the Coronavirus potentially being transmitted through wigs and hair pieces and possibly via facial sweat also remainscientifically uncorroborated due to lack of funding The big question that comes to mind is whether venerable Ghanaian scientists should be seriously funded to enable them prove or disprove these assertions.

The African Centre for Disease Control is currently so underfunded that its thought leaders have been

reduced to simply commenting on matters of strategic importance as opposed to leading the charge to solve some of the regions pressing disease control issues. The same applies to Ghana’s CSIR and other research institutions.

To date, Ghanaians, in most cases, have had to sadly wait for American and European scientists to undertake these types of research in their own time and usually only when surplus funding is available.

Once the research is complete we are then informed of the benefits or hazards associated with certain products on our well-being. This means that it is usually American and European research institutes that gain the rights to own the data, patents and rights to commercialise them. This is especially the case when it comes to nutraceuticals and phtyoceuticals.

Not only has the SAR-COV-2 and COVID-19 clearly exposed the weakness of the global public health systems, it has equally also revealed the dire lack of R&D funding that bedevils our continent and hampers our ability to be selfsufficient in the areas of health care, pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, agroceuticals, food production, etc.

In 2017 according to the office of the national statistics, UK research and development (R&D) expenditure totalled 34.8 billion GBP or 1.69% of GDP. Others significant R&D funders as per UNESCO Institute for Statistics and Statistica include: Israel- 4.0% (2018), Sweden 3.1%(2014), Germany 2.9% (2016) USA-2.79% (2016), China-2.19% (2018), Japan-3.18% (2016), and South Korea-4.29% (2014), Although Africa accounted for 0.9% of global R&D spending in 2019, the majority of this funding was external funding from tied donations. Between 2010 and 2014

the Scientists magazine revealed that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided $300 million in grants to researchers in 17 of 54 African countries, with around $200 million going to South Africa alone.

Another question that comes to mind is whether Ghana, and the rest of the continent, should continue to depend on other countries and continents to fund our research and subsequently spend their money developing products to suite our needs?

President Akufo-Addo has recognised this need and, as part of his laudable Beyond Aid Agenda, has set the scene for significant increases in funding for research and development to help realise his goal of Ghana becoming a major hub for pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing. Let us hope that he gets the much needed support to commit at least 1% percent of Ghana GDP to R&D funding from his current and subsequent governments.

Based on the 2019 GDP of Ghana, as reported by Trading Economics, this equates to at least 660m USD annually over the next 10 years.

This may seem like a significant amount of money to risk, but policy makers must bear in mind that if even one of these products can be commercialised it could easily generate at least 1.5 times that figure over a defined period.

Short-term thinking is the enemy of long-term success. Investment in R&D is geared towards coming up with potential solutions to future needs and requirements. Therefore, patience is needed and investments that do not reap immediate results should not be seen as a waste.

With long term thinking, the Chinese has managed to create a tea market which according to Statisitca had a market revenue of

US$17.9B USD in 2017. Majority of these tea plantations (especially green tea) and processing factories are in China creating millions of jobs for its citizens. South Africa is also making very good and similar progress with amongst others the Rooibos tea. With sustained funding for R&D, Ghana can also benefit from some of these naturally occurring dietetic products in the country.

The potential for Ghana, to immensely benefit from the commercialisation of some of the continents’ country’s’ naturally occurring raw materials in the form of cosmeceutical, phytoceuticals, pharmaceuticals, agroceutcals and nutraceuticals is huge. At present Africa’s share of global Intellectual Property (IP) registration stands at less than 1%. Yet, a very significant amount of the materials used in commercialising these patents come from Africa.

The success of the USDGs and the Beyond Aid Agenda are dependent on the funding available to R&D. Hopefully the Coronavirus pandemic has given the regions’ leaders, decision makers and policy makers a wakeup call to annually commit to spend at least 1% of their respective GDPs on R&D to enable our revered scientists and engineers to undertake continental relevant research. Until then the entire continent will continue to be at the mercy of western nations who already have their own citizenry needs to attend to before considering the needs of Africans.

