Business24 Newspaper - August 3, 2020

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MONDAY AUGUST 3, 2020

Economist wants full domestic funding of GH¢100bn CARES prog.

Ghana secures US$115m facility to digitise public records A US$115m facility from the International Development Association, a subsidiary of the World Bank, that will part-finance the digitisation of archives and other public records to facilitate online searches has been approved by Parliament. >>PAGE 3

BY EUGENE DAVIS

Dr. Obeng-Okon wants the Bank of Ghana to take an active role in financing the CARES programme.

BY NII ANNERQUAYE ABBEY

T

he recently outdoored GH¢100bn COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) programme should be fully funded from domestic sources, economist and lecturer Dr. Raziel Obeng-Okon has said.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said in his mid-year budget statement last month that the three-and-a-half year CARES programme is designed to stimulate the economy and restore it to the path of growth following the massive setback caused by the virus.

Although the Minister said at least 70 percent of the expected funds would come from private

sources, both domestic and external, Dr. ObengOkon argued that seeking external funding would further compound Ghana’s public debt woes.

“The challenge for government is usually not the domestic debt but the external debt, which impacts negatively on our fiscal position due to the forex implications on interest and principal repayments,” he said in an article titled, “Quantitative easing through creating or printing money to fund COVID-19 pandemic budgets – lessons for Ghana”.

He said countries that have sought to resuscitate their COVID-19-hit economies have relied largely on central bank financing.

UBA Ghana appoints Kweku Andoh Awotwi as Board Chairman Mr. Kweku Andoh Awotwi, the immediate past Managing Director of Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, has been appointed as the Board Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana. >> MORE ON PAGE 15

>> MORE ON PAGE 2

GRIDCo’s debt recovery from ECG worsens, IES says The Electricity Company of Ghana’s (ECG) debt to the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) has increased by 31 percent to GH¢1.114bn this year from GH¢850.99m recorded in 2019, energy think tank Institute of Energy Security (IES) has said.

BY BENSON AFFUL

FBN Bank signs Samini as product Ambassador FBNBank Ghana has signed award winning Reggae and Dancehall recording artiste, songwriter and performer, Samini as ambassador of its new product, quick banking *894#. >> MORE ON PAGE 3

>> PAGE 3

ECONOMIC INDICATORS *EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

USD$1 =GHC 5.6734*

*POLICY RATE

14.5%*

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4 % OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

0.9% GHc 5.13*

INTERNATIONAL MARKET BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS GOLD $/TROY OUNCE CORN $/BUSHEL

43.22 1.79 1,842.40 329.50

COCOA $/METRIC TON

1,562.00

COFFEE $/POUND:

$109.65

COPPER USD/T OZ.

220.15

SILVER $/TROY OUNCE:

17.07

Copyright @ 2020 Business24 Limited.

All Rights Reserved.

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

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NEWS/EDITORIAL

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EDITORIAL 1

Wash your hands 2

Cover your cough

Digitising of public records essential Finally, firm attempts at digitising public records have received the needed financial support with the approval of a US$115m facility from the International Development Association, a subsidiary of the World Bank, that will part-finance this all important project.

The enormous benefits of digitising public records in the 21st century makes the project essential.

Digitised records will reduce errors and transaction costs in public administration, improve government accountability and the quality of national statistics.

It is expected that eventually, digitisation will support more timely and accurate access to a country’s Open Data Portal. Also digital public records data from different government entities could be integrated, and eventually the

government will provide more seamless and efficient public service delivery.

Indeed, over the last few years, there have been efforts by the government to improve the country’s information communication highway to ensure that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be leveraged as a tool for sustainable development.

The Chairman of the Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah said the additional funding will complete the digitisation of archives and other public records, thereby facilitating online searches.

He also added that it will help increase internet bandwidth for government use, including for

district health centres and hospitals.

Touching on the importance of the facility at a time the country is grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Assibey-Yeboah said the facility will be the driving force behind the country’s eHealth strategy, which will provide a direct boost to COVID-19 preparedness through support to telemedicine, mHealth and associated capacity building.

“Due to the viral outbreak and the need to stay at home, most people and institutions have resorted to the use of the internet for their activities, thereby putting an increased strain on the country’s internet capacity,” he said.

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Economist wants full domestic funding of GH¢100bn CARES prog.

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LIMITED Copyright @ 2019 Business24 Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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

CONTINUED FROM COVER

“From the analysis of funding sources of various countries, it appears that all of them continue to use almost 100 percent funding from domestic sources. Funding from domestic sources using quantitative easing provides a virtuous cycle which allows funds to stay within the country and grow the economy,” he said.

“Most of the debt created temporarily through quantitative easing in the developed economies tended to be permanent or written off by successive governments, so why shouldn’t developing nations also look inward for funding?” he added.

Generally, quantitative easing (QE) is a form of expansionary monetary policy in which the central bank of a country purchases a large number of financial assets, such as bonds, from commercial banks and other financial institutions.

Usually, the purchase of these assets in large amounts increases the excess reserves held by the

financial institutions, facilitates lending, increases the money supply, drives up the price of bonds, lowers the yield, and lowers interest rates.

Dr. Obeng-Okon, who is a lecturer of public accounting at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), urged the Bank of Ghana to create more money in ways that will have underlying assets to check inflation.

“Most of the world’s greatest central banks have embarked on serious quantitative easing to solve the economic setback of the coronavirus pandemic, and the author recommends the Bank of Ghana to do same to improve market liquidity and confidence in the financial services sector, especially within the lower tiers such as savings and loans, finance houses, microfinance companies, asset management companies and other non-bank financial institutions.

“It is important to stress that quantitative easing through creating money and/or printing money

can be done without creating high inflation, especially during recessions caused by pandemics, as indicated in the unrealistic assumptions of the quantity theory of money put forward by monetarists. Notwithstanding, it is the interaction between fiscal and monetary policies that determines inflation, and therefore the cooperation between BoG and MoF is central to keeping inflation on target,” he argued.

Local capacity He stated that it is obvious the country needs to improve local production rather than depend on foreign imports. Local production, Dr. Obeng-Okon said, will help not only to create employment and increase income, but it has the potential to stabilise the local currency.

“The budget estimate of GH¢100bn for CARES by government for 20212023 must be strategically spent on boosting local production without any foreign intermediate goods so as not to contribute to the depreciation of our currency and thereby cause imported inflation,” he added.

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Ghana secures US$115m facility to digitise public records

BY EUGENE DAVIS

A

US$115m facility from the International D e v e l o p m e n t Association, a subsidiary of the World Bank, that will partfinance the digitisation of archives and other public records to facilitate online searches has been approved by Parliament.

The demand for digitisation in the development field has grown significantly over the last few years, especially in Africa.

It is to this end that the government has moved for this facility meant to secure additional financing for the e-Transform Ghana project.

Over the last few years, there have been efforts by the government to improve the country’s information communication highway to ensure that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be leveraged as a tool for sustainable development.

Presenting the report of

Parliament’s Finance Committee on the facility, its chairman Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah said the additional funding will complete the digitisation of archives and other public records, thereby facilitating online searches.

He also added that it will help increase internet bandwidth for government use, including for district health centres and hospitals.

Touching on the importance of the facility at a time the country is grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. AssibeyYeboah said the facility will be the driving force behind the country’s eHealth strategy, which will provide a direct boost to COVID-19 preparedness through support to telemedicine, mHealth and associated capacity building.

“Due to the viral outbreak and the need to stay at home, most people and institutions have resorted to the use of the internet for their

activities, thereby putting an increased strain on the country’s internet capacity,” he said.

The New Juaben South MP also enumerated the benefits of the facility for the educational sector, saying campus WiFi networks will be provided at two new universities and additional internet bandwidth provided for universities to facilitate online teaching and learning.

“The depth and potential impact of digitisation is huge.

The digitised records will reduce

errors and transaction costs in public administration. They will also improve government accountability and the quality of national statistics,” he said.

“Eventually, digitisation will support more timely and accurate access to a country’s Open Data Portal. Digital public records data from different government entities could be integrated, and eventually the government will provide more seamless and efficient public service delivery,” he added.

GRIDCo’s debt recovery from ECG worsens, IES says

BY BENSON AFFUL

The think tank has projected that, based on its trend analysis, the debt position of ECG to GRIDCo could hit GH¢1.4bn by the end of the year, should ECG continue to pile up debt of close to GH¢11.0m per week.

The institute said the projected figure could be higher if government fails to pay fully the bills it has committed to absorb for consumers as part of the coronavirus alleviation measures.

The IES said its trend analysis of cash receivables of GRIDCo in the first half of the year indicates that the receivables profile of the power transmitter is getting worse.

According to the think tank, as of January 2020 the total debt owed to GRIDCo by ECG was GH¢902.86m, from December 2019’s figure of GH¢850.99m.

