Business24 Newspaper 28th May, 2021

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FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

BUSINESS24.COM.GH

NO. B24 / 201 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

GRA won’t take cheques from next week

MONDAY FRIDAY MAY MAY28, 3, 2021 2021

Cocobod CEO allays Chinese cocoa production fears

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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he Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, has said there is no cause for the country to be concerned over the emergence of China as a cocoa producing nation.

Cont’d on page 3

Ghana has exploited 65% of hydropower potential

By Benson Afful affulbenson@gmail.com

Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Commissioner-General – Ghana Revenue Authority

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

E

ffective June 1, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will not accept payment of taxes by cheques as part of its digitisation effort.

The move, according to GRA, is aimed at enhancing revenue

mobilisation and the drive towards ease of payment for taxpayers through a “cashless” system of operation by the end of 2021.

In lieu of cheque payments, there are digital applications in place to ensure that taxpayers file their returns and make payments without visiting any

ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

Business24 Limited.

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POLICY RATE

14.5% 14.77%

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4% OF GDP

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

4.2% GHC 5.13

G

Cont’d on page 3

Cont’d on page 2 INTERNATIONAL MARKET

US$1 = GHC 5.7606

GHANA REFERENCE RATE PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE

GRA office.

The “no cheque payment directive” will pave way for the re-deployment of tellers within all GRA offices, as all payments for taxes and duties will be made directly to GRA accounts with commercial banks

hana has exploited 65.3 percent of its hydropower potential of 2,420 Megawatts (MW), with the remaining 840MW expected to dwindle considering the electricity demand increase, pollution, and degradation of various water bodies combined

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Follow us online: $57.79 $2.6801,922.57 $1,836.62

CORN $/BUSHEL

$543.75

COCOA $/METRIC TON

$123.55

COFFEE $/POUND:

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Editorial / News

FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

Editorial

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GRA’s cashless move long overdue

he Ghana Revenue Authority says from next month it will only accept electronic payment from taxpayers as part of its digitisation plans.

According to GRA, going fully electronic would enhance its revenue mobilisation and the drive towards ease of payment for taxpayers through a “cashless” system of operation by the end of 2021.

Taxpayers who hitherto paid via cheques and cash payments would now be required to use digital applications to file their returns and make payments without visiting any GRA office.

With “no cheque payment directive” coming into effect, all

tellers within all GRA offices, are to be redeployed as all payments for taxes and duties will be made directly to GRA accounts with commercial banks through cash, bank drafts, bank transfers, ACH, SWIFT, cards, MoMo, and other electronic means.

According to the authority, the policy will be communicated widely to GRA staff and taxpayers for a smooth transition to take place.

The latest move follows other initiatives pursued by the tax collector to enhance its revenue mobilization by improving ease of collection as well as plugging loopholes in its collection channels.

GRA has a tax-to-GDP ratio

target of 17.5 percent by the end of 2022 and expects to achieve a total revenue collection of GH¢60bn this year.

Last year, the GRA’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) commenced the nationwide restructuring of its offices. The exercise aims to create offices not based on turnover, as it was done previously, but based on jurisdiction.

Much as this paper lauds this bold initiative, it believes that other the authority must also work to ensure VAT point-of-sale devices, as well as electronic means to generate VAT invoices, are made a mainstay to plug other revenue leakages that exist.

GRA won’t take cheques from next week Continued from cover

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through cash, bank drafts, bank transfers, ACH, SWIFT, cards, MoMo, and other electronic means.

The authority said the policy will be communicated widely to GRA staff and taxpayers for a smooth transition to take place.

“GRA has instituted a clear channel migration strategy to ensure that taxpayers move from paying tax in offices to doing so online, are able to pay at the banks, [and] do not pay tax by

cheques in GRA offices,” it added.

GRA has a tax-to-GDP ratio target of 17.5 percent by the end of 2022 and expects to achieve a total revenue collection of GH₵60bn this year.

Last year, the GRA’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) commenced the nationwide restructuring of its offices. The exercise aims to create offices not based on turnover, as it was done previously, but based on jurisdiction.

DTRD Offices have been demarcated into two main

wings—Area Offices, which will perform mainly administrative, centralised audit and enforcement functions; and Taxpayer Service Centres (TSCs), which will carry out all other functions of DTRD, namely, registration, receiving of returns, complaints, enquiries and payments, compliance, debt management, and tax education.

This review is aimed at bringing the services of the GRA closer to taxpayers for improved compliance.

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FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

Cocobod CEO allays Chinese cocoa production fears Continued from cover The Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences recently reported that the Chinese island of Hainan has exported cocoa beans to Belgium.