Professor Douglas Boateng is an international chartered director and Africa’s first ever appointed Professor Extraordinaire for Industrialisation and Supply Chain Governance. www.panavest.com

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Covid-19: Total ensures safety of customers During the Covid-19 epidemic, Total’s sites and service stations are on the front line to guarantee mobility and safety for all. In all the places where we put our expertise to good use, we are ensuring business continuity while complying with the most stringent safety standards.

As an example, read how we’re managing health restrictions at our Morainvilliers and Gargenville sites in France. With operations all over the world, Total is doing its part alongside the women and men working every day in all corners of the globe to fight the virus.

In response to the coronavirus crisis, Total has made the necessary decisions to protect the health and safety of its staff and ensure business continuity. During this tricky period, safety is now more than ever the Group’s top priority.

That’s why Total is taking all steps to best meet its customers’ needs and at the same time keep its employees on the ground safe. At the Gargenville complex in France, Total is mobilizing its resources to

produce fuel while still protecting its staff and partners from the coronavirus.

The site, which supplies local service stations and airports, has implemented strict measures such as enforcing hygiene practices, dividing the number of employees

on site by three and switching to remote working. The aim is to ensure that the facilities can continue operating without compromising on the safety and security of staff and infrastructure.

In our service stations, Total teams are on the front line to

serve customers in optimal health conditions. All employees now wear gloves and masks and wash their hands regularly with sanitizer gel.

An extensive hygiene plan has also been implemented, with disinfecting of all equipment such as cash registers, telephones and microphones, and plastic film installed over microphones, card payment touch screens and fuel pumps.

In addition, we are encouraging our customers to comply strictly with social distancing measures and have made hand sanitizer, gloves and masks available to them at the cash desk.

At our service station in Morainvilliers, France, health and safety rules have been tightened both inside and outside the buildings to protect our employees and our customers. Standing together with our stakeholders and working tirelessly by their side, we are doing whatever we can to limit the spread of the virus.

Aker Energy on course to finding a solution for Pecan field development Aker Energy Ghana Limited (“Aker Energy”) reaffirms its commitment to finding a solution that will allow for the commencement of a phased development of the Pecan field offshore Ghana.

“In a time when most other E&P companies are putting development projects on the shelf due to the COVID-19 situation and historic low oil prices, Aker Energy and our partners, Lukoil, Fueltrade and GNPC, working closely with the government of Ghana, are actively pursuing a development concept where we can commence phase one of a phased development of the Pecan field,” says Håvard Garseth, CEO of Aker Energy. “Although we have an altered timeline, we are on our way to finding a development concept with a breakeven price that is sustainable and resilient also in a low oil price environment.”

In March, Aker Energy announced that a final investment decision (FID) for the Pecan field development project had been placed on hold, postponing the project. While no new date has been set for the FID, the company is working actively to confirm the feasibility of a phased Pecan field development by executing conceptual studies.

The phased development of the Pecan field and the utilisation of a redeployed FPSO vessel will substantially reduce the CAPEX and, hence, reduce the breakeven cost. In addition, it will increase the possibility of reaching a

commercially feasible project that will allow for an investment decision. Aker Energy and partners are currently assessing several FPSO candidates for redeployment, and the final selection will be based on technical capabilities and cost.

While the original field development concept was based on a centralised FPSO supporting the development of the entire Pecan field, as well as tie-ins of all other area resources, the focus has shifted toward a phased development approach. This approach will enable Aker Energy to commence with one FPSO for Pecan in the south and expand to a second FPSO in the north after a few years, with tie-ins of additional discovered resources.

The first FPSO will be deployed at around 115 kilometres offshore Ghana over a subsea production system installed in ultra-deep waters in depths ranging from 2,400 to 2,700 metres.

“Getting projects like the Pecan field in operation is key toward our mission of making Ghana a major producer in West Africa and Africa as a whole,” says Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Deputy Minister of Energy.

