Business24 Newspaper 12th November, 2021

1

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

BUSINESS24.COM.GH

Friday November 12, 2021

NO. B24 / 273 | News for Business Leaders

Ghana ready to host AfDB 2022 AGM, Ofori-Atta assures

AGI calls for targeted review of benchmark value on imports See page 5

See page 13

says 200,000 youth targeted NPA rate of fuel adulteration in YEA’s artisanal jobs has fallen sharply programme since 2013 T A

By Eugene Davis

ugendavis@gmail.com

he Youth Employment Agency (YEA) has announced the commencement and activation of its Artisan Directory Programme, a skills development and market facilitation programme that seeks to train the youth in different artisanal skill areas and link them to prospective clients via a digital platform.

According to the YEA, the programme has been designed with the support and contribution of industry players and government agencies.

The programme is expected to benefit at least 200,000 youth by December 2023.

s a result of stringent regulatory measures, the retail outlet failure rate, which measures the percentage of fuel stations selling low-quality or adulterated products, has reduced drastically from 32 percent in 2013 to 2.51 percent as at August 2021, the Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has disclosed.

Cont’d on page 3

Cont’d on page 2

CalBank pledges strategic lending to aid post-Covid recovery

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

I

Inadequate vets hampers control of bird flu—Agric Minister

By Eugene Davis

ndigenous publicly listed lender CalBank Plc says it will grow its loan book in a measured approach without risking the health of its balance sheet, even as it seeks to support

ugendavis@gmail.com

T

he Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Cont’d on page 5

Cont’d on page 3

Cont’d on page 2 Cont’d on page 2

2

Editorial / News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Editorial

Specialised insurance scheme for farmers is the way to go

G

hana is said to be on the brink of securing an insurance scheme for farmers, starting with smallholder farmers in the northern part of the country.

Under the African Union’s (AU) Africa Risk Capacity (ARC), the scheme will cover farmers whose yields are affected by long dry-spell, an adverse effect of climate change.

According to the DirectorGeneral of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Eric Nana AgyemangPrempeh, who announced this at the COP26 in Glasgow, Ghana has already gone through documentation and customization processes to qualify for the insurance

package.

The report covering the insurance is said to be presented to Parliament and Cabinet soon for approval and then to the Finance Ministry for the premium to be paid.

This is a big news for the farming community to say the least, aside the fact that it will make agriculture and smallholder farming more enticing. With agriculture being the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy, interventions like these that go to secure the welfare of sector actors must be greatly encouraged.

Food security requires that we make farming more attractive and rewarding to court the needed youthful expertise

and investments across the value chain. The shift from subsistence to mechanized large scale agriculture will cushion the nation’s food security efforts but with the right mix of investments and youthful and energetic industry players.

Whilst taking pragmatic steps to combat climate change, it is only proper that some of these measures are introduced the mitigate the harm of the phenomenon on persons whose sources of livelihood may be at the mercy of climatic conditions.

Food security is the priority of every nation and our ability to attain food sufficiency is linked to our we can properly take care of our farmers.

200,000 youth targeted in YEA’s artisanal jobs programme Continued from cover

Your subscription -- along with the support of businesses that advertise in Business24 -- makes an investment in journalism that is essential to keep the business community in Ghana well-informed. We value your support and loyalty.

Contact Email: editor@business24.com.gh Newsroom: 030 296 5315 Advertising / Sales: +233 24 212 2742

Speaking at a press conference in Accra to announce the activation, CEO of the YEA Justin Kodua-Frimpong said the directory will serve as a one-stop shop for the supply of certified and professionally groomed artisans to the general public.

The directory, he added, can be accessed through the YEA app.

He stated further that the initial focus of the programme is on artisans in construction, but added that it will eventually be scaled up to include all artisanal areas. The programme is expected to benefit at least 200,000 youth by December 2023. It will also provide start-up packages to support micro and small-scale enterprise creation in the artisanal sector.

Advertisements have already gone out for the recruitment of master craftsmen/women in construction, with specific areas of interest including plasterboard installation, interior decoration, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, aluminium fabrication, tiling, landscaping, general electricals, steel bending, painting, and welding.

Samuel Amegayibor, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Real Estate Developers

Association (GREDA), which is supporting the programme, commended YEA for the initiative and partnership. “[The programme] will help us develop data on our artisans across the board and help to regulate the

system. It is something all of us must embrace, especially those at the artisanal level.”

The online portal for registration has been opened till November 28.

3

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

CalBank pledges strategic lending to aid post-Covid recovery Continued from cover the nation’s recovery from the harms of the pandemic.

“The health of the bank’s balance sheet is key to us; we will grow our loan book without creating impairments or bad loans within a short period of time. As a bank, we should be able to ensure that we provide loans to critical sectors to spur the growth of the economy,” Managing Director

Philip Owiredu said at the lender’s virtual “Fact behind the Figures” session.

“That process is ongoing; we have revamped our retail franchise and segmented them to strongly focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), looking at the personal loan offerings that we have. If you look at the industry, Cal is one of the banks with a high loan portfolio,” he added.

As a heavy player in the fixed income market, the bank has a ready channel for its liability mobilisation, according to Mr. Owiredu, with the bank remaining keen on lending to the services, industry, health, and agriculture sectors, as well as direct government lending.

CalBank has a short-term target to become a tier-one bank, measured by total assets, at the end of 2023 whilst commanding

Mr. Philip Owiredu, Managing Director, CalBank Plc

a strong retail presence by leveraging innovation and customer-centricity.

The bank posted a robust balance sheet at the end of the third quarter, with total assets of the group increasing from GH¢7.6bn to GH¢8.7bn, representing an increase of 13.9 percent during the review period and funded by the significant increase in deposits of 37.5 percent.

In the period under review, CalBank witnessed a remarkable uptake of its electronic and digital channels, with significant increases in both the volume and value of transactions on its mobile banking app, growing by 63 percent and 64 percent respectively.

Net interest income decreased by 10 percent compared to the same period last year, resulting from a 30.5 percent decrease in interest from loans and advances, due largely to the sell-down of some significant loans in quarterfour 2020.

CalBank’s commissions and fees increased by 34.9 percent against the prior year on account of increased activities in the bank’s electronic banking services, whilst trading income and other income grew by 119.8 percent, primarily driven by significant increases in fixed income trading activities.

NPA says rate of fuel adulteration has fallen sharply since 2013 Continued from cover Among the key strategies the authority adopted to achieve the reduction are the revision of operating procedures in the importation, exportation, and production of fuels by Petroleum Service Providers (PSPs), and the introduction of the Petroleum Product Marking Scheme (PPMS) and Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) tracking system to ensure that products are devoid of adulteration and meet the required specification along the supply chain.

“We are poised to wipe out these 2.51 percent culprits still cheating petroleum consumers.

This is why we are here today, to tell consumers to report to the NPA anytime there is suspicion of the purchase of contaminated fuel. There are laws that provide punitive sanctions such as fines, imprisonment, or both for the perpetrators of these fuel quality

crimes,” he said.

Dr. Abdul-Hamid was addressing stakeholders at this year’s Consumer Week Celebration, which was held under the theme “Adulterated fuels: A menace to the consumer and the economy”, at Ho in the Volta Region.

Dr. Abdul-Hamid said petroleum service providers that indulge in fuel adulteration deprive consumers of value for money and also cause damage

Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid

to the engines of vehicles and machinery. According to him, fuel adulteration increases emission of harmful compounds like carbon dioxide that affect air quality and the environment.

The effects, he added, affect the health of the workforce, harm the reputation of a fuel retailer’s brand, and cost government millions of cedis in revenue each year.

According to him, in a bid to tackle the problem of petroleum

product adulteration, innovative strategies have been adopted, primarily aimed at improving upon the quality of petroleum products to ensure fuel supplied at final dispensing outlets is of the right quality specification to consumers.

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in a speech read on his behalf urged consumers of petroleum products to desist from buying from tabletop sellers.

“To our drivers here who like to buy fuel from our tabletop dealers—what is known to be ‘gao-gao’ in this municipality— probably because it’s cheaper than what’s sold at the filling station, please note that you are rather damaging your car engines and you will spend more to fix your cars at the mechanic shop than buying the quality products from the fuel stations,” he cautioned.

4

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

5

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

AGI calls for targeted review of benchmark value on imports

T

he Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has called for a targeted review of the 50 per cent benchmark value to support the government's industrialisation drive.

It said the policy in its current form ran counter to the government’s own industrial initiatives and had dire consequences for sustainable job creation prospects and the stability of the cedi.

"Instead of the universal application of the policy to all imports, AGI believes imports which come to compete with locally manufactured products be exempted from the policy," Mr Humphrey Ayim-Darkey, VicePresident of AGI in charge of SMEs, told a press conference to announce their demands ahead of the presentation of the 2022 Budget statement.

Mr Ayim-Darke said it was important for the government to cushion local products for which there is local production capacity.

The government declared a 50% reduction on import values at the ports in 2019 to make trade through the ports more attractive and enhance revenue mobilization.

"These expectations were not met barely two years into the implementation," he said, adding that it had instead weakened the local industries.

He urged the government to maintain the benchmark policy for manufacturers for their raw material imports to help grow the real economy.

"We support economic cooperation and multi-lateral

trade, the reason why Ghana has signed a number of trade agreements.

But we also note that signing of trade agreements such as AfCFTA and the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA), alone will not guarantee the gains we desire."

These agreements also come with competition emanating from their duty-free quota-free clauses.

With the advent of these trade agreements, it becomes more crucial to support Industry with the right policies in order to scale up local production capacity.

He said the benchmark policy had led to unfair competition and local manufacturing was collapsing with the influx of finished imports, which were equally enjoying the 50% reduction in their benchmark value.

Some of these imports to Ghana already enjoy significant export rebates from their countries of origin.

"Locally manufactured products including those for which Ghana already has local production capacity and comparative advantage have been under serious threat from imports," Mr Ayim-Darke said.

The current implementation of the benchmark value also posed a threat to Ghanaian industries participation in the AfCFTA. "The influx of cheaper imports is making the local production highly uncompetitive and discourage investment in the affected sectors," he said.

Citing the example of the Palm Oil industry, he said the reduction

in benchmark value of imported refined vegetable cooking oil would discourage potential investors for the oil palm sector.

Ghana cannot become a net exporter of crude & refined palm oil products to further increase its foreign income reserves. About $100m will be needed to import Crude Palm Oil annually if this policy persists.

He said a number of local rice brands were under pressure from imports, adding Avnash Industries, which has a 500MT of paddy per day rice mill located in near northern Ghana, was out of operation for about nine months on account of influx of rice imports coming to compete unfairly with local rice production.

He said the government's commissioned Savelugu and Sefwi Akontombra rice factories with investments totaling about GHc14 million risked becoming redundant if such large rice imports persist.

Mr Ayim-Darke said under the current circumstances manufacturers were finding it difficult to retain their employees with such influx of imports at cheap prices displacing their products on the market.

"The benchmark reduction policy in its current form could

worsen the unemployment situation.

The future of our country and our youth should guide us in our quest to promote policies that spur economic growth, industrialization and sustainable job creation."

We wish to emphasize that AGI is not calling for a total withdrawal of the policy but rather a selective application of the policy to serve a better purpose for the entire Ghanaian economy, he added.

Mr Ayim-Darke said the impact assessment and review of the benchmark policy must be done, taking cognizance the overarching framework of an industrial transformation agenda and fair-trade practices.

Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, Chief Executive Officer of Association of Ghana Industries, said the Association was also concerned about stability in the macro economic indicators such as the exchange rate, inflation and interest rate to help in planning.

He also called on the government to review the straight levy policy as it was unsupportive of the manufacturing sector.

Mr Twum-Akwaboah called for the extension of the zero tax regime for local producers of textiles.

Inadequate vets hampers control of bird flu—Agric Minister Continued from cover has told Parliament that the containment of bird flu in the country has been challenging due to a limited budget and inadequate veterinary professionals in the ministry.

Appearing before MPs to answer questions on measures being taken to manage the outbreak of bird flu in the Greater Accra, Volta, and Central Regions, he said cabinet has approved a proposal to recruit 1,100 veterinary officers within three years.

“In the year 2021 to 2022, the approval provides for the recruitment of 550 various

categories of veterinary professionals, representing half of the total number, to augment the existing staff strength of the veterinary directorate,” he said.

He added that the ministry has also secured GH¢43m to cover compensation of affected farmers, procurement of vehicles and motor bikes, logistics, laboratory equipment, training of staff, stakeholder sensitisation across the country, and other operational activities.

Ghana in July confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in three of its 16 regions that could affect about 600,000 farm animals.

The country went ahead to destroy over 4,500 chickens

and restricted the movement of poultry after nearly 6,000 birds were found to have died of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu.

The cases mark Ghana's fourth outbreak of avian flu since 2015.

In response, the government has banned poultry imports from Nigeria and Togo, while chicken

and chicken products can be transported from one region to another only under strict veterinary supervision.

Farmers have also been asked to apply the right disinfection and preventive methods on their farms to protect their birds.

6

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

7

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Toyota Ghana partners garages to promote genuine parts

He said the garages would later be branded to reflect the new status and encouraged them to consider the certification as brand ambassadors with a purpose for customer excellence.

Mr Iddrisu Seidu, Aftersales Manager at Toyota Ghana, said the strategy was to focus on quality service delivery through certification of partner garages.

He said it was to provide affordable price parts and reliable service to create a safe and comfortable mobility society, while protecting customers from a threat of fake or poor-quality parts.

The Aftersales Manager said garages would benefit from quality parts supply, marketing support, technical support and quality control.

He urged the partners to endeavour to provide quality service, use the right parts for their services, acquire adequate tools and equipment and operate in safe and comfortable environment.

The garages selected so far are: Iken Auto Tech, Wagner Vehicle Management, Zdegree Auto Services and Klataa Engineering Solutions.

T

oyota Ghana Company Limited as part of measures to curb fake spare parts, has introduced a project dubbed, “Team Toyota” to partner various garages in fighting the menace in the automobile market.

“Team Toyota” is a unique spare parts support project that offers garages the opportunity to partner with Toyota to supply genuine aftermarket spare parts to customers.

Mr Kohji Yanaka, the Managing Director, Toyota Ghana Company Limited, at the launch of the project, said as a business entity with the passion to provide excellence, “we consider it appropriate to periodically engage garages to find common solution to the needs of our mutual customers.”

He said with the growing units of Toyota vehicles in operation and maintenance cost becoming a concern for many transport owners, it had become imperative to identify innovative ways to close the gap for genuine spare parts support between new cars and used ones.

“We conducted a market survey recently and realised that quite several Toyota used car customers

prefer second grade parts that are genuine and affordable in the preowned car segment,” he said.

The Managing Director said it was to satisfy the market demand that Toyota Motor Corporation had developed a unique product identified as “IAM parts” under the trade name “Team Toyota.”

Mr Kohji said the principle behind the objective was to create a reliable supply chain for sale of spare parts at very affordable price.

He said members of the association of garages with Toyota on the project would bring immerse benefit to their businesses by way of added cash and technical support.

The Managing Director said to firm the business relationship for the project, some few garages had been selected pioneers and would be issued with certificates of authorisation to commence activity under the “Team Toyota” GNA trade name.

Ofori-Atta charges NIB board to position Ghana as industrial hub

T

he Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has charged the newly reconstituted board of directors for National Investment Bank (NIB) to turn around the fortunes of the bank to position Ghana as an industrial hub on the Africa continent.

“I believe the task for the reconstituted board is laid out clearly. You must work together to secure a complete turnaround of NIB into the profitable strategic national asset it ought to be,” the minister said this during the inauguration of a nine-member board for NIB in Accra.

The National Investment Bank in the year 2020 secured some GH¢800million capital injection from the Government of Ghana to boost its capital position. That was also to improve liquidity and position the bank to be profitable.

In addition, the bank introduced some reforms: policy guidelines for the board, management, and staff, all as means to solidify the status of the bank.

While Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta was aware of all that, he intimated

that the board must continue to work with Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) to fast-track the recapitalisation and reposition the Bank as a modern industrial finance institution. On that note, he stressed that supporting the expansion of Ghana’s industrial capacity was crucial for structural transformation.

The minister believed that to expand local industries and to build back Ghana as an industrial base, resources must be channeled through NIB to achieve that ambition. “We have a documented history of outsourcing most of our productive capacity, and consequently, we have lost our industrial base. To transition towards a resilient economy, we have to direct resources through NIB to fund the collective expansion of our local industries,” he stated.

The reconstituted board for NIB is chaired by Mr. Kofi Owusu Sekyere. The members are: Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Mr. Michael Ayesu, Mr. Dennis Adjei Dwomoh and Mrs. Lynn Allotey Gadzepo.

The others are: Mr, Ken Kanyagui, Mr. Kow Amponsah Sam, Kofi Okyere-Agyekum and Dr. Gideon Boako.

In response to the charge, the board chair, Mr. Kofi Owusu Sekyere, assured the minister that the new board would do their utmost best to turn the bank around. “I would also like to assure Hon. minister that steps would be taken to restore NIB to its core mandate of providing critical financial and advisory services to industry”, he emphasised.

Importantly, Mr. Sekyere believed that the relocation of the Head Office from the Accra Central

Business District had significantly enhanced the brand image of the bank. “This reinvigorated image we believe, can be leveraged to enhance the bottom lines of the NIB”, he stressed.

He noted that a new management team with a wealth of experience had been in place and had been able to among other things, stabilized the bank and reduced losses, and developed a strategic plan aimed at transforming the bank from its current commercial banking business model to one that focused on industrial development.

8

African Business

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Will France derail West Africa's common currency?

By Simplice A. Asongu is Lead Economist and Director of the African Governance and Development Institute.

A

n unprecedented AfricaFrance summit took place at the beginning of October in Montpellier, France. For the first time since these summits began in 1973, no African heads of state were invited. Instead, French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with students, entrepreneurs, artists, and athletes. The purpose of the gathering was to find ways to “rebuild” the relationship between France and Africa, especially in light of growing anti-French sentiment in many Francophone countries across the continent.

But there are reasons to question the sincerity of France’s initiative to reset relations with its former African colonies, particularly given Macron’s intervention in the creation of a new shared currency for West Africa.

In June 2019, after nearly 30 years of discussion and multiple missed deadlines, the 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced that their planned new currency, dubbed the eco,

would be introduced in 2020.

But at a joint news conference that December with President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast, Macron declared that in 2020, the eight French-speaking West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, GuineaBissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo) would retire their shared currency, the West African CFA franc, and replace it with a new currency – also called the eco.

This statement surprised the other seven ECOWAS countries, which are primarily Anglophone, since it directly contradicted the roadmap for a new currency set out only six months before.

On the surface, there is some logic to this course of events.

The eight Francophone countries already share a currency, so theoretically they would be more prepared to be part of a currency union. After Macron’s statement, there was some discussion that the remaining seven countries should first form a monetary union on their own. Once this union proved functional, it would be much easier for these countries to join the eco. But in practice, the creation of the separate West African eco serves to tie these countries more closely to France than to their African neighbors.

In addition to changing

the name of the West African currency, the statement by Macron and Ouattara stipulated that countries using the new eco would no longer be required to keep half their reserves in France, and France would not be involved in managing the new currency. But, whereas the plan for the ECOWAS eco called for a flexible exchange rate, the new eco, like the CFA franc, would be pegged to the euro, and France would remain the guarantor of its convertibility.

Macron and Ouattara’s announcement created an uproar in the region. Soon after the announcement, the president of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, affirmed his country’s readiness to join a new currency union – but not on the terms laid out by Macron and Ouattara. In January 2020, six mainly Anglophone West African countries – Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone – issued a joint statement denouncing Macron and Ouattara’s program. In June 2020, Nigerian President Muhammadu Bahari tweeted that the French-speaking countries’ decision to create a new common currency unilaterally implied a lack of trust in the other ECOWAS partners and indicated that his country, which accounts for 70%

of the ECOWAS gross domestic product, would not join.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in West Africa, many economists argue that the region needs to focus on economic recovery rather than projects like a new currency.

Nevertheless, at the end of May 2021, a West African currency symposium, Les États Généraux de l'Eco, was held in Lomé, Togo, to discuss the end of the CFA franc and the introduction of the eco.

The declaration issued at the end of the symposium affirmed the plan first introduced by Macron and Ouattara in December 2019 and the intention of the West African Francophone states to move forward.

Then, in June 2021, the ECOWAS countries held a summit in Accra, Ghana, where they announced a new timetable for their eco. It is now scheduled to be implemented in 2027. JeanClaude Kassi Brou, president of the ECOWAS Commission, blamed the pandemic for the delay.

How the ECOWAS eco will interact with the eco used in Francophone West Africa is an open question. And the answer may depend on how sincere France is about rebalancing its relationship with its former colonies.

9

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Ghana to host World Trade Promotion Organizations Conference and Awards

T

rade and investment promotion organizations around the world will meet in Accra, Ghana, on 17-18 May 2022 to discuss solutions for small firms to build resilience against disruptions caused by crises such as climate change and pandemics.

The World Trade Promotion Organizations Conference (WTPO) will be jointly hosted by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

A meeting with ITC Executive Director, Madam Pamela CokeHamilton and GEPA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Afua Asabea Asare in Accra on 26 October 2021, confirmed the participation of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the conference.

The organisers of the event said in a statement that participants would also explore new opportunities arising from

digitalization and the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Meanwhile, the ITC is inviting members of the trade promotion

organizations network to apply for the WTPO Awards 2022.

It said at the conference, excellence in assistance for small and medium-sized firms to trade across borders would be recognized in three categories: innovative partnerships, use of technology and sustainable and inclusive trade.

The statement said candidates from national institutions were eligible to apply by 3 December 2021.

The winners will be announced at the conference on 17 May 2022.

The 13th WTPO Conference and Awards will take place at Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, on May 17th to May 18th, 2022.

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority, in partnership with ITC, will host the event. Created in 1996, the conference takes place every two years.

Africa Technovate Awards/Fair 2021 rescheduled to February 2022

T

he Africa Technovate Awards and Fair 2021 has been rescheduled from its initial date, November 26 and 27, 2021 to February 2022. According to a press statement issued by the event organizer, Africa Integrated Development and Communications Consultancies (AIDEC), the change is due to some technical reasons.

The extension will also allow time for more nominations and all-inclusiveness to ensure that the best across the designated five regions of Africa are identified and recognized. “A new date for the event will be announced in due course. Meanwhile, nominations remain open, and a new closing date will be announced,” it said.

The Africa Technovate Awards and Fair intends to recognize and reward African technology companies working across the continent that have worked to deliver top notch creativity and innovations in technology, and also have achieved incredible successes for their companies, clients and countries. It also seeks to expose, challenge and motivate tech companies driving digital solutions and helping Africa stay competitive especially under a fast and transforming digital world.

Managing Director (MD) of AIDEC, Ambrose Yennah, speaking at the launch, noted that it has become necessary to

recognise these ICT companies and the individuals who are practicing in the sector to encourage them innovate and develop digital products and solutions capable of reducing the dependency on the developed countries.

“There are a lot on creative people in Ghana and in Africa especially the young ones but most of them are limited because of capital. That is why this program have included young tech innovators and creators as part of the categories in order to recognize them with Plagues, Citations and some cash to help them kick start. These individuals, companies and organizations have blazed the trail for several years as well as budding young and innovative tech companies or individuals charting a path for Africa’s digital transformation agenda,” he said.

Entries are therefore open to all organizations and individuals within the Information Technology space across Africa.

The platform to enter nominations or entries is africatechnovateawards. tech or send an email to afric atechnovateawards. 21@ gmail.com.

The event intent to hold discussions on strategies and tech/digital solutions that will help Africa stay competitive in this fast changing technological

world.

Topics will include, ‘Exploring the Nexus between Blockchain Technology and Digital Transformation’, ‘Unlocking the Digital Economy in Africa, the Role of E-Commerce under AfCFTA’, and ‘Benchmarking the Digital Transformation Agenda for Africa, the Way Forward’.

Award Categories The awards have been divided into three, including Sector Awards which covers; Outstanding EdTech Institution of the Year, FinTech Company of the Year, Health /MedTech Company of the Year, Digital Agri-Business of the Year, and Tech Insurance Company of the Year.

The second category, which is the Regional Awards includes Digital Innovation and Creativity Award, Digital Business Transformation Award, Tech Startup Company of the Year, Young Tech Startup Company of the Year, Blossoming Tech Company of the Year, Mature Tech Company of the Yea, and Ambitious Tech Company of the Year.

The Africa Awards also include Outstanding Digital Entrepreneur of the Decade, Lifetime Achievers Award, Quality Standards Award, Digital Excellence Award and Long-standing Service Engagement Award.

Mr. Ambrose Yennah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AIDEC Consultancies International Limited

Award criteria On awards criteria, the nominated company must be a registered business entity, organization or institution licensed to operate in the ICT sector and must show a track record of performance in the tech. space.

According to Mr. Yennah, they must demonstrate company or organization expertise, achievements, and contribute to the development of technology products and or solutions in the sectors, countries and or regions. They must have industry standards by establishing and demonstrating organizational/ industry best practice.

The companies and or individuals must demonstrate standards and show evidence of innovation and creativity using information technology to transform business operations.

10

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Inflation rate reaches 15-month high of 11.6 per cent in October

T

he year-on-year inflation rate for October rose to 11.0 per cent, up 0.4 percentage points from 10.6 per cent recorded in September 2021.

Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the Government Statistician, at a press conference on Wednesday, said the October inflation rate was the highest in the last 15 months.

He said housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels drove the inflation rate for October.

The Government Statistician said the Month-on-Month inflation between September 2021 and October 2021 was 0.6 per cent.

The month-on-month food inflation for October 2021, he said was again less than non-food inflation by 1.6 percentage points.

He stated that transport, which included fuel, recorded the highest variation of 5.2 percentage points between October 2021 of 14.9 per cent and the percentage 12-month average of 9.7 per cent.

"Contribution of food inflation to overall inflation continues to slow down by 3.7 percentage points," he said.

Inflation for locally produced items, the Government

Statistician said continued to dominate imported items but with a reduced margin from 3.4 to 3.0 percentage points.

He said the inflation for imported goods was 8.8 per cent, higher than the 8.1 per cent recorded in September, while

the inflation for locally produced items was 11.8 per cent, up from the 11.5 per cent recorded in September.

At the regional level, Prof Annim said the overall year-onyear inflation ranged from 1.9 per cent in the Eastern region to

19.2 per cent in the Upper West Region.

However, the Upper East region recorded the highest month-onmonth inflation of 1.8 per cent.

Three regions, Greater Accra, Upper West and Eastern, recorded negative rates.

Vodafone Foundation donates to Maamobi Hospital

V

odafone Ghana Foundation, with support from the Human Resource Department of Vodafone Ghana and the cross-functional Vodafone Spirit Team, has presented hospital equipment and essential medical supplies to the Maamobi General Hospital in Accra.

Items donated include wheelchairs and COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) such as N95 respirators, bleach, anti-bacterial soap, hand sanitisers, surgical face masks, alcohol rub, and tissue.

Speaking at the event, the Human Resource Director,

Hannah Ashiokai Akrong, said the gesture is part of the company’s efforts to mark Vodafone Spirit Day. "On Vodafone Spirit Day, we reflect on the beliefs we stand for and the key behaviours that help us make our strategy and purpose a reality. We also connect with

the communities in which we operate by embarking on socially impactful initiatives. We are excited to contribute these items to help the Maamobi Hospital deliver quality healthcare. We believe these items will help the hospital protect staff and patients who visit the hospital. " On behalf of the management of Maamobi General Hospital, Dr Prince Emmanuel Daitey, Clinical Care Coordinator for the Hospital, thanked Vodafone Ghana for the equipment.

"We want to thank Vodafone Ghana for coming to our aid with these PPEs and wheelchairs.

They came at an opportune time when we needed these items to help in rendering efficient service delivery. Many organisations focus on the larger hospitals when donating, but we are very grateful that you remembered us. We believe that this is the beginning of a deep relationship between us as you continue your good work in Ghana. "

11

Energy

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

‘We’ve grown our energy transition desk’

F

ollowing the recent announcement of how Standard Chartered Bank will meet its commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions in its financial activity by 2050, the Bank has today outlined the growth of its Energy Transition desk.

Standard Chartered’s Energy Transition business will initially encompass carbon trading on the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and Financial Natural Gas trading, bringing them together onto a single desk.

Launched in August, the desk has assisted numerous clients in their needs across the global gas markets and European ETS. Helping them manage the current extreme volatility seen in European and Asian gas markets, as well as strong moves in the Henry Hub and European ETS. Over the course of the remainder 2021 and into 2022, its scope of activities will be increased to cover physical gas, other mandatory emissions schemes, and the voluntary carbon markets.

Chris Leeds, Head, Carbon Markets Development at Standard Chartered Bank, and Board member of the new TSVCM Governance Board, The Integrity

Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets (IC-VCM) said: “This is an exciting step for the business and our carbon trading capability within Financial Markets. With COP26 under way and with it, the hope of establishing a global carbon market, our Energy Transition desk aligns with the Bank’s strategic commitment to help accelerate the world to “net-zero” by helping our clients achieve our collective goals on transitioning.”

Faraaz Mir, Head of Energy Transition Trading, said:

“Standard Chartered is in a unique position, between the developed and developing markets, East and West and is able to bring its capital and clients together to help solve this global issue.

Using our collective experience in the Energy markets the Energy Transition team will help and assist our clients in their plans to achieve net zero.”

According to the Paris Agreement, the world needs to rapidly transition to a low carbon economy, halving carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching

net-zero by 2050 to limit the rise in global temperatures by up to 1.5℃.

As part of its aspiration to be the most sustainable and responsible bank in the world, the Bank set up a Sustainable Finance team in late 2018 and has been actively growing the team and the business across all its major markets. The new Energy Transition desk is a further step forward to meeting that aspiration.

The Bank will be ready to trade eligible contracts in line with the Core Carbon Principles, expected to be in Q2 2022.

GOIL sponsors National Science & Maths Quiz

G

OIL Company Limited is for the fifth consecutive year, sponsoring the National Science and Maths Quiz, NSMQ with enticing offers.

Explaining GOIL’s sponsorship, the Public Relations Manager,

Robert Kyere, said it was part of the company’s social investment and intervention strategy and is in line with SDG Goal 4 on achieving quality education.

He noted that as the number one the number one Oil

Marketing Company, and the biggest, indigenous marketing entity, GOIL will continue to support young enterprising students to develop their innate abilities and talents.

GOIL, he said, was enhancing

its support this year as part of its continued commitment to the NSMQ with a revamped GOIL Riddle Bonanza competition that starts from the regional qualifiers, where 108 contests will be held. This will continue to the finals where handsome prizes will be won.

In addition to that, GOIL will make available fuel on GO Cards to all quiz mistresses and consultants of the quiz The main quiz mistress, will continue to receive fuel sponsorship via our GO Card for the next 12 months.

This year, GOIL, he said, will also top up with an award for the most ‘decent, exciting and cheering school’ at the Finals all to ginger more competition and interest in the contest.

Already, Mpraeso senior high school in the Eastern Region, Sunyani SHS in the Bono Region and Bolgatanga SHS have all won the GOIL Riddle Bonanza in their regional championship contests.

12

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank records revenue growth

T

he Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank Limited in the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti Region grew its revenues in the 2020 as compared to 2019.

The bank posted a profit before tax of approximately GH¢5.9 million in 2020 as against the GH¢4.5 million recorded in 2019.

This represents a growth rate of 32 per cent.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr Patrick Owusu, who announced this at the bank’s 38th annual general meeting at Pakyi No. 2 in the Ashanti Region, said the bank also recorded a significant growth in deposits in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated economic challenges.

Total deposits grew from a little over GH¢146 million in 2019 to

GH¢205 million in the year under review, representing a 40.12 per cent growth.

Mr Owusu said the COVID-19 pandemic significantly curtailed Ghana’s economic growth momentum but in spite of the challenges, the bank managed to register remarkable operational performance in all the financial indicators.

He said the bank’s investment grew from about GH¢126 million in 2019 to about GH¢180 million

in 2020, representing an increase of 42.26 per cent.

The board chairman said loans also rose to GH¢39 million in 2020 from the GH¢35 million registered in 2019. This represented a growth rate of 12 per cent.

He added that total assets also went up from GH¢189 million in 2019 to about GH¢253 million in 2020, representing a growth of 33.81 per cent.

Mr Owusu said the bank did not declare dividend for the year and blamed the development on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.

He, however, assured shareholders that effective and favourable measures would be put in place to reverse the trend in subsequent years.

The Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Dr Stephen Sarfo Kantanka, said the bank would continue to play a significant role in the government's financial inclusion agenda.

He said it was poised to do more by leveraging available technology to serve customers better as well as improve efficiency and service delivery.

Afri-Plastics Challenge announce the 30 semifinalists for the first strand Accelerating Growth

N

esta Challenges has announced the semifinalists of Accelerating Growth, the first strand of the Afri-Plastics Challenge.

The Prize aims to reduce marine plastics in sub-Saharan African countries by developing and scaling innovative solutions to plastic mismanagement.

In July 2021, the competition's first strand, Accelerating Growth, announced a call for applications from small and medium-sized enterprises across Sub-Saharan Africa who have a scalable solution or proof of concept that improves plastic waste management in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

With mismanaged waste as one of the key drivers of marine plastic pollution, waste management systems throughout the region are at a crucial point in their evolution. The development of new innovative processes and systems is imperative to improve the detrimental impact of waste pollution on the environment.

Through their collective voice the Afri-Plastics Challenge Judging Panel reviewed each

application and selected 30 semifinalist from across Sub-Saharan Africa - Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, to move forward in the next phase of the challenge.

Each semi-finalist solution addresses the reduction of plastic waste within the wider plastics value chain by reducing marine plastic litter in ways that aim to positively impact their communities. Buy back centres target low-income groups in their communities and allow individuals to sell their recyclable materials to these centres for recycling and receive payment for these items. Some of the semifinalists use digital technology to facilitate booking and collection of waste in exchange for a cash reward and send it to users via mobile money, or in the form of health funds, health insurance or coding classes on the same day. There is also a growing list of companies that convert unsorted plastic waste into clean gaseous fuel through a thermal cracking process of distillation

and compression that creates no emissions, residue, or pollution to the environment.

Constance Agyeman, Director of International Development, Nesta Challenges, said: “Only 12 per cent of the 17 million tonnes of plastic pollution generated in sub-Saharan Africa each year is recycled - the rest is dumped, buried or burnt. The impact this has on communities, the health of individuals and the precious sub-Saharan ecosystems is colossal. Africa’s innovators are already working on home-grown solutions, but to have maximum impact they need meaningful support to scale. The 30 semifinalists demonstrate that the long-term solutions to Africa’s plastic pollution dilemma are waiting in the wings, now is the time they take centre stage.

Edward Mungai, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Climate Innovation Centre & AfriPlastics Challenge Judge said: "I am so amazed at the quality of submissions for the Afri-Plastics Challenge, a truly remarkable undertaking against a backdrop of what has been a very challenging year for all. My admiration goes

to all our applicants who have worked so hard to prepare their entries for the Challenge.

What’s next for the SemiFinalists?

In November 2021, the 30 semifinalists will take part in a Digital Activation Workshop where they will be introduced to a capacitybuilding support package that will include expert mentoring in the following key areas: Innovation, Plastics, Market-Orientation and Narrative-Building. This will be followed by six weeks of further capacity building support with these mentors to help consolidate plans for scaling solutions.

The semi-finalists will also be given grants of £10,000 each to support in the development and validation of their scaling plans.

At the end of this phase, they will be required to submit a detailed scaling plan together with a pitch video for evaluation by the judges against the criteria. At the end of January 2022, 15 finalists will be selected to move forward in the Challenge and continue their journey to win one of the three final prizes.

13

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Creative Arts Entrepreneurship Town Hall comes off tomorrow

C

reative Arts Agency, in collaboration with Global Entrepreneurship NetworkGhana (GEN-Ghana), will host the Creative Art Entrepreneurship Town Hall as one of the activities to commemorate the 13th Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) celebrated from 8th -14th November 2021 in over 150

countries including Ghana.

The event will bring established entrepreneurs from various creative industries in a town hall meeting format to inspire, educate and inform people on entrepreneurial opportunities in the creative sector.

They will also share their entrepreneurial journey and

experiences on how they started, the mistakes they made, challenges they faced and how they dealt with those challenges.

The town hall will also provide a very interactive Q & A session to give the participants the opportunity to engage with the entrepreneurs.

Objective of the event is to

provide a platform to inspire, inform and educate people on the entrepreneurial opportunities available within the creative industries leading to job creation, economic and social impact as well as to bridge the gap between the creative industries and entrepreneurial opportunities available Participants through the town hall event will learn about the entrepreneurial opportunities in the creative industries which will also help them to make informed choices in starting and growing a creative business in Ghana.

The event will be in person and online (Hybrid). It will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, Q & A’s. The event will be broadcasted live on Joy FM 99.7 and streamed live online via various platforms.

The event shall be moderated

by Ruddy Kwakye, CEO, The Rave Group. Panel speakers include Joel Nettey, World President & Chairman, International Advertising Association; Sadiq Abdulai, CEO of 3 Media Network; Theresa Ayoade, CEO, CharterHouse Productions West Africa; Mantse Aryeequaye, Director, Chale Wote Street Art Festival. Register in advance to join virtually via zoom at https:// bit.ly/3ksmoCg

Ghana ready to host AfDB 2022 AGM, Ofori-Atta assures

F

inance Minister Ken OforiAtta has assured that the country is prepared to host the Annual General Meetings (AGM) of the African Development Bank Group next year.

He made this known when he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Secretary-General of the African Development Bank Group, Prof.

Vincent O. Nmehielle, towards Ghana’s hosting of the bank’s meetings in Accra next year.

Prior to the signing of the MOU, a delegation from the bank’s head office in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, came to assess the country’s hosting facilities.

The delegation toured selected health facilities and hospitality and accommodation facilities earmarked for the meetings.

“It is reassuring to note that the team on the mission has been satisfied so far with the general preparedness of our country, and today’s MOU signing is yet another demonstration of our enduring commitment to the 2022 AGM,”

Mr. Ofori-Atta stated.

He added that the meetings will afford the opportunity for delegates and the bank to strategise and advance Africa’s cause to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and build forward better.

“African countries need at least US$4.3 trillion, or US$175 billion a year, to finance infrastructure projects that support economic growth,” he said, adding that Africa needs to also vaccinate at least 900 million people to reach the WHO-mandated 70 percent

herd immunity.

For his part, Prof. Nmehielle said he was pleased with the signing of the MOU, which will pave way for the two parties to officially commence preparations for the 2022 Annual Meetings.

14

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

15

Opinion/Analysis

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

How to make decarbonization economically sustainable

By Jim O’Neill

W

ith all eyes on the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow this month, there has been ample media coverage of youth protests, high-level diplomacy, and new agreements to reduce methane and protect the world’s forests. But no task is more important than making decarbonization compatible with efforts to foster economic development in neglected parts of the world. If developing economies – and lower-income people in developed economies – are not brought along, global climate targets will remain out of reach.

Reading recent commentaries on this topic, I have found myself reminiscing about the oil crises of the 1970s, which I studied closely as part of my PhD. Among the most stimulating analyses is a policy brief for the Peterson Institute for International Economics by my good friend Jean Pisani-Ferry, who argues that “Climate policy is macroeconomic policy, and the implications will be significant.”

He, too, sees many comparisons – as well as key contrasts – to the 1970s oil shock.

I have written before about my PhD experience when offering predictions of what might happen to crude-oil prices. I reflect often on those lonely, uncertain three years, because

while I was fortunate to be able to undertake such a project, I sometimes suspect that mine was not as worthy as others. Not only did I have extremely poor data to work with, but it was also hard to prove anything. Still, in addition to testing my capacity for independent thought, I learned an invaluable lesson: Never trust anyone when it comes to forecasting oil prices.

Consider the research on the 1970s oil crises that was published at the time (most of which I surveyed as part of my studies, and have kept ever since). The consensus then was that the shocks had ushered in a new era of erratic but persistent increases in oil prices. In fact, the exact opposite happened throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s.

The reason for this trend is still not entirely clear. But among the likely explanations are that there was a strong supply response to higher prices in the form of increased investment in oil production and exploration, as well as in alternatives; and a strong demand response, reflected in improvements in energy efficiency.

Japanese energyconsumption patterns since the 1970s provide significant evidence to support this hypothesis.

Many of the commentators and policy advisers who are now pushing for a higher carbon tax are hoping to recreate this demand-side scenario without

the corresponding movements on the supply side. But as we have seen this year, there is a problem with this approach, because we cannot move from 80% fossil fuels to 0% overnight. Stronger initiatives to discourage or even penalize fossil-fuel production and financing means that there will be less marginal supply of fossil fuels sloshing around. That is precisely the point of such policies. And yet, when there is a demand spike for energy – owing to a strong recovery from a recession, as is happening now – we will need all the energy we can get. Otherwise, there will be price mayhem, with all the social and political instability that entails.

The upshot is that policymakers who are already confronting the massive challenge of moving the world away from fossil fuels also must come up with ways to prevent severe oil, gas, and electricity price volatility.

One counterintuitive idea is for G20 policymakers – or perhaps all UN member states – to agree on a scheme of expanded oil, gas, and maybe even coal reserves, on the condition that these reserves would be tapped only in an emergency. For example, the agreed benchmark could be a movement of spot prices by more than two standard deviations away from the 200-day moving average.

To be sure, there would be serious challenges to such a

scheme. If the reserves aren’t big enough, some bad actor could try to precipitate a supply crisis and then profit massively as a supplier of last resort. But that is all the more reason to agree to a framework that is solid enough – and reserves that are large enough – to forestall any such threat. Moreover, without a global strategic reserve initiative, the spikes in energy price experienced this year could become a new normal, potentially derailing the other agreements that emerge from global climate conferences.

We have entered a new era in which the climate crisis, and what it will mean for future generations, is finally receiving the global attention it needs. But we have also entered a period in which policymakers will need to do more to ensure that the benefits of capitalism are more evenly shared. That means sparing developing economies – and lower-income people everywhere – from the turmoil fueled by shocks to global energy prices.

Failing that, rich countries’ lofty net-zero commitments, made with the best of intentions, will have been for naught.

Jim O’Neill, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a former UK treasury minister, is a member of the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development.

16

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

17

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

First Lady builds sunshine hostel for children with cancer

F

irst Lady of the Republic, Mrs Rebecca Naa Okaikor AkufoAddo has commissioned an ultra-modern hostel at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, to house childhood cancer patients and their families, during the period of their treatment.

Named the Rebecca AkufoAddo/GHAPACC Sunshine Hostel, the 54-bed facility, the first of its kind in Ghana and the largest in Africa will provide great relief to children with cancer and their parents who sometimes have to travel long distances, repeatedly, to seek medical treatment at the Korle Bu Oncology Department.

In a brief speech to commission the facility, Mrs. Akufo-Addo said on 15th February, 2017, as Guest of Honour at a ceremony to mark International Childhood Cancer Day and ground- breaking for the construction of a hostel to house children undergoing treatment for cancer and their parents or guardians, she took up the challenge to expedite the construction of the hostel to not only bring relief to children with cancer and their parents, but also provide a better chance for childhood cancer patients to receive full treatment.

She said when caught early, treated early and comprehensively and when the necessary resources are available, recovery

is pretty high for childhood cancers. The absence of suitable accommodation for the duration of a child’s treatment, especially for those who travel from afar often led to the abandonment of the treatment mid-stream. This, she said could be the reason why about only 30percent of expected number of children suffering from cancer attend the two treatment facilities in Accra and Kumasi.

Mrs. Akufo-Addo said while putting up the facility was an arduous task and she was not sure where the regular flow of funds to execute it would come from she believed the project to be imperative to enhancing chances of recovery for childhood cancer patient and thus persevered to its completion.

She said the facility was named

“Sunshine Hostel” because children are a ray of sunshine and their very presence encourages us that tomorrow will be a better day. She prayed that the facility will bring a ray of hope and provide respite from the rigours that come with childhood cancer treatment.

She extended her appreciation to her husband, President Akufo-Addo, and the Board, Management and Staff of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for their support in diverse ways, to realise this vision.

On his part, President of GHAPACC, Dr. Felix Kwame Aveh thanked the First Lady for her immense support in realising a long-cherished dream and said the hostel will greatly facilitate the treatment of cancer patients and

G-Money launches ‘Win like a Gee’ promo

G

-Money, GCB Bank's pioneering mobile money service, has launched a new promotional campaign dubbed “Win like a Gee” to reward its fast-growing customer base.

The six-month-long campaign, apart from celebrating G-Money's popular acceptance

by Ghanaians, seeks to educate new and potential customers on essential service features such as security, speed, reliability and compatibility with other networks.

Expected to run across traditional and digital platforms, the campaign also unveiled G-Money’s new slogan; ‘Be a Gee' - a call to action for all and sundry to keep in step with GCB Bank's transformational agenda.

It is also part of the Bank's agenda to make banking more accessible to all Ghanaians, particularly the

unbanked population.

The promo will reward customers monthly with home appliances like fridges, TV sets, microwave ovens with the grand reward being two brand new Peugeot saloon cars – one for a winning agent and one for a winning customer.

Customers will win these prices by accumulating loyalty points for conducting G-Money transactions including but not limited to deposits, cash-out, P2P transfers, and group services.

Customers who invite others to sign up also stand a chance to win in the “Win like a Gee” promo.

Addressing the rationale behind the campaign, Mr Emmanuel Odartey Lamptey, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, stressed that the initiative follows GCB Bank's commitment to enhance financial inclusion through digital

innovations.

He emphasised that G-Money combines the most helpful elements of a bank structure with the agility of a telco to deliver convenience beyond expectations.

"G-Money is poised to take customers to another level in its offer of financial solutions", he stated.

In a special address at the launch, the Head of Mobile Financial Services of GCB Bank Ltd, Mr Carl Ashie, also highlighted the accessibility of G-Money stating that the service is "easily accessible in all the sixteen regions of Ghana and is well delivered by over 22,000 agents and 185 GCB branches nationwide". He assured customers of anti-fraud mechanisms embedded into the service's architecture and thanked them for taking G-Money beyond the 2million subscription

increase the rate of recovery. He however appealed to Mrs. AkufoAddo to assist them push for childhood cancer treatment drugs to be covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), as they are very expensive and serve as a discouragement to parents and guardians who seek treatment for their wards.

Chairman of the Board of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr.David Nkansa-Dwamena on behalf of management and staff, expressed their profound gratitude to Mrs. Akufo-Addo and the Rebecca Foundation for the enormous support extended to the Hospital since she became First Lady which includes the construction of a paediatric and Intensive Care Unit (PICU), a Waiting Lounge for patients and their guardians, and now the second and largest hostel in Africa for Childhood cancer patients.

Also present to witness the commissioning were the Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Gifty Mensah, Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Naa Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, Chief Executive of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, former Board Chairman of Korle Bu, Dr, Bernard Oko Boye, former Minister of Tourism, Barbra Oteng Gyasi, the CEO of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr DsaneSelby, as well as management and staff of Korle Bu.

mark within the first 20 months of operation.

He revealed ground-breaking partnerships with some key stakeholders for disbursement of funds through G-Money and ongoing plans to extend that corporate alliance.

Mr Ashie encouraged all current and prospective customers to join the rewarding campaign by simply dialling *422# across all networks.

Mr. Socrates Afram, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Finance, stated that a unique feature of G-Money is that it’s owned by a Bank and as such it was built on a robust and a highly secured banking architecture. The security platform is also world class and G-Money is monitored around the clock by GCB Bank’s security operations centre which also has the responsibility of monitoring all the Bank’s digital platforms.

18

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

19

News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Emirates Flight Training Academy graduates its 50th cadet pilot in its second graduation ceremony

T

he Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA) has held its second graduation ceremony, with another 25 cadets successfully completing the Academy’s world-class training programme. This takes the total number of EFTA cadet graduates since the inaugural ceremony last year, to 50.

The graduation ceremony took place earlier today at the Academy in Dubai South. The ceremony was attended by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group as well as members of Emirates’ senior management team including Adel Al Redha, Chief Operating Officer; Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer; Abdulaziz Al Ali, Executive Vice President Human Resources; Ali Al Soori, Executive Vice President Chairman's Office & Facilities/Projects Management; Captain Hassan Al Hammadi, Divisional Senior Vice President Flight Operations; Captain Bader Al Marzooqi, Vice President Flight Training and Captain Nabil Al Boom, National Cadet Pilot Manager at Emirates Flight Training Academy.

The graduation ceremony also hosted esteemed guests from across the UAE aviation community including His Excellency Khalifa Al Zaffin, Executive Chairman of Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC); Ibrahim Ahli, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) and Tahnoon Saif, Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub. The cadets were cheered by their families as they proudly took to the stage to receive their certificates. The ceremony was also live-streamed for families

and friends who were unable to physically attend. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed handed the certificates to the successful cadets, who have all completed 1,100 hours of ground-based training and 215 hours of flight instruction (including simulator flying) to obtain their Integrated Air Transport Pilot Licence.

The graduates now move on to complete their Type Rating.

Emirates Flight Training Academy is committed to supporting Emirates Airline Emiratization strategy by providing high standard and latest training tools and career development opportunities to local Emirati talent. Today’s ceremony also demonstrates the Academy’s contribution to

Communication mast collapses on GRIDCo towers

A

communication mast has fallen on the 330kV Aboadze — Kumasi Transmission Line, resulting in the collapse of two adjacent towers of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo).

The incident, which happened near Bogoso in the Western Region, has affected the national power system and might result in some load management, a statement from GRIDCo, copied

to the Ghana News Agency said.

The statement gave an assurance that GRIDCo was working around the clock to replace the fallen towers within the shortest possible time.

“GRIDCo is committed to maintaining a stable network for reliable and efficient power delivery. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement said.

the UAE aviation sector through cultivating home-grown talent, and helping to meet the sector’s future requirements by training future generations of pilots.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed commented: “Today we commend the Emirates Flight Training Academy graduates for their hard work and achievements.

Their graduation is a proof of their commitment to pursue their career at Emirates. Despite the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, Emirates Flight Training Academy shows even more resolute in its commitment to contributing to the recovery and growth of both the UAE and the global aviation sector, by helping to mould the next generation of future aviators.”

Mohammad Al Sayegh, cadet graduate, said this during a speech in which he addressed the audience and reiterated the joyous sentiment of all the graduates: “As the years went by, we spent cherished moments between the walls of our classrooms and flying among patches of clouds. It took us numerous sleepless nights, and countless hours of hard work to make it to this day. But we are all here now, we made it. I’d like to thank the Emirates Flight Training Academy for supporting us throughout our journey, and call my fellow graduates to feel proud of themselves, as we look forward to flying our country’s flag up in the skies and around the globe.”

20

Markets

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 05, 2021

CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

21

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 05, 2021

22

BUSINESS24.COM.GH FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

NO. B24 / 273 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

MONDAY MAY 3, 2021

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 12, 2021

Ghana close to securing insurance schemewelcomed for farmers the insurance

G

hana is on the brink of securing an insurance scheme for smallholder farmers in the northern part of the country under the Africa Risk Capacity of the African Union.

Having completed the initial processes, the AU has given Ghana a certificate of good standing that paves the way for the country to pay a premium for the weather index based insurance package for smallholder farmers to ensure food security.

Under the package, the AU would pay compensation to farmers whose crops would be affected by long-dry-spell, an adverse effect of climate change.

Mr Eric Nana AgyemangPrempeh, the Director General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), announced this at a side event of the ongoing COP26 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

He said the report covering the insurance would soon be presented to Parliament and Cabinet for approval and then to the Finance Ministry for the premium to be paid.

He explained that Ghana, through NADMO, had gone through a number of processes including documentation and customisation to qualify for the insurance package, which was under the Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) of the AU. The ARC seeks an African solution to one of the continent’s most pressing challenges;

climate change, and with the commencement of the insurance package, it would allay farmers' fear of unpredictable rainfall.

Statistics from the Ghana Meteorological Agency indicate that there had been a decline in the long-term mean of 6,550 mm, which was the normal rainfall pattern at the beginning of the 2000s.

Mr Agyemang-Prempeh also corroborated the rise in droughts, floods and bushfires in the past two decades and that NADMO was working tirelessly with other relevant institutions, both government and nongovernment, to mitigate, adapt and build resilience for communities against those hazards.

Madam Charlotte Norman, the Director of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction at NADMO, explained to the Ghana News Agency that “The scheme is dependent on automatic weather stations.”

Automatic weather stations (AWS) are map-based systems that record daily climatic data including wind, rainfall, relative

humidity and temperature.

“The insurance programme uses data from AWS to ascertain when farmers are affected by the weather, and payouts are made based on this data,” she said.

“For example, if there are more than 12 consecutive dry days (less than 2.5 mm of rain) within 20 km of a weather station, it will automatically trigger a payout to policyholders.”

With the insurance system farmers would not need to complain to the insurance company, Madam Norman said, and that once their dashboard showed a dip in the rainfall a trigger was recorded.

The Scheme would provide comfort to smallholder farmers and address the internal migration from the north to the south in search of jobs due to loss of livelihoods as a result of drought, as well as lessen government’s burden in terms of providing relief items should a disaster strike.

Mr Charles Nyaaba, the Head of Programmes and Advocacy, Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, said the Association

scheme, which would make farmers heave a sigh of relief.

“The issue of drought, for some years now, has been one of major problems of farmers, particularly in the northern part of the country,” he said.

“The normal planting season has changed from May to JuneJuly. The observation is that a month after planting, dry spells would set in for some time and then the rains would begin with high intensity, destroying the crops.”

Mr Nyaaba commended the Government for taking up the initiative and appealed to the relevant bodies to fast-track the processes to operationalise the scheme.

“This is a great initiative because the risk involved in farming, which is linked to the unpredictable nature of rainfall, makes farming unattractive,” he said.

“No one is willing to procure loans due to the fear of losses.

When the insurance is secured farmers can boldly borrow from financial institutions, procure simple tools and expand their farms. It will coil all the fears, build resilience and contribute to food security.”

This story was produced as part of the 2021 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised

by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.

GNA

Africa’s biggest music business conference comes to Lagos

L

eading authorities on global music trends and business will discuss revenue and rewards for African artistes at the Africa Music Business Summit (AMBS).

The AMBS, with the theme, ‘Monetising Music in Africa’ is part of AFRIMA 2021 and will hold on Friday, November 19, 2021 from 08:30AM - 5PM (WAT) at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, Nigeria.

Registration for attendance is free and ongoing on AFRIMA website – www.afrima.org.

The panel sessions will be taken by industry leaders such as Ninel Musson Co VTH Season, South Africa; Managing

Director, Trace TV West Africa, Sam Onyemelukwe; Founder, El Batron, Egypt, Tarek Nojara; Managing Director, Hip TV Nigeria, Ayo Animashaun and Senior Manager, Sponsorship and Promotions, MTN, Osaze Ebueku.

Others are Africa’s global superstars - South African artiste, Casper Nyovest; Mr. P of the former music duo, P-Square; and Moroccan artiste, Manal among others.

The AMBS keynote address will focus on revenue generation, collection and sustainability, with three panel sessions on individual elements that form part of the monetisation process of African Music. The panel discussion

topics are: Building a cult: The magic of music marketing - This session will reveal the tips, tricks, tactics and strategies that have taken globally recognised superstars from local upcoming acts to global A-listers.

The music industry goes online - In this panel session, panelists will be discussing the digitization of music consumption, revenue generation, and exploring the various diverse alternative sources of revenue in the music industry and how the new reality of music creation, consumption and distribution can truly be harnessed by African artistes for global competitiveness.

Modern technologies and music struggles – This session will focus on the problems affecting the music industry, sharing knowledge and experience as well as proffering solutions.

AFRIMA 2021 main award ceremony holds on Sunday, November 21, 2021 with Red Carpet at 4:30pm and Awards at 7:30pm. Voting and ticket sales are ongoing on AFRIMA website www.afrima.org.

In partnership with African Union Commission, AFRIMA has been regarded as the ultimate celebration and recognition of African talents and creatives globally since 2014.