The first batch of 500 kg of cocoa beans worth €3,044 euros (about US$3,600) was produced in Xinglong, a township of Hainan with a tropical climate.

However, the CEO of the regulator of the cocoa industry in the country said, “We don’t have to be worried about that tiny island Hainan, because our geographical conditions give us that comparative advantage.

Cocoa cannot thrive in areas where temperatures fall below 18 degrees Celsius.

In Ghana our temperatures are even and always above 21 degrees Celsius, but that island’s temperatures can go as low as 14 degrees Celsius; and with that temperature, in winter all the leaves or flowers will drop. You don’t see that in Ghana.”

Speaking at the maiden GIPC Cocoa Value Chain Investment

Meeting in Accra, Mr. Boahene Aidoo also stated that the country has sufficient cocoa beans for any investor seeking to enter into the Ghanaian market, adding that the country in the medium term is likely to hit 1.5m tonnes of production.

Furthermore, he disclosed that the focus of Cocobod now is to “to do more cocoa processing and promote more consumption of cocoa finished products.”

Cocoa generates approximately US$2bn a year in foreign exchange for Ghana and employs 800,000 farmers directly.

On his part, the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yofi Grant, said “cocoa has been the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy, but we still labour to find one cocoa billionaire out of a crop that has actually developed the country.

For me that re-echoes a certain missing link that we have not monetised it in a very indigenous and domestic way as we should.”

He also urged cocoa processors in the value chain to take advantage of the African Continental Free

Cocobod boss Joseph Boahen Aidoo, seated right, answers questions from moderator Bernard Avle

Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Grace Jeanet Mason, stated that cocoa has “absolute advantage for Ghana and the region”, which needs to be leveraged through the AfCFTA. “AfCFTA is at the apex of Africa’s agenda, and with Ghana being the epicentre of trade in West Africa, the country is strategically poised for penetration in other markets.”

Contributing to a panel discussion, Dr. Emmanuel Opoku, the Deputy CEO of Cocobod in charge of operations, said the board’s business-friendly policies

and interventions have raised the proportion of cocoa processed locally from 23 percent to over 40 percent.

“With AfCFTA, we project a rise in demand and a much bigger opportunity for current and new investors in the processing and value addition space,” he added.

The Vice President of Cocoa Value Addition Artisans Association of Ghana, Dela Kuekey, urged Cocobod to speed up the regulation that allows the artisanal cocoa processors to procure beans in locations close to their operations.

Ghana has exploited 65% of hydropower potential Continued from cover with climate change effects, the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) has revealed.

The remaining 840MW that is yet to be exploited is likely to yield a dependable capacity of about 500MW, the institute said in an analysis of the power situation and prospects for introducing nuclear electricity generation in Ghana.

The hydropower potential that has already been exploited includes the 1,020MW Akosombo Hydropower Plant, which has a dependable capacity of 900MW, and the 160MW Kpong Hydropower Plant, which has a dependable capacity of 148MW. The third is the 400MW Bui Hydropower Plant, whose dependable capacity is 342MW. “Ghana cannot continuously rely on hydropower as was done in the post-independence era, but must explore other baseload options that are reliable, affordable, and sustainable, as described in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7,” the institute said.

It explained that a major factor that has accounted for Ghana’s power crises in the past is the overdependence on thermal and hydro sources for electricity generation. This, the institute said, has been compounded by lower levels of reservoirs, shortage of oil and higher prices.

With Ghana’s population projected to increase from 30m in 2018 to 50m by 2057, electricity demand is likely to rise as the economy expands.

“Various projections from various government organisations have projected the country’s electricity demand to increase in the short, medium, to long term.

Although the projected margin of increase is different considering the projections, it is apparent that the increase is imminent and Ghana must prepare itself to supply the corresponding demand,” the institute said.

It added that the country will need about 1,200MW additional

installed capacity to attain electricity sufficiency, stressing that nuclear power can make an invaluable contribution to meeting the increasing electricity demand.

The country’s current diversified generation mix consists of 1,580MW from hydropower, 3,549MW from thermal, and 42.6MW from renewables, mainly solar.

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News

FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

AGI asks gov’t to prioritise interventions to support industry

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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he Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum-Akwaboah, has called on government to prioritise its interventions to prop up industry against the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the launch of the 10th AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards 2021 in Accra, Mr. Twum-Akwaboah said industry experienced a drastic slowdown in business activity last year with the outbreak of the pandemic.

“Global supply chains were terribly disrupted and these developments exposed our vulnerability to shocks as an economy. A GDP growth rate of 0.9 percent for our manufacturing subsector is not the best,” he added.