“Along with our partners, we are optimistic that we will establish a workable concept so that we can finally see first oil in the fourth offshore field in Ghana,” says Kadijah Amoah, Country Director in Ghana. “We remain committed to Ghana.”

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Strengthening Economic Institutions for a Resilient Recovery

BY ANTOINETTE SAYEH

Exceptional times call for exceptional action. In response to COVID-19, the IMF has moved with unprecedented speed and magnitude of financial assistance to help countries protect lives and livelihoods. Economic stabilization and a sustainable recovery, however, will require more than financial assistance. For recovery to be sustainable, policymakers will need to strengthen economic institutions that enable resilient, inclusive policies.

Integrating capacity development with financial support Governments today face difficult policy decisions—but many lack the strong economic foundations and technical know-how to design and implement the necessary policies. Consider, for instance, the impact of COVID-19 on national budgets, which includes massive spending pressures, lost government revenues and higher debt. This makes progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals even more challenging, particularly for the most fragile and vulnerable countries.

Which is why the IMF has been providing immediate and realtime policy advice and capacity

development support to over 160 countries to address urgent issues such as cash management, financial supervision, cybersecurity, and economic governance.

Direct, ongoing conversations with policymakers to develop capacity to tackle these issues always goes hand-in-hand with IMF financial support. Thus far, over 90 percent of countries that requested pandemicrelated emergency financing have also received capacity development support in the form of hands-on technical advice, practical tools and policy-oriented training.

Strengthening public finances and debt management Business continuity and protecting revenue streams are crucial for governments to rapidly mobilize and maintain domestic resources. And as countries ramp up emergency spending, they also want to ensure that they have strong institutional frameworks and good governance so money can quickly get to those who need it the most – especially when it comes to health expenditures and social protection systems. The IMF has been working with tax administrations and budget offices in many countries to help them restore operations and strengthen support to businesses and individuals, without compromising safeguards and accountability.

An even greater challenge lies ahead for policymakers in debt

management, resulting from worsened fiscal positions and higher financing costs. The IMF has provided immediate debt service relief to 27 of our poorest member countries, and together with the World Bank, has led the call to major bilateral creditors to suspend debt service payments from the poorest countries. Debt managers worldwide are grappling with strategic, recording, and management issues in the COVID-19 environment—and are working with IMF technical experts to revise and update their debt management strategies and systems. An important element in this process is data, because it provides key information to assess the crisis and associated financing needs. For managing debt well, statistics are crucial. Short, “micro-learning” videos on the IMF Institute’s YouTube Channel have also been developed to tackle issues related to public sector debt data.

As governments carefully begin to shift towards reopening, stronger economic institutions will enable them to better assess the challenges created by the pandemic and resume efforts on policies that promote opportunities for all of their people—like tackling inequality, taking action on climate, and leveraging digitalization.

Maintaining close engagement We are all navigating uncharted territory in adapting to new ways

of working. The IMF recognizes this and is building virtual platforms to facilitate knowledge sharing, including a policy tracker covering the actions taken by 196 economies to combat the impact of COVID-19.

Drawing on decades of working with countries, we have produced 45 Special Series Notes that provide practical policy guidance to countries on the nuts and bolts of common crisis-related policy challenges. We have expanded free online courses to increase global access to IMF expertise on topics such as fiscal policymaking, financial inclusion, and macroeconomic management. The IMF is also leveraging its global network of regional capacity development centers to respond quickly to countries’ emerging needs and ensure closer coordination with development partners.

As a former policymaker, I know first-hand the important role economic institutions can play in shaping policies that impact ordinary people. The laborious task of strengthening economic foundations is not glamourous—but it is one that can have the greatest, long-term impact on the economic and social wellbeing of people. As the world emerges from the Great Lockdown, policymakers and development partners should treat rebuilding stronger, more resilient institutions as a top priority. (blogs.

IMF.org)

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Facing the Cyber Pandemic

BY ANTOINETTE SAYEH

The days when cyberspace could be regarded as a lawless wild west are long over. The Internet has become a critical part of our global infrastructure, and attacks against its core functions, especially in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, should be treated as the existential threats that they are.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the Internet is a critical – and uniquely global – part of our infrastructure. As challenging as the public-health lockdowns have been, their social and economic costs would be far greater in the absence of smoothly functioning digital networks.

Moreover, containing the pandemic itself will likely require better and more innovative uses of our collective data, all of which is generated online. Home offices, home schooling, and home life increasingly depend on our ability to use the Internet.

Protecting cyberspace is therefore an increasingly urgent task, not least because it is facing a “pandemic” of its own.

Since early March, there has been an unprecedented global increase in malicious cyber activity. Phishing attacks seeking to steal money or secrets from home-office workers

have more than doubled compared to last year, and in some places they are up sixfold. There have also been a number of attempted cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, including airports, power grids, ports, and water and sewage facilities.

Even hospitals treating COVID-19 patients have been targeted, and the World Health Organization itself has reported a fivefold increase in attacks on its networks.

In a recent communiqué to a United Nations working group on cyber issues, the Dutch government spoke for many when it said it was “appalled” by this belligerent behavior, much of which is directed, supported, or at least tolerated by only a few governments, with Russia and China being the most reported examples. Likewise, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has condemned these attacks as “unacceptable.” Issuing a thinly veiled threat of sanctions, he has called on all governments to abide by international law and existing political agreements governing cyberspace, the most pertinent of which involve so-called “norms of responsible state behavior.”

Despite all the current mayhem, cyberspace is not a lawless domain.

Like the seas, outer space, and other shared domains, it is subject to international law. The question is

how exactly international law should apply. Countries like Russia and China have long advocated a new treaty-based approach, whereas liberal democracies have, for the most part, insisted that the entire body of existing international law should be the point of departure.

Since 2010, the compromise between these two camps has been to establish certain norms of behavior and rules of the road on how states should conduct themselves in cyberspace. These norms – which include an injunction against interfering with critical infrastructure in peacetime – have often been violated soon after having been agreed. Yet they represent the only international consensus on what constitutes responsible behavior in cyberspace, which means they are the only standard by which the global community can call out malicious state activity.

In these uncertain times, we clearly need more standards of this kind.

Academic research has shown that while it can take years for agreed norms to be routinely upheld, new norms can help reinforce existing ones.

Fortunately, there are already two negotiation tracks within the UN dedicated to debating and finalizing new norms for cyberspace. Both the Open-Ended Working Group and the Group of Governmental

Experts are now considering several proposed norms that originated from the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, which we lead. One of the most prominent is also the most urgent: a prohibition on attacking the basic “public core” infrastructure of cyberspace, including the equipment, organizations, and processes that provide for a globally accessible, properly functioning Internet.

As the international community struggles to come together to fight COVID-19, political leaders and publics must recognize that the Internet has become the manifestation of our connectedness.

It is what unites us as a global community, and it is the medium on which our economic, civic, and family lives all now depend.

We therefore call on all governments to adopt the norm against attacking “public core infrastructure,” not only to protect this essential global domain, but also to signal a clear commitment to our shared human future. As our dependence on digital technologies deepens, success or failure in protecting the Internet – a true global public good – will determine not only how fast and effectively we can contain the pandemic, but also what kind of world we will live in afterwards.

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21

WEEKLY FINANCIAL MARKET UPDATES: For the week ending 05/06/2020 WEEKLY INTERBANK FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES Currency Year Week Week Open Open Close USDGHS 5.5337 5.6203 5.6230 GBPGHS 7.3164 6.9186 7.1415 EURGHS 6.2114 6.2406 6.3605 GHSXOF 105.61 105.11 103.13

GHANA CEDI INDEX Year Open Week Open 501.5071

501.4149

Change % 0.05% 3.22% 1.92% -1.89%

20.200

1.61% -2.39% 2.40% -2.34%

Week Close

Change

YTD

507.2315

5.8167

1.14%

TREASURY SECURITIES RATES (PRIMARY MARKET) Security Current Previous Change Coupon % Coupon % 91 Day Bill 13.952 14.020 -0.068 182 Day Bill 14.057 14.074 -0.017 364 Day Bill 16.881 16.881 0.000 2yr Fixed Note 20.200 20.200 0.000 3yr Fixed Bond 18.850 18.850 0.000 5yr Fixed Bond 21.700 21.700 0.000 6yr Fixed Bond 21.000 21.000 0.000 7yr Fixed Bond 16.250 16.250 0.000 10yr Fixed Bond 19.800 19.800 0.000 20yr Fixed Bond

YTD

20.200

0.000

Year Open Rates 14.67 15.17 17.83 19.50 19.50 16.50 21.00 16.25 17.50

LOCAL BENCHMARKS BOG – Policy Rate

14.50%

Inflation April (2020)

10.6%

Fiscal Deficit target (2020) GDP Growth Target (2020)

7.80% 2.60%

Inflation Target (2020) GDP Growth (2019)

8.0% 7.9%

EQUITY TURNOVER Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Total

Volume 19,121 1,946 7,302,297 6,177,001 4,067,407 17,567,772

Value GH¢ 11,196.37 3,588.17 4,096,540.45 4,955,012.17 2,661,618.54 11,727,955.70

Gainers 0 0 1 1 2 4

Losers 0 0 2 4 0 6

GSE-CI 1941.03 1941.03 1946.14 1947.54 1960.63

WEEK END PRICE GAINERS Ticker Open GH¢ Close GH¢ MTNGH 0.55 0.58

Gain GH¢ 0.03

% Change w/w 5.45%

WEEK END PRICE LOSERS Ticker Open GH¢ FML 3.38 SOGEGH 0.65 TOTAL 2.49 GOIL 1.58

Loss GH¢ -0.93 -0.05 -0.09 -0.03

% Change w/w -27.51% -7.69% -3.61% -1.90%

Close GH¢ 2.45 0.60 2.40 1.55

COMMODITIES (PRICES FOR THE WEEK ENDING 05/06/2020) Commodities Year Week Week Change Open Open Close (w/w) Oil Brent Crude 66.00 35.33 42.30 6.97 (USD/bbl) Gold (USD/t oz) 1523.10 1,730.27 1,685.06 -45.21 Cocoa (USD/MT) 2,540.00 2,408.00 2,384.00 -24.00 Coffee (USD/lb) 129.70 96.30 98.90 2.60 Sugar (USD/lb) 13.42 10.91 12.09 1.18 Rice (USD/CWT) 13.29 17.22 12.54 -4.68

YTD -35.91% 10.63% -6.14% -23.75% -9.91% -5.64%

20.20

Analyst(s): Ruth Atobrah | Emmanuel Ayim-Ahiably: NDK Capital Research | research@ndkcapital.com | www.ndkcapital.com | 0302 218 423 This is published solely for informational purposes. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice. The information is obtained from internal and external sources which NDK Capital Limited considers reliable but has not independently verified such information and does not guarantee that it is accurate or complete.

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WEEKLY FINANCIAL MARKET UPDATES: For the week ending 05/06/2020 CURRENCY, COMMODITY, AND EQUITY MARKETS UPDATE CURRENCY UPDATE At the end of the week, the composite loss value of the cedi pushed the cedi Index up by 5.82 points to close at 507.23 points at a YTD loss of 1.14%.

The Cedi continued to depreciate in value at the end of the week as it lost grounds against its major trading counterparts; USD, GBP and EUR. The Cedi depreciated by 0.05% to the US dollar, 3.22% to the Pound sterling and 1.92% to the Euro to close at midrates of USDGHS 5.6230, GBPGHS 7.1415 and EURGHS 103.13 respectively.

COMMODITIES MARKET UPDATE The price of gold slumped further this week as impressive jobs report bolstered investors’ appetite for equities. The precious metal closed the week at USD 1,685.06 after losing USD 45.21 from the previous week’s price at a year-to-date return of 10.63%.

Brent price increased at the end of the week as OPEC+ agree to extend output cuts till end of July. Brent increased by USD 6.97 from the previous week’s price to close at USD 42.30/bbl at the end of the trading activity. This pushed the YTD loss to 35.91%.

Cocoa recorded a USD 24 decrease in price to close at USD 2,384/mt at the end of the week, translating to a YTD loss of 6.14%.

EQUITY MARKET Trading activity for the week under review declined as total volume and value traded decreased by 50% and 44% respectively.

A total of 17.57mln shares valued at GHS 11.73mln exchanged hands compared to 35.40mln shares valued at GHS 21.11mln last week The year-to-date market index ended the week higher as the benchmark index increased by 1.01% due to losses in the beverage, petroleum marketing and banking sectors. The benchmark index closed the week at 1,960.63 points at a 13.14% year-to-date loss.

Scancom Plc GH emerged as the most traded stock accounting for 95.03% of volumes traded at the end of the week.

At the close of the week’s trading, there were 10 movements in prices and 34 stocks remained unchanged in prices.

LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS Government recorded 4.8% deficit in its budgetary operations in 2019 – BoG The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has revealed that the government’s budgetary operations for 2019 recorded a deficit of 4.8 per cent of GDP, slightly higher than the revised target of 4.7 per cent. The deficit was financed from both domestic and foreign sources, the Central Bank noted in the 2019 Annual Report.

Total government receipts amounted to GH¢53.0 billion (15.2% of GDP), marginally below the revised target of GH¢54.6 billion (15.6% of GDP). The major components were tax revenue of GH¢42.4 billion (80.0% of total receipts), non-tax revenue of GH¢7.6 billion (14.3% of total receipts) and grants of GH¢1.0 billion (1.9% of total receipts). read more Export of cocoa beans and products increased by 5% in 2019 Exports of cocoa beans and products increased by 5.0 per cent to US$2.29 billion in 2019, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has said in its 2019 Annual Report.

The report said cocoa beans exported amounted to US$1.45 billion, an increase of 3.2 per cent compared to the value in 2018.

The average realised price of cocoa beans increased by 8.8 per cent to US$2,366.94 per tonne, while export volume fell by 5.2 per cent to 613,184 tonnes. Earnings from cocoa products increased by 8.2 per cent to US$0.84 billion, on account of both price and volume effects. The reporter further indicated that the value of timber exports fell by 23.7 per cent to US$0.17 billion, the Bank of Ghana has announced. read more Gov’t recovers just 0.03% of its loans to SOE’s Government by the end of the 2018 fiscal year had been able to recover just GHc 4.4 million of its GHc 14,867.4 million in outstanding on-lent loans to the various State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

According to the latest 2018 State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) report, under government’s existing on-lent facilities arrangement, GHc 14.863 billion still remains outstanding as at the end of 2018 fiscal year.

However, the report further reveals that recoveries on significant portions of signed on-lent agreements are yet to kick in, since their grace periods are yet to elapse. read more INTERNATIONAL NEWS COVID-19: IMF approves $3.4 billion in emergency support for Nigeria The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has approved a disbursement of US$3.4 billion to Nigeria to support the country’s efforts in addressing the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 shock and the sharp fall in oil prices.

“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Nigeria’s request for emergency financial assistance of SDR 2,454.5 million (US$ 3.4 billion, 100 percent of quota) under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to also help the country meet the urgent balance of payment needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, issued in a statement on April 28, 2020.

The COVID-19 outbreak has magnified existing vulnerabilities, leading to a historic contraction in real GDP growth and to large external and fiscal financing needs. read more Source: Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, Citi business news, Doobia, BOG, CSD.

Analyst(s): Ruth Atobrah | Emmanuel Ayim-Ahiably: NDK Capital Research | research@ndkcapital.com | www.ndkcapital.com | 0302 218 423 This is published solely for informational purposes. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice. The information is obtained from internal and external sources which NDK Capital Limited considers reliable but has not independently verified such information and does not guarantee that it is accurate or complete.