Busines24 Newspaper - July 6,2020

EDITION B24 | 70

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

THEBUSINESS24ONLINE.NET

The juggernaut of compulsory land acquisition: new law seeks to streamline process MMDAs ordered to buy locallyassembled vehicles

BY DOMINICK ANDOH

MORE ON PG 3

Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh is the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, which is sponsoring the new land bill.

BY EUGENE DAVIS

A proposed Land Bill that is currently being considered by Parliament will give power to the Lands Commission to establish and manage an escrow account for the payment of compensation associated with compulsory acquisition of land.

The bill is a product of the Land Administration Project (LAP) and is intended to consolidate and update the legal framework for land administration in the country.

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana allows the state to compulsorily acquire private land for public purposes, but stipulates the condition that

adequate and fair compensation must be paid to the landowner. Over the years, however, many disputes have arisen over compulsory land acquisition, including some landowners’ claims that the proper legal process was not followed or adequate compensation was not paid by the state.

To address such issues, the proposed bill, in its memorandum, states that “compulsory acquisition of land shall not be undertaken or facilitated by the Lands Commission unless the intended user of the acquired land proves in writing to the satisfaction of the Commission that the funds for the payment of compensation and other costs associated with the acquisition

African economies urged to build productive capacity to boost trade

BY PATRICK PAINTSIL

MORE ON PG 3

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Insurance Brokers caution on commercial implications of COVID-19

How to become a successful referral marketer

First National Bank completes merger with GHL Bank

*EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

USD$1 =GHC 5.6230*

*POLICY RATE

14.5%*

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

6.6 % OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE PRIMARY BALANCE.

1.5% -1.1% OF GDP

AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

GHc 5.13*

INTERNATIONAL MARKET BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

MORE ON PG 5

MORE ON PG 9

MORE ON PG 21

42.30

NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

1.78

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

1,685.06

CORN $/BUSHEL

329.50

COCOA $/METRIC TON

2,384.00

COFFEE $/POUND:

+5.70 ($108.30)

COPPER USD/T OZ.

220.15

SILVER $/TROY OUNCE:

17.07

Copyright @ 2020 Business24 Limited.

All Rights Reserved.

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

2

NEWS/EDITORIAL

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

EDITORIAL

1

Wash your hands 2

Cover your cough 3

Time for African economies to boost industrial capacity The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed most African economies, especially those that are heavily dependent on imports from the European and Asian countries. Disruptions to supply chains across the globe has Ghana as an import-led country will begin to feel the harsh impact of the crisis on the supply of basic consumables that we used to source off its shores. Already, some big importers and trade associations have expressed concern about their dwindling stock as most of the countries they do business with are yet to fully open for business.

One thing that this situation points out is the need for the country, and other African countries, to build sustainable capacity in its productive sectors, especially in the area of industrialisation.

This proposition has become even more necessary as African countries

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

“A fundamental problem facing most African countries is their inability to develop a diversified production capacity across agriculture, industry and services and these issues have gained more attention during the pandemic.

Across the continent, there is difficulty in moving goods across borders as a result of enormous bureaucracies and we [investors] cannot set up businesses and run them efficiently if we have to live with these constraints,” trade lawyer Trudi Hartzenberg expressed in a webinar.

We share in her thoughts that these are critical areas that African leaders and policymakers need to give particular attention as they ready themselves to take advantage of the single continentwide market.

The juggernaut of compulsory land acquisition: new law seeks to streamline process (…CONTINUED FROM COVER )

Wear a mask

prepare to trade more among themselves with the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which will be pivoted on the availability of goods and services to be moved across borders.

Across the continent, trade experts and economists have identified that the absence of well-packaged and well-supported investments developing anchor industries and other productive capacities to be a cross-cutting issue.

One big lesson that African governments can learn from the pandemic will be to instigate processes and thoughts that will facilitate the development of capacities to produce more essential products—medical equipment, food, agro-processing—most of which were imported from Asia but we are now able to produce them locally.

have been paid into an interest-yielding escrow account.”

It continues: “Where the intended user is a Ministry, Department or Agency, the Ministry, Department or Agency shall obtain Cabinet approval and make budgetary allocation for the payment of compensation and other costs associated with the acquisition before the commencement of the acquisition.”

The bill clearly delineates the purposes for which land may be compulsorily acquired in order to make the constitutional requirement of prompt, fair and adequate compensation more effective. It also sets clear timelines for the various stages of the acquisition process, and seeks to safeguard the interest of persons affected by an acquisition by including provisions requiring notice and consultation.

According to the bill, after a notice of the assessed compensation has been served on all interested persons by the Lands Commission, the Commission shall make payments of the compensation to the person entitled unless there is no person competent to receive the payment, the person entitled refuses to receive payment or there is a dispute as to the right or title of the person to receive the compensation, in which case

the compensation payable shall remain in the escrow account.

The bill also introduces, for the first time, electronic conveyancing to speed up conveyancing and make it more accessible. In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien.

The bill seeks to create or register interests in land by electronic means, and it envisages that, within a comparatively short time, electronic conveyancing will be the dominant method of conducting land acquisition processes.

For the purposes of facilitating electronic conveyancing, the Lands Commission will be

required to establish a land information system equipped with the requisite information technology infrastructure; train and equip staff with the appropriate knowledge and skills to manage the land information system; and provide education generally on the land information system and particularly on electronic conveyancing to its staff.

The bill also provides that a legal practitioner may be granted access to provide electronic conveyancing services if the Lands Commission is satisfied that the applicant has the facilities and equipment required to provide the service.