“The monthly analysis done for the first half of the year (2020) showed that the amount owed by the ECG to GRIDCo totalled GH¢451.468m.

However, the ECG paid only GH¢188.198m, representing 41.69 percent of total invoices issued,” the institute said.

For instance, at end-January 2020, GRIDCo invoiced ECG an amount of GH¢74.87m, made up of GH¢68.56m

in Transmission Service Charge (TSC) and GH¢6.31m as Regulatory (PURC) Levy, sending total outstanding debt to GH¢902.86m.

Out of the GH¢74.87m, ECG paid only GH¢23.0m, representing 30.7 percent of the invoiced amount, the IES said in its analysis.

The IES said the payments of February to June invoices by ECG followed a similar pattern, suggesting a huge payment gap. The institute’s analysis showed that ECG currently piles up close to GH¢11.0m debt per week.

This is because GRIDCo bills ECG about GH¢19m per week, of which ECG pays roughly GH¢8.0m per week.

“Compared to 2017 when the GRIDCo used to receive close to GH¢8.0m per week from a billing rate of GH¢13.0m per week, the current debt recovery rate is nothing but worse. Because of the increasing payment gap, the outstanding debt of ECG to the GRIDCo is found to be increasing at an astronomical rate.

Data show GRIDCo’s receivables from the ECG are increasing despite government clearing its indebtedness to the ECG at end2019, leaving a credit in excess of GH¢500.0m, enough to cover its bill for January 2020 to April 2020,” the institute said.

In March, the government committed to fully absorb the electricity bills for all lifeline consumers for three months beginning April. It also offered to pay 50 percent of the electricity bill for residential and commercial consumers for the period, using the March bill as the benchmark.

According to the IES, the logical expectation was at least 90 percent full debt recovery for both ECG and GRIDCo, if the government committed to its promise of paying for the electricity used by the people of Ghana, saying “that was

not to be, and government has proceeded to extend the freebies for an additional three months” for lifeline consumers.

The IES said it was not against providing social protection programmes for Ghanaians in these times of hardship caused by the COVID pandemic.

“However, the IES abhors policies that are targeted to see vital institutions whose contribution promotes economic development go down the drain due to political decisions that can go wrong,” it added.

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FBN Bank signs Samini as product Ambassador Samini will be featured in a gripping integrated advertising campaign for the quick banking *894# product which will run on radio, print and online channels.

Africa1 Media, Samini’s management company, expressed incredible excitement about FBNBank Ghana’s partnership with Samini. The company was optimistic that the partnership will yield amazing results for both brands.

Samini, the quick banking *894# product ambassador said: “FBNBank Ghana has a rich heritage of being a constant financial partner throughout its customers’ lives and I am thrilled to work in partnership with the bank. More importantly, I urge you to dial *894# now to enjoy easy and simple banking.”

Quick Banking *894# is a mobile application that enables customers to conduct banking on their mobile phone wherever they are at any time. Customers dial *894#, follow the prompts to enroll and activate for quick and easy banking.

In a statement, Victor Yaw Asante, FBNBank Ghana Managing Director, was delighted that the bank partnered with Samini. He noted that with a career spanning over twenty years and amassing

EMMANUEL ANDREWS SAMINI, FBNBANK AMBASSADOR

multiple awards, the Samini brand has been instrumental in the growth of several brands.

Mr. Asante was convinced that as Product Ambassador of quick banking *894#, Samini will in no small measure, contribute immense value to the FBNBank brand.

The FBNBank Ghana MD disclosed that the First Bank of Nigeria Limited subsidiary in Ghana is continuing its quest to endear the

VICTOR YAW ASANTE FBNBANK GHANA MD

brand to its stakeholders in the Ghanaian market. “This is because we take pride in being exclusively customer-centric and we go to great lengths to put the needs of our customers at the heart of our business. Our commitment is to set the gold standard of customer experience and excellence in financial services solutions. Since 1894, our brand has developed a unique culture of making the people we serve our utmost priority and today, we reinforce

our application of this culture, even as we provide unrivalled value to all our customers during this integrated advertising campaign and beyond.”

Mr. Victor Yaw Asante called on Ghanaians and businesses to take full advantage of FBNBank’s distinctive values and rich heritage which has made its brand a leading African brand and one of the most credible financial institutions on the globe.

Budget Consultant urges CSOs to track budgetary allocations to Fisheries sector A Budget Consultant, Mr. Benjamin Arthur has asked Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the Fisheries sector to track government’s annual budgetary allocations to the sector especially at the decentralized level.

This, according to him, would enable them to monitor the actual percentage of the budget statement that went to the sector annually.

Mr. Arthur reminded the CSOs to be in constant touch with policy makers such as Members of Parliament (MPs), Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to make inputs into the budget statement.

Mr. Arthur was speaking at the opening of a-two-day Far Ban Bo (Protecting Fisheries Livelihoods) tracking workshop for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the Fisheries sector in Accra.

It was organized by the Far Ban Bo project funded by the European Union (EU) and being implemented by Care, Oxfam and Friends of the Nation.

The workshop aimed at training

CSOs and fishers in budget analysis and public expenditure tracking for budget advocacy in the Fisheries sector.

Mr. Arthur who took participants through the four (4) stages of preparation and calculation of percentage of the budget at the local level, stressed the need for evidence-based budget advocacy to influence decision-making to be catered for in the national budget.

The Budget Consultant entreated CSOs and fishers to impress upon MPs, Ministers and MMDCEs to forward their concerns to cabinet meetings for their inputs to engage the attention of government.

He reminded them that engagement on the budget preparation started from July to August, so they could engage the Ministers, MPs, and MMDCEs to channel their inputs.

Mr. Arthur asked the CSOs and fishers to dialogue with the DAs to chart a common path on how to make inputs into the budget and push for adequate percentage for the Fisheries sector.

He observed that the budget allocation at the district level does not serve the needs of the fisher folks.

Mr. Arthur intimated that the Fisheries Industry contributed meaningfully to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hence there was the need for the government to increase the budgetary allocations to the sector.

He called on all stakeholders in the fishing industry to forge ahead in unity to fight for a sustainable budget to make the fishing industry more viable.

Earlier in an opening statement, the Project Manager of Care International, Mr. Kwame Mensah said budgetary allocations to the

Fisheries sector had not been stable, adding that it was difficult to track budget for the fisheries sector unlike other sectors.

He said over the past 12 years, the Water and Sanitation sector was able to track their budget and experts wanted to use it to track the Fisheries sector.

Mr. Mensah said the Far Ban Bo partners would educate fishers and other stakeholders at the Regional and District levels on effective tracking of the budget to the Fisheries sector at the decentralized level. GNA

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Testimonials: A powerful weapon in the marketing armoury!

BY BUSINESS FOR BREAKFAST (BFORB)

A

ccording to recent estimations, 65 per cent of the world’s products and services are exchanged following a referral or recommendation. Frankly, you can’t beat it, and people feel much more secure in going ahead and doing business with someone if they have been referred or recommended by others.

At BforB meetings, we all love to hear a recommendation from one member to another; it means we can duly refer to a business associate, friend, or family member with confidence, and with it, pass on business.

That, of course, is all part of the ‘know-like-trust’ ethos – when you get to know a fellow member, trust them, and have confidence in the services they offer, then passing a referral comes much easier.

But here’s a thought: don’t just recommend and refer; take your faith to a higher level, and provide fellow members with a written testimonial if they have done work for you that has left you highly impressed.

A testimonial is a powerful weapon in the marketing armoury, and passing one on to a fellow member means they can proudly share it with potential new customers and clients; put it on their websites, and other social media platforms, too.

A little third-party endorsement goes a long way, and while it is easy to stand up and praise someone verbally, taking the time to write a testimonial, then read it out at networking meetings, makes a big difference. Especially if you have visitors in the room: not only are you doing business with, and for, each other, but you are letting them know that members around the room offer services of the highest standard, and that your group is well worth joining.

Testimonials don’t need to be an essay – a few paragraphs of appreciation, stating the work done, the high standards of the job completed, and other observations, such as attention to detail, courtesy, and after-care service if relevant, is all it takes.

We all turn up to networking meetings because we identify with the power of referral marketing and recommendations, development, and growth of our businesses.

But testimonials are powerful components in the marketing machine, too. Give them where deserved, and never be afraid to ask for one from a satisfied customer.

They do work!

How can we ‘up’ our networking game?

When it’s a new year and you crave for a fresh start and new experiences, you may already be planning in some events that you’ve not tried before. However, it is very essential to intentionally plan to grow your network by trying lots of new groups. If you’ve already put in significant networking time at some meetings, just go to the ones you enjoy – BUT with a fresh perspective.

Every month select FIVE familiar faces from your networking meetings and suggest setting up a 1-2-1 to get to know each other’s businesses better.

It’s up to you what criteria you use to choose them. They may just be people you like that you want to get to know better; they may have a similar target market to you, or their customers/suppliers could be your targets. It’s worth having a mix.