Reflecting on the turbulence endured by businesses, the CEO

Seth Twum Akwaboah, AGI CEO

indicated that it has become necessary to adjust to the dynamics of local and international trade, taking cognisance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“It is extremely important that industry gets the needed support to build its local production and manufacturing infrastructure to add value to its commodities for export as well as develop the

capacities of the human resource to fully benefit from the AfCFTA,” he said.

Although government has embarked on some programmes targeted at supporting industry, Mr. Twum-Akwaboah said the timeliness of the interventions would make a big difference in resuscitating local businesses.

The AfCFTA agreement, considered as the flagship project

under the AU Agenda 2063, has the potential of being the world’s largest single market and presents a myriad of opportunities for businesses.

Mr. Twum-Akwaboah called on government to expedite action on its GH¢100bn “Ghana CARES Obaatanpa” programme to propel industry to leverage the opportunities in the AfCFTA. “Industry remains anxious to see how these initiatives can inure to building local capacity for export diversification in a competitive manner,” the CEO noted.

The Awards Mr. Twum-Akwaboah noted that over the years, the AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards has provided an extraordinary platform for celebrating industrial excellence.

“Our industries deserve recognition, and indeed, this year marks the tenth edition of the awards, which is a milestone worth celebrating.”

MTN committed to supporting Ghana’s digital agenda—Group CEO

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TN Group CEO and President Ralph Mupita has reiterated MTN’s commitment to support Ghana’s digital agenda as well as government’s initiatives to drive rural financial inclusion and support businesses under the “Ghana Cares” initiative.

Mr. Mupita commended government on its efforts to digitalise the economy when he paid a courtesy on the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, at the Jubilee House as part of a three-day working visit to Ghana.

During his interaction with the Vice President, Mr. Mupita shared updates on steps MTN has taken to align its strategy with the national agenda to create a shared value. He said, “We are committed to supporting Ghana’s QR code project and other digital initiatives such as the fight against cyber-attacks and the development of Women in ICT. Mr. Mupita also announced MTN’s intention to construct an ICT Hub to commemorate its 25th anniversary celebrations.

He shared updates as well on MTN Ghana’s commitment to complete its localisation drive of 12.5 percent for Scancom Plc by

the end of 2021 and the sale of 30 percent shares in MobileMoney Limited by January 2022. He shared highlights on discussions with competition and technology partners aimed at improving and expanding network infrastructure in readiness for AfCFTA opportunities.

In his remarks, Dr. Bawumia commended MTN for its belief in the Ghana market and for expanding its investments over the past 25 years. He reiterated his commitment to protect and support MTN’s operations in Ghana, especially its request for spectrum to enhance its operations.

The Group CEO and his team of executives paid similar courtesy calls on other stakeholders to interact and discuss issues of mutual interest.

Mr. Mupita called on the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms. Grace Jeanet Mason, and Member of MTN Group’s International Advisory Committee and the former President of Ghana John Agyekum Kufuor. He also had meetings with the Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, and the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta.

From left to right: Ebenezer Twum Asante, MTN Vice President for West and Central Africa Region (WECA); Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; and Ralph Mupita, MTN Group CEO and President

The Group CEO and his team also met the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison; the Commissioner of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah; and the Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), Mr. Ekow Afedzi.

Mr. Mupita was accompanied

by Mr. Ebenezer Twum Asante,

MTN Vice President for West and Central Africa Region (WECA); Samuel Addo, MTN Ghana Chief Enterprise Business Officer, representing Selorm Adadevoh, Chief Executive Officer; and Samuel Koranteng, MTN Ghana Chief Corporate Services Officer.

Ralph Mupita’s visit to Ghana is the third since he assumed office as Group CEO in September 2020.

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News

FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

Thirty-six companies, 5 individuals awarded at Ghana-West Africa Business Excellence Awards

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he Ghana-West Africa Business Excellence Awards has recognised 36 companies and 5 individuals at its 2021 Awards for their significant roles in the development of various sectors in Ghana and West Africa at large.

The Award provides a platform to recognise individuals and companies that create a friendly atmosphere to welcome investors.

The 2021 Ghana-West Africa Business Excellence Awards is a rebrand from the West Africa Business Excellence Awards.

This event is powered by KN Unique Communications, the preferred corporate events, brand management and publishing company that have properly organized and executed various top corporate events across Africa in partnership with West Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zeliate Media, and Business24.

Oheneba Kwabena Kena, CEO of KN Unique Communications stated that: “The Award ceremony is thus not only a time for

celebration, but it is importantly a time for showcasing, and sharing experience among peers in quest for excellence.”

The event was graced by the Ambassador for Switzerland, Philip Stalder, Ambassador for Korea; LIM Jung-taek, Ambassador for Brazil; Maria Elisa de Luna and Ambassador for Palestine, Abdulfatah A.K. Alsattari Top businesses and individuals were honoured at the 2021 Ghana - West Africa Business Excellence Awards held at the Movenpick

Ambassador Hotel in Accra on 21st May, 2021.

The CEO of M&G Pharmaceutical Limited, Mr. Gopal Vasu was awarded the Outstanding Business Executive Of The Year (Pharmaceuticals), Madam Jane Reason Akushika Ahadzie, CEO of JRA Cosmetics Limited was adjudged Female Business Executive of the year (Manufacturing), Dr. Naa Asheley Dordor, CEO of Nova Wellness Center was adjudged Outstanding Business Executive Of The Year (Health And

Wellness), Mr. Yayrator Glover, CEO of Yayra Glover Limited was pronounced as the Outstanding Business Executive Of The Year (Agribusiness), Madam Aretha Duku, CEO of Ghana Union Assurance Company Limited was awarded Outstanding Female Business Executive Of The Year.

Goldfields Ghana won the Outstanding Mining Company of the year while, Blowchem Industries won the Outstanding Water Producing Company of the year.

David Adjaye OBE receives the 2021 Royal Gold Medal for architecture

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he Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is pleased to announce that this evening (Wednesday 26 May 2021) Sir David Adjaye OBE is formally celebrated as the recipient of the 2021 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. The medal was presented by Iain Walker, the British High Commissioner to Ghana, on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

This evening’s virtual celebration links Sir David Adjaye in Ghana, with the RIBA President Alan Jones in London, tributes from dignitaries around the world, and a global audience tuning in online.

Given in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the Royal Gold Medal is given to a person or group of people who have had a significant influence “either directly or indirectly on the advancement of architecture”.

Awarded since 1848, past Royal Gold Medallists include Zaha Hadid (2016), Frank Gehry (2000), Norman Foster (1983), Frank Lloyd Wright (1941) and Sir George Gilbert Scott (1859).

Sir David Adjaye is a GhanaianBritish architect who has received international attention

for an exceptional body of work over 25 years. Drawing on his cited influences including ‘contemporary art, music and science to African art forms and the civic life of cities’, his completed projects range from private houses, exhibitions and furniture design, through to major cultural buildings and city masterplans. From the start of his career he has combined practice with teaching in schools of architecture in the UK and the USA, including professorships at the universities of Harvard, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Princeton.

His practice, Adjaye Associates, was founded in 2000 and today has studios in Accra, London and New York, with projects across the world.

Adjaye Associates are most well-known for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, in Washington, DC (2016), where they were lead designer of the Freelon Adjaye/Bond SmithGroup. Other completed projects include Ruby City, an art centre in San Antonio, Texas (2019); the Alara Concept Store in Lagos (2016); the Sugar Hill Mixed

Use Development (housing, museum, community facilities and offices) in Harlem, New York (2015); the Aishti Foundation, a mixed use retail and arts centre in Beirut, Lebanon (2015); two neighbourhood libraries in Washington, DC (both 2012); the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo in Russia (2010); the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, Colorado (2007); the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, Norway (2005); Rivington Place arts centre in Hackney, London (2007); and the Idea Stores – two community libraries in London (2004, 2005).

Current projects include a new home for The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York in collaboration with Cooper Robertson; 130 William, a high-rise residential tower in New York’s financial

district; the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Dakar, Senegal; the Princeton University Art Museum in Princeton, New Jersey in collaboration with Cooper Robertson; the George Street Sydney Plaza in Sydney, Australia; The Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex in Abu Dhabi; Winter Park Library and Events Center in Winter Park, Florida; the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, London led by Adjaye Associates, with Ron Arad Architects as Memorial Architect, and Gustafson Porter + Bowman as Landscape Architect; the Royal Benin Museum in Benin City, Nigeria; the National Cathedral of Ghana in Accra; and the Thabo Mbeki Presidential Library in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

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News

FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

ECG Board, officials pay familiarisation visit to Alpha TND factory

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he Board of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) led by its Chairman, Keli Gadzekpo, and some officials have paid a one-day familiarisation visit to the factory base of energy and power distribution resource company Alpha TND Limited located at Prampram in the Greater Accra region.

Mr. Gadzekpo was accompanied by Bernard Sackey-Member, Alhaji Amadu Kaleem-Member, John Kojo Arkorful-Member, Abraham Anokye Abebrese, Director Customer Services, Mr. Hesford Quaye Larbi, GM Metering, Mr. Apeagyei Apeakorang, Board Secretary.

The visit offered the Board an opportunity to take a full tour of the facility and further get abreast with the general operations of Alpha TND as well as the level of standards of the company’s manufacturing work.

Mr. Pankaj Bhati, Chief Executive Officer, Alpha TND led the ECG delegation throughout the tour.

The team visited the Production area, Testing and Control area Packaging Room and Warehouse

Mr. Pankaj Bhati, CEO of AlphaTND conducting the ECG board chairman, Mr Keli Gadzekpo and his team around the premises

within the company’s production enclave.

The purpose of the visit was also meant, among other things, to engender strong partnerships between ECG and local businesses within the power sector supply chain.

The ECG Board Chair and the entire delegation were impressed by the level of standards and quality being strictly adhered to at the factory and expressed satisfaction, while encouraging management to maintain the very high standards set by the company for the admiration and emulation of others.

The ECG officials with the assistance of the management of Alpha TND also seized the opportunity to plant trees as part of the company’s ecofriendly policy to uphold high environmental conservation standards.

Alpha TND Limited is a Multinational Company in Power Sector incorporated under the laws of Ghana in the year 2012.

According to the CEO Pankaj Bhati, the company’s product failure rate has remained at less than one percent within the last 10 Years.

“Our Technology Partners,

Secure Meters Limited, an Indian Multinational company, have almost 33+ years’ experience in Metering with an installed base of more than 60 million meters worldwide (more than 10 million smart & prepayment meters) offered in 76 countries across the globe,” he revealed during the briefing to the ECG officials.

The company has received several international awards and regeneration including the “Queens’s award-UK”, “DSIR Award for R&D”, “European Smart Metering and Smart Grid Award” among others. In Ghana, Alpha TND was adjudged the Meter Manufacturing Company of the year at the 2020 Ghana Manufacturing Awards.

Currently, Alpha TND can boast of 150 direct Ghanaian employees and more than 200 indirectly involved in the ancillary activities (Projects, Retail, Solar, Supply).

The company has also embarked on training and capacity building on the electrical system for more than 500 Technicians/Engineers.

It also targets to improve community living and take initiative for the betterment of society by various CSR activities in different regions of operations.

Caster Capelli opens ultra-modern unisex grooming salon in Accra

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aster Capelli, Accra’s standard for a modern grooming salon, has opened its first urbane salon in Ashalley Botwe, Accra.

Caster Capelli is an upscale

trendy hairstyle shop that offers today’s progressive modish haven where people they can sit back, relax and experience a world class art of grooming and services in a tranquil atmosphere.

The professional beauty salon is located on the Agorwu Street, close to the Lakeside junction in Ashalley Botwe. It is a local grooming salon that offers quality services including hairstyling, men’s cut, nail services, pedicure, gel manicure, nail enhancement, etc. The team at Caster Capelli also welcome groups such as bridal parties and have multiple seating stations for group pampering.

The salon specialises in creating custom, intricate hairstyling and nail art designs. The highly skilled team is trained to create varying designs ranging from hair coloring, hand painting nails with designs including flowers, pets, flames, patterns, pedicure, manicure and men’s cut.

“Caster Capelli is a familycentred salon, “explains Managing Director, Christabel Afaribea Adjei. “Caster Capelli is aimed at an exclusive market and a discerning customer base, and will add tremendous value to our community while offering a combination of world class services not currently being offered by any competitor in the

Adentan Municipality”.

“Our goal, beyond the social and entertaining atmosphere we have created, is becoming a trusted destination whereby our sophisticated clients around the vicinity and within Accra will find it inevitable to treat themselves with our un-matching services.

According to Robert Truth, a hairstylist with Caster Capelli, “The brand has highly been expected to do beyond the regular, and we have taken a good pace so far. Our services to clients have high reviews and already hitting some good referral numerals.

We look forward to exceeding our targets and sky-rocketing the brand Caster Capelli beyond regional territories.

Come through and enjoy the luxury and perfection of hairstyling”.

“We don’t only focus on splendid outcomes but also educate you on treatments, dos and donts that will maintain your hair, nails, feet among others. I believe Caster Capelli is here to stay and serve you the best of men and women grooming,” he added.

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Feature

FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

Mobile Money fraud: Two factor authentication, an algorithm to end this menace eliminated because sender is now the only person who can generate a code for cash transfer to another MoMo user. Nobody can sit anywhere to generate this code on my behalf. Again, by using social engineering to get me to generate this code, it will be sent to my phone and not that of the fraudster.

By: Ing. Suwera Naamwinbetersob Frederick

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obile Money is the fastest, convenient, but until recently the most reliable means of doing online payments in Ghana. The government of Ghana is striving to build a cashless economy to reduce the risk of people carrying huge cash around.

Mobile payments provide a mechanism for conducting financial transactions using a mobile device as an alternative to using cash, cheques, or credit cards.

The mobile device is linked to a bank account, card account (credit, debit, or prepaid), or stored value (e.g., prepaid wallets, online stored value, stored value cards) from which money is deposited or withdrawn.

Mobile Money services, however, are extremely attractive to fraudsters.

The recent requirement of needing an ID (Identity Document) card to make a withdrawal at the MoMo agent shows that the fight against MoMo fraud is still yet to be won.

This policy of showing your ID card fails to address ownership as it is done in the bank because it only confirms that the face on the ID is the face requesting for withdrawal. When the ID card is entered into the system, it does not confirm that the name on the MoMo account is correct with the name on the ID card because I could use my brother’s ID card and the system will still allow the agent to make the withdrawal for me. In the bank, a copy of the ID card is made and kept for future reference, but this is never done by the MoMo agent.

This policy confirms that you own a valid ID card, but the fraudsters can input any arbitrary ID number and the system will still allow them to withdraw your money. The SIM card they will use is fraudulently registered and cannot be traced.

It is therefore prudent to stop the fraudsters than to wait for them to commit the crime.

Below is a proposed system for MTN Mobile Money transactions.

This algorithm shall weed out any issue of fraud in the system.

Algorithm: Making a Withdrawal 1. The drawer (customer) will generate a code using the

amount to be withdrawn and the agent’s merchant ID. This code can only be used to withdraw from the said agent. The code expires after 5-minutes.

2. The merchant will take the drawer’s code and key it into the platform. The system (MTN in this case) will display amount of money to be withdrawn to the agent and request the MoMo agent to confirm if he/she can pay out such an amount with his PIN. 3. The process from the MoMo agent will then generate a prompt for the drawer to also confirm with his/her MoMo PIN. 4. Both parties (drawer and agent) get a text message notification confirming the transaction.

that the drawer and the agent to be physically next to each other.

In mobile technology, your phone is constantly registering its location to the network every 4-secs. During the location update process, the cell_ID of the phone at that moment is sent as part of the location update.

There shall be a cross-referencing system to compare the location update details of the agent and the drawer to confirm they are physically close to each other before the code is generated.

The below diagram shows the MoMo withdrawal algorithm.

Loopholes This System Will Plug • Remote generation of cash out prompt: This is eliminated because the drawer is now the only person who can generate a code for cash out to a specific MoMo agent. Nobody can sit anywhere to generate this code because the backend application creating this code would be encrypted and cannot be decrypted within 5 minutes, since the code is only live for that duration.

Assuming fraudsters use social engineering to get me to key in my PIN, the generated code will come back to my phone and not to the fraudster. This means the fraudster now has another task by trying to deceive me to send them the code, which will then be used to initiate the withdrawal. This is not the end the fraudster must again deceive me to enter my PIN for the final withdrawal of my money. It will take the devil to get me to do all this without noticing that my money is being taken away.

• Remote withdrawal of money: This system requires

The below diagram shows the MoMo sending/transfer algorithm.

Algorithm: Sending Money to Another Momo User 1. Sender will generate a code using the amount to be withdrawn and the receiver’s mobile number. The network operator (MTN in this case) will send this code to the sender.

2. The sender then initiates the process to transfer the said amount to the receiver.

3. A text message is sent to the sender and the receiver confirming the transaction.

Loopholes This System Will Plug • Remote generation of cash out prompt: This is

In conclusion, if these algorithms are implemented as outlined, the issues of MoMo fraud shall be a thing of the past.

This algorithm gives the user the power to request and complete a transaction and even when the initiation process is attacked, the next phase is still in the firm grip of the user to either continue or reject the whole transaction process.

The drawback of the existing system is that the user has only one authentication to complete a transaction, and this gives the fraudsters chance to strike only once. In the proposed system, the fraudster will have to strike three times before they can withdraw money from their victim. This can only take SATAN himself to be this lucky on their victims.

The Author is a Telecommunications Engineer with over 15+ years-experience in Mobile, FM Radio and Television technologies. He is a member of the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana, and currently the Head of Projects for Media General Ghana. Ltd. For comments, contact: Frederick. suwera@mediageneralgh.com / fsuwera@yahoo.co.uk

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International

FRIDAY MAY 28, 2021

US$50bn vaccine push could end the pandemic – IMF

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n immediate global effort to step up the rollout of Covid-19 vaccine doses could represent “the highestreturn public investment ever”, according to the International Monetary Fund.

In a paper entitled A Proposal to End the Covid-19 Pandemic, fund economists set out a $50bn plan they estimate could yield a $9trn benefit to the global economy by 2025.

The proposal includes vaccinating 40% of people by the end of 2021 and 60% by the first half of 2022, ensuring widespread testing and tracing, boosting stocks of treatments and enforcing public health measures.

“We estimate the cost of this proposal to be around $50bn, which is small compared to the potential benefits of a faster end to the pandemic, estimated at around $9trn,” the authors said.

“Moreover, advanced

economies stand to gain around $1trn in additional tax revenues, which means that funding this proposal may possibly be the highest-return public investment ever.”

Higher vaccine coverage would allow for lockdown measures to be eased, and a swifter rollout of jabs is cited by many economists as one of the most important factors in the recovery.

“By now we all know there is no durable end to the economic crisis without an end to the health crisis,” said IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva at a European summit on Friday.

“That means pandemic policy is economic policy.”

She urged governments of advanced economies, particularly the G20, to step up their support for international programmes

such as the vaccine scheme Covax.

An additional $4bn for Covax would allow it to increase its vaccination coverage goal from 20% to 30% across 91 low and middle-income countries, according to the IMF paper.

Donating surplus vaccines could also free up at least one billion doses in 2021, even if countries prioritise their own citizens, it said.

The fund envisages a total of $35bn of grant financing and about $15bn of concessional loans, but Georgieva said this needs to be sorted quickly.

“The proposal requires not just commitments but upfront financing, upfront vaccine donations, and upfront ‘at-risk’ precautionary investments,” she said.

“It is essential that all necessary financing is available as soon as possible.

Publicfinancefocus.org

Only four governments had ‘adequate’ oversight of pandemic preparedness is key. spending in 2020, report says

W

idespread lapses in accountability plagued the global response to Covid-19 and recovery efforts will require far stronger oversight, the International Budget Partnership has found.

By the end of 2020, governments had mobilised $14trn in fiscal policy responses, including spending, tax relief and loans or guarantees.

Many bypassed common procedures to do so, in an attempt to get money and services to people who needed them during the crisis, but the IBP said this only exacerbated existing problems with transparency.

“Governments are taking a series of measures out of a sense of urgency – such as bypassing legislatures, relaxing procurement procedures and not seeking citizens’ inputs – that undermine accountability,” a new report said.

“While such shortcuts may feel justifiable, given the huge uncertainties surrounding the pandemic and the need to respond speedily, they make it more difficult for citizens and their representatives to understand what governments are really doing.”

The IBP said ‘fiscal openness’ – i.e. allowing and promoting transparency and participation in policy-making – not only reduces corruption but also leads to more equitable outcomes.

It looked at 120 governments’ fiscal responses to the pandemic, judging them on three “pillars of accountability”: public access to information; oversight arrangements; and opportunities for civic engagement.

Just four governments (Australia, Norway, Peru and the Philippines) were found to have had an ‘adequate’ level of accountability, with none qualifying as ‘substantive’.

Only 29 had ‘some’ accountability, while 55 had ‘limited’ and 32 had ‘minimal’.

Nearly two-thirds of governments failed to follow transparent procurement procedures; almost half bypassed legislatures to expedite relief packages; and only a quarter published audit reports by the end of 2020.

At a launch event for the report, senior policy director Vivek Ramkumar pointed to the International Monetary Fund’s advice to governments: “do whatever it takes, but keep the

receipts”.

“We don’t think there’s a trade-off between an emergency response and the strengthening of that response,” he said.

“We don’t think a crisis can be an excuse for a misuse of public funds.

“Unfortunately, this [report] shows too many governments are falling short, to the detriment of the publics they serve. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

The IBP’s ‘scorecard’ “strongly correlated” with its pre-pandemic 2019 Open Budget Survey, which it said suggests countries with stronger accountability during normal times tend to remain transparent during a crisis.

Michael Aguinaldo, head of the Philippines’ supreme audit institution, said his country often deals with emergency situations, such as natural disasters, and

“Whenever we have this kind of crisis, it’s always an opportunity to abuse,” he said.

“That’s why transparency is even more important.”

Under emergency legislation, the president could have suspended procurement law, Aguinaldo said, but he chose not to, and the government gave weekly reports on its spending.

Good examples in the report included Paraguay, which set up a single website with all Covid-19related procurement contracts, and Jamaica, which carried out three audit reviews of its cash transfer programmes.

It also praised Norway, where both the executive and legislature consulted people who would be affected, including disadvantaged groups, on the formulation and implementation of response packages.

Action is needed now, the IBP said, to improve accountability in the ongoing response to the crisis.

Monthly progress reports on policy implementation, openly publishing details of procurement contracts, empowering national audit offices and allowing citizen participation should all be explored, the report said.

Publicfinancefocus.org

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European and African leaders call for a new deal for Africa

By Emmanuel Macron, Paul Kagame, Cyril Ramaphosa and Macky Sall

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we can no longer treat seemingly faraway crises as distant problems.

What happens anywhere can affect people everywhere. That is why addressing the impact and legacy of the pandemic in Africa is so important.

Although Africa has suffered fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths than other areas of the world, the pandemic’s impact on the continent could be more sustained, deep-rooted, and destabilizing for the entire planet.

In one year, the pandemic has halted a quarter-century of steady economic growth, disrupted value chains, and caused an unprecedented increase in inequality and poverty.

But it is not only Africa that is at risk of losing its opportunity to emerge fully from COVID-19. The global economy could lose one of its future drivers of growth.

Africa has everything required to overcome the pandemic crisis and lead the world toward a new cycle of sustainable growth: enterprising and innovative young people, natural resources which can supply a local industrial base, and a highly ambitious continental integration project. But Africa does not have the instruments to recover from a crisis as huge as it was unexpected.

While the International Monetary Fund estimates that African countries will need $285 billion in additional financing by 2025, there is no recovery plan or mechanism in place to secure these resources. While other regions are now seeing signs of rapid economic recovery, Africa’s inability to combat the pandemic with the same leverages could

fuel an economic and social crisis that denies its young people the opportunities they need and deserve.

International solidarity began yielding results soon after the pandemic began. Debt-service payments for the poorest countries were suspended under the G20, and exceptional financial assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and other donors, including Europe, was made available.

But the institutions that have underpinned international solidarity for decades are now reaching their limits. They have been weakened in the short term by huge inequalities in vaccine access. They are weakened, too, by major economic divergences, which no emergency measure seems capable of stopping.

That is why a new framework, an ambitious and bold New Deal, is needed. And the first test of this initiative must be access to COVID-19 vaccines. Through COVAX, the vaccine pillar of the international community’s Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, and the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, hundreds of millions of doses will be delivered to Africa in the months ahead. Pre-ordered doses of vaccines are being shared via multilateral channels, with protection of health-care workers the top priority.

But it is not sufficient.

Vaccination is the world’s most important economic policy at this moment: its benefits are measured in trillions, its cost in billions. It is the highest-yielding investment in the short term. We must therefore mobilize innovative financial instruments to increase funding for the ACT Accelerator, in order to reach Africa’s vaccination coverage target, set at 60-70% by the Africa Centres for Disease

Control and Prevention. We call on the IMF to recognize the use of special drawing rights (SDRs, the Fund’s unit of account) to finance this effort.

Moreover, as the Rome Declaration of the Global Health Summit held on May 21 affirms, the key to combating future pandemics is transferring not only licenses but also expertise to developing country vaccine producers.

Pending the conclusion of an agreement on intellectual property currently under negotiation at the World Trade Organization, Africa must be able to produce vaccines using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and break a deal, within the WTO, on the TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) regime.

With the impetus of the Paris summit for African, European, and financial leaders, held on May 18, such production partnerships will be financed and move ahead in the coming months.

The second component of a New Deal for Africa is largescale investment in health, education, and the fight against climate change. We must allow Africa to ring-fence this spending from outlays for security and infrastructure investment, preventing the continent from falling into a new cycle of excessive debt. In the short term, despite certain African countries’ spectacular success at tapping international capital markets, private creditors will not provide the necessary financial resources.

Africa needs a positive confidence shock. The Paris summit has enabled us to consolidate an agreement on a new $650 billion allocation of SDRs, $33 billion of which will go to African countries. Now we want to go even further with two voluntary commitments.

First, we need a commitment by other countries to mobilize part of their SDR allocations for Africa. As a first step, this rechanneling of resources would enable an initial threshold of $100 billion to be freed up for Africa (and vulnerable countries elsewhere).

Second, African institutions must be involved in the use of these SDRs to support the continent’s recovery and progress toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This, in turn, may pave the way for an overhaul of our international financial architecture that gives greater weight to African institutions.

We call on all members of the international community to make this double commitment.

Finally, we must focus on Africa’s main asset: its entrepreneurial dynamism. The continent’s very small, small, and medium-size enterprises are the lifeline to the future for African women and young people, but the private sector is hostage to informality and under-financing.

This is why we must focus on improving African entrepreneurs’ access to financing by targeting their projects’ most crucial phases, particularly start-up.

The goal of the Paris summit was to gain agreement on four goals: universal access to COVID-19 vaccines, including via production in Africa; strengthening panAfrican institutions’ positions and roles within a new international financial architecture; relaunching public and private investment; and supporting largescale financing of the African private sector. Our task in the months ahead will be to advance these goals in international fora and as part of France’s upcoming six-month term as president of the Council of the European Union.

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