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African economies urged to build productive capacity to boost trade

BY PATRICK PAINTSIL

Trudi Hartzenberg, Executive Director of the South Africabased public benefit organisation Trade Law Centre (tralac), has urged African economies to build diversified productive capacity across agriculture, industry and services to drive the growth of the continent post-Covid-19.

She said the absence of such capacity, coupled with high cost of doing business and poor systems for efficient cross-border trade, remain critical factors that inhibit intra-Africa trade.

“A fundamental problem facing most African countries is their inability to develop a diversified production capacity across agriculture, industry and services, and these issues have gained more attention during the pandemic.

There are many policy discussions that suggest that what we need to focus on, as a continent, is to develop our capacity to produce more essential products—medical equipment, food [and] agro-

processing,” she said.

Ms. Hartzenberg was speaking as a panelist on a webinar organised

by Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and Western Cape, in South Africa, on the theme, “The Future of Africa Regional Integration—Post Covid-19”.

According to her, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is an ambitious initiative that requires coordinated and collective actions towards regional integration of the continent.

For it to succeed, she called for the harmonisation of regulations and introduction of tech-based solutions by member countries, taking a cue from some recent pandemic-induced innovations.

“Digital trade solutions which have been deployed by most countries amid the pandemic could become a permanent standard to help reduce transaction costs and save time at border posts as well as facilitate trade in a far more efficient way,” she said.

Co-panellist Frans van der Colff,

an entrepreneur and director of Fruit & Veg City, was of the opinion that there is huge potential on the continent, in spite of Covid-19, and urged African countries to begin working together.

To him, the crisis brings opportunities and there might be more potential at the moment, but realising those potentials would require a united continent.

“We need to change the mindset and begin to work together as a continent because that’s the only way the continent can succeed and become the superpower it’s supposed to be. It is not easy to trade between countries at the moment and it’s exceptionally expensive and, for the future of the continent, we need to address these things fairly quickly,” he noted.

Intra-Africa trade now hovers around 15 percent, which, Mr. Colff admitted, was very minimal compared with trade with other blocs, adding that every discussion should be to increase trade among African countries.

But for that to happen, he

suggested that respective governments will have to facilitate processes of trade and make it easier for businesses to operate.

“Across the continent, there is difficulty in moving goods across borders as a result of enormous bureaucracies and we [investors] cannot set up businesses and run them efficiently if we have to live with these constraints,” he said.

In advising entrepreneurs and investors of the continent, Mr. Colff asked them to respect the countries they operate in, build capacities of their people, and ensure to create areas of prosperity.

“That means we can’t simply do the business and pull all the money out,” he emphasised, warning that trading in Africa is not a shortterm plan but for the long haul.

“You can’t have a six-month to two-year plan and make money and pull out. It’s a 10-year plan and we set out a long-term plan that seeks to build prosperity and sustainability for the continent.”

MMDAs ordered to buy locally-assembled vehicles

BY DOMINICK ANDOH

In a bid to further the implementation of the domestic automotive development policy, government and governmentrelated institutions have been ordered to prioritise locallyassembled vehicles as their first option when procuring new vehicles for their operations.

The directive, which takes effect from this month, was given in a letter from the presidency signed by the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare. The order affects Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MMDAs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) as well as state-owned enterprises.

“This policy/decision will not only help industrialise the economy, but also boost employment, encourage investment and help government preserve foreign exchange,” said the letter dated July 3.

Following the government’s introduction of the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, which provides incentives to promote automobile manufacturing in Ghana, a number of global vehicle manufacturers have signed agreements with the state to establish vehicle assembly plants in the country.

The companies include VW, Nissan, Toyota, and Sinotruck. VW has already begun production of five Volkswagen models—Tiguan, Amarok Pickup, Passat, Polo, and Teramont—at its Accra plant.

Nissan and Toyota are expected to open their own plants this year.

To support demand for locallyassembled vehicles and save hard-earned foreign exchange, the government is seeking to reduce the country’s car imports.

Ghana’s top five imports by value are vehicles, industrial machinery, electronic machinery, cereals, and plastics.

Of the vehicles imported,

used and salvaged automobiles constitute a significant proportion and are quite popular since most people cannot afford new vehicles.

The stark statistics of imported used cars made VW, Nissan, Toyota and Sinotruck request for action to be taken as a pre-requisite to their entry in order to ensure there is a market for their products.

Currently, importers of used cars which are at least 10 years old are made to pay a fine in addition to the applicable import duties.

However, a new Customs Bill passed in March banned the importation of certain specified used vehicles that are older than 10 years.

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Insurance Brokers caution on commercial implications of COVID-19 Mr. Shaibu Ali, the Vice President of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana, has urged brokers to carefully assess the commercial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on their clients to protect themselves from the risk of claims.

Mr Ali, who is also the CEO of KEK Reinsurance Brokers (Africa) Limited, said Insurance brokers were already inundated with queries from their clients relating to the impact.

“The Covid-19 pandemic brings insurance brokers’ duties and obligations into sharp focus, both in terms of dealing with existing queries from their clients and the advice they provide on future renewals,” he said.

Mr Ali said this at the 4th Webinar series on the theme: “Effects of Covid-19 on Corporate Ghana- the Insurance Industry” which was organized by Krif Ghana Limited publishers of Integrity Magazine in Accra.

The virtual event brought on board seasoned insurers across the country, who touched on various angles of the insurance sector, with a clarion call on Ghanaians to “be interested in insurance”.

He noted that: “To protect themselves from the risk of claims, brokers need to carefully consider the practical and commercial implications of the pandemic on their clients.

“In addition to the challenges insurance brokers may face in dealing with insurance claims, they should also be mindful of potential risks in advising their clients moving forward.”

He said from a practical perspective, most insurance brokers, insurers and their clients were likely to face a sustained period of home and remote working which will inevitably lead to a period of adjustment for the parties involved.

Madam Ernestina Abeh, Managing Director of Enterprise Insurance Company Limited, in her analysis, said the country’s general insurance industry was not plagued with “large claims from the pandemic” as compared to western markets.

She explained that the pandemic had fast-tracked the move of insurance companies in going digital and the reduction in operational cost.

Madam Abeh said: “The

lockdown in Ghana pushed companies to provide employees with the requisite tools such as laptops, Internet Routers as well as equip them with corporate level communication and collaboration platforms (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype, etc.) to work remotely.

“The operations of insurance companies to be digitalized and has directly affected the operational cost of companies as Utility bills, Motor running cost and stationery in the industry in a positive manner.”

The Reverend Kennedy Okosun, Chief Executive Officer of Krif Ghana Limited, tasked the insurance sector players to offer packages that would protect individuals and businesses from

losses in these difficult times.

Rev. Okosun, who is also the Editor of the Integrity Magazine, urged insurance companies to do more in building trust with their stakeholders, stressing that the world economy was a downward spiral since the pandemic broke out and as usual the insurance industry in Ghana was impacted adversely.

Other speakers includes: Mr. Michael Kofi Andoh, Deputy Commissioner, National Insurance Commission; Mr. Edward Forkuo Kyei, CEO, GLICO Group; and Mrs. Nancy Ampah, CEO, Nationwide Medical Insurance.

Others were: Mr. Adedayo Arowojolu, Managing Director, WAPIC Insurance Ghana.

GNA

GH¢3.5 billion spent on Office of Government Machinery The Office of Government Machinery last year spent a total of GH¢3.5 billion on the implementation of its various programmes and activities.

Employee Compensation took GH¢140.8 million; Goods and Services - GH¢3.3 billion, while GH¢55.49 million was spent on assets.

Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee, announced this when he presented the Committee’s Report for the adoption of the Budget Performance Report of the Office of Government Machinery for the 2019 January to December Financial Year.

The presentation is in accordance with the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 2016 (Act 921) and the Standing Orders of the House.

The Office of Government Machinery comprises the Office of the President, Scholarship Secretariat, Ghana AIDS Commission, Commissions and Councils, State Protocol Department, National Population Council and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

The rest are Internal Audit Agency, Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), Microfinance and Small Loans

Centre (MASLOC), Office of the Administrator-General, Millennium Development Authority, State Interests and Governance Authority and the Office of the Senior Minister.

Dr Assibey-Yeboah stated that the purpose of the report was to comply with section 27 of Act 921, which provided that each Principal Account Holder shall, “within the first quarter of the ensuing year, after the Minister has submitted the Annual Budget to Parliament, submit to Parliament, a performance report on Budget Implementation for the proceeding financial year”.

He said the Government Machinery embraced the constitutional view of the Office of the President as the seat of Government, those organisations whose operations fell outside traditional areas of sectoral responsibilities for which the Office of the President (core Government Machinery) existed to provide administrative, managerial and technical services.

Mr. Ras Mubarak, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumbungu, in his contribution, called for new funding sources for the Ghana AIDS Commission, explaining that the traditional funding sources from donor agencies were drying up.

The Minority Leader, Haruna

Iddrisu, however, stated that the NABCO was at present, not a creature of law, adding he wondered if there was any justification for the State in funding its operations or not.

Mr Iddrisu complained that there were delays in the payment of allowances for employees under the NABCO Scheme, thus making it difficult for workers the under the Scheme to discharge the financial obligations to their dependents.

“They have also suffered the usual delays in salaries and even some of them arrears,” he said.

“Mr Speaker, when you work for the month, there’s a reason why you are paid at the end of the month; so that you can pay for water bills, electricity bills, and children’s breakfast, so that, you

can, at your level, start something with it.

“But when salaries are deferred for four months, five months, or income, it’s not the best way to go in terms of wanting to support the person in terms of sustenance. I’ve repeatedly said that employment is the best means of sustenance”.

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, urged the MASLOC officials to up their game by increasing the rate of loan recoveries, which he said, went to 64 per cent in 2017 and fell to 55 percent in 2019.

He, therefore, urged the institution to up its performance to enable others in the cue to benefit.

“If you are not able to retrieve the loans advanced, the people in the cue cannot benefit,” he added.GNA

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Future of Banking – Five (5) Futuristic Jobs which will soon exist in the financial industry

BY EBENEZER ASUMANG (CGIA “There’s a shift going on. We occasionally call it the big migration because you see that automation, business process optimization, robotics, and robotic process automation (RPA) are growing and improving. This will definitely impact operation work in the financial industry but new jobs will also emerge. The biggest challenge for all the corporates in financial services is: How do we reskill and upskill roughly 50-60% of our employees? I expect there will also be new jobs which we cannot even think of now.” ……Frank van den Brink, Chief Employee Experience Officer – ABN AMRO

I

t used to be that a job in finance would set you up for life.

Steady, reliable, dependable, calculators and sweater vests.

These things come to mind when you think of a career in finance.

Just like in other industries, AI and machine learning are entering the scene and causing great disruption in what used to be one of the most stable career choices.

As these technologies develop, which jobs will become obsolete?

Will a robot be doing my taxes in the future? At the same time, what new opportunities are on the horizon? Based on the trends today, some jobs have been predicted to become essential in the financial industry of the future: 1. Self-driving Finance Engineer Decentralization and pressure from fintech are pushing big banks to diversify their services.

Instead of traditional banking, many financial institutions may become a source of knowledge to guide individuals in their financial decision-making. This will be crucial in our current economic climate.

Wealth management is becoming even more important with pay as you go and automatic transfers moving our money without us noticing. Adding more fuel to the financial fire, more people are becoming freelancers who throw future financial security in the form of pensions into the wind in favour of month-long digital nomad journeys.

Using AI tech, student loans and mortgages could automatically be refinanced at the optimal time, long term investments could be made and then rebalanced when needed.

For those who want more oversight

into their finances, innovations in low tech development and humancomputer interaction could allow people to design their own savings and wealth management programs.

2. Crypto forecaster Of course, we can’t talk about the future of finance without discussing cryptocurrencies. Big banks have started to research and test the role they could play in this growing field but for many, lack of regulation makes it too risky.

Indeed, the world of cryptocurrencies is still a very murky area for investors and policymakers alike, making it a wild west of sorts. Because of this, finance professionals who understand traditional markets may be able to apply similar skills.

Super forecasting has become a hot new skill many finance professionals are honing and putting to use to make better predictions. This includes being able to analyze current and past events objectively, breaking down complex problems into smaller pieces, and overcoming potential biases in decisionmaking. Applying this skill to the cryptocurrency market could help investors better navigate the market.

3. Fintech headhunter/liaison Fintech startups, microlenders, and neobanks are disrupting the finance industry and causing larger players to rethink their offerings and put innovation into hyperdrive, bringing rapid change to the industry. It’s also

causing banks to begin acquiring, partnering and starting their own internal startups.

4. Cross-company cybersecurity liaison Externally, we’re seeing that more inter-company collaboration is coming. It’s not just partnering with fintechs that’s needed. With the constantly evolving nature of cybersecurity, everyone, from corporations to startups to policymakers, is realizing that security cannot be ensured on an individual basis. In our interconnected world, we need greater collaboration to ward off the evolving nature of cyberattacks. The problem is, we’re only just getting started.

Skills such as creativity, originality, initiative, critical thinking and leadership should be maintained. Talented people will always be needed in finance.

can provide clarity around exactly how financial data is being used will be essential.

Ending There have been many discussions on the impact of technology and for that matter digitalization in the finance industry. Whilst many commentators and pundits have indicated that many job losses will occur, others believe this present a great opportunity for many new jobs. The crucial thing is that employees and industry players have to position themselves and be ready to surmount whoever challenge this may bring.

Additional skills are required through learning or on the job training whichever experience or knowledge one already possesses.

5. Trust Officer With the onslaught of data scandals involving tech giants like Facebook and stricter data protection regulations like GDPR, there is a strong spotlight on the use of personal data.

Just recently, some banks in Europe came under fire for accessing their customers’ personal spending information to provide personalized ads.

While self-driving finance may leverage personal banking data to help people manage their finances more effectively, we also have to raise awareness and transparency around data protection measures.

This is where a trust officer who

Ebenezer ASUMANG (CGIA) worked extensively in mainstream Banking & NBFIs. He is a Chartered member of the CGIA Institute, USA, a Google Certified Digital Marketer and an Author. www.ebenezerasumang.com info@ebenezerasumang.com 0242339145 LinkedIn – Ebenezer Asumang Facebook – Ebenezer Asare Asumang Twitter - @kwabenasumang Instagram – eben_asumang

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How to become a successful referral marketer

BY BUSINESS FOR BREAKFAST (BFORB)

I

n business, your customers and extended network are arguably the most important and effective sales tools you have at your disposal. They talk – their friends and colleagues listen!

You can spend your entire marketing budget on precisely targeted Facebook ads, compelling email campaigns, and you’d still never see the same results as you get when a loyal customer—a brand advocate—convinces a colleague or family member that your products are worth buying.

Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. You can have a fantastic team, a great range of products / services and an amazing business plan, but none of it matters if you can’t keep your customers and network happy, engaged, and willing to tell their friends about you. Your best source of new business is referrals from happy customers or your extended business network. You cannot receive a better lead than one that has been sent your way with a strong referral.

Personal referrals can be extremely valuable to your business. Consider recent statistics which state: 92% trust referrals from people they know.

84 % of B2B decision makers start the buying process with a referral.

87% of sales reps, 82% of sales leaders, and 78% of marketers

surveyed agree that referrals are the best leads your business can get.

With these numbers in mind, the question is, what can you as a business owner do to drive more customers and your network to spread the word about you?

The challenge is: How do you get your satisfied customers to actively promote you to their social and professional networks?

The answer: You have to train them to do it, remind them constantly, and make it easy.

Here are the five basic steps to getting better referrals which all businesspeople should embrace.

1. Constantly ask for referrals.

Too many businesspeople forget to ask. The best time to do so? In the midst of delivering excellent service. It’s also important to ask regularly afterwards too. Always assume your clients would be happy to refer you. Let them tell you if they are uncomfortable doing so.

2. Teach your customers how to refer you.

This is the biggest improvement you can make in your referral campaigning. Many clients would be happy to refer you, but don’t know how to present you and your service to others. Ensure that you inform them.

“What you do?”

“How you can help?”

“Why choose you?”

3. Remind them to refer you.

Talk to all current and past

customers regularly, and always include a request for referrals.

Referrals are the lifeblood to any business. This is a real motivator to your network as most people genuinely want to help you.

Make it really easy Help them figure out how to describe their experience. Many people struggle with potentially not saying the right things while talking to their peers.

4. Send them other customer reviews as examples.

Add links to your website pages for all the review sites on which you appear.

Put links to review sites in all your communications.

Say “thank you,” and do it often 5. Reward the referrer with continual gestures of thanks and recognition.

In many businesses, this is limited to a verbal “thank you” and a handshake, where personal gifts may not be allowed.

Remember, most referrers are motivated to help you because you helped them, and in any case, they don’t seek a lot of reward for themselves. The best reward would be a referral back to them.

The reason BforB business networking works so successively is simple, all members are educated on each other’s businesses, and we remind ourselves regularly to be aware of generating potential referrals for other members. This embeds the “referral mindset” effectively.

Generating referrals is not rocket science. It takes a bit of work, but it should be cemented as a personal mindset into every touchpoint that you have with your customer base and network. Asking for referrals must be second nature, just like breathing.

Make some positive changes in your referral marketing routine and watch the results!

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

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

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

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Andela expands presence to all african countries Andela, the global talent company that helps companies build remote engineering teams, will now accept engineers from all African countries, in a bid to double its global talent pool and connect an even greater number of specialised engineers with opportunities.

The company is accepting panAfrican applications for senior engineers with in-demand stack experience such as Node, React, Python and Ruby.

Andela helps its customers, who include Cloudflare, Wellio, ViacomCBS, and Women Who Code, gain access to high-quality software engineers who work as long-term, embedded team members.

The expansion of the company in Africa will further enable companies that work with Andela to source the talent they need, when they need it, by opening up to additional talent pools across the continent with an even greater diversity of experiences and technology stacks.

Jeremy Johnson, Andela cofounder and CEO noted that “Over the past five years, we have become

experts at identifying engineering excellence from nontraditional backgrounds. We know that there are extremely talented engineers across Africa and we believe that opportunity should not be limited by proximity to a major tech hub.

Being a remote-first engineering organization allows us to open up access to Andela for engineers across the continent.”

“By removing restrictions on location, we will double our pool of potential talent to the roughly 500,000 engineers in Africa who can now leverage Andela to work with top international engineering teams. Ultimately, our goal is to break down the barriers that prevent talent and opportunity from connecting by providing an easier, more efficient way for companies to scale global engineering teams.”

Launched in 2014, and prior to being a fully remote organization, Andela operated in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.

Today, Andela has successfully completed the transition to fullremote, which began with pilots in Ghana in 2018 and Egypt in 2019.

Accepting engineers from outside

the capital cities in these countries allowed Andela to select and work with a broader range of top tier technical talent, with no reduction in productivity. The company will continue to maintain its rigorous application process, in order to build the strongest talent pool of software engineers on the continent.

In the US, high growth companies continue to need more senior engineering talent, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, are increasingly open to hiring remote. Johnson concludes, “The world is beginning to realize that remote work is going to be a major catalyst for the democratization of opportunity. Luckily, engineering leaders already know that

remote work works if you have the right processes and systems in place, and are at the forefront of this change. By doubling our talent pool, we’re proud to help accelerate their critical work of building the future.”

In addition to enabling experienced engineers to build global careers, Andela continues to invest in the Andela Learning Community, a program that has introduced over 100,000 learners from across the continent to software engineering. Andela is accepting applications from all countries in Africa. For more information on how to join, please visit: https://andela.com/seniorengineers/

Invitation for Prequalification Name of Country: Republic of Ghana Name of Project: Re-Development of Selected Properties in Ghana Brief Description of Works: Finance, Construct, Operate, and Maintain property and Ancillary Works. PQ Number: GPCL/ICT/PPP/ WKS/19/001 A Reputable Public Institution has identified a number of properties for which it intends to award contracts for a concession term to enable the selected bidder to finance, construct, operate and maintain under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement.

The Institution intends to prequalify contractors for the project in the following lots: Lot 1: Kanda Property Lot 2: Adenta Property Lot 3: Osu Property

Lot 4: Cantonments Property Lot 5: Takoradi Harbour Property Lot 6: Kwabenya Property Lot 7: Labone Property Lot 8: Bubuashie Property Lot 9: Kaase(Kumasi) Property Lot 10: Dichemso (Kumasi) Property Prequalification will be conducted through prequalification procedures as specified in the Public Procurement Act 2003 of the Republic of Ghana as amended, and is open to bidders from eligible source country and with a minimum classification of D1-K1 based on the Ministry of Works and Housing Classification of Contractors for Building and Civil Works.

Interested eligible applicants may direct all enquiries and appointment for inspection to Mobile number 0559689428 from Monday 6th July, 2020 between 0900 and 1600 hrs GMT. Interested bidders may bid for one, several, or all lots.

A complete set of the prequalification documents per lot in English may be purchased from Monday 6th July, 2020 between 0900 and 1600 Hrs GMT by interested applicants on the submission of a written application to the address below.

Applications for prequalification should be submitted in sealed envelopes, delivered to the address below by 1000 hrs GMT on Monday, August 3, 2020 and be clearly marked “Application to Prequalify for the Re-Development of Selected property in Ghana”.

Address: The Managing Director Attn: Head of Procurement No 7 Asafoatse Nettey Road, Accra G.P.O. Accra Central Tel: +233559689428 Email: mercy.gp.21@gmail.com

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

Feature

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Covid-19 begins to peel off our incompetence

BY CAMERON DUODU

I

n a previous article, I used an ancient Akan metaphor to describe the nature of the devastation that the Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking on our nation.

I said it was like a ‘kurotwiamansa’ [leopard] lurking along the pathways of human habitation, catching people unawares. ‘Ͻda amansan kↃn mu!’, I added for good measure. This means it has ‘draped itself around the necks of the people of a whole nation’.

Think of that – it means that Covid-19 can catch the young and the old alike; the rich and the indigent; the powerful and the powerless; the brilliant and the boneheads.

If you look at the type of people that have been forced to make the acquaintance of Covid-19 in our country, you can see how true it is to liken the pandemic to the vile and ruthless omnivore, the leopard.

Most important of all was our Minister of Health. He’d been soldiering on, under the glare of the television lights, telling everyone how hard his ministry was working to save the nation from the claws of the evil beast.

And then – the beast caught him!

Then it caught ‘Napo’ – one of the most brilliant members of our Cabinet and one who should know the nature of the beast even better than the Minister of Health.

We also heard how other doctors had been got; how health workers were working in fear of their lives.

Then came news that the former General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party, ‘Sir John’, had succumbed to the disease.

Was there no hallowed ground where this kurotwiamansa rascally fellow would not dare to tread?

Meanwhile, politicians of both parties were carrying out their preplanned 2020 election agenda as if nothing disastrous was happening in the country. Nomination of would-be MPs – went on as usual!

What? Nomination to some of the most lucrative jobs in the country with the tête-à-têtes that would be required; the caucuses; the late night visits; the involuntary hugs and handshakes; the passing of bundles of cash from one person to the next?

Yes. It shows that we are not serious in this country. You live in a world in which the country that has used technology to send people to the moon and bring them back to earth is in danger of losing 100,000 people per day because of this kurotwiamansa, and you carry on political activity as usual?

But, we are told, South Korea did hold an election in April 2020, didn’t it? And yet isn’t South Korea one of the countries least affected

by Covid-19?

Ahah! Are we not in danger of comparing apples with stones?

Which South Korean official, let alone a Deputy Minister, would release himself from quarantine, having tested positive for Covid-19, and drive around election registration centres, to ensure that his would-be supporters would have a smooth path in trying to register to vote for him? Even if he wanted to do that, would the police allow him?

The South Koreans, you see, have a culture that is submissive to higher authority. They also have a technological knack that can enable them to photograph and check the movements of huge swathes of their population, plus an enormous digital database that can cross-reference citizens’ current information with their whereabouts etc. Above all, they have the means of checking the temperatures and state of health of citizens on the hop, and loads of testing apparatus and quick dissemination of test results.

And what of us? Out of a population of 30 million, we haven’t even managed to test more than one per cent to see whether they’ve got the virus or not. (The number of ‘ROUTINE

SURVEILLANCE TESTS’ carried out, as on 29 June 2020, was under 110,000, whilst ‘contact tracing tests’ had been carried out on 191,888 persons, bringing the total number of tested persons to 300,520. That works out to only 1/100th of the population tested.)

Yet we’ve had the confidence to carry out registration of voters; and we’ve also opened almost all our non-junior schools. Who decides that we can do all this? A Ministry of Health led by a minister who has himself got caught by Covid-19?

An administration that cannot even guarantee that the important Minister of Education would have handlers and personal assistants who would keep an eagle’s eye on him and ensure that his antiCovid protocols would be strictly adhered to at all times?

What are headteachers to say when they read that their minister has caught and recovered from Covid-19? What about assistant head-teachers? Registrars and assistant registrars?

Senior teachers? Junior teachers? School workers? Students?

To be perfectly honest, I shuddered when I saw that the President had been allowed to go and inspect voter registration taking place.

I am afraid that such a decision should not be left to the President.

His personal detail should assess

the risks he takes and veto any movements that are deemed unnecessary. President Kwame Nkrumah did not enjoy wearing a bulletproof device under his Maoist jacket. But he was obliged to use one. And thereby lies a tale.

As for Mr. Carlos Ahenkora [the Deputy Minister who has had to resign because he admitted going out to visit voter registration centres in his Tema constituency, despite knowing that he had tested positive for Covid-19], the least said about him the better.

My advice to the President is this: please, when selecting Ministers and Deputy Ministers, please do not only consider whether they can ‘deliver’ their constituencies for the party at election time or not, but do also thoroughly investigate their intellectual capabilities.

‘Animguase mmfata Okanni ba!’

[The Akan-born person does not allow disgrace/embarrassment to come near himself!] is another gem from the Ancient Folks!

Martin Cameron Duodu is a United Kingdom-based Ghanaian novelist, journalist, editor and broadcaster.

After publishing a novel, The Gab Boys, in 1967, Duodu went on to a career as a journalist and editorialist.

Column: CameronDuodu. Cameron Duodu, © 2020

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

Energy

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Transition to renewable energy is not an European solution, it is in Africa’s interest

BY INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY SECURITY (IES)

The energy landscape’s transition to renewables is a global panacea for the high energy cost and sustainable development, and not a European solution.

Policy makers in Africa must as part of the exploitation of fossil fuels consider also the abundant renewable energy resources, freely at their disposal. Countries in the West and the oriental have gone ahead of Africans in the exploitation of these natural and greener resources because of the immense cost-savings it brings to their economy.

The inclusion of renewables in the continent’s energy mix is key in addressing not only energy supply need, but to replace costly fossil-fueled thermal power plants with more greener and cheaper types, with added advantage of domestic economic opportunities.

Recent reports from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) points

to a declining solar and wind power costs, complementing the more mature bioenergy, geothermal and hydropower technologies; thanks to improved “technologies, economies of scale, increasingly competitive supply chains and growing developer experience. Data from IRENA indicates that solar photovoltaic (PV) prices based on competitive procurement could average close to 4 cents (US$0.039) per kilowatthour for projects commissioned in 2021, down 42 percent compared to 2019, and more than one-fifth less than the cheapest fossil-fuel competitor like coal-fired plants.

Africans must accept that as renewable energy costs continue to fall, renewable power generation is increasingly becoming the default source of least cost new power generation. Renewable power generation technologies according to IRENA, are not just competing head-to-head with fossil fuel options without financial support.

As a result they are undercutting fossil fuels in many cases by a substantial margin.

To achieve macro-economic stability, spur growth and move

the continent of Africa beyond aid, reliable and affordable power supply has to increase significantly, while relevant power infrastructure is expanded.

Researchers in the field of science have long established the energy-development nexus.

That sustainable energy supply is a catalyst for sustainable development because it directly impact key indicators such as water supply, health, communication, education, food supply.

Africa petroleum handlers must not be seen to be against renewables, neither should anyone make unfounded claims against fossil fuels. Both sources of energy have a unique place in the global energy equation, and luckily Africans, they have both resources in abundance. While guarding against devaluation of their petroleum resource, Africa’s policy makers and petroleum handlers must not lose sight of adding value to the abundant wind and solar resources at their disposal; the green resources which the Europeans, the Asians and the Americas have less of, yet found them as the most clean,

economical and sustainable energy option for power generation.

In fact, it is in the interest of Africans to use more of their abundant renewable energy resources to meet the continent’s energy requirement, instead of importing those huge volume of oil and fuels to power thermal plants.

Maximizing Africa’s industrialization and for that matter job creation, is not dependent on the exploitation of its petroleum resources, but rather the availability of reliable and affordable power supply (which can easily be harnessed from its renewable energy resources) to meet the energy need of its growing population.

The Institute for Energy Security (IES) is a not-for-profit organization which focus on the nexus between energy demand and energy supply. It sets the platform for research and publication, debates, discussions, conferences, consultancy, policy advocacy, training ― as a conduit to reinforce the global energy systems.

The think-tank explore these and other related avenues to provide insight into the role of technology, policy, economics, politics, and regulations in the performance and security of energy supply.

Carbon neutrality, central to the Total Oil Group’s climate ambition Total announced its ambition of reaching net zero emissions (that is, going carbon neutral) by 2050, together with society, for all its operations worldwide, from production to the use of the energy products sold to its customers.

The Group is aligned with the European Union’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality and has some ambitious plans, in terms of both the various scopes and the average carbon intensity of its products.

But what does carbon neutrality mean? What are scopes 1, 2 and 3? And how is carbon intensity defined?

We asked Mathieu Soulas, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Climate within the Strategy & Innovation Division, to explain these three key concepts.

What is carbon neutrality?

Mathieu Soulas (MS): Carbon neutrality is not about having zero emissions, it means that net emissions – that is, greenhouse gases released less those captured in the atmosphere – come to zero.

The first step toward achieving carbon neutrality is to stop wasting energy, to use it as efficiently as possible. Next, we

need to minimize emissions from the energy we and our customers consume. To do so, Total’s roadmap takes a three-pronged approach, focusing on products (reducing their carbon intensity), demand (providing or using lower-carbon energy sources) and emissions (promoting carbon pricing, for example). In addition to these points, irreducible or residual emissions must be offset by so-called “negative emissions”.

This means creating and developing what are called carbon sinks to capture and store greenhouse gases. The Group invests in two main kinds of carbon sink: natural carbon sequestration through reforestation, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

Total is now aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Have we accelerated our climate ambition?

M.S. : Definitely. Our ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, together with society, breaks down into three major steps. Step 1 is to get to net zero emissions from our operations. These are emissions that we control, be they direct

(emissions from our sites: scope 1) or indirect (emissions associated with energy that we purchase for our operations: scope 2).

Step 2 involves a commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in Europe1 across the entire value chain, from production to final use of the products we sell to our customers (scopes 1, 2 and 3).

This decision is in line with the objectives set by the European Union’s Green Deal. The Group will make the same commitment, together with society, in parts of the world that adopt similar objectives to those in Europe in the future. In doing so, Total is making its climate efforts part of an increasingly broad and demanding framework.

Step 3 involves significantly reducing carbon intensity.

What are the milestones on the path to achieving this ambition?

M.S. : Carbon intensity is a measure of the average amount of CO2 emitted per unit of energy sold by the Group to its customers.

This indicator includes scopes 1 and 2 – that is, emissions from manufacturing products – as well as, and above all, scope 3, which

represents emissions related to the end use of those products, for example, when customers use our fuel in the engines of their vehicles.

The less carbon there is in the energy products sold by the Group, the lower the indicator.

Since 2015, we have already decreased carbon intensity by 6%, an industry record, as a result of all the initiatives put in place in our business segments and the development of new low-carbon businesses. By 2050, we aim to achieve a 60% decrease (based on 2015 levels) in carbon intensity on a global scale. But 2050 is not tomorrow. So to track our progress, we have set some indicators and intermediate objectives at ten-year intervals: -15% by 2030 and -35% by 2040.

The Group has also decided to invest in negative emissions, or carbon sinks, with a ramp-up of our CCUS and Nature Based Solutions (NBS) operations. Not only is the energy transition well on its way, but we’re thinking big, to match the challenges faced by the planet.

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

Risk & Insurance

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Bracing for the spike in COVID-19 insurance litigation

BY GABRIEL OLANO

With COVID-19 ushering in what could be the most litigious period in American history, a project by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) promises to help both businesses and insurers in reaching a quick resolution to court cases involving business interruption and property damage insurance claims.

According to Steven Badger (pictured left), an attorney at Zelle LLP in Dallas, many businesses never considered liability risk exposure arising from virus infection before COVID-19. But in a post-COVID-19 world, this risk will become one of the common businesses have to plan for.

“As a result, many state legislatures and the federal government are considering legislation to protect businesses from lawsuits involving people alleging they contracted COVID-19 while on a business premise,” Badger told Corporate Risk and Insurance. “In the future, we can expect businesses to evaluate and manage their risk exposure in this area, just like they have always done for other common risks like fire, slip and fall, theft, and other common risks. We can now add virus infection to the list.”

With liability claims comes the possibility of litigation – and businesses and their counsel need to be prepared.

“For COVID-19, we are already seeing the expected influx of litigation over whether property insurance policies should respond to business interruption damages,” said Badger, who represents commercial property insurance clients in emerging and catastrophic risk exposures.

“We are also seeing litigation over

a myriad of other business related issues, such as rent payment obligations, monthly dues obligations for gyms and other services, and business premises safety. A lot of these issues are novel and will be addressed by our courts for the first time.”

Aiding the discovery process To help businesses and their insurers to prepare for COVID19-related lawsuits, the IAALS launched Initial Discovery Protocols for COVID-19 Insurance Claims, to help make the discovery process – normally one of the most expensive, contentious, and lengthy parts of litigation – more efficient and targeted.

The protocols will require both businesses and their insurance companies to automatically disclose certain information and documents early in the case. Also, this will provide judges and courts with a new pre-trial procedure to follow, which can make cases easier and faster to resolve.

“We have brought together a balanced group of experts on ‘both sides of the v’ to develop these protocols,” Brittany Kauffman (pictured right), senior director of IAALS, said. “The result will be guidance to both sides that will make it easier and faster for the parties to exchange important documents early in the case, to frame the issues to be resolved, value claims for possible earlier resolution, and plan for additional discovery as needed. Businesses will be able to look to this set of protocols to understand what documents and information they will need to gather and share early in the process.”

The protocols , Kauffman said, will help foster an early understanding of the issues on both sides, as well as providing an early opportunity to identify and manage risks. These were developed with the help of a

working group of expert plaintiff and defense attorneys from across the US, as well as leading judges who have handled complicated insurance cases.

“Due to the pandemic, courts have to rethink the way they do business, while ensuring the delivery of justice,” Kauffman said.

“These challenges will continue as filings increase, both because of delayed filings and new cases resulting from the pandemic.”

How should risk managers and legal teams work together?

According to Kauffman, unlike natural disasters that hit only specific geographic regions, COVID-19-related suits will hit courts nationwide “While there have already been several hundred cases filed, the numbers—and associated cost—will only continue to rise exponentially over the next six months,” she said. “It is important for risk managers and legal teams to be communicating early

and to be knowledgeable about this litigation trend, including guidance such as these protocols.

Our working group will be focused on getting the protocols developed quickly so that companies’ risk managers and legal teams can sit down with this guidance and use it to inform their discussions.”

Meanwhile, Badger says that risk managers should be more handson and proactive in dealing with legal issues.

“Risk managers need to understand that litigation takes time and requires attention of the business in the lawsuit to assist the attorney in pursuing or defending the case,” he said. “Remember, it is called the ‘attorney-client relationship’ for a reason.

Businesses should partner with their attorneys and pay attention to their lawsuits. They shouldn’t just turn the matter over to an attorney and say ‘call me when it’s over.’ That’s not good for anyone.

Riskbusinessmag.com

Global survey outlines a huge rise in ‘People’ risk

BY PAUL LUCAS

What are the top risks for businesses to focus on mitigating during 2020? Risks such as climate/ environmental, and cyber, quickly spring to mind. However, it seems one other type of risk has leapt forward in the rankings.

That risk is ‘People’ risk, which, according to the COVID Risk Review carried out by operational risk association ORX, has shot up the rankings.

The firm carried out a global

survey of more than 160 senior risk professionals across banks and insurers. People risk, which focuses on concerns with a company’s employees – shot up from 11th place in January this year, to fourth place in the May survey.

“There is a myriad of issues businesses need to consider around their people in the fallout of coronavirus,” said Luke Carrivick, research and information director at ORX. “Staff are either working remotely in places that the organisation does

not own and therefore cannot control, or in office environments that require additional health and safety measures.

“Considerations raised in the survey range from increased responsibility for someone’s physical safety and mental wellbeing, all the way through to it being more challenging to train, develop and retain staff, or to help them feel affiliated with company culture when working remotely.”

Another issue raised in the survey was that of “key person risk” – highlighting cases in which

only certain members of the team are trained for specific tasks and they subsequently contract coronavirus.

“This is particularly challenging in litigious cultures like the US, where class actions are more commonplace,” said Carrivick.

The top risk on the list was business continuity – understandable amid closures on the back of the coronavirus pandemