Business24 Newspaper 16th August, 2021

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MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2021

MARITIME SECTOR REPORT 2021

Earl Heights Suites offers 17% returns on investment to owners

Securing Ghana’s trade gains amid rising threats Inside

See page 8

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NO. B24 / 235 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

MONDAY MONDAYAUGUST MAY 3, 16, 2021 2021

Airports Company moves to settle staff arrears, end agitations News Desk Report

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he management of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has outlined a sixmonth roadmap aimed at addressing all staff concerns over statutory and welfare payments that have, in recent times, been the source of agitations against the airports operator.

Beginning from August 2021, all outstanding welfare and statutory deductions from Cont’d on page 2

Yaw Kwakwa, MD, GACL

SSNIT says pursuing locked up funds from Fin. Min.

By Benson Afful affulbenson@gmail.com

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he Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) says its attempt to retrieve an amount of US$626,522 from the Ministry of Finance as its share of proceeds from the divestiture of Subri Industrial Plantation Limited (SIPL) to Plantations Cont’d on page 3

Transport Minister wants concerted efforts to safeguard maritime sector

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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he Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has called for stronger collaborative efforts to deal with rising risks in the maritime domain that threaten to undermine the Cont’d on page 3

Mexico, Ghana working on several areas of development

By Benson Afful affulbenson@gmail.com

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exico’s Ambassador to Ghana Mr. Enrique Escorza has said his country is working with Ghana on innovative ways to seize further opportunities in the Cont’d on page 5

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Editorial / News

MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2021

Editorial

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Alarm bells on rising threats of piracy keep ringing

oncerns over the spate of pirate attacks closer to the nation’s territorial waters keeps increasing by the day with various stakeholders urging swift action from governments of ports states along the Gulf region.

Data show that more kidnappings took place in the Gulf of Guinea in the first two months of 2021 alone than the entire first quarter of 2020 as piracy and other sea-related crimes continue to be a menace along that stretch of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Gulf of Guinea accounted for nearly half of all reported piracy incidents in the first three months of 2021, according to

the latest figures from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

IMB’s latest global piracy report records 38 incidents since the start of 2021 – compared with 47 incidents during the same period last year. In the first three months of 2021, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 33 vessels boarded, two attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon, and one vessel hijacked.

An unsafe trade route comes with dire consequences across the entire maritime value chain, the more reason this menace must be tackled with the full force it deserves.

Aside the harm to lives, other foreseeable risks of rising piracy on Ghana’s import and export business will be evidenced in costs.

The situation could drive up freight rates as a result of our Exim trade routes being at risk, insurance premiums will also go up due to increased risks and all surcharges on security whether at port or at sea will have to be passed down to end-consumer of imported goods.

The maritime sector has made some good gains amid the resurging pandemic and we cannot afford to backtrack on our sustained efforts at trade facilitation.

Airports Company moves to settle staff arrears, end agitations Continued from cover

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staff salaries will be settled, the company has resolved.

The management, in consultation with the Oboshie SaiCofie–led board, has concluded arrangements for the payment of SSNIT contributions from August 2021 over a period of twelve months and PAYE obligations from October 2021 for a similar period. Payment of Tier 2 pension contributions will commence in October 2021 over a period of six months.

The move is expected to end the current hostility between management and staff of the GACL. The roadmap was arrived at following the management’s meeting with the GACL board, and the decision was subsequently communicated to workers at a staff durbar held on August 11.

The Managing Director of the GACL, Yaw Kwakwa, when contacted on the issue, said the management will continue to deepen staff engagement at all levels for them to know the financial status of the organisation.

He said the six-month roadmap to settle the arrears will be complied with, believing that it will help restore staff confidence and improve on the working relationship between staff and management.

“I take responsibility for all

that is happening at the company.

The workers have every right to complain when they are going through hardship. What I don’t condone is to take the law into your hands and attack management members. We’ve worked together for some time now and I know how they feel when certain things are not going on well for them. But management is working very hard to address all their challenges. We are going to stick to our roadmap and I believe that at the end of the day, there will be all smiles and the bond that existed between management and staff will greatly be improved.”

He added, “Our number one challenge had to do with the refinancing of the over US$400m asset-backed corporate loan we took to finance our capital expenditure requirements under two separate components. But like I said, we will continue to engage our workers and resolve all outstanding issues.”

The GACL has in recent times been in the news as a result of staff

agitations against management of the company over unpaid statutory and welfare deductions.

In view of this, the management engaged the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), which was acting for the GACL Divisional Union, to explain the financial situation of the company, stressing the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which severely reduced the airports operator’s capacity to fulfill its financial obligations.

The management also told the union that it had proactively taken steps to refinance the US$400m loan, which was absorbing US$19.1m of the company’s quarterly Air Passenger Service Charge (APSC) revenue of US$21.6m, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this arrangement was truncated by the pandemic because the APSC revenue dropped from US$21.6m to US$6.3m per quarter, a situation which also made it difficult to increase staff salaries.

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SSNIT says pursuing locked up funds from Fin. Min. Continued from cover Socfinaf Ghana has not yielded results since 2015.

SIPL, a company established in 1985, was owned by a consortium of financial institutions, with the Government of Ghana having a majority stake of 80.4 percent and SSNIT having a 13.6 percent equity stake.

Reacting to the 2020 AuditorGeneral’s report that said SSNIT had lost over US$11m through the liquidations of three companies in which it had invested, the trust said it will continue to engage the ministry to retrieve the unpaid funds in respect of SIPL, and will continue efforts to recover other locked up funds.

SSNIT further stated that out of the US$11.79m loss reported by the Auditor-General, US$4.15m had already been recovered.

“As part of efforts to prevent such occurrences in the future, a

new investment policy that better controls the investment process has been developed and is being implemented,” said the trust in a statement.

“Also, professionals and experts have been appointed to boards of subsidiary companies, which has led to major improvements

in the corporate governance of these entities, resulting in better returns on investments,” it added.

SSNIT also said it has made some significant strides to rebalance its investments, saying, for instance, that the trust has made savings of over GH₵231m on legacy investment-related costs through

renegotiations since 2017.

It added that as evidence of prudent management of funds, the trust has increased its net assets from GH₵8.41bn in 2016 to GH₵11.35bn as of December 2020, representing an increase of 35 percent.

Transport Minister wants concerted efforts to safeguard maritime sector Continued from cover growth and prosperity of the sector.

According to him, piracy, illegal bunkering, IUU fishing and other illicit activities have been on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea within the last decade, disclosing that in the first quarter of 2021, the Gulf of Guinea recorded 38 reported incidents of piracy activities, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

These threats have resulted in insurance companies charging higher premiums on shipments along this route, he said, raising the cost of maritime operations within the region.

Mr. Asiamah made these observations on August 12 when a team from the Centre for Maritime Law and Security (CEMLAWS), led by Dr. Kamal Deen-Ali, paid a courtesy call to congratulate him on his reappointment as the Minister for Transport.

“We have to work and plan together because now our maritime domain is becoming more profitable. Once your maritime domain is becoming more viable, it means the risk is

Minister for Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah

also high. So we need to work together and see how best we can minimise this risk to our advantage. Insurance premium in our maritime domain is one of the highest in the world simply because of this risk.”

Owing to the seriousness of the situation, the Minister said the Ministries of National Security, Defence, Interior, Transport, Energy and Communications are in talks to see how they can make

the Gulf of Guinea safe for smooth operations.

He added that a Harmonised Standard Operating Procedure (HSOP) for Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies is being developed by the National Maritime Security Committee with funding from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

This document is expected to improve operations between

the plethora of agencies with mandates within the maritime domain by making activities seamless, efficient and more effective.

A research assistant at CEMLAWS, Stephanie Lolk Larsen, said the think-tank has been working with the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), an agency under the Ministry of Transport, on legal reforms in the maritime sector as well as on the National Integrated Maritime Strategy.

She said the think-tank has also completed a study in the Niger Delta about the modus operandi of pirates, with the work covering issues such as what it costs to lead an operation for pirates; how much pirates gain from their activities; and the nature of networks formed by pirates.

“These types of studies or research are very important to really target both our laws and operations at sea,” she said.

The acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Transport, Mrs. Mabel Sagoe, said the research findings of CEMLAW will help the Ministry in its policy decisions.

Dr. Kamal-Deen meanwhile presented a plaque to the Minister in recognition of his good works for the maritime industry.

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Mexico, Ghana working on several areas of development Continued from cover areas of agriculture, auto parts, textiles, garment industry, and infrastructure.

He said this is being done with the firm conviction that Mexico and Ghana need to take advantage of their belonging to two of the most dynamic free trade areas in the world—that is, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that links Mexico with Canada and the United States, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is the most ambitious integration endeavour envisioned by Africa.

“Unquestionably, that gives our two countries the upper hand to identify, develop and engage in productive value chains to boost our regional and world competitiveness,” said Mr. Escorza.

“Since the reopening of the Embassy of Mexico, vital links have been established at different levels with governmental, private and civil society, improving bilateral relations with Ghana,”

(L-R) Benson Afful, Editor, Business24; Amb. Enrique Escorza; and Ruth Fosua Tetteh, Business Development Manager, Business24

he added.

He said the business community has not been indifferent to this fact, adding that Ghanaian and Mexican companies have exchanged multiple business trips to explore opportunities and to promote bilateral trade relations.

“South-South cooperation is an

important tool today in MexicoGhana bilateral relations,” Mr. Escorza said.

“In Mexico, we value and appreciate the African diaspora, our third root, and the proud Ghanaian ancestry traceable in a considerable portion of the Mexican population of African

descent.

The Afromexican communities are stronger than ever, and they are included and properly recognised in the Mexican constitution as they contribute significantly in the definition of our national identity.”

UG contributes to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment report

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r. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, a senior lecturer at the Department of Physics of University of Ghana, is one of the lead authors who

Dr. Nana Ama Browne Klutse

contributed significantly to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 6 (AR6).

IPCC is the United Nations body

for assessing the science related to climate change.

It is the reference and authority on matters relating to climate change science and guides

negotiations of parties within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Dr. Klutse is one of the few young African climate scientists among the 200 lead authors selected worldwide to assess the physical science basis.

She contributed substantially to the report by leading the Africa section on the chapter ATLAS and other chapters relevant for Africa.

Again, as the only African on the Task Group Data (TG-Data) team, her contributions were significant to the success of the group.

Among other scientific findings, the report indicates that Africa (and some other regions) have to brace up for more intense and unprecedented weather extremes and more adverse impacts of climate change if greenhouse gas emissions are not mitigated.

These echo once again how relevant and timely climate change science research programme is for Africa.

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AfDB Coding for Employment programme chalks 130,000 users across Africa

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n International Youth Day, the African Development Bank has announced the enrolment of 130,000 users in its Coding for Employment digital skills programme.

The milestone comes as Coding for Employment works to equip African youth with information and communication technology, entrepreneurship and soft-skills training to compete in a digital economy.

The programme’s online platforms offer in-demand technical courses such as web development, design, data science and digital marketing – for free.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in lockdowns and school closures across the continent, the Coding for Employment platforms experienced dramatic increases in the number of users. During a one-week period in September 2020, registrations skyrocketed by 38.5%.

Through the bank’s partnership with the Government of Nigeria to launch the Digital Nigeria eLearning platform during the pandemic, Coding for Employment has hit a combined total of 130,000 students.

Registered students are achieving

a course completion rate of more than 80%.

“To win the battle against poverty in Africa, we must equip our youth with digital skills that empower them for the jobs of the future,” said Martha Phiri, Director of the Bank’s Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development Department.

Students who took the online courses in the wake of Covid-19 in Africa said learning or honing digital skills helped them advance their careers.

“During the lockdown period, I taught myself MS Excel, using the Coding for Employment platform.

Participating in the training not only smoothed my rough Excel skills but also gave me the platform to network and push myself,” said program graduate Hajara Ayuba in Nigeria.

“Thanks to the Coding for Employment program, I met one of the major criteria –data fluency and MS Excel skills – at my present NYSC place of primary assignment in Borno State Board of Internal Revenue Service. I was later retained in the job,” Ayuba added.

The Coding for Employment main digital training platform was launched in December 2019 in partnership with the Rockefeller

Foundation and Microsoft. It is accessible on mobile devices, even in low internet connectivity settings and has an affordable, easy-to-navigate, secured and private interface.

“The online training program started in tandem with the opening planned upgrade of physical Coding for Employment-branded Centers of Excellence piloted in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. The Bank aims to scale up to 130 centers across the continent in a decade.”

“The pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning as a necessity. Coding for Employment swiftly leveraged its online digital skills platform to continue to offer a gateway for African youth to become more digitally capable,” said Hendrina Chalwe Doroba, the Bank’s Division Manager for Education and Skills Development.

Following the pilot program,

Coding for Employment online courses are now available in 45 countries. Some 300 beneficiaries, like Shaawanatu Shuaibu, linked Coding for Employment to getting jobs. Shuaibu a Coding for Employment program graduate from the Gombe State Center of Excellence in Nigeria said the course had broadened her understanding of content writing.

“I was able to organize the content of my CV, which secured me a call for an interview at Jaiz Bank Plc. My performance at the interview and fluency in communication got me posted to the Customer Service Unit of the Bank,” she added.

Coding for Employment aims to create over 9 million jobs and reach 32 million youth and women across Africa. The Coding for Employment Program is part of the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative.

Gov’t secures US$100m for ‘Agenda 111’ hospital project

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inister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has announced that the government has secured a US$100 million start-up fund for the commencement of works on district, specialised and regional hospitals across the country.

The fund, which was secured through the Ghana Investment Infrastructure Fund (GIIF), is to ensure the government’s ‘Agenda 111′ hospital is implemented in full.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah made this announcement at the minister’s briefing in Accra.

He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will perform the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region.

“The Project Implementation Committee chaired by Chief of Staff, Madam Akosua Frema OseiOpare, had secured sites and land titles for 88 out of the 101 district hospitals and each unit would cost US$17 million, covering 15 acres,” he said.

He indicated that each hospital is expected to be completed within 12 months, starting from the point of commencement.

He said since the President announced the project in April last year, the committee has undertaken some activities, including securing project consultants and contractors.

The ‘Agenda 111’ project includes 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions, two specialised hospitals

in the middle and northern belts, as well as a regional hospital in the Western Region and renovation of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.

The objective of the project, he explained, is to significantly deepen delivery of quality healthcare at the district level, boost access to healthcare services for all citizens towards ensuring the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Three.

In selecting contractors, the minister said local contractors were given a priority to create jobs for the local communities, adding that it would also create employment for health workers and ancillary staff.

“It’s the largest healthcare infrastructure project ever taken in the history of Ghana since independence,” he said.

More also, all the hospitals would have a staff accommodation for medical doctors, nurses and other health workers.

Each unit would have facilities such as outpatient services, including consultation for medical and surgical cases, ophthalmology, dental and physiotherapy and imaging services.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah urged the traditional authorities, youth groups and local actors in the beneficiary districts to cooperate with the government and contractors to ensure the successful execution of the projects.

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GIZ, DHL train SMEs to boost their capacity in e-commerce

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he German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), in collaboration with the DHL, has held a three-day training for Small and Mediumsized Enterprises (SMEs) to enable them to broaden their client base through e-commerce in Ghana.

E-commerce is an increasingly important procurement and sales channel in emerging African economies.

The training programme, held under the Pan-African E-Commerce Initiative (PeCI) – Boosting Digital trade aims at improving the prerequisites for companies in selected African countries to participate in crossborder e-commerce.

Such prerequisites include legal and regulatory frameworks, supporting the development of intra-regional e-commerce, and measures for boosting the trust of consumers to shop online.

Mr Dzansi Brian, GIZ Representative, speaking at the closing ceremony of the training said the initiative would increase the capacities of the SMEs, such as vendors and platform providers, in digital trade, and to increase their business activities in national and cross-border digital trade.

He said the three-day training was to build the capacity of SMEs in the Natural Beauty Product, semi-processed food (e.g. dried fish), and handicrafts in areas such as selling on digital marketplaces.

All 20 SMEs were shortlisted out of the 72 SMEs that applied to be part of the certification program.

The SMEs include Kaeme, Evergreen Blessed Enterprise, Water Force Ventures, Zayn organic cosmetics, Ann's Box, Sheabutter Boss, Evita Joseph Beauty, SinceShea, Laam Shea Products, BeSplendid Collection, McEDANZ Cosmetics among others.

Mr. Mawufemor Ashong, Digital Marketing Consultant for GIZ, said participants were taken through topics such as; digital payments,

business management, and strategy, online branding, digital marketing, using ad platforms (e.g. Google/Facebook).

The others were, trade agreements, Logistics/ distribution (DHL), packaging, compliance / regulations (DHL), branding, market research for e-commerce, cross-border ‘going global’.cybersecurity and data privacy.

Mr. Ashong said after the training participants would be further engaged from time to time to know how they r progressing with the knowledge they have acquired.

The SMEs were selected based on their heavy social media presence, he added.

He said though participants know about digital marketing,

some were not doing it right so they have been educated in this regard to enhance their work respectively.

Mr. Morgan Uloko, the Managing Director DHL, urged participants to be consistent in their service delivery and always ensure that their products were of good quality.

He said customer satisfaction was key to everything as a startup SMEs and advised that they made it their topmost priority adding, put into practice all that you have learnt.

Ms Sedinam Fiatornu, the Chief Executive Officer of Besplendid Collections, producer of handknotted (macrame) ladies' bags and backpacks, and a participant expressed gratitude to GIZ and DHL for the opportunity.

She said the training has enlightened her more in the field but more importantly would enhance the mode of distributing her products both locally and internationally, which has always been a challenge to her.

Ms Deborah Essel Anane, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of McEDANZ Cosmetics, said the training had equipped her to be able to deal with her clients in Africa and the world.

Participants were awarded certificates at the end of the training.

Earl Heights Suites offers 17% returns on investment to owners

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arl Height Suites Limited, a subsidiary of EarlBeam Realty and a member of Radisson Individuals, has created an investment opportunity that will offer owners a guaranteed 17percent returns per annum on investment.

The 60-bed facility located in the plush Dzorwulu vicinity will be managed by the Radisson Individuals, a leading name in the hotel and hospitality industry worldwide, making Earl Heights Suites the first hotel in Ghana managed and run by the Radisson Individuals.

The selection of Dzorwulu, according to a representative of Earl Heights Suites Limited, Louisa Afrane Okese, is due to the business portfolios within the area citing Tullow Oil, BOST, Petroleum Commission, MaxMart among others.

She added that, “in contrast to the business portfolios that Dworwulu has, is the strength exemplified with the Fiesta Royale Hotel which is home to Swedish

and Australian embassies as well as the Indian and Nigerian High Commissions.”

Earl Height Suites is targeting 50percent of occupancy, which is a benchmark for the Radisson Individuals, and this will culminate into investors gaining an appreciable return on their investments.

However, it has assured that returns percentage will not be affected by occupancy. A studio price sells at US$ 103,500. There are two types of one-bedroom unit; type A is US$ 174,800 while type B is US$ 139,150 on the market.

Fractional ownership Earl Heights Limited has designed a means to allow individuals or groups with a minimum deposit of US$ 25,000 to own a fraction of an apartment unit at a guaranteed 14% returns for five years with an option to buy back or exit at the end of year 5.

The buyback will be on the share amount initially invested. This means that, “they would earn

US$ 25,000 plus 14% in addition.”

The Earl Height Suite model is a service department developer that allows individuals to buy units. It is leased back to Earl Heights Limited and managed by Radisson Individuals. It assures owners of a hassle-free lease income. Owners are assured of professional policy upkeep and maintenance by Radisson Individuals. Owners are also

assured of a 14% return per year for five years plus up to 3percent annual asset value appreciation.

The managing firm – Radisson Individuals – takes charge of all marketing and related activities of your unit as well as property maintenance. The owner is offered a 14-night stay at the apartment at no cost within a year all through the five years.

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Huawei moves up ranking in Fortune Global 500 List 2021 despite global economic slowdown during pandemic

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uawei’s ranking in the global top 500 enterprises has improved to 44th this year, up from 49th in 2020.

The privately employee-owned firm, Huawei, entered the list for the first time in 2010, ranking 397th, and by 2020, when Huawei leapt from 72nd to 49th place, broke into the top 50 for the first time.

The Fortune Global 500 annual ranking measures the business revenue of the top businesses across industries. The companies generated revenues totaling more than one-third of the world's GDP and employ 69.7 million people worldwide, however their total revenue shrank over the past year.

After reaching a record high of $33.3 trillion in the 2020 edition, total revenue for the world’s biggest 500 companies fell 4.8% to $31.7 trillion this year. It was the first decline in half a decade. The culprit was the global COVID-19 pandemic that slammed huge swathes of the global economy as countries went into lockdown, but which was a boon for technology companies; a sector that not only demonstrated its importance

to society, but also managed to continue to grow in 2020.

During the recent announcement of Huawei’s first half results for 2021, during which Huawei’s net margin increased from 9.2% to 9.8% compared to the same period last year. Eric Xu, Huawei's Rotating Chairman stated: “We've set our strategic goals for the next five years. We are confident that our carrier

and enterprise businesses will continue to grow steadily.”

The company has benefitted from its diverse business, operating in all regions in the world, in different markets from telecommunications to IT and energy, and from the increase in businesses digitizing across many different industries.

Huawei also benefitted from its large patent portfolio with

Jason Ding, head of Huawei's intellectual property department, saying earlier this year that Huawei expects to rake in around $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in patent and licensing fees between 2019 and 2021. Huawei has one of the largest patent portfolios in the world and invested over 15% of its sales revenue into R&D last year in technologies such as 5G and Cloud.

MDXi launches local cloud infrastructure in Ghana

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DXi, a subsidiary of MainOne has expanded its digital footprint with the launch of Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure platform, MDXi’s Azure Stack at its Appolonia Data Centre near Oyibi in the Greater Accra Region.

This means that for the first time in the country, customers can now enjoy a single-vendor platform across Cloud and onpremises datacenters that enables seamless deployment of their applications in-country while meeting their various business requirements.

The newly launched MDXi Azure Stack delivers the same Cloud experience that is available on the Public Azure platform from the Appolonia Data Centre; thus, providing enterprises with the much-desired flexibility of Cloud infrastructure, while keeping their data in-country to ensure data sovereignty compliance.

The Country Manager of MainOne Ghana, Mr Emmanuel Kwarteng, in a statement issued in Accra on August 9, observed that the Cloud service hosted in Ghana will deliver reliability to

increase business efficiency of enterprises across all sectors of the economy.

He stated that the new MDXi Azure Stack platform will offer businesses the choice of a scalable, flexible computing platform to enable the migration of critical applications from legacy technology to modernised technology without having to store their data offshore.