Sometimes introductions and referrals come from contacts who don’t appear on the surface to

have synergy with your business, but remember that our contacts come from more than just our business life!

Make a results-orientated plan As well as learning more about each other, an essential part of your 1-2-1 should include setting proactive actions to achieve during the year. This could be useful introductions that you plan to make for each other, collaborative projects or joint social media campaigns. Even just creating a strategy for liking and commenting on each other’s social media can be really beneficial.

The next important thing is to plan in a follow up meeting so that you can see how you’ve progressed and how you can continue to support each other.

This works in LinkedIn too…

There’s no need to restrict yourself to offline connections… you can try this with your online contacts too. Face to face meetings might be more difficult but there’s always the telephone, WhatsApp, zoom, Microsoft teams, etc!

So, here’s to developing solid, meaningful relationships in 2020 that result in quality business growth. And the best bit is that you’ll end the year with some great new business friendships too.

BUSINESS FOR BREAKFAST (BFORB)

Business for Breakfast (BforB) is internationally recognised for creating successful networking meetings, events and training for referral marketing. Our global offices are in Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia, Ghana and headquartered in UK. We create an environment where you can build quality relationships within your group, backed up by an ongoing member support programme. BforB is committed to helping small to medium scale businesses expand. In our professional network, members meet regularly in business networks to develop relationships, support each other and to share and record referral business.

We are here to help you get new business from quality business introductions and referrals made through our meetings.

Contact us: 059 4 016 432 | info@bforbgh.com | Facebook & LinkedIn: @bforbghana |www.bforb.co.uk

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Empowered women can unlock Africa’s development dividends

L

et’s begin with the elephant in the room—COVID-19.

Given the current situation of the pandemic in Africa, what message do you have for Africans at this time?

My message is that Africa can defeat this deadly virus and recover even better. Africans are resilient.

But the deaths, the dislocation to our way of life and the devastation to economies are enormous.

Many reports released so far, including the UN SecretaryGeneral’s policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 in Africa, indicate that tens of thousands of lives could be lost as well as billions of dollars of economic activity. The SG has for called for a debt freeze and up to $200 billion in support for poor countries to stimulate their economies. I believe too that a post-pandemic recovery is an opportunity for Africa to recover better.

Therefore, we must focus on sustainable development projects, including environmentally friendly ones, and pay greater attention to the empowerment of women, youth and the vulnerable population.

As the Director-General (DG) of UNON, what are your priority areas?

As you probably know, before my appointment UNON was without a full-time leader for over a year, so my first task was realigning divisions and departments into one cohesive unit to allow for shared strategies to meet the organization’s objectives.

Second, we are building on the work of the previous DGs to bring recognition to UNON, which is the only UN headquarters in the Global South. Such recognition will of course attract the media, international conferences and other events. We have a clear vision and have set out our priorities and these include to help implement the SecretaryGeneral’s organization-wide reform initiatives. It also includes to raise public awareness of the UN’s work in Kenya and in East Africa, to support other UN entities and to strengthen cooperation with other regional organizations.

As the DG, I am also available to help advance the SG’s good offices in this region and preventive diplomacy, that is to mediate crises before they get out of hand.

How has your previous experience and work at the UN prepared you for your current job?

I used to be a civil society activist and was a minister of government in my country Sierra Leone [Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and then Minister of Health].

I had also worked with the UN in peacekeeping and later as the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral on Sexual Violence in Conflict. These experiences reaffirm my passion for and commitment to

women’s issues, to good governance and sustainable development. For women in particular, we cannot make any advances in the areas of human rights, peace and security and development, without their contributions.

I consistently remind myself and my colleagues that our priorities and our work must uphold the principles of the UN Charter, which has at its core a focus on people, not just some abstract, impersonal processes.

What is the strategic importance of having a UN headquarters in the Global South?

The services the UN renders in the areas of peace, security, humanitarian response, human rights and development are brought closer to beneficiaries who live mostly in the global south.

UNON is unique in the sense that it has a mix of global headquarters, country and regional offices, Special Political Missions and peace support operations. It is the headquarters of the UN in Africa as well as the global headquarters for both UN Habitat and the UN Environment Programme.

The work of the Nairobi-based UN entities contributes significantly to advancing UN goals and values—in Kenya, in the region and around the world.

One of the UN Secretary-General’s priorities is gender parity within the UN system. How do you hope to achieve this goal at UNON? We have a gender policy document that is widely disseminated among staff so everyone understands what the principles are. Senior managers regularly undertake training, including those administered

by UN Women, on dealing with unconscious bias in recruitment of staff. Top managers are also requested to include in their workplans measures they hope to implement to achieve gender parity.

Research has shown that expressing a number of years of experience as “desired” rather than “required” in job openings is more inviting for women.

In addition, our job openings include language that strongly encourages women to apply. We also try to more proactively reach out to qualified female candidates and to promote mobility options that support decisions by female applicants to come to Nairobi. So, on gender issues, we are making progress on many fronts.

As a former civil society activist, how do you see the role of women in Africa’s development?

As I mentioned earlier, women have an important, even indispensable role, to play in countries’ development. When women are absent at the negotiating table, you have entrenched mindsets. But when women are present, chances

Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General, United Nations Office at Nairobi

of an agreement are high. And let’s remember women’s role in global multilateral agenda.

The Secretary-General [António Guterres] remarked during the “She Stands for Peace” book launch last February that the advocacy of women peacebuilders, particularly those in Africa, helped create the momentum 20 years ago that resulted in the Security Council’s Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).

That was the first time that women were recognized not only as victims of war but as people with agency and expertise who could help find peaceful solutions to conflict. Since then, there have been nine additional Security Council resolutions on WPS, in addition to several African Union instruments.

Gender inequality is, as we know, a question of power.

It is very important that more women are in positions of responsibility, in both the public and private sectors, to unlock dormant socioeconomic and peace dividends that will advance Africa’s development.

The UN is supporting the African Union’s Silencing the Guns by 2020 campaign. Given your experience coming from a post-conflict country, why do you think the guns must be silent in Africa?

There can be no development without peace and security, which is why the AU launched the “Silencing the Guns by 2020” initiative. To be fair, considerable progress has been made in silencing the guns in many parts of Africa, but at the same time we have witnessed just how difficult the task is because we still have many intractable conflicts.

The UN supports the AU’s initiative—there are ongoing joint efforts between the UN and the African Peace and Security Architecture of the AU to strengthen the conflict prevention capacities of member states.

To fully silence the guns will require addressing the root causes of conflict and these include issues such as the illicit proliferation of arms on the

continent, the impact of climate change, inequitable management of countries’ natural resources, socioeconomic inequalities and other governance issues such as the exclusion of women and youth in the electoral process.

What role could young people play in peace and development of Africa?

I will echo what the SecretaryGeneral said last year at the AU Summit, which is that Africa’s youth need to be engaged and empowered because they are agents of change. We cannot achieve sustainable development without the partnership and participation of young people. I believe, strongly, that young people have an important role to play in achieving peace, security, stability and good governance in Africa. We need their ideas and their energy. We have seen what young people can do in terms of, for example, using technology to solve problems. Their ability to mobilise using technology, to raise awareness among the wider population of important social issues, is incredible.

Many African states are lowincome and fragile, and there are continuing threats to peace and security, including in the form of ethnic disputes. So, we must equally realise that many groups wishing to foment trouble in countries begin by enlisting young people.

Countries and development-focused institutions such as the African Development Bank and the World Bank must therefore invest in the youth in terms of quality education and skills acquisition.

We must recognise the need for the creation of an enabling economic environment, including providing employment opportunities and services such as energy, healthcare, modern transport infrastructure that young people need to enable them flourish. Commendably, the AU’s silencing the guns initiative includes a strong focus on youth. I’m confident in the potential of Africa’s youth to change the development narrative of the continent.

(Africa Renewal)

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Tech Titans at Bay?

BY PROF. DIANE COYLE)

T

hough the tech monopolists may capture significant shortterm gains from the accelerating shift online, the recent congressional antitrust hearing showed that they can no longer avoid the harsh glare of the political spotlight. The writing may be on the wall.

Big Tech is back in the spotlight – and not in a good way. On July 29, the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook spent more than five hours fielding tough questions about their overwhelming market power from a bipartisan antitrust panel in the US House of Representatives. Is the end of an era approaching?

In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a boon for tech companies. As Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg all noted in their opening statements at the antitrust hearing, people appreciate the services their companies provide.

Recent research indicates that the COVID-19 crisis has deepened this appreciation.

This is not surprising. Digital technologies have enabled workers to do their jobs from home, students to continue their classes while schools are closed, and people to stay in touch with loved ones and entertain themselves while sheltering in place.

Tech companies have been reaping enormous benefits from this shift. In the first half of 2020, while the global economy confronted an unprecedented recession, Amazon’s share price rose by about 40%, fueled by rising online purchases and increased used of cloud services.

Zoom’s market value has more than tripled since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, as it became a hub for remote meetings and online socializing.

As for Google and Facebook, they suffered temporary losses from reduced advertising revenues. But they still account for an overwhelming share of the digital-advertising market – fourfifths in the United Kingdom, to cite one example. Moreover, while Google and Facebook are free to use, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that consumers are effectively paying for their services indirectly through advertising revenues, at a rate of £500 ($656)

per household annually – a testament to their market power.

It is too early to say how much of people’s lives will move online, or for how long. People may fear COVID-19, but they also suffer from Zoom fatigue. Nonetheless, it seems likely that work and social patterns will undergo some sustained changes, which will have far-reaching policy implications.

For starters, closing the digital divide will become more urgent than ever. Of the many forms of inequality the pandemic is exposing and exacerbating, unequal access to the Internet and digital technologies is among the most prominent.

All the services that have made lives so much better under socialdistancing rules – from remote working to online shopping to streaming services – are available only to those with access to a reasonably fast and reliable Internet connection and suitable hardware. Many are also receiving health care and accessing government support online, further highlighting the critical importance of universal access.

In recent years, governments have increasingly recognized this imperative. For example, in 2018, the US Federal Communications Commission made closing the digital divide a high priority. And yet about one in 20 people in the United States still have no highspeed Internet connection. In rural areas, about one-third of households are not connected.

The figures are similarly bleak in the UK.

Closing the gap will require large-scale investment in digital infrastructure, including broadband connectivity and 5G for mobile services. In both the US and the UK, governments are working to deliver on the first imperative, by making the lowreturn rural investments that cannot attract private capital.

Progress on the second imperative may be more difficult, owing to political opposition to the Chinese telecoms giant and 5G leader Huawei.

But Huawei may be turn out to be the tip of an iceberg, because the current shift online will lead to greater political and regulatory scrutiny of tech giants. For one thing, regulators are likely to pressure telecommunications companies to increase investment, spurring debates about license obligations and pricing (how much companies must invest, and how they will fund it). Past disputes about where along the value chain costs should fall – from physical network operators to streaming services – may re-emerge.

But, as the recent US antitrust hearing suggests, the most contentious issue will probably be the market power of digital companies. Even in today’s highly polarized political environment, growing concern about Big Tech – including the viability of small producers and the economy’s dependence on digital market access – is broadly shared. And US regulators have already signaled their concern, with inquiries by both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department

of Justice.

The European Union is far ahead of the US when it comes to regulating, taxing, and constraining Big Tech.

The European Commission has pursued multiple antitrust cases against the tech giants, as well as broader initiatives such as the proposed Digital Services Act. Margrethe Vestager – previously the European commissioner for competition, and currently Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age – has led the way on this front.

In the UK, the CMA is working to implement the Furman Review, a government-commissioned report on digital-market competition published in March 2019. The panel recommended subjecting strategically important companies to targeted regulation, including a code of conduct that will likely cover issues such as favoring one’s own services, changes in terms and conditions, and prenotification of all mergers.

It remains to be seen how such efforts will play out, especially in a US headed toward a highly contentious presidential election.

But one thing is clear: Though the tech monopolists may capture significant short-term gains from the accelerating shift online, they can no longer avoid the harsh glare of the political spotlight. The writing may be on the wall.

Diane Coyle, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, is the author, most recently, of Markets, State, and People: Economics for Public Policy (Princeton University Press, 2020). Copyright: www.project-syndicate.org

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Emergency fund in COVID-19 era

BY ENOCH DZAH

W

hat do you fall on in times of financial crisis and emergencies?

How long are you able to survive emergencies without feeling the stress on your finances? Is there a way to still cater for your necessities when you lose your job or when faced with unforeseen events? These are very important questions to ask yourself since times and seasons are as changeable as the weather. The past few months have shown that crisis are bound to happen and if we are not prepared, our lives will come to a standstill just as the economies of the nations.

What Is An Emergency Fund?

Business Dictionary defines an emergency fund as money which is set aside for an emergency situation, such as unexpected unemployment or injury, or a natural disaster which destroys one’s home and belongings. We live in a world of uncertainties and life happens when one is least expectant. Undesired, unexpected events come to disrupt our financial health. Dire financial conditions create encumbrances and if not handled well may lead to depression. When you lose your job, there is no certain period it will take you to find another one. As a result, you will have to depend on what you have (i.e. if there is any) for the period of the unemployment or the crisis. When the Corona virus pandemic crept into our world, economies across continents were shut down, employees’ salaries were either frozen or cut down, and some people unfortunately lost their job. The impact of the joblessness may even be more than that of the pandemic on the individual. The question to ask is, how will you survive the period of this emergency without a job?

According to the Washington Post, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment since President Trump declared a national emergency.

How Much Do I Need To Save Up? The rule of thumb is to save between 3 to 6 months of living expenses but there is nothing wrong with saving for more months. The amount to save up varies from person to person and it is based on one’s expenses.

You must note that, you must not stress yourself to save more than necessary so as to not put pressure on yourself during the

period of the savings. Once you hit the target for the emergency fund, you can save up for other things you might need or want so to cater for your lifestyle. Due to the current pandemic, it assumed that it will take more than 2 years to recover from the economic slides which may lead to higher periods of unemployment so you might need to save up for more than the 6 months rule of thumb.

How Do I Start The Whole Processes?

Calculate Your 6 Month Expenses The first step in the process of starting an emergency fund is to calculate your 6 months expenses as stated by the rule of thumb above. Begin by listing your expenses for the month and in this case, list your expenses that are necessary (on essentials).

Emphasis is on the fact that in times of crisis and emergencies, you will not want to be spending on eating out, entertainment, vacations, the gym, and other non-essentials. With a pre-existing budget, one can just pick the figures upfront from the budget. In the case of a non-existing budget, you must monitor your expenses over a period of one month and multiply it by 6. These critical expenses often include housing, healthcare, food, transportation, debt, utilities and personal expenses. The table below shows the monthly expenses of a client with a 1-month total expenses of 1,800 cedis and a 6-month total expenses of 10,800 cedis.

Items

Monthly Expenses

House

300.00

Groceries

600.00

Transportation

400.00

Utilities

200.00

Personal Expense

100.00 200.00

Healthcare Total of 1 Month Expenses 6 Month Expenses (6*1800)

1,800.00 10,800.00

Table: List of Monthly Expenses and 6 month expense

Set Monthly Savings Goal After coming up with the total amount to save for the fund, you should now determine how much to save each month to be able to meet the emergency fund target.

The monthly savings will also be based on your budget as in how much do you have left after all expenditure to save up. For this reason, you should revisit or draw your budget and fix the monthly saving towards the fund in there. Do it well so you don’t

get stressed financially in the process of creating the fund. You can decide to do it within a year or 2 so you split the required funds over the number of months in the year you’ve chosen. The chart below is an extension of the table above. From the chart, if you want to be done with your emergency fund within 1, 2 and 3 years; you will need to make a monthly contribution of 900 cedis, 450 cedis and 300 cedis respectively.

The more the number of years, lesser the monthly contribution.

Chart: Monthly Contribution Towards Funds

Set Automatic Transfer Instructions On Your Account After knowing how much to contribute monthly, it is crucial to set a direct debit on your account to the emergency fund.

This helps your bank transfer the money from your current or savings account at a particular time in the month before you are tempted to withdraw it for other things that you might need. The emphasis here is on direct debit not a standing order as you will be charged for the standing order by your bank. But if you don’t mind, the standing order will help achieve the same goal too.

others. You should be able to come up with what an emergency is to you so you know exactly when to and when not to touch the funds.

Where Should I Keep The Funds?

We live in a world where inflation keeps going up and this reduces the value of your money. To protect your money against inflation, it is ideal to invest the money in a money market mutual fund. The account must be different from your main bank account to prevent you from having easy access to it but it must also be liquid so you can get it as and when the emergency occurs.

Your emergency fund is very essential to surviving in times of crisis. The rule of thumb of 3 to 6 months save up of expenses to make the fund will save you, don’t forget that you can save more especially due to pandemics like the current one. It is crucial to calculate your total 6 months expense, set monthly goals, put a direct debit on your account as well as define what emergencies are to you. Keep the funds in a different account from your main account but it must be in liquid account preferably a money market mutual fund. The best time to Start is now.

Define Emergencies A proper definition of what you consider as emergencies will prevent you from unnecessary spending. This is important since you can just go and withdraw the money because anything has happened to you. Emergencies often should be loss of job; health issue; car maintenance; natural events like a pandemic, earthquake, flood; and couple of

The author is an Investment Professional, Banker, a Financial Literacy Advocate and a Pastor. He is a CFA Level 1 Candidate and holds the Ghana Stock Exchange Securities Course Certificate.

You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @Enoch Dzah and via his email enochdzah94@ gmail.com.

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UBA Ghana appoints Kweku Andoh Awotwi as Board Chairman Mr. Awotwi, whose appointment was approved by the Bank of Ghana, has over 30 years managerial experience with both local and international organisations.

He was grateful for the opportunity and commended the existing Board Members and the UBA Group Board for the work they have done so far in positioning the bank as a key financial partner for businesses and governments in Ghana and across the continent.

“I am excited for what the future holds as we position the Bank as a dominant player in the financial services and banking sector in Ghana,” he said.

The Managing Director and CEO of UBA Ghana, Mr. Balogun Olalekan, following the announcement, said Mr. Awotwi: “Will offer the leadership to take UBA Ghana to the next level towards becoming a dominant player in the Banking Industry in Ghana.

“Mr. Awotwi brings a wealth of experience with a strategic vision for our organisation, and that will be critical to our ability to scale and meet the growing demand for excellent banking solutions for

our cherished customers.”

UBA Ghana in 2019 appointed Francis Koranteng, Samuel Ayim and Ivan Avereyireh to the Board as Independent Non-Executive Directors while Mrs. Abiola Bawuah was also appointed a NonExecutive Director.

Earlier this year, the Bank of Ghana also approved the appointments of Balogun Olalekan and Sylvia Inkoom as Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director respectively and they are currently Executive Directors on the Board of UBA Ghana.

Mr. Awotwi holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc.) degree in Electrical Engineering, Economics & Political Science from Yale University, USA. He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in General Management and International Business, from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, USA.

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Next-Generation Real Estate: The convergence of homeownership and hospitality

BY ALEX ALLISON

A

few years ago, a thought came to me about the future of homeownership and hospitality while I was road tripping down Highway 1 to stay at a short-term home. I was trying to get away from the buzz of my city to focus on work for a few weeks.

I’ve always been a bit of a nomad, seeking opportunities that provide the flexibility to work anywhere and enable my discovery of new places and experiences. As I drove the California coast, I pondered a lifestyle shift that would unfold in the years ahead.

Evolving lifestyle trends, a shift in the way people work and new investment methods accelerated

by Covid-19 will dictate real estate for years to come. When there is a radical shift in human behavior like we’re experiencing today, it presents different consumer needs and pain points that result in new business models and market opportunities. But the real estate industry often fails to evolve at the same rapid pace as consumer behavior.

The next generation of homeownership is an entirely different beast due, in large part, to consumers now being in the driver’s seat. It’s paramount that the real estate industry anticipates evolving consumer behavior and reevaluates to support this new wave of homeownership and its convergence with hospitality.

A home versus a house: The fall of the primary residence The next wave of homeowners regards buying differently than their predecessors: A property is an asset, not necessarily a forever home. They’re placing a higher value on optionality, flexibility and liquidity more than ever before.

The next decade must cater to new ownership models, and the traditional approach to investing in a primary residence will change forever.

Historically, buying a house has been a lifelong commitment and a massive logistical undertaking with high stakes and a fragmented process from end to end. When you buy a home, you’re committing to a lifestyle, a neighborhood, a demographic — and rigid financial terms. Real estate also remains an attractive avenue for investing, and today’s buyers don’t want to skip out on the opportunity to profit along the way or try out a different lifestyle.

While it’s not unique to any

one generation, homeowners across the board are starting to value mobility over traditional ownership factors. This translates into new ways to leverage an asset (including increased interest in alternative forms of renting and innovative models like iBuyers) that will change homeownership as we know it, transforming it into a means to an end. A home will be seen as a purchase, not a residence, and emerging work and lifestyle trends are in line with this shift. In fact, they expedite it.

WFH gets a makeover; destinations lead the way Amid shelter-in-place orders, people have been cooped up in living spaces that weren’t originally found with longterm work from home (WFH) in mind. They’re ready for a change. Zillow reports that 66% of Americans currently working from home would at least consider a move if they were to be working from home long-term.

As seen in the mass exodus from urban markets, consumers want to escape areas where proximity hinders the ability to physically distance, and WFH has evolved into work from anywhere (WFA).

A primary residence no longer fits the bill for dynamic digital nomads.

With the ability to work remotely and the desire to get away from major metros, people want destinations that are remote and high value to support secondary living with direct ROI and benefits.

I expect that these nontraditional,

secondary destination markets will explode at a faster pace than cities and suburbs through supply and demand, and compression by high investor interests.

Investors and real estate agents will need to think differently about the physical rental properties and their amenities. Consumers will prioritize spaces that offer consistent perks such as home offices, outdoor spaces, workout rooms and strong Wi-Fi — similar to how progressive companies once migrated in droves toward fully equipped coworking spaces.

A new class of assets This on-the-go lifestyle and the real estate model that suits it presents a new opportunity.

As this category matures, a new real estate asset class is forming alongside it. Investment upside can be expected to increase at the same pace of market innovation, with solutions that align with consumer needs appearing as the sector matures. Housing inventory is still at an all-time low, thus maintaining strong appreciation forecasts and long-term value.

This will continue to price people out of the market, and alternative options need to be made available.

This is something I considered when establishing my company, D. Alexander, an owner-operated hospitality brand focused on destination-oriented markets. I wanted to create spaces equipped for living and working, rather than traditional vacations or second homes. In practice, this model serves a different lifestyle purpose

than the timeshare. While timeshares pick at this need for flexibility and hunger to explore, they don’t serve as real, long-term assets with functional benefits.

In parallel, individual second homes fall short on providing the flexibility needed for full utilization and require a lot of work to reach maximum benefit. This model allows investors to diversify their real estate portfolios across unique markets, easing the risk associated with a single home.

Although this model is not yet an asset class, it can be viewed as the catalyst for change within its category. As homeownership transitions to asset ownership amid WFA and emerging buying trends, real estate professionals need to rethink how they support this next wave of buyers who want to invest in real estate as an asset instead of a primary residence.

This shift is already happening, and those in the real estate industry who cater to this change have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in the future convergence of home, hospitality and ownership.

One-off home purchases will become a thing of the past — the future of homeownership is about supporting this newfound freedom and the digital, nomadic lifestyle that accompanies it.

Alex Allison is the Founder and CEO of the pioneering home hospitality brand, D. Alexander, and the Founder and Managing Partner of D. Alexander Capital

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After COVID-19, will movie fans return to the theater—or keep watching at home?

BY SHASHANK SRIVASTAVA, DELOITTE INSIGHTS

C

onsumers are understandably reluctant to return to movie theaters. Will the increasing popularity of PVoD and streaming options inspire film studios to reevaluate their distribution and release strategy going forward?

IN March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the motion picture industry at every level, shutting down content production and canceling theatrical premieres. With theaters closed and viewers stuck at home hungry for new onscreen content, studios quickly began exploring digital alternatives. While some have deferred movie releases (especially tentpoles) to 2021, others have sold/released their films via subscription-based streaming platforms. Several have taken a third route: releasing movies via premium video on demand (PVoD).

Cinemas are reopening, albeit slowly and often with awkward safety measures. But millions of Americans with large TV screens and home theater setups may

prefer to enjoy films from home for the next year or more. Will the increasing popularity of PVoD and streaming options inspire studios to reevaluate their movie distribution and release strategy going forward?

Initial trends suggest that going digital has been at least somewhat successful. Deloitte’s latest digital media trends survey (conducted during May, early on in the pandemic) found that 22% of US consumers—including 24% of Gen X and 36% of Millennials—had paid to watch a new release via PVoD.2 Perhaps unsurprisingly, the figure rose significantly for consumers with children at home.

In fact, 51% of Millennials with children reported renting at least one PVoD film. For Millennials with kids and a paid streaming video service, that number jumped to 56%. Whether or not due to the pressures of having to entertain children during longterm lockdowns, some population segments have adopted PVoD more readily than others.

Consumers who opted for PVoD reported enjoying the comfort and convenience of home viewing and the ability to watch with family.3 Recent market data points toward

PVoD success as well. Universal released Trolls World Tour on digital platforms in April at a price of $19.99 for a 48-hour rental. The movie turned out to be a digital blockbuster, earning more in its first three weeks of digital release than its 2016 predecessor, Trolls, made domestically during five months in theaters.4 The next month, Warner Brothers released Scoob! on VoD platforms and found similar success.5 Subscription-based video streaming platforms are also using new movie releases as a hook to acquire and retain customers. In our survey, 45% of US subscribers reported selecting a specific streaming video service to watch new, original content unavailable elsewhere.6 With at least some moviegoers reluctant to join multiplex crowds for Friday-evening premieres, does this digital home-viewing shift sound a death knell for theaters? It’s unlikely: As soon as people again feel comfortable sitting next to unmasked strangers for three hours at a stretch, there will probably be a pent-up demand for going out and being part of a theatrical experience. In fact, our survey suggests that many people

will be happy to return to the big screen: More than 60% of Gen Z and Millennial viewers said they were willing to watch a film in a movie theater within the next six months.7 Looking ahead Of course, no one knows how the coming months will further shift viewers’ actions and preferences.

And newly established digital movie-viewing trends—and the success stories—have raised new questions around movie releases, particularly with studios experimenting with releasing films exclusively to particular direct-toconsumer streaming services. Will PVoD become a viable alternative release method for all or just some cinematic productions? Is there a balance to be struck that supports theater owners and studios? Will PVoD have long-term consequences for the economics of film production?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the movie industry has challenged the typical notions around theatrical launches. Going forward, studios may have to take a portfolio approach to movie distribution rather than a onesize-fits-all strategy.

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Delta Airlines pledges commitment to social impact and sustainability in face of pandemic

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elta’s 2019 Corporate Responsibilit y Report, released this week, highlights the airline’s continued commitment to employees, customers, sustainability and social impact. In 2019, Delta was again recognized

by Great Place to Work, improved our Net Promoter Score, donated a record 13,064 pints of blood, improved fuel efficiency, and this year, committed to investing $1 billion over the next 10 years to become carbon neutral. Delta employees are at the core of these milestones and made 2019 one of the company’s most successful years to date.

While 2019 was a banner year for Delta, with the company sharing record profits with employees and committing $1 billion over 10 years toward carbon-neutrality, the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crisis for the airline industry and Delta. Despite this, we have not changed our commitment to environmental sustainability.

“Even as the global pandemic continues, we remain focused on sustainable development and protecting the future of our company,” said CEO Ed Bastian.

“We are a company deeply grounded in our values with a clear understanding of our commitments, and that will never change.”

Delta supports The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that engage organizations across all sectors to help end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. To be transparent about our goals related to sustainability, Delta reports our progress to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Task Force on Climate-

related Financial Disclosures.

SAFETY In 2019, Delta’s safety culture enabled the company to maintain a 3.9 percent Total Recordable Injury Rate performance, the same rate as 2018 and 43 percent better than the industry average.

The company also introduced a special Security Incident Response tool, allowing us to better mitigate dangerous circumstances that might unintentionally damage the airline’s operations, employee safety or property. Delta continues investing in personal safety initiatives that improve safety awareness, culture and knowledge.

SUSTAINABILITY Even as we face challenges related to COVID-19, sustainability work is essential to protecting the planet and must continue. Delta remains committed to investing $1 billion over the next 10 years on its journey to become the first carbon neutral airline in the world. The company will achieve this by investing in clean air travel technologies, accelerating the reduction of carbon emissions and waste, and establishing new projects to mitigate the balance of emissions.

“Fortunately, we’ve always viewed sustainability as a longterm, ongoing investment. That’s why we will uphold our pledge to becoming carbon neutral, and investing toward that goal over the next decade to make air travel sustainable for our planet’s future – despite limiting investments today to aspects of our business and operations that are mission-critical to navigating this crisis,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Gareth Joyce.

“As a global community, the need to come together and address a crisis that threatens us all is as important

now than ever.”

In 2019, the airline operated its first full year with the Airbus 220, the airline’s newest, state-of-the-art aircraft featuring best-in-class fuel efficiency. Replacing older aircraft currently has the largest impact on Delta’s emissions and efficiency.

New aircraft are 25 percent more efficient per seat mile than the aircraft they replace. After COVID-19 forced us to park aircraft, Delta has retired our entire MD-88, MD-90, 777 and 737-700 fleets and portions of the 767- 300ER and A320 fleets earlier than planned, making way for more sustainable flying.

Additionally, Delta operated our first Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) flights in 2019, delivering four Airbus 330-900neos from Toulouse, France, to Atlanta. Delta also partnered with Airbus and Air BP to ensure that the next 20 A321 deliveries from Mobile, Ala., to Atlanta would be carbon neutral by using an SAF blend and offsets.

In 2019, we had the first nine of these aircraft delivered. In total, these 13 flights used approximately 141,000 gallons of SAF. The SAF used in the A321 deliveries produced an 83 percent reduction in life-cycle emissions, compared to conventional jet fuel.

PEOPLE Our achievements of 2019 were possible thanks to the diligent work of Delta employees around the globe who provide world-class service to customers every day. In 2020, their passion shines through on the front lines against the virus, as they work to keep U.S. airways open for essential travel.

Delta’s culture of giving back has served as a connection to the communities in which our employees live, work and serve.

Delta people donate thousands of pints of blood each year and were named the No. 1 corporate blood donor to the American Red Cross in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The company has also been named an honoree of The Civic 50 by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service for the past three years in a row.

In 2019, for a third straight year, Delta landed on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, the only airline to do so. Delta has also been named Best Workplaces for Diversity, Women and Millennials by Fortune and Great Places to Work.

CUSTOMERS Customers have always been at the center of our business decisions, and that continues to be true as the airline navigates the COVID-19 pandemic. Caring for customers during these times includes electrostatic spraying to sanitize each aircraft before every flight, extensively cleaning high-touch areas and blocking middle seats to give passengers more space while traveling.

Delta’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), a key measure of customer satisfaction, hit a record high for the company in 2019. Our NPS has grown more than 10 points over the past five years as the company has focused on customer experience, operational reliability and customer service.

Delta operated 84 percent of our flights on time across our network in 2019. Delta also achieved a record 281 days without canceling any mainline flights, including 165 days with no cancellations on the entire Delta network (including regional partners), a 15 percent increase from 2018. (Source: Delta Airlines)

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Small businesses in Africa must innovate to survive COVID-19 impact BYKINGSLEY IGHOBOR

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hat key messages does your newly released report on COVID-19 and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) convey?

The first is that MSMEs matter, and they must be at the center of any postpandemic recovery effort. Second, there is a disruption of the global supplies that these MSMEs are a part of. The third message is that, going forward, we need to think carefully about how we support MSMEs, making sure we push in a direction of more resilient value chains that can withstand disruptions in the future.

The report states that MSMEs, especially in poor countries, are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Why is this the case?

Poor countries face huge economic challenges.

The pandemic compounded an already bad situation. For years, these countries have cried out for assistance to build infrastructure that supports economic development. In these countries, businesses are relatively small and cannot access finance. Some of these countries are landlocked and therefore the cost of doing business is much higher than in the others.

The Africa Union’s Silencing the Guns 2020 campaign, if successful, could strengthen countries’ resilience in recovery. Is that correct?

Absolutely. If we could have a situation where peace reigns in countries, that would be an opportunity to consolidate development efforts.

Your report paints a gloomy picture of the situation of MSMEs in Africa.

For example, one in five small firms would be bankrupt within five months and $2.4 billion worth of exports is expected to be lost this year. Any good news at all?

You’re right. We should not underestimate T the impact of COVID-19 on countries. But I think there is a glimmer of hope. The current situation presents an opportunity to reflect on what to do going forward to enable MSMEs become more resilient.

There are potential opportunities.

First is the possibility for countries and companies to start innovating, because small enterprises tend to be agile and able to adapt. For example, some companies we are working with are able to conduct e-commerce and have survived. So, innovation is a possibility in terms of existing value chains or in doing something completely new.

Second, we have an opportunity to rethink how we develop more resilient value chains that can accommodate future difficult situations.

Third is to explore more sustainable production options that, in the long term, are cheaper and environmentally friendly.

The final point is, there is an opportunity for countries to consider their product range. Many countries depend on a single or a few

commodities. They could now look at a broader product range as well as diversification of markets. Africa can look at the opportunities that come with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) in terms of value add, within the continent, even as countries look at the global markets.

Many people believe that African youth can capably lead the innovation charge. What are your views on this?

I agree. This is something we have observed from our work with young people in Africa. If you look at some of the sectors where the shift has occurred, the digital side of things for example, it’s the youth who are involved, and they are pushing the trend and showing their ability.

Also, the youth tend to think outside the box and can reposition themselves quickly. We must give them priority.

They are the future and we cannot leave them behind.

Your report offers a 15-point plan of action. How do you ensure that your recommendations are implemented by the MSMEs, the business support organizations and the various governments?

The action plan provides some guidelines in terms of what the three stakeholder groups should be looking at, that is the immediate steps they can take. These guidelines were drawn from our engagement with different companies in different countries. And the guidelines speak to the core issues that are affecting these countries.

Countries see the relevance of what we’re doing. They want to address the challenges they are facing. The ITC and others ensure that when countries decide to implement our recommendations, that we work with them to provide the necessary technical assistance or any required handholding.

Women constitute a huge percentage of Africans engaged in informal trade. Given that women are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, is it reasonable to suggest that they be given priority in any recovery assistance?

Absolutely, and not only because of COVID-19. Women’s economic participation has been very limited.

In most cases, women are not very engaged or allowed to participate in business. Even when they can participate, they’re likely workers and when they own a business, they are small operations that cannot grow because of various reasons.

Women’s businesses are likely to be closed as a result of the pandemic; therefore, any form of financial assistance to companies must consider the plight of women or be viewed through the gender lens. The ITC has designed a women’s empowerment programme called SheTrades under which we aim to connect three million women to markets. Even now, women are unable to get the necessary information to access the resources being provided within the COVID-19 context.

Somebody told me a very interesting story about a border in southern

Africa. At that border, two lines were formed: one for males and another line for females. The line for the males was cleared ahead of the one for the females. By the time the line for women was cleared, the men had been in the markets for hours and had sold their goods. These may appear simple, but they do have a huge impact on how business is conducted and how opportunity is lost.

What is the timeframe for connecting three million women to the market?

Our commitment is that by 2021 we will have connected three million women to the market. We have already gone beyond half of that number.

Given the disruptive impact of COVID-19, can you still meet the 2021 target?

I believe we can. For the simple reason that the demand to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is even higher now than before.

I remain optimistic. We will keep pushing ourselves, understanding the challenges that we face.

How do you connect the women to the market?

We have identified some core issues that make women uncompetitive in business. One is a lack of access to finance. You still have some countries asking women for their husband’s approval before accessing a loan. And interest rates for loans are too high and unaffordable.

Also, some policies don’t support women’s economic advancement.

So, we are working with governments under the SheTrades initiative to determine precisely the problems women face and try to address those problems. We must think differently regarding women’s access to finance.

Can we think of nontraditional ways that women can access finance?

Is such thinking going on?

Yes, it is. We are working with different partners. We are part of the SDG 500, which is an initiative that involves other UN agencies. We are collaborating with the private sector and some foundations. The objective is to mobilize about $500 million to support MSMEs, particularly those led by women, to access resources with minimal requirements.

Developing countries export a significant amount of inputs to other regions for the production of personal protective equipment (PPEs). In the context of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, is ITC supporting Africa

in producing PPEs? Our support is much broader than just for PPEs because the foundation of the AfCFTA is trade liberalisation.

It’s how Africa positions itself to maximize the opportunities in free trade.

In the current context, is there an opportunity for African countries to produce PPEs? Yes. And this is already starting to happen. But at what cost and are we in a position to produce to meet the demand of the entire continent? I believe there is scope for improvement because we are still importing from outside.

You were heavily involved in trade matters in your country [Zambia].

What are your views on Africa’s free trade area?

I am a believer in free trade and Africa should embrace this opportunity.

But what needs to happen is that the level of political commitment should increase. In operationalizing the agreement, participating countries must come through on their commitments. Africa is positioned to attract investments. It has resources for domestic production. It has human resources. We must now organise ourselves better.

What support is ITC providing MSMEs in Africa in these trying times?

Our mandate includes working with MSMEs in support of economic development in developing countries.

We support countries to better understand what has confronted them [COVID-19] these last few months. Through surveys, we have information on issues specific to certain countries. Our report builds on those efforts. We have the action plan, but alongside that, we work directly with businesses so they can navigate these challenging times.

We work with businesses to find different ways of managing the business-to-business interaction that used to be face-to-face. Now businesses use online platforms to trade. We have continued to provide consolidated information through the Global Help Desk, which is a one-stop shop for all trade-related information.

What message do you have for business owners in African MSMEs? It’s a difficult time for MSMEs, for sure. They must ensure they remain resilient in this difficult period. To survive, they must build on their innovative spirit. (Source: africarenewal)

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MONDAY AUGUST 3, 2020

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UN, news organizations and artists fight against COVID-19 fake news BY: FRANCK KUWONU

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s COVID-19 spreads, so do fake news, conspiracy theories and doctored pictures and videos. Left unchecked, most of it is harmful and could lead to people ultimately losing their lives.

Aissata Diop, a Senegalese mother of four, living in Pikine on the outskirts of the capital city Dakar, had long heard that consuming garlic and lemon could have health benefits.

So, when her friend, Ramatou, displayed a message on her phone saying that drinking a daily bowl of boiled garlic and lemon could keep people from contracting COVID-19, Aissata wasted no time stocking up on her daily market run.

Charles Nagbe, a Liberian carpenter plying his trade in Treichville, a southern neighborhood of Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire was also intent on not getting infected. He remembered some information he came across online saying that rinsing the mouth with or swallowing a ‘reasonable’ quantity of liquor can kill the virus before it infects the body.

Unable to afford pricey imported liquors, Charles sent for Koutoukou, a local brew with a very high level of alcohol content distilled from palm wine.

Both Aissata and Charles believed they would be spared COVID-19.

While drinking a garlic and lemon mixture or limited amounts of alcohol may not be harmful to the human body, they provide a false sense of protection against the virus.

Aissata and Charles are not alone.

Desperate to protect themselves from infection and for a cure, people around the world are trying all sorts of herbal or chemical concoctions and prescription pills such as chloroquine.

Yet, these are just a tiny sample of the misleading or outright false bits of information, including hoaxes and myths, going around since the onset of COVID-19.

To stem the tide of misinformation, including in African countries, several initiatives by the United Nations, international news organizations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Agence France Press (AFP), nonprofits such as Africa Check and others are offering tools to provide credible information and to help people check the reliability of COVID-19-related information.

Across the continent, artists and community activists are also joining the fight against misinformation.

Infodemic “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization

(WHO) remarked earlier this year, referring to fake news that, he said, spreads faster and more easily than the virus.

Drawing from the words “information” and “epidemic,” the word “infodemic”, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, describes “a rapid and far-reaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information about something, such as a disease”.

From the origins of the virus, to how to avoid catching it, to how it propagates, and how to cure it, unproven and misleading theories abound, making the current infodemic a serious obstacle to the efforts being made to stop the spread of COVID-19, the WHO warns.

Spreading online, through messaging apps and from one person to another, misinformation often operates through digital tools that generate and propagate false stories stitched together from altered video, pictures or sound.

One of these stories so troubled Ms. Yemisi Adegoke, a Lagos-based BBC reporter, that it prompted her to suggest a more systematic way for the broadcaster to tackle the infodemic with its listeners in Africa.

She is now one of the producers of the news organization’s COVID-19 misinformation hub, a centralized online space where people can check whether viral information is credible or not.

“I worked on a story about a man whose photo was used in a social media post. It was said that he picked up Nigeria’s first COVID-19 case at the airport and had driven him from Lagos to a neighboring state,” Ms. Adegoke remembers.

As the story went virals. Adegoke told Africa Renewal in a telephone interview, she “tracked him down” and found out that although the man pictured in the story was indeed a cab driver “he had not been to Lagos in three years.”

Yet, the rumour had spread all over the internet and through messaging applications, and as a result, the man had received death threats.

As shown by the Nigerian cab driver story, misinformation about COVID-19 can sometimes be built on some measure of truth or fact.

An April 2020 study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom found that little information was usually fabricated entirely.

The study sampled 225 that have been proven by fact-checkers to be false or misleading pieces of information in English published all around the world from January to March 2020 and noticed that more than half (59%) was existing information that was either “spun, twisted, recontextualized, or reworked,” the study pointed out; making it often difficult to separate

lies from truths.

‘Verified’ - a UN initiative To help people gain access to credible information, in May the UN Secretary-General launched ‘Verified’, an email and social media initiative that invites people to register and become “information volunteers” tasked with dissemination of trusted and UN-verified content.

The campaign provides a daily feed of easy-to-share simple messages aimed at countering falsehoods or filling critical information gaps.

Subscribers receive content in their inbox and are encouraged to pass it along including via their Facebook and other social media accounts.

On 27 July 2020 Verified shared a roundup from the previous week on debunking false claims about vaccine trials, fake cures and an anti-mask group removed from Facebook “for spreading misinformation about coronavirus,” the email reads. #DontGoViral - Artists join in Another initiative to help fight COVID-19 misinformation in Africa is the UN Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) #DontGoViral campaign that engages African artists.

Started in April 2020, #DontGoViral crowdsources creative content that addresses the need for culturally relevant, open-sourced information about COVID-19 in local languages.

Ugandan musician and member of parliament, Bobi Wine openly licensed his hit song “Corona Virus Alert” for the launch of the campaign and encouraged other artists to contribute.

“The bad news is everyone is

a potential victim/But the good news is that everyone is a potential solution/Sensitize the masses to sanitize/Keep a social distance and quarantine/The coronavirus is sweeping over mankind/Everybody must be alert…” Bobi Wine and his collaborator Nubian Li sing on their catchy dancehall-inspired track.

To date, #DontGoViral is reported to have received more that 500 submissions from all over the continent, with a playlist maintained and updated on YouTube.

The content is as varied in its countries of origin as it is in creative categories, with contributions including music, poetry, paintings and multimedia presentation.

From Liberia, George Weah, the country’s president is featured fronting a youth band and singing a slow tempo gospel-inspired song titled “Let’s Stand Together To Fight Corona.”

From Malawi, the Vilipanganga Poetry Movement has used poetry to address COVID-19 myths and conspiracy theories while sharing information about mitigation and containment measures.

In Nigeria, the Proshare Foundation turned to animated stories to highlight modes of virus transmission.

“The bad news is everyone is a potential victim/But the good news is that everyone is a potential solution,” Bobby Wine and Nubian Li sung.

After all, “we cannot cede our virtual spaces to those who traffic in lies, fear and hate,” SecretaryGeneral Guterres said at the launch of “Verified”. (www.un.org)

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MONDAY AUGUST 3, 2020

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Nature by the numbers

BY ROBERT WATSON

N

atural systems like the massive Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh are not just home to millions of plant and animal species that deserve protection from human encroachment. They are also crucial sources of economic output and resilience, demanding far more protection than they currently receive.

When Cyclone Amphan came barreling up the Bay of Bengal this past May, South Asia’s first named storm of the year appeared to pose a massive threat to the people who live on the coastal floodplains and to the animals and plants – including many endangered species – that rely on these sensitive ecosystems. But nature came to the region’s rescue.

The Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, offered better protection than any manmade storm wall could have done. When Amphan’s 16-foot storm surge slammed into this 4,000-square-mile national park, the mangroves took the teeth out of it, just as they did with the two other supercharged cyclones, Aila and Sidr, that have made landfall in recent times.

On the other side of the world, natural storm defenses on the lower end of Manhattan have long since been paved over. Real-estate developers have even extended the island into New York Harbor

with acres of landfill, neglecting to build up storm surge protections.

As a result, when Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy hammered the city in 2011 and 2012, respectively, lower Manhattan, including the city’s financial district, was inundated.

City planners have since been working with the US government to plan for the next wave of superstorms. But the price tag of the infrastructure needed – a retractable wall across New York Harbor costing at least $62 billion – has prevented any plans from being finalized.

As we look to rebuild the global economy following the COVID-19 crisis, conserving our remaining natural assets must be a top priority. If we don’t act, we risk losing the plants, animals, and microorganisms needed to keep our air clean, our water pure, and our food supplies plentiful – not to mention the mangrove forests and barrier reefs that stand between us and the superstorms that are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change.

The world has become less wild as we have built and expanded cities, cut down forests for crops and livestock, drained wetlands for roads, and flooded valleys for dams. The economic cost of this ecological damage goes mostly uncounted. But it is prohibitively high, eroding the value of goods and services that nature produces.

One million species are now at risk of extinction.

Fortunately, there is a relatively

simple initiative underway to curb some of these losses and solve our looming conservation crises.

Under the heading of “30x30,” it aims to protect 30% of our planet’s land and oceans by 2030 through effective, permanent measures. More than 20 member states in the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity have already committed to supporting this global target.

According to a new report authored by more than 100 scientists and economists from around the world, expanding existing protected areas to 30% of the planet would add $250 billion to annual global economic output, on average. (The report estimates a range of $64-454 billion, as the costs and benefits will vary depending on which areas are protected.) Moreover, the study finds that protected areas and the nature-based activities they support are among the world’s fastest-growing economic sectors, with 4-6% projected annual revenue growth, compared to less than 1% in agriculture, and negative growth in fisheries.

For countries with large areas of forest and mangroves, embracing 30x30 would prevent the loss of an average of $350 billion ($170534 billion) annually in ecosystem services. These costs stem largely from flooding, soil loss, storm surges, and the release of stored carbon that occurs when natural vegetation is destroyed. By protecting India and Bangladesh over the years, the Sundarbans have provided an extraordinarily

valuable service.

Conversely, the environmental destruction in the Brazilian portion of the Amazon rainforest has resulted in major, far-reaching losses. Even the drinking water shortages that afflict São Paulo, the largest city in the Americas, are directly connected to Amazon deforestation.

As governments contemplate how to re-open their economies after the COVID-19 lockdown, they must accommodate the need for greater conservation and restoration of natural resources. Every tropical storm that is strong enough to be named should serve as a reminder of what is at stake if we do nothing.

With recent forecasts of an “abovenormal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season,” the US east coast should already be bracing itself.

India and Bangladesh are fortunate to have the Sundarbans.

But no country in the world lacks natural areas that are worth conserving or restoring. Not only is it critical for all countries to adopt the 30x30 target, but each should also look for ways to invest more in its natural areas. By doing so now, governments can ensure that nature-based sectors and ecosystem services will recover at the same pace as the rest of the economy. There’s no better time to start than before another storm strikes.

Robert Watson is Chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

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MONDAY AUGUST 3, 2020

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Understanding Unemployment Insurance?

BY SAMUEL KOFI OHENE

With the president’s 14th update on 26th July, 2020 to outline a progress report on measures taken against covid19, “Unemployment insurance” was one key item that stood out to me in the speech.

A few friends showed little to know idea what this may possibly entail and who will be eligible to benefit from such a scheme. This observation made it necessary to document my thoughts and share for the benefit of many who may be interested in that part of the president’s speech. This article may not be conclusive, neither will it entail what the Ghana government may have in mind to do, however it draws insight from what unemployment insurance is and how it is being implemented in developed insurance markets.

With this information, one may better appreciate how this type of insurance may run in Ghana if implemented as well as its possible eligibility criteria.

What is Unemployment Insurance?

It is also called unemployment benefits and is mostly a stateprovided insurance that pays out when you lose your job and meet certain eligibility requirements. You will not receive unemployment benefits if you quit your job, are self-employed, or if you are fired for cause. The benefits are primarily paid out by state governments and mostly funded by specific payroll taxes collected for that insurance purpose.

The unemployment insurance initiative can be a joint program between labour commissions and the government. In the US, the various states work with the federal government to make the scheme work. The aim of unemployment insurance is to provide cash stipends to unemployed workers who lose their jobs (by not quitting or getting fired due to their deeds) but actively seek employment. Compensation to eligible unemployed workers is backed by an Unemployment Insurance Act in other insurance markets as well. Even though there may be variations in the terms, conditions and pay outs per jurisdiction, each market must follow specific guidelines outlined by the state laws. In the United States, despite having multiple states, the federal law makes unemployment benefits relatively ubiquitous across state lines. The U.S. Department of Labor plays an over sight role in the program and ensures compliance within each state. Workers who meet specific eligibility requirements

may receive up to 26 weeks of cash benefits a year. The weekly cash stipend is designed to replace half of the employee’s regular wage, on average. United States fund unemployment insurance using taxes levied on employers. The majority of employers will pay both federal and state unemployment tax. Three states also require minimal employee contributions to the state unemployment fund.

Out of work persons who do not find employment after a 26-week period may become eligible for an extended benefits program, if it is available. Extended benefits give unemployed workers an additional 13 to 20 weeks of unemployment benefits.

The availability of extended benefits will depend on a state’s overall unemployment situation.

Eligibility Requirements

and

Claim

In foreign jurisdictions, an unemployed person must meet two primary requirements to qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

An unemployed individual must meet state-mandated thresholds for either earned wages or time worked in a stated base period.

The state must also determine that the eligible person is unemployed through no fault of their own. A person may file an unemployment insurance claim when fulfilling these two requirements.

Individuals file claims in the state where they worked. A participant may file claims by phone or on the

state unemployment insurance agency’s website. After the first application, it generally takes two to three weeks for processing and approval of a claim. After approval of a claim, the participant must either file weekly or bi-weekly reports that test or confirm their employment situation. Reports must be submitted to remain eligible for benefit payments.

An unemployed worker cannot refuse work during a week, and on each weekly or bi-weekly claim, they must report any income that they earned from freelance or consulting side jobs. There may be certain similarities and potential differences in the eligibility criteria and claims process if Ghana is to adopt such an insurance scheme.

Compensation” with a goal to assist citizen’s ride through the troubling times. A permanent state run unemployment scheme may take more careful planning and management to make the long term scheme work. Since an insurance contract is not retrospective in its true sense, it will imply a new insurance scheme being kicked in today may not pay claims to people who have already lost their jobs since there will be no more uncertainty to the risk. An emergency fund for covid19 related job losses will hence be more feasible under the circumstances and the unemployment insurance pool being instituted will then serve as a future risk mitigating measure.

Special Considerations Unemployment has risen. On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19, the illness caused by a novel coronavirus, to be a pandemic.

Businesses across the world have been forced to close down, causing massive unemployment.

Lawmakers across the globe have intervened in several ways to ease the economic burden on citizens and Ghana is no exception. With this new initiative hinted by the Ghanaian government, careful thought will have to be given to the legislation, regulation, management, product design, pricing, marketability and data management of such a scheme.

It may be easier to establish a “Pandemic Unemployment

Samuel Kofi Ohene is a professional risk analyst in the Insurance Industry, both General and Life Insurance. His specialties currently focus on actuarial and statistical techniques in financial and operations risk management. He has a background in insurance underwriting and claims management as well. For comments, contact him via email, sohene15@gmail.com

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