The MDXi Azure Stack software is managed by Microsoft, with the same technology as deployed for its public Azure Cloud service.

The hardware platform is managed by HPE which ensures 24/7 maintenance and guarantees no single point of failure.

The technology has been deployed at MDXi in Nigeria for two years where it has provided for some of the largest enterprises and multinationals operating in that market.

Recognising the growing demand for Cloud computing, MDXi continues to expand its offerings as a B-to-B focused West African Provider with end-to-end offerings across connectivity, datacenter, and cloud services.

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BoG partners with Giesecke+Devrient to pilot first general purpose Central Bank Digital Currency in Africa

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he Bank of Ghana partners with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to pilot a general purpose Central Bank Digital Currency (retail CBDC) in Ghana, West Africa.

G+D is providing the technology and developing the solution adapted to Ghana’s requirements, which will be tested in a trial phase with banks, payment service providers, merchants, consumers and other relevant stakeholders.

To this end, the Bank of Ghana has signed an agreement with G+D to implement a pilot CBDC project as a precursor to the issuance of a digital form of the national currency, the Cedi.

The project is part of the 'Digital Ghana Agenda', which involves the digitisation of the country of 30 million people and its government services.

The digital cedi, or 'e-Cedi', is intended to complement and serve as a digital alternative to physical cash, thus driving the Ghanaian cashlite agenda through promotion of diverse digital payments, while ensuring a secure and robust payment infrastructure in Ghana.

It also aims to facilitate payments without a bank account, contract, or smartphone, by so doing boosting the use of digital

services and financial inclusion amongst all demographic groups.

The project will be divided into three phases: design, implementation and pilot.

In the design phase, all framework parameters for the CBDC pilot will be specified and defined. These include economic, regulatory and technical requirements of the country as well as the definition of the parameters for the test phase.

In accordance with these individual requirements, G+D's CBDC solution would be adapted for the Ghanaian context in the second phase. In the pilot phase, a user group of diverse demographic and socio-economic backgrounds will test the solution

in the field using different channels and form factors such as mobile apps and smart cards.

Over the course of the pilot project, a study will be conducted on the acceptance of the e-Cedi from the end users' perspective.

In addition, the IT security of the infrastructure, impact of the project on monetary policy and payment system, and the legal implications will be evaluated.

Insights from pilot user experiences would provide Bank of Ghana and G+D with valuable lessons for a nationwide rollout of the e-Cedi.

Dr. Ernest K. Y. Addision, Governor of Bank of Ghana, stated: “CBDC presents a great opportunity to build a robust,

inclusive, competitive and sustainable financial sector, led by the Central Bank. From all indications, the concept has a significant role to play in the future of financial service delivery globally. This project is a significant step towards positioning Ghana to take full advantage of this emerging concept.”

"Central banks around the world are exploring the introduction of digital money as legal tender.

The Ghanaian government is one of the first African countries now entering a pilot phase. We are proud to support Ghana with our technology and expertise," emphasizes Dr. Wolfram Seidemann, CEO of the Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology business sector.

Filia, G+D's CBDC solution, combines the advantages of today's cash with the needs of users in an increasingly digitized world. Filia guarantees outstanding security, high availability and resilience, as well as the ability to protect user data while complying with regulatory requirements.

In addition, the solution enables secure, consecutive offline payments in case no network connection is available.

Ghana heightens border surveillance over Marburg and Ebola - GHS

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he Ghana Health Service (GHS) has heightened border surveillance and health screening of entrants into Ghana, following confirmed cases of Marburg and Ebola diseases in neighbouring Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire respectively.

GHS said it can diagnose both Marburg and Ebola diseases.

Some symptoms of the diseases include haemorrhaging fever, nausea, jaundice, abdominal pains, vomiting, sore throat and headaches.

The service has activated an epidemic preparedness and response system since the onset of the Coronavirus disease and has intensified public education and sensitisation on Marburg and Ebola diseases as well.

Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of GHS, who announced this at the minister's briefing in Accra on Sunday, said the service has sent red alert messages to its regional offices to intensify border surveillance.

Additionally, it is collaborating with the Ghana Immigration

Service and other border agencies to track and stop illegal entrants into the country.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said there is no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment for the Marburg Virus Disease, which has haemorrhaging fever as one of its major features.

On the Covid-19 situation in Ghana, Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the daily average cases is declining, hovering around 400, with active cases dropping from 8,000 at the peak period to 6,000.

However, he said, people are still not observing the safety protocols and called for enforcement.

He attributed the decline in covid-19 cases to the ongoing mass vaccination exercise in hotspots communities, including Accra and Kumasi metropolitan areas.

Currently, 1.53 million tests has been conducted with 111,232 confirmed positive cases, 104,298 recoveries and 930 deaths.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the Johnson & Johnson vaccines are

being administered in 11 districts in hotspots areas in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions.

The GHS boss announced that 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines would arrive in the country in the next two weeks while 1.3 million doses of Pfizer and 1.2 million Moderna vaccines are expected very soon.

He cautioned those who have already taken the AstraZeneca vaccines not to join the ongoing Johnson & Johnson vaccination programme since the service cannot guarantee the safety of the mixture of two different vaccines.

GNA

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Cameroon bets on local manufacturing to boost economy

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he thought it was a "crazy gamble" at the time, but four years on, Gaelle Laura Zambou Kenfack has never looked back since creating a firm to produce and sell "Made in Cameroon" items.

Zambou returned to Cameroon at the end of 2016 after 10 years working as a consultant for BMW in Germany, the one-time colonial power in the central African country of some 25 million people, highly dependent on imports.

Other business leaders like her are betting on the "Made in Cameroon" (MIC) mark -- a concept formally launched by the private sector five years ago to promote local production, processing and consumption.

The goal is to overcome a longstanding weakness in Cameroon's economy: the lack of "valueadded" activities that create jobs and generate money beyond the business of selling primary resources such as minerals, oil and timber.

Stores labelled "Made in Cameroon" have already opened in several cities across the country.

"Five years ago, there was only one store dedicated to the MIC mark. We are now at 33," says Carine Andela, president of a group calling itself the Association of Ingenious Entrepreneurs of Africa (Asenia).

Andela has taken up fish farming. Aquaculturists have until now imported a lot of their fry — juvenile fish — from neighbouring Nigeria, but "what is interesting is that some young people have started growing them themselves," she says.

'Not rocket science' In Biyem-Assi, a popular district of the capital Yaounde, Zambou's company Kenza Market was one of the first MIC businesses to open. Spices, dried fruits and vegetables, vegetable oils for the skin, or marinades, line the shelves.

One of the flagship products of the store is "spicy salt", a mixture

of salt and several local spices.

"Our concept is to promote MIC by highlighting local products because that is what makes the economy grow," said Zambou.

To ensure regular supplies for her shop, Zambou is in contact with a dozen local producers from whom she buys raw materials before processing them. She has another store in Douala, the main port and economic capital of Cameroon, and wants to open more shops quickly.

Samuel Safo Tchoffo, a former oil industry engineer, has also

taken the plunge in creating his own company. Its pilot pumpkin seed-shelling plant is located in Montee Jouvence, another working-class district of Yaounde.

"It took 27 years of research to get to this factory," Safo says with a broad smile. The production line is made up of a chain of 11 machines assembled to convey, shell and sort the pumpkin seeds, then press the kernel to extract oil.

AFP

Eni starts production of the Cuica field African commodity traders seek funding to increase trading capacity in the eastern area of Block 15/06, deep offshore Angola

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he price of commodities globally have not only recovered post 2020, but surpassed pre-pandemic levels in some cases – and African exporters are well placed to take advantage of this in the international markets.

Commodity prices across the globe have increased when compared to 2020 for various reasons, including an increase in demand following the pandemic and strategic commodity price increases in West Africa. So far, 60% of the requests on the Orbitt platform were trade-related, from companies seeking financial support to meet increasing trade demand.

The increase in the price of agricultural commodities has been noted across the market, and is projected to keep increasing – presenting an opportunity for commodity traders as demand across the globe increases. Thirtyone percent of the trade-related funding requests this year were to support agricultural commodity trading.

From the requests analysed, the most prevalent funding requirements came from companies trading cashews,

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cocoa, rice, sesame and edible oils. For these five commodities, the majority of the funding requests originated from West Africa, East Africa or companies operating across all regions. Many source commodities from Ghana, Tanzania, Benin and Nigeria.

Most of these companies were exporting commodities from their source countries to Asia (35%) or to Europe (32%), implying increased foreign currency revenue. At a time where investors are increasingly looking for ways to mitigate risk and further secure their investments, this is a significant advantage for these companies when seeking financial support.

Additionally, companies are more regularly working with collateral managers and using banking instruments to further secure their trading activities.

ni has started production of the Cuica Field, in Block 15/06 of the Angolan deep offshore, via the Armada Olombendo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel on 30th July 2021, just over 4 month from discovery.

The Cuica field was discovered by the exploration well Cuica 1 in March 2021. It is located in a water depth of 500 meters, approx. 3 km from the Olombendo FPSO. The early production of the development, that will increase and sustain the Olombendo FPSO production plateau, includes an oil producer well and a water injection well, tied back subsea to the existing Cabaça North subsea production system, thus exploiting the full potential of available infrastructures in the area.

The start-up of production on the Cuica Field in Angola, just 4 months from the discovery, is yet another example of Eni’s Angolan and worldwide extraordinary exploration success, that, driven by the principle of Infrastructure Led Exploration (ILX) and combined with the application of an enhanced modular and streamlined development

philosophy, is allowing Eni to translate exploration successes into production in the most efficient and effective way.

The Armada Olombendo FPSO has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and is designed to operate during her production life with zero discharge. Besides Cuica, whose production rate is in line with expectations, the Olombendo is now receiving and treating the production of Cabaça, Cabaça South East and UM8 fields for a total of 12 wells and 5 manifolds at a water depth ranging from 400 to 500 meters.

The Olombendo FPSO will also receive production from the Cabaça North field in 4Q 2021.

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Maritime sector healthy but needs safeguarding from threats

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

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hana’s maritime sector has shown strong resilience to the virus pandemic, albeit key areas within its value chain have suffered noticeable harm.

Global supply chain disruptions and sharply lowered economic growth reduced the volume of cargo that was moved through the nation’s two seaports last year, with adverse effects on maritime service providers including shipping lines, stevedores, brokers, freight forwarders and transporters.

The situation did not however stop state revenue from the ports from increasing in 2020 over the amount collected in 2019, an outcome largely credited to the deployment of a new customs management system.

Coming out of the pandemic, digitalisation of the port business has intensified, with all the major service providers buying into the trend to bring convenience to business transactions at the port in the most cost-effective way.

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has an e-payment platform that allows port users to do transactions via mobile money, Visa and MasterCard in a big boost to its automation agenda, which aims to make doing business at Ghana’s ports easier, faster and more secure.

This innovation is further enhanced by the creation of a mobile app whereby clients of the port can validate invoices as well as calculate port charges.

GRA Customs has also gone

digital with its receipt of taxes and duties through the introduction of mobile money, bank transfers, Swift and other electronic platforms to bring convenience to payments and ultimately enhance revenue mobilisation. At the same time, its end-to-end valuation system, ICUMS, offers seamless electronic solutions.

Shipping lines already have in place a fully digitised platform that can fit in all other electronic innovations from other service providers in the port community.

Obviously, such extensive deployment of digital solutions will help reduce the cost and ease of doing business across the maritime and logistics value chain, which augurs well for both the service providers, consumers of those services and the general economy.

Discussions on local participation in the sector have been topical lately as Ghanaian investors seek their fair share of fortunes in one of the nation’s most lucrative business spaces.

Proponents of this conversation have called for the enforcement of existing legislation that cedes some aspects of the shipping business to Ghanaians, especially the customs brokerage business.

Section 43 of the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) states that a company or partnership shall not engage in the business of custom house agents unless that company or partnership is wholly owned by an indigenous Ghanaian and has been granted a licence by the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Locals in the industry are getting

frustrated by the increasing number of foreigners engaged in customs house business at the ports.

Ghana cannot afford to cede the custom house business, which is responsible for employing hundreds of Ghanaian youths, to foreigners, and the issue thus should be treated as a national security problem, says the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF).

Industry think-tank Centre for International Maritime Affairs (CIMAG) also wants the government to weed out what seems like a foreign invasion of the brokerage business.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) project, with its promise of an opened-up continental market, also brightens the prospects for maritime trade activities, but not unless regional governments address the recent surge in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

More kidnappings took place in the Gulf of Guinea in the first two months of 2021 alone than the entire first quarter of 2020, as piracy and other sea-related crimes continue to be a menace along that stretch of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Gulf of Guinea accounted for nearly half (43pct) of all reported piracy incidents in the first three months of 2021, according to the latest figures from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

In the first three months of 2021, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) reported 33 vessels boarded, two attempted attacks, two vessels fired upon, and one

vessel hijacked.

But it appears the industry was forewarned in 2018 when the region recorded about 228 incidents of piracy and armed robbery on sea, after which reports of the menace have been rife.

Aside risks to life, experts say increased piracy within the nation’s territorial waters could make Ghana unattractive to vessel traffic, which would in turn drive up the cost of seaborne trade. The likely increase in insurance costs would mean higher freight charges that would have to recovered by importers through passing on the increases to consumers.

“International shipping is suffering. Piracy and armed robbery continue to damage the economy and trade. This situation has continued for several years, and these illegal acts must be stopped, and now is the time to make real progress,” IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said recently on the issue.

It must be said that building a resilient and sustainable maritime sector would require investments in infrastructure and trade facilitation as well as robust security mechanisms that can protect its progressive gains.

The blue economy is a sea of opportunities, they say, and Ghana’s marine and coastal resources, including its port infrastructure, hoard that in abundance. It is thus in the nation’s interest for the government and stakeholders to safeguard the maritime sector against any threats to its development.

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Ghana Link’s ICUMS facilitates increase in revenue mobilization

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hana Link Network Services Ltd (GLNS) is Ghanaian owned company incorporated in 2001 and initially went into the business of Destination Inspection in 2003.

From that point GLNS continued to expand on its product lines around cross border trade and continue to evolve.

In the most recent time, GLNS in partnership with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority spearheaded the implementation of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) under the framework of the UNIPASS solution, an end-to-end trade facilitation, cargo inventory management, security protection and Revenue enhancement solution.

ICUMS was born out of a strategic partnership between GLNS and CUPIA to provide an end-to-end clearance and trade facilitation solutions to Ghana Government.

In order for a country to facilitate trade, maximize and ultimately optimize revenue collection as well as ensure safety and security at the borders, it needs a comprehensive and modern trade facilitation solution to manage these functions effectively and efficiently.

On a global scale, the Korea Customs Management System (UNIPASS) provides a holistic

solution that ensures a paperless working environment, revenue assurance and safety and security.

It is based on high achievements of the UNIPASS that ICUMS was born out of the system. The technology has been built to suit the need of Ghana and hence change in name from UNIPASS to the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).

The Korea UNI-PASS is internationally recognized for protection of intellectual property (IPR) and this is critical for Ghana, especially as the government through the Ministry of Trade leads a new age of industrialization by working hard to set up factories in all the districts in Ghana, known as the One District One Factory 1D1F. The UNI-PASS is a modern and world-class technology, acknowledged by international bodies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Customs Organization (WCO), the World Bank, and World Economic Forum (WEF), which is used to facilitate trade, ensure supply chain security and increase revenue. In the same regard, ICUMS also offers importers and exporters an integrated system of filing all documents and allow businesses to provide information regarding consignment simultaneously to

each agency concerned for swift response in trade facilitation.

Through the clearance management system in the ICUMS, all customs businesses are currently conducted in a paperless environment with real time cargo tracking through the cargo management system (CMS) and is able to collect bills of lading from shipping lines and agents as well as airway bills from the airlines. Consignments can be tracked by authorized person with various tracking numbers and options. It is important to point out that ICUMS provides all stakeholders the ability to access relevant information as well as able to check the status of the cargo at each stage of the cargo clearance chain.

By way of information, the ICUMS was first deployed from the start of March 2020 at selected customs land frontiers.

The next phase of deployment was at Takoradi Port from April 1, 2020. Kotoka International Airport (KIA) also went live from April at the close of the month of April, 2020.

The subsequent phase of deployment before going live nationwide was done in May 2020, for downstream petroleum operations. The final phase of the deployment at Tema Port and the rest of the country on June

1, 2020. The deployment of the ICUMS has covered all customs regimes and processes for sea, air, land import, export and transitrelated transactions.

In terms of capacity building, we have trained over 2,000 internal stakeholders, made up of customs officers, internal auditors and post-clearance audit staff, as well as some 5,500 external stakeholders including Freight Forwarders.

The aim of the ICUMS is to continue to build strong partnership with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as well as other stakeholder to organize cross –border trade information and appropriately make it available to all users for the purpose of revenue collection enhancement, protection of National Security, as well as facilitation of genuine trade.

The ICUMS solution is made up of 5 main components: Customs Business, Integrated Risk Management, Single Window, IT Management, and Customs Administration. Each component has various sub-systems that when put all together provides a fully functional e- Customs system which is compatible to Customs business environment worldwide that enable the sharing of information and removal of the need for actors to submit the same

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information to several entities.

Other Unique Features The ICUMS platform has a set of features that accentuate its acceptance and implementation over other systems. First, ICUMS has a stand-by human resource management module that facilitates identification of officers who worked on a given cargo and the time during which the work was carried out and completed.

Second, tracing missing cargoes or goods under the novel ICUMS platform is very simple. It’s also built to effectively identify the importation of unsafe and fake goods leading to effective preventive measures.

Also because of the revenuefocused nature of ICUMS, it has a valuation data warehouse, which is a pre-requisite for proper valuation and revenue collection.

Finally, ICUMS has an exclusive tracking device for all cargoes which helps to identify each cargo using a unique reference number.

Revenue Mobilization According the GRA revenue mobilization trend, before the ICUMS, monthly average Customs Revenue collection was around GH¢800 - GH¢900 million.

However, the CommissionerGeneral of GRA in an interview with the Eye on Port looking at the one year of the CUMS going live country-wide said indeed the system has helped them to collect more revenue than was realized before then. This assertion he says is corroborated by the mobilization of between GH¢1.3 billion to GH¢1.4 billion per month as revenue since the implementation of the new system.

At the time of implementation, proponents of the ICUMS platform argue, if in the midst of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, the GRA was able to rake-in that amount of revenue, then the country stands to benefit a great deal from its full implementation in post-COVID period.

Benefits of the ICUMS Notwithstanding, the economic benefits of the port clearance system in the immediate-, mediumand the long-term are expected not only to be phenomenal but help the government to raise the needed revenues to help in its developmental agenda. This also means the much talked about leakages within the port revenue value chain would largely see drastic reduction if not closure.

This is because the ICUMS

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has an end-to-end system which does not allow operators to tamper with figures on it. The digital architecture of the ICUMS platform which was deployed

by GLNS allows it to fit into the government’s digitization agenda and paperless system proposals.

ICUMS provides for swift customs clearance, and to facilitate trade at the country’s ports and borders by cutting cost, reduce the time for goods clearance for all stakeholders.

Before ICUMS, valuation and classification as well as risk management and payment were all carried out by different entities which created room for revenue leakages and undue delays in the cargo clearance process at the ports. Under the new the ICUMS platform, the foregoing processes are completed through a single window.

To quote Dr. Ebenezer Ashley, Chartered Economist/Financial Consultant, “Indeed, the novel system is intended to present comprehensive and easy-touse digital customs system to the Ghanaian market, without compromising international standards. It is perceived by many analysts as the long-awaited “Messiah” of Ghana’s leaking

revenue basket.”

ICUMS is the only technology in the area of trade facilitation, security/safety and revenue mobilization developed by a customs agency aimed at solving customs and trade-related issues. Hence, it is a tailor-made technology. Also, it is important to note that, there is nowhere in the world that a government will allow for such a system to be deployed without piloting it.

Indeed, we acknowledge that implementing a national single window system will not happen without initial challenges.

However, what is important is that while these challenges emerge, the rate at which one resolves them is what is important, and Ghana Link and its partners have been very swift to resolve all the challenges that have been raised with the system.

Conclusion To conclude, ICUMS provides the required tools that makes cross border trading activities faster, simpler, more effective and efficient. ICUMS seeks to offer an ideal trade management solution that provide a distinct positive impact on the day-to-day

operations of ports by proving the users with complete and timely information, important notifications as well as accurate analysis of data.

Timely exchange of accurate and proper information with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders ensures benefits for all stakeholders and the country as a whole. In the simplest form, ICUMS solution organizes cross border trade information and make the information promptly and easily available to all authorized users and stakeholders.

Born of the UNIPASS technology, it is used by many countries around the world and is fully operational in countries like Ecuador, Nepal, Mongolia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan.

In Africa, Tanzania and Cameroun have adopted the UNIPASS. It is operational in Tanzania, but yet to be fully deployed in Cameroun. In Tanzania, the introduction of UNI-PASS (called TANCIS) in 2012 led to revenue increase of $390 million in 2013, $495 million in 2014, and $651 million in 2015.

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transforming their businesses through technology such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, cloud computing etc, we cannot remain reactive. We are in a digital world and our way of thinking must reflect that at all times.

Interview

he increasing boldness of pirates along the Gulf of Guinea stretch is worrisome and concerted efforts must be deployed to put the menace to check. Also, to fast track the nation’s recovery from the resurging pandemic, there is the need for government to protect both its international trade and port revenue. Jeffrey Botchway, a lecturer at the Regional Maritime University and Chief Executive Officer of the maritime consulting firm, Masser Afrique, tells us more in this exclusive interview.

Q: What are the existing opportunities for jobs in the maritime sector?

Q: How much will the shipping business change after the pandemic?

A: There has been a global shock as a result the pandemic, from multibillion industries to the street hawker, and the shipping industry has not been an exception. Covid only highlighted the serious impact of the shipping industry on global trade.

We have already experienced some changes, aside issues concerning cost and other related matters due to demand and supply issues I would like to concentrate on two major things I believe would change after the pandemic.

A seemingly traditional industry will embrace technology at a faster rate; the pandemic has forced the industry to reduce physical interaction and transformed some business models. You either adapt or die! There should however be no reason to fear, the beauty of this is embedded in the fact that history has always demonstrated the adaptability of the industry.

The sea won’t get dry, global trade won’t cease and we will see a sharp increase in new industry jobs after the pandemic.

The humanitarian aspect after the pandemic is also worth noting.

The safety of seafarers would be made paramount. We would see a lot of improvements on matters pertaining to their conditions of service after the pandemic.

Q: What are the foreseeable risks of rising piracy in the Gulf of Guinea on Ghana’s importexport business?

A: Personally, I find the increasing boldness of pirates is worrisome.

The foreseeable risks of rising piracy on Ghana’s import and export business will be evidenced in costs; high freight rates as a

result of our Exim trade routes being at risk, insurance premiums and also remember, all surcharges on security whether at port or at sea will have to be passed down, but to who?

But I must be quick to point this fact out, Ghana is not sitting unconcerned, neither are the countries around the Gulf of Guinea. We are reforming our legislations on matters pertaining to piracy and some of our neighbours such as Togo and Nigeria have also recently convicted and sentenced some pirates.

There is the need to protect our trade and also our revenue.

Potential revenue lost by the Government of Ghana as a result of trade route avoidance will also see a ripple effect on unemployment across the local industry.

Q: What practical steps must be taken to secure local interests in the maritime industry?

Education, and awareness creation. You simply cannot be interested in something you are not privy to. We are doing our best, but our best must be intentional and intensified.

Firstly, People must know about the industry and understand how it affects their daily lives.

Industrial opportunities must be promoted and locals must be better placed to be able to enjoy benefits of the intended Cabotage Act. Can you imagine the level of advancement we can attain within the industry if we had a

similar programme like the Eye on Port in local languages? We must also not underestimate the talent pipeline we will be able to groom as a result of sensitisation of students at junior and senior high school levels.

I also believe we must tell our maritime stories. Maritime history in this country means Black Star Line and the formulation of the Nautical College by Kwame Nkrumah. Our people deserve to hear some wonderful stories pertaining to maritime relates issues, places and things. I propose a Maritime Museum for this.

Q: How can digitalisation propel profitability across the maritime value chain?

Time is money, and digitalisation essentially saves you a great amount of time. That to me is profit enough. Just this year, ICUMS, our single window for document processing was reported to have generated GH¢18.1 bn. Need I say more?

We need to step up with digitalisation to remain globally competitive.

As it stands now, I hold the view that the Ghanaian maritime industry is not digitally matured. Let us not limit the digitalisation discussion to ICUMS, we could get digital freight forwarders, chandlers, ship brokers etc. Let us provoke discussions on digital communication and encourage a digital approach on the entire value chain.

The World Economic Forum reported that organisations are

A: My interactions with many over the years have demonstrated the knowledge gap on matters relating to job opportunities in the Ghanaian maritime sector. A large number of people outside the industry seem to think maritime is about clearing and forwarding if not “marriage”. Others on the other hand also think maritime education means you must be employed at the Port or work with Ghana Maritime Authority.

The industry is a sleeping giant and pregnant with a lot of untapped opportunities but we must first deal with some preconceived notions like the ones I earlier mentioned.

In identifying the opportunities, one must consider the entire value chain. Where is the money?

Depends on where you are standing. Ship recycling, finance, maritime security, marine spatial planning, maritime tourism, underwater photography etc.

In the American gold rush those who made money did not mine for gold but sold shovels.

Q: How would you assess gender balancing in the maritime economy and what would you recommend?

A: I am unapologetic about my desire for a gender equal maritime space. However, we must first admit it is a male dominated industry. This is the first step in exploring approaches a gender balancing.

We may not get a large number of ladies going to sea, that is alright. But we must make the entire industry attractive and accommodable for women. I take note of the recent launch of the Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa and other sister organisations such as WIMA Ghana, WISTA Ghana etc. Their efforts towards this agenda is highly commendable.

I must also commend the Mad. Rekia Larteykaa Torgbor of CMTDYW for her role in mentoring younger women into the maritime space. Kudos to all other women arduously shining the bright light in national, regional and international maritime space.

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GEPA says exports sector primed and ready for continent-wide market

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

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hana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the state exports facilitator, is in a strong position to be the backbone of export-based businesses competing in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with a plan to hand-hold and groom especially small and medium enterprises to play actively in the continental market.

A bold decision to go digital with its trade-enabling activities, with add-on investments in capacity building and mentorship across the value chain, has repositioned the authority to help Ghanaian exporters maximise the benefits of continental trade.

“Everything is set for us to play very well in the AfCFTA market.

Our systems are in place, and so are the main pillars that are required of signatory states to be able to boost intra-Africa trade.

There are a number of processing companies setting up now, and ours is to give them marketing support,” said GEPA’s Director of Projects, Alexander Dadzawa, in an exclusive interview with Business24.

He added: “We are ready; we now have to do proper market research to identify the opportunities in those markets, then we can support the companies to go take advantage of them. We are good to go. Ghana is good to go. GEPA is good to go.”

As a dynamic institution, the authority has adjusted swiftly to the new normal by taking a good step to go digital with its processes and trade-specific activities to enable it perform its critical role of creating market access and global exposure for Ghanaian export businesses.

With its foresight and readybusiness mindset, it has continued to execute its mandate seamlessly right from the onset of the pandemic, offering the requisite capacity building linkages and support to its clients.

The pandemic has negatively impacted the production capacity of exporters. At the same time, the usual physical market linkage activities they leveraged to sell their products and services and build partnerships have almost ground to a halt, but GEPA came good with innovative digital solutions.

It moved its activities such as trade fairs, B2B meetings, webinars and other capacity building exercises to the virtual space, using Zoom and other virtual platforms to continue serving its clients amid the virus crisis.

“Our major strategy now has been to move away from taking companies to trade fairs and other B2B platforms physically; we are now doing more of virtual and online. I think that this is the way to go, looking at the pandemic and the fact that it would take some time to settle, and we have to adjust to the situation.

However, as we see the situation easing, it’s going to be a hybrid of both physical and virtual events,” Mr. Dadzawa indicated.

Currently, GEPA has boosted its web portal called “The Market Hub” with more resources and information on Ghanaian products and services. The authority has also established an ultramodern virtual trade information centre called “The GEPA Impact Hub” within the AfCFTA Secretariat building in Accra. The centre, a sort of digital library, has useful resources that SMEs, export-oriented businesses and any other person interested in the exports business can use to acquire relevant knowledge. It is a congenial set-up with computers, B2B meeting rooms and Zoom facilities.

“Gradually, people are making use of this facility, and we feel that’s the way forward,” said GEPA’s director of projects on the new resource centre.

At the centre of these interventions is the desire to build the right competences, competitiveness and robust support systems that will be the springboard for the nation’s participation in the AfCFTA. GEPA also intends to provide guidance and direction to export businesses that benefit from government financial support, ensuring that they channel the help towards becoming ready and competitive for the single market.

The authority has set targets for the AfCFTA in the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS), which was launched last year to coincide with the opening of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra.

The strategy seeks an ambitious US$25bn in non-traditional exports revenue within the next decade.

Revenue from non-traditional exports stood at US$2.9bn in 2019 and probably stagnated in 2020 on account of the coronavirus shock. This means the authority has already lost one year in its ambition to grow non-traditional exports revenue to reach the 10year target.

It is, however, hopeful that arrangements and new ways of doing business would help keep

the plan on track.

“Our response mainly has to do with how we can take advantage of the AfCFTA market. That’s our focus now, and fortunately, the ground is ready for us and Ghana is ready. All the structures have been put in place; we have our industrial policy being championed by the Trade and Industry Ministry within the 1D1F. What we are going to do as GEPA is to provide that support to all the structures that are in place so that the companies under our fold can take advantage of them. We are currently doing needs assessment for a lot of these companies,” said Mr. Dadzawa.

For impactful empowerment and lasting productivity of local exporters in the AfCFTA, GEPA has adopted a “20-100200” strategy, which is a more targeted approach to hand-hold and empower exporters that have huge potential to exploit the continental market, starting with the first top-20 companies.

Proposals for this initiative have been prepared and will soon be rolled out, according to the authority, pending the completion of specific need assessments of the selected beneficiaries that will enable them to double their output.

“The steps that we are taking are in the right direction, and we expect some results to come,” he said.

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Summary Report on GEPA’s Accra Art and Craft Market Exhibition – July 1.0 Introduction Ghana Export Promotion Authority collaborated with the Accra Arts and Crafts Market to organize the second edition of an art exhibition event for local producers of handicraft. The event was hosted at the W. E. B. Du Bois Memorial Centre in Accra-Cantonments and hosted over sixty (60) exhibitors graced the event with their unique products. There was a distinct increase in the number of participants from the last event.

We had representatives from Trade Aid Integrated, Bolgatanga to be part of the exhibition.

Products such as Beads, Batik Tye/Dye, Brass crafts, Woodcrafts, Basket ware, Ceramics and beautiful paintings were all on display for visitors and expatriates.

2.0 Objectives As a Trade Promotion Organization and a collaborating partner, our objectives for the exhibition are as follows: • To continue to build and establish awareness of the beautiful handmade products being produced by our local artisans across the country.

• To create opportunities for new and developing handicraft companies to exhibit, establish contacts with buyers

and sell their products in the process.

• To continue to search and identify companies with unique products to introduce to the international market.

• To provide visibility to new upcoming handicraft companies, yet to establish themselves on the craft market.

3.0 Activities • Sixty (60) companies registered and showed up to display their products, an increase of Fifteen (15) companies from the previous Forty-Five (45).

• There was high patronage from foreigners and local art enthusiasts who came to buy and make orders and for some products on display.

• Media houses were present to cover the event for publication and advertisement for future iterations of exhibition.

• Queries from artisans revealed that most had made sales on the day and were excited for the next exhibition to continue to expand their market.

• The participating companies commended GEPA and the AACM for their initiatives and collaborative efforts to help elevate the arts and craft sector in Ghana.

3.1

Visit of GEPA CEO

Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, CEO of GEPA, attended the event and, as usual, interacted with vendors, expressing her keen interest in the aesthetic art works on display.

She also praised the exhibitors for their ongoing enthusiasm and creativity in helping to elevate the craft sector.

Speaking on behalf of the CEO of GEPA, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare, Export Development Officer from the Public Relations Department of the organisation, Robert Amoakohene said GEPA is an important contributor to this project because we recognize the value of the arts sector and its economic potential for the country and urged Ghanaian art dealers to explore new ways of doing business through social media marketing and e-business 3.2 Companies with unique Made-in-Ghana product • Emie Wear Enterprise Bags and Slippers • Vea Enterprise - Beads • Doxa Julleys classic Clothing • and A Creation - Smock/ beaded bags/ leather slippers • Row Leather - Leather products • In God we Trust Enterprise - Brass work • My Real Brother - Wood Carvings

• Ama K. Crentsil Collection - African print and accessories 4.0 Recommendations • GEPA should consider engaging radio advertisement and social media to market the exhibition event, two weeks prior to the set date.

• An extension of the exhibition to a two-day event would greatly see an increase in sales of artisan, as to allow visitors to reschedule if one set day is inconvenient.

• GEPA should look to host similar exhibition programs in other regions, preferably Ashanti and the Upper East Region. This would predictably expand the draw of handicraft products in the country.

5.0 Conclusion So far, there is reason to believe that the exhibition's organization has increased awareness of the various handicraft artworks produced by our local artisans. Because of the significant increase in demand for their products, more artisans have expressed an interest in continuing to participate. Media houses have also bought into this program and moving forward, the program looks set play a main role in the development of the Ghanaian Handicraft Industry.

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Interview

anaging Director of Ghana Link Network Services Limited, Nabali Bawa, shares some practical measures that must be deployed to facilitate the nation’s quest to build a resilient maritime economy. He also touches on the pros of digitalization in the sector and how the rising threats of piracy could be handled.

Q: How has the pandemic affected your operations, and what measures have you deployed to mitigate the impact?

A: The pandemic brought delays in shipping lines offloading their cargo initially, as COVID-19 protocols had to be complied with strictly. We saw the volume of cargo to the sea ports drop, which affected transshipment to the landlocked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger that use our ports (Tema and Takoradi). Administrative work at the office was impacted as we had to result to a shift system as a form of decongesting the offices and adhering to the social distancing and other protocols to protect staff and stakeholders.

Another important thing we did as part of measures deployed to mitigate the impact, was ensuring the efficiency of the tracking units to ensure that the few goods that are in transit at the time do not end up on the local market to prevent loss of revenue to Ghana

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and intended destination country.

The Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) platform is regularly updated to ensure that all the stakeholders can discharge their duties without any hindrance to facilitate a smooth customs clearance process.

Also, as a company, we have provided personal protective equipment (PPEs) to our staff including making wearing of mask compulsory in the work environment, and staff and visitors are required to comply with all other the COVID-19 protocols both within and out of designated working area.

additional measures, on top of current efforts, should be adopted by the Ghanaian and other regional governments to address this problem?

A: I think shippers must be prepared to pay high insurance premiums going forward as the risk levels seem to becoming even more high for ship owners.

Also, we are likely to see industry players diversifying into other businesses. This is because ship owners in their quest to maximise or cut cost with increasing number of days they are likely to spend when they dock to discharge, translating to higher docking fees, will have no other option than to raise the fees because of their extended stay at the port.

A: The rising piracy in the Gulf region is a problem which could also increase freight and insurance costs on shipments. This I must say could reduce the volume of imports and exports to this part of the world or continent. This can lead to shortages in imported goods and raw materials and a subsequent rise in the cost of goods on the local market as well.

From where I sit, I do know that, the authorities are doing all they can to end this but the measures to be adopted to prevent piracy must include increased surveillance on the ocean, putting armed guards on ships and having stiffer punishments for pirates when they are captured. We must also enhance intelligence gathering and sharing among member states along the Gulf region.

There is also the need to equip the Marine Police and Ghana Navy even better with more high-speed boats and other surveillance gadgets to patrol and respond swiftly to attacks as well as build capacity in the areas of crew rescue and negotiation skills. Not forgetting have joint operations with neighboring countries along the Gulf coast.

Q: What is the implication of rising piracy in the Gulf of Guinea on Ghana’s importexport business?

What

Q: In your opinion, how can digitalization propel profitability across the maritime value chain, and how would you

Q: How much will the shipping business change after the pandemic?

assess the level of digitalisation in the maritime space so far?

A: There is a gradual introduction of digitalization in maritime value chain activities which will propel profitability in the sector. It will speed up operations and enhance efficiency and drastically reduce what many refer to as corruption.

As with the introduction of the ICUMS, today we have the clearance plan which is known as Pre-Manifest, which allows the importer or the clearing agent the opportunity to pay for goods by submitting the Bill of Entry into the system and Customs is able to access the issue the Bill of Tax which payment is done ahead of the arrival of the imported goods. This has contributed to cost of doing business reduce i.e. clearance cost as our ports and reduced the turn around time for clearing goods as well.

So you see, with digitization, clearing agents will know when their goods will be arriving through real time tracking and so prepare adequately for them whilst Customs can begin working on declarations before they arrive at the ports and that will ultimately reduce cost such as demurrage, and improve the ease of doing business in the port.

Q: What practical steps must be taken to secure the jobs, investments and livelihoods of Ghanaians in the shipping business amid the resurging pandemic?

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A: To protect jobs and maritime investments, I will suggest the state should ensure that all businesses in the sector are insured. In this trying time of the pandemic, government could extend the tax payment duration, either reduce or give some rebates of taxes to make it affordable and grant tax waivers to companies that are still keeping their employees in work.

Providing interest-free loans or subsidized loans to businesses negatively affected by the pandemic will also not be a bad idea.

Investments in port infrastructure will be critical and employees should be prepared to work longer hours if necessary.

Q: How are you working with businesses in the sector to overcome the impact of the pandemic on their businesses and the industry in general?

A: Since we provide the platform first and foremost for the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the other stakeholders to operate within the trade facilitation chain, our responsibility has been to ensure that the ICUMs work perfectly to reduce delays during the customs clearance process. Consequently, the system undergoes regular maintenance and updates as I initially indicated to you.

Equally, we have improved on the tracking system of the transshipment of goods to prevent revenue losses. Adequate trackers have been procured to facilitate the affixing of same on trucks in transit as well.

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Q: How would you assess the transit and transshipment business amid the pandemic and what measures would you recommend to grow that sub sector of the shipping business?

A: Inflows of transit cargo have been negatively affected over the period not only because of the covid but also as a result of delays by cargo drivers who cut the goods from our ports to the destinated countries.

What we have seen is that, they stop long hours or days when in transit from our Port especially Tema, some cars easily breakdown frequently or the drivers overload the vehicles and so want to travel only in the night not to encounter the security or our patrol teams. This also affect us as a company. We give out these tracking devices with the estimated time for return to our teams at the borders like, Paga, Hamele, Elobo and others being 10 days, so imagine when in 30 days which is a month the tracking device is still not disbanded from the vehicle because is still not at the border.

Some of these drivers I don’t know whether they connive with importers or agents and tamper with the tracking device. I say this because sometimes before you realise the device goes off while in transit or before its disbanded at the point of entry to destinated country border, may have been tampered with.

We have introduced new measures and new type of devices and have indicated to the agents and importers that, if a device which is in very good condition is

affix on a vehicle and in transit, we notice any problem or tampering they would be made to purchase it and pay penalties as well.

On this point finally, to improve on the transit and transshipment businesses, there is the need to take a second look at the charges at the ports and make it competitive in the region. We must offer seamless customer services to transit traders who do business through our ports and ensure utmost security of their cargo. Additionally, apart from the customs clearance process other clearing processes should not be frustrating by making sure it’s always up and running.

Q: The Africa Continental Free Trade Area is the biggest economic initiative on the continent. How big is the prospect for Ghana, and in what ways can make the most from this big market?

A: The prospect for Ghana is massive because it has ratification of about 22 African states, promoting inter-African trade.

Let me say that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement can be a game-changer for African businesses especially in Ghana if properly implemented. A similar view is held by the African Development Bank (AfDB) during a panel session at the 2021 WTO Aid-for-Trade Stocktaking meeting held on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

As of January 1, 2020, we at Ghana Link Network Services with our stakeholders were ready to help businesses to take

advantage of the AfCTA. Just to remind you and your readers that, we were able to help two companies to export using the AfCTA platform on the first day when the agreement begun implementation.

The companies are beverage manufacturer, Kasapreko, and cosmetics firm, Ghandour Cosmetics. They were the first two companies in the country to take advantage of the African Free Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) since its commencement on January 1, 2021. These firms worked with us and Customs and obtained the necessary documentations and certifications for waivers of duties and tariffs on exports to African countries under the trade agreement. This is indeed a good testimony.

Ghana can gain a lot under the AfCFTA by focusing on its comparative and competitive advantages in the processing of agricultural produce.

Look, we may be the small West African country with insignificant presence in the world economy.

Yet economic opportunities in various sectors of our resilient economy really abound. People may claim that the Ghanaian economy is in the doldrums due to acutely unfavorable economic conditions. But with priceless passion, efficiency, hard work, smartness, and innovation; one can make a rare fortune in the course of time. AfCFTA is one of the opportunities that MSME’s must take advantage to expand and grow their business.

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Modern World Logistics, AXIX GP partner to train youth in hybrid aircraft production Chairperson of International Trade Council and Chief Executive Officer of Modern World Logistics, Solomon Addai, is leading US-based aircraft maker AXIX GP Inc. to Ghana to train Ghanaian youth in the manufacturing of nextgeneration hybrid aircraft.

According to him, the move will be in line with government’s flagship program One District/ One Factory policy.

He said the initiative which has been supported by the Member of Parliament for Anyaa Sowutom Constituency, Dr. Adomako Kissi, would create employment for the teeming youth in the country.

“AXIX GP will manufacture prospective technologies in multiple municipal districts and constituencies in accordance with One District/One Factory concept to create more jobs for the youth,” he said.

AXIX GP will assist in the development of a permanent S.T.E.M.-based education and professional technician program in Ghana to secure a technologically prepared 21st century workforce.

The company which intends to establish its branch in Ghana [AXIX GP International Ltd] would be situated in the Greater Accra Region.

Chief Executive Officer of AXIX GP, Laviere Rice, on his part said, the company would engage the public to implement a system of establishing and maintaining a S.T.E.M. trained workforce in Ghana and Africa at large.

“We have a business and products that will create jobs, but we need to ensure that the youth and others have the education and training to compete and sustain employment in the current and future workforce.

“Preparation is the key, and we need the people of Ghana to understand they have a major responsibility in this as well. A Transfer-of-Technology (ToT) only works when the people buy in 100%. This is about the future, and our place in it,” he stated.

Adding that the company would advocate and implement 3D/4D additive manufacturing technology and hardware science for any applicable industries such as farming, construction, medicine, and housing among others in Ghana to improve the 21st century manufacturing technology capabilities of Ghana and Africa.

He stressed that, AXIX GP would develop leaders and technology experts responsible for delivering high quality products to the global economy.

“It would also develop a process of sustainable growth of industry jobs via direct and indirect sources,” he said.

Mr. Rice maintained that, the company would improve and maintain the overall “Health” of the communities in which they operate.

“Absentee gentrification will be our policy, moreover any urban/

rural redevelopment we engage in will not displace residents; only improve their community,” he added.

He said it would identify alternative approaches to traditional business opportunities; to develop concepts that would change the future by leveraging R&D resources, to launch disruptive products in markets and businesses.

AXIX GP International is an additive manufacturing company which deals in the

manufacturing of 3D printed, hybrid powered, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft called the SkyRider.

AXIX GP intends to develop and manufacture SkyRider products such as: Multi-purpose Aircraft Transportation Vehicles (MATV), Sport Utility Vehicle Aircraft (SUVA) and Urban Air Mobility products/components, aviation infrastructure, commercial jetliners, defense, space and security systems, spacecraft in Ghana and Africa at large.

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MARITIME SECTOR AT A GLANCE Ghana’s trade statistics as at Q2 2021 • Total merchandise exports

US$7,573.2m (2.7pct over 2020)

• Total merchandise imports

US$6,755.6m (5.7pct over 2020)

• Trade surplus

US$837.5m (1.2pct of GDP)

• Current account deficit

US$926.1m (1.3pct of GDP)

• Payments surplus

US$2,369.7m (2020: US$1,009.9m)

• International reserves

US$11,026.9m (5-month imports cover)

Big-ticket earmarked projects in the sector •

Boankra Inland Logistics Terminal (BILT

•

Altantic Terminal

O

n November 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the construction of the Boankra Integrated Logistics Terminal (BILT), a project that had been on the drawing board for close to two decades.

The facility, which is valued at US$330m, would offer respite to shippers in the middle belt of the country, serve as a conduit for efficient carting of transit cargo and reduce the pressure on the nation’s two seaports.

The BILT will host an inland

T

he first phase of the ongoing Atlantic Multipurpose Terminal project, which is currently 71percent complete, is expected to be delivered by the end of November this year at the latest.

The US$ 210m project broke ground in August 2019 with Jan De Nul Civil Engineering company as the contractor and Royal Haskoning DVH as the consulting

•

Port of Keta

P

ort of Keta will be the nation’s third sea port and will offer new opportunities for the Ghanaian port industry and also provide jobs. It will also be a privileged gateway for neighboring landlocked countries.

In June 2020, the GPHA commissioned the project team consultants to deliver a full feasibility study and masterplan,

clearance depot, customs bonded and unbonded estates, commercial areas such as banks, offices and trading facilities, vehicle parking areas, light industrial areas, and an administration complex.

The concessionaire, Ashanti Ports Services Limited, a joint venture of Afum Quality Limited of Ghana and DSS Associates of the Republic of Korea, is expected to design, engineer, finance, procure, construct, operate, and maintain the project, and transfer title to the state after 30 years.

engineer. So far, the dredging of a 600m quay wall with -16m depth is completed, with the construction of the capping beam and terminal’s yard space of 10 hectares ongoing.

The terminal is the first locallyowned container yard investment across the whole of Africa, with Ghanaian firm IbisTek Ghana Limited as the concessionaire.

including development and investment strategy for the port.

That exercise marked a significant milestone towards the realization of the project.

A project office has been constructed in Kedzi in the Keta municipality to serve as a reference point for all developments associated with the Keta Port Project.

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Feature

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The Rebecca Foundation establishes market crèches to support traders

E

vidence abounds that children start developing and learning before they are even born and learning continues throughout their lives.

It is also said that every child learns the most during the formative years, that is the first seven years of life. Therefore, it is very important that parents and the society as a whole work hand in hand to ensure that the right environment is created for children, who are the future leaders, to learn the right things and socialise the right way.

Also, when parents, especially mothers, get the right learning place for their children, particularly the pre-school ones, they can peacefully concentrate on their various trades and businesses, work and earn incomes to care for their families and pay their taxes for government to gather revenue for development.

Experts have said that children learn in the early years by using their senses: sight, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling.

At this age sensorimotor development is crucial. This means they learn about their surroundings using their senses and motor or muscle movement actions.

For this reason, crèches and schools become most crucial learning environment in the development of children, especially the pre-schoolers, as that is where their foundation for all future learning is built.

It is also said that crèches help ensure the holistic development of the child's social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs that build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.

Children who receive such quality care at the Pre-school

level are, therefore, more likely to develop social and learning skills at a younger age while the skills help them to build and maintain better relationships with parents, adults and other children.

Therefore, the importance of establishing these creches cannot be over-emphasised as they would help ensure the Ghanaian child gains the needed academic, emotional, and social skills to move to the next level in school.

Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s First Lady, through The Rebecca Foundation, has introduced the “Market Crèches” project under its ‘Terema Initiative’ that seeks to support women to improve their economic status and general well-being.

Through Terema, the Foundation is putting up crèches in a number of markets in various parts of the country to cater for toddlers and pre-schoolers of traders, while they concentrate on their businesses.

Currently, four of the crèches are under construction at the Dome and Adenta markets in Accra, Koforidua Zongo Market in the Eastern Region; and the Apremdo Market in the Western Region.

It is expected that each crèche will have auxiliary facilities including washrooms, changing rooms, a health post and canteen and will be accommodating 100150 children.

The Rebecca Foundation believes that building these creches will serve as safe, accessible, and affordable childcare centres, which will give women and families the choice and opportunity to work in tranquility.

The many societal dangers

that these vulnerable children are exposed to in the markets including kidnapping and child abuse, among others, adversely affect, not just the future of these children, but the peace and wellbeing of mothers and families.

An interaction with some markets women in Accra has revealed their yearning for such crèches that are closer to where they trade, to offer a conducive learning environment for their pre-schoolers.

Some of the women welcomed the Rebecca Foundation’s Market crèches initiative and said it would help in keeping their children from loitering in the markets and getting exposed to the filth and noise, usually found in market settings.

Madam Margaret Donkor, a trader in children’s clothing, said: “We welcome the crèche very well because we can’t even get someone to leave our toddlers and pre-schoolers at home with, especially when the Free-SHS is encouraging all house-helps to go to school."

To ensure relevance and sustainability of the project, the Foundation is working closely with the relevant state institutions and agencies as well as the beneficiary market associations to ensure that qualified personnel are recruited to manage these facilities.

The collaboration would also help in identifying other societal needs of the market women and vulnerable children, so the needed solutions can be provided.

The market crèches project underscores the mission of the Rebecca Foundation, established by the First Lady in 2017 upon the assumption of office of her husband, President Nana Addo

Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Through the Foundation, the First Lady has also initiated and executed well thought-out programmes to complement efforts of government in addressing social issues.

The Foundation, has other objectives, which include enhancing literacy and learning skills in children, improving the health of children, reducing maternal mortality, improving environmental health as well as providing avenues to increase the economic contribution of women.

It believes that in implementing such programmes, household income will be cushioned while living standards would be improved, translating into progress, which in turn, enforces the gains made by specific developmental interventions.

If the conviction of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to make early childhood care and education go beyond the preparation for primary school with the possibility to nurturing the future generation is anything to go by, then all well-meaning Ghanaians must endeavour to support the establishment of the crèches and other pre-school centres to ensure that children everywhere get access to preschool education.

For Jessica Alvarado, an Educationist, "Early childhood education is important because these are critical development years.”

“During this time, valuable relationships are formed in children’s lives, and partnerships developed between teachers, peers, and parents.

“Please don’t let your child miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

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Big tech flies too much

By Richard Gokrun

F

ive of the ten largest buyers of corporate air travel in the US are technology companies. Microsoft and other Big Tech firms owe it to the planet – and to their shareholders – to commit to maintain permanently their pandemic-affected 2020 flight levels.

Last year, Microsoft announced that it will be carbon-negative by 2030. “If we don’t curb emissions, and temperatures continue to climb,” the firm said on its official blog, “science tells us that the results will be catastrophic.”

Microsoft deserves credit for publicly discussing the climate crisis, being transparent about its own greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, and at least having some sort of plan to reduce them.

But the elephant in the room is that Microsoft is one of the top ten corporate buyers of commercial flights in the United States. Before the pandemic, in the financial year 2019, the firm’s business travel alone accounted for 392,557 metric tons of GHG emissions.

That’s far more than my entire Pacific island country emits in a year. Tuvalu is well known for its vulnerability to the effects of climate change. We contribute almost nothing to global GHG emissions, but their consequences affect us on a monthly or even daily basis.

Microsoft’s high level of corporate air travel is not a good look for a company that talks big on climate, sustainability, and racial justice, especially one that literally has its own videoconferencing platform.

Surely an advanced tech firm that claims to be “reimagining virtual collaboration for the future of

work” should practice what it preaches, crank up Microsoft Teams, and fly less.

But Microsoft is hardly an outlier among tech firms. Five of the ten largest buyers of corporate air travel in the US are technology companies: Amazon, IBM, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

These digital giants, along with the big consulting firms, are also among the top buyers of flights globally.

Although one might expect these big, growing companies’ large number of employees to fly to many meetings, there are plenty of even bigger employers that fly less. Companies that tout technological innovation as the key to tackling climate change should be savvy enough to use video calls, rather than shuttle employees around the planet on airlines that before the pandemic burned 7-8 million barrels of oil per day – more than India.

In May last year, a paper in the journal Nature Climate Change found that the pause to aviation accounted for 10% of the decrease in global emissions during COVID-19 lockdowns. Given that only 4% of the global population took an international flight in 2018, and that half of all aviation emissions come from just 1% of the global population, this outsize impact shows not only how often the 1% fly, but also that flying is a function of privilege. And according to the International Air Transport Association, many, if not the majority, of frequent flyers are businesspeople.

Microsoft, which is so committed to business travel that it has its own priority check-in lane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, sits near the top of a highly unequal and skewed global carbon hierarchy. The wealthiest (and often the whitest) pollute the

most, while those who emit the least – predominantly people of color, the socially vulnerable, and inhabitants of the Global South, including the Pacific – bear the costs.

Comparatively wealthy flyers must recognize their responsibility to those less fortunate, who deserve to live without fear of global warming’s effects. Climate-vulnerable people want to maintain their homes and identities as citizens of their country, rather than being forced to migrate elsewhere.

If concern for equality and climate justice won’t cure Big Tech’s corporate flight addiction, maybe money will. The profits of Amazon and other large technology firms soared during last year’s lockdowns, even when commercial flights were reduced to zero for many months.

Chief financial officers and accountants are therefore now wondering whether the expense of business flights makes any sense. Employees can hold more meetings in a day via videoconference, and business flyers say the pause in air travel either had no impact on their productivity, or actually improved it.

Bill Gates has predicted that business travel will decline by half after the pandemic. If that’s the baseline, then what would a company truly committed to urgent climate action do?

With that question top of mind, a coalition of NGOs, activists, and Microsoft customers recently launched JustUseTeams.com, calling on Microsoft to take the lead and announce that it will permanently lock in all of its 2020 reduction in business flights. Once Microsoft shows some leadership on this issue, the campaign will expand to other

tech firms. On the road to net-zero emissions, any step that advances that goal while saving a company millions of dollars a year should be considered low-hanging fruit.

Tech firms will claim that they have been trying to pluck it, but their actions are inadequate to the climate crisis we face. Microsoft, for example, is part of an initiative to promote sustainable fuels. But the airline industry has consistently failed to meet its own targets for scaling up such fuels, which still account for less than 0.1% of the sector’s use.

Meanwhile, many Big Tech firms buy “carbon credits,” and maintain that this somehow erases or “offsets” their own flight emissions. But this claim is losing whatever scientific credibility it once may have had. A recent investigation revealed that the most popular carbon-offset scheme used by airlines is based on a flawed system, in which socalled “phantom credits” are often sold on the promise to protect forest areas that were never at risk of being cut down. In reality, neither airlines nor their biggest corporate customers are in a position to claim that their flights are “carbon neutral.”

Microsoft and other big technology companies therefore must commit to remain permanently at their 2020 flight levels. This is possible, necessary, and fair. It is also good business.

Richard Gokrun, a former meteorologist, is Executive Director of Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN).

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Emirates ramps up operations and boosts connectivity across its network as travel restrictions continue to ease

W

ith the recent announcements of the UAE easing entry protocols for 12 countries*, and the UK adding the UAE on its ‘amber list’, Emirates is actively responding to the spike in travel demand across its network to make it easier for customers to connect to Dubai and beyond through the scaling up of its operations.

In line with the easing of restrictions, the airline will be restoring capacity across 29 cities on its network on over 270 flights as well as fine-tuning its schedules to boost frequencies and capacity as demand proliferates for international leisure and business travel.

Expansion of services to/from the UK

By October, the airline will increase its services to 73 weekly flights to the UK, including a six times a day London Heathrow operation; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, ten weekly services to Birmingham and daily services to Glasgow.

From today, Emirates will begin serving London Heathrow with three daily flights, all operated by its flagship A380. Throughout August and September, Emirates will gradually increase its operations to London Heathrow, and by the middle of October,

the airline will have restored its operations to six daily flights, of which four will be served by the A380. The multiple daily flights served by the airline’s flagship A380 will provide significant connection opportunities to one of the highest demand leisure and business markets in the world.

For Emirates customers wishing to travel to the UK, the airline has optimised schedules to create the best connection options from its network, particularly across major cities in Africa like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lusaka, and in West Asia including Karachi, Islamabad, among other cities. The latest travel requirements to the UK are

available here.

Boosting US operations and restoration of services across Africa Emirates currently flies to 12 cities in the United States on over 70 weekly flights, and will be adding additional frequencies to Houston, Boston and San Francisco over the course of August to accommodate for the seasonal influx of travellers.

The airline will also be boosting capacity on its four weekly services to New York JFK to its flagship A380 from 13 August, improving travel options for customers connecting to/from the major US city from across the airline’s network. Emirates will

continue to make schedule and capacity adjustments to match its services with customer travel trends.

Emirates has increased flights to Johannesburg from daily to 11 weekly flights, with the addition of four linked flights with Durban, and the airline also flies to and from Cape Town with three weekly services. Customers flying in and out of Emirates’ three South African gateways can safely connect to an array of onwards connections to Europe, Middle East, West Asia and the United States.

Flights to/ from South Africa have also been scheduled to allow for convenient connections and additional access to Emirates’ four gateways in the UK, as well as Emirates’ extensive US network.

The airline has also reinstated capacity on its flights to and from Lusaka (linked with Harare) and Entebbe with five weekly flights each.

As international borders reopen and travel restrictions ease, Emirates continues to expand its network safely and sustainably, matching capacity with demand in line with market dynamics and operating conditions. The airline has resumed passenger services to over 120 destinations, recovering close to 90% of its prepandemic network.

Qatar Airways debuts two new gateways in Africa

Q

atar Airways enhanced its presence in Southern Africa with the launch of a new linked service between Doha and Lusaka, Zambia and Harare, Zimbabwe.

To mark this milestone, the new linked service was inaugurated by the airline’s state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 featuring 36 seats in the award-winning Qsuite Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways now operates to Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN).

The country’s largest city and commercial centre, Lusaka is the gateway to experiencing Zambia’s legendary tourist attractions from the Victoria Falls, which it shares with Zimbabwe, to game reserves and a variety of wildlife. Meanwhile, Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, will be served via Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE) is also a destination with rich

culture, World Heritage–listed archaeological sites, and diverse natural landscapes.

The aircraft was greeted in Lusaka and Harare by traditional water cannon salutes upon arrival.

The airline has demonstrated its steadfast commitment to Africa throughout the pandemic having significantly grown its network by adding four routes to Accra, Abidjan, Abuja, Luanda and restarting services to Alexandria, Cairo and Khartoum bringing its footprint to 27 destinations in 21 countries.

Earlier this month, Qatar Airways also signed an interline agreement with RwandAir giving customers greater access to the combined networks of both airlines.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We have ambitious plans for Africa which is one of the fastest-growing economic

regions of the world, with rising consumer demand and an abundance of natural resources.

We see enormous potential in not just outbound travel from Zimbabwe and Zambia, but also inbound traffic from India, UK, and Americas. We look forward to strengthen trade and tourism links between Zimbabwe and Zambia, and destinations on the Qatar Airways network, and steadily grow these routes to support the recovery of tourism and trade in the region.”

Businesses and traders will also benefit from the airline’s cargo offering, allowing more than 30 tonnes of cargo capacity per week, each way to support the two countries’ exports such as vegetables and flowers to destinations on the Qatar Airways network such as London, Frankfurt and New York and multiple points in China. Imports will consist of pharmaceuticals, automotive and technology equipment.

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Why newly appointed senior leaders need support

By Dr. Nicky Terblanche, Dr. Ruth Albertyn and Dr. Salome Van Coller-Peter

T

he fast pace of corporate change requires executives to move to new leadership levels at increasing speeds. While many attempt the transition bravely, many fail to do so or underperform.

When leaders transition into senior positions they face a magnitude of personal and systemic challenges. The consequences of failure can be disastrous both personally and for the organisation.

The South African policy context of fast-tracking transformation and rectifying imbalances filters through to corporate level. While transformation at corporate level is laudable, it can also hold negative consequences for both the intended beneficiaries of change and the organisation if the individual’s transformation does not accompany the transition to a new leadership role.

However, whether through transformation or the individual’s own ambition and desire to succeed, newly appointed senior managers are expected to perform in high-stress contexts, often without clear direction or formal support from the organisation.

When people are promoted to leadership positions they are expected to ‘hit the ground running’, deal with higher levels of complexity and uncertainty, exhibit a higher level of emotional intelligence, work with longer time horizons, and step out of the comfort zone of a specialist to take on strategic challenges.

These challenges could at times lead to management derailment and have negative consequences for both the individual and the organisation.

Studies have found that the scope of organisational support given to transitioning executives has a significant impact on the success of their transition.

This support allows them to spend their time and energy understanding the issues they are able to influence, not wasting precious time trying to figure things out.

What does it take to fulfil a new role?

What are the experiences of leaders during transition into senior positions? To find out, the researchers of this article interviewed eight recently transitioned senior managers,

five coaches, two custodians of coaching in organisations (human resource managers in this case) and one line manager of a recently promoted senior manager (a CEO in this case).

This was done to explore the experiences of leaders as they transitioned into senior roles and the level of support that they had received from their organisations.

For the participants interviewed in this research, the process of fulfilling the new position can be filtered down to three subthemes: •Initial impressions: experiencing uncertainty and experiencing excitement •Facing challenges: clarifying the new role, needing to show results, understanding the organisations, finding worklife balance, and dealing with a lack of skills

•Overcoming challenges: understanding the environment, nailing your flag to the pole, learning, building a network, and managing complexity.

Initial impressions: Will I make it?

Promotion into senior leadership can be thrilling and gratifying. It is recognised as a highly significant life event in the career path of an individual. It comes with a sense of personal and professional achievement – of reaching a milestone associated with social prestige.

It offers leaders the opportunity to spread their wings and explore, to reshape relationships and build new networks, and to achieve recognition.

Facing the challenges The new position challenges how they have known themselves to be. It is not a case of adapting but transforming into the new role with changes to appearance,

knowledge, behaviour, attitudes and values.

New senior leaders face a triple challenge of having to decide which aspects of their previous roles they need to let go of, which to preserve and which to build on. Different skills and abilities are required by leaders operating at different levels, reinforcing the view that change and transformation are required to perform successfully at a new level.

Studies have shown that a sense of anxiety can creep in when newly appointed senior leaders do not know what is expected from them in their new position. This can lead to a lack of confidence in their competency, fear of whether they would be able to fill the shoes of their predecessors, and uncertainty about the support they will receive from their new teams and the organisation.

The harsh reality of trying to clarify the new role could lead to emotional suffering and personal distress. This can be exacerbated by a lack of support from the organisation during the transition, the expectation to show results, a lack of skills, a lack of understanding the organisational culture, power plays and finding work-life balance.

This uncovered a number of new realities that are the key deal breakers for new leaders across industries.

Perhaps as a result of their uncertainty, or in combination with the need of highly successful people to show their mettle, the fairly newly appointed senior leaders had the desire to show results. And fast.

However, here too they faced challenges such as not having access to the necessary resources, focusing on the wrong goals, and

not doing enough to harvest the low-hanging fruit or early wins. One of the most important activities of a newly promoted senior leader is to identify where to secure early wins. But the need to show results early can cause leaders to move too quickly, not fully understanding the ecosystem, with negative political results. It would therefore seem that a balance between speed and patience is required.

To be effective in their new role, participants expressed the need to understand the systemic context of the role. They needed to understand the strategic intent of the organisation, the culture and politics, how decisions were made and who had power in the system.

When a person is promoted from outside the organisation, understanding the culture of the new organisation is even more difficult. This may be compounded when the person has moved from a different industry.

Profile of the authors: Dr. Nicky Terblanche lectures in Management Coaching and Information Systems at USB. Dr. Ruth Albertyn lectures in Research Methodology at USB. Dr Salomé Van Coller-Peter is head of the MPhil in Management Coaching at USB. Join us for a virtual information session on Thursday 26th of August 2021, by registering with: Dr Marietjie van der Merwe Ghana In-Country Representative marie@globalnatives.com WhatsApp:+230 5 701 1362 For more information on Stellenbosch University Business School: https://www.usb.ac.za/

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BUSINESS24.COM.GH MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2021

NO. B24 / 235 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

MONDAY MAY 3, 2021

MONDAY AUGUST 16, 2021

Implementing partners’ capacity built on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

S

exual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment have no place in the United Nations (UN) and the global development community at large.

Any kind of sexual misconduct violates human rights and is a betrayal of the core values of the United Nations.

As the UN agency responsible for sexual and reproductive health, UNFPA is committed to preventing sexual misconduct by anyone including programme implementers and will promptly act upon any such abuse when it occurs as well as assist those affected by it.

To ensure that programme Implementing Partners (IPs); who interact regularly with beneficiaries and communities do not fall foul of standards on sexual abuse and exploitation, UNFPA brought together IP focal points from all the sixteen (16) regions of Ghana to train them on the UN Standards on Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).

Welcoming participants to the two-day training in Kumasi,

Participants in a group photograph

the Regional Coordinating Director of the Ashanti Region, Ms. Emelia Botchway, expressed appreciation to UNFPA for deeming it necessary to train staff of the of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) and other partners on issues of sexual harassment and abuse.

She said continuous in-service training is high on government’s agenda to keep staff abreast with current happenings hence her appreciation.

The UNFPA training will equip staff to be well informed on such a

sensitive but everyday occurrence issues.

“We have an opportunity to join forces to make a greater impact to protect our citizenry from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment,” she concluded.

Participating IPs in the training included all Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs), the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, NGOs namely, Hope for Future Generations (HFFG), the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana

(PPAG), Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights (ARHR) among others.

Participants were taken through sessions in understanding PSEA, knowing the complaint mechanisms, gender stereotyping, the UNFPA policy on Prevention and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Serving with Pride, UN Protocol on Allegations of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Involving Implementing Partners.

Key takeaways from the training included the agreement to identify PSEA focal points in each of the IPs agencies; an understanding of how culture and gender relations perpetuate sexual exploitation/ abuse/harassment, as well as, identifying reporting as a tool for minimising and eliminating sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment on the field and in the office.

Participants took the examination on the UN course on PSEA and had a generated certificate once they obtained a pass mark from the exams.

Oil prices steady after U.S. call for more oil raises supply concerns

O

il prices were steady on Thursday following two days of gains after a call from the United States, the world’s top oil consumer, for major producers to boost output reinforced supply concerns as economies ease their coronavirus restrictions.

Brent crude futures edged higher by 5 cents to $71.49 a barrel by 0216 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained by 4 cents to $69.29.

U.S. President Joe Biden‘s administration on Wednesday urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, to boost oil output to tackle rising gasoline prices that they see as a threat to the global economic recovery.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed that fuel demand in the top global crude user is averaging 20.6 million barrels per day (bpd) over the

past four weeks, roughly in line with 2019 levels, and U.S. refiners slightly increased the amount of crude they processed last week.

OPEC agreed in July to boost output each month by 400,000 bpd over the previous month, starting in August, until the rest of their record cuts of 10 million bpd, about 10% of world demand, made in 2020 are phased out.

However, there are still concerns that the increase will not be enough to meet demand as the U.S. and Europe ease their coronavirus-induced movement restrictions.

“The Biden Administration said that the recently agreed production increases will not fully offset previous production cuts imposed during the pandemic,” said ANZ in a note.

Later, the White House said its outreach to OPEC+ is ongoing and aimed at long-term engagement, not necessarily an immediate response.

The administration added it had not called upon U.S. producers

to ramp up production, which led the market to turn higher on Wednesday, said Phil Flynn, a senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago.

Other data from the EIA report weighed on prices. U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell modestly last week,

out of step with forecasts, while gasoline inventories dipped to their lowest level since November.

More volatile weekly demand numbers also declined.

Petrocom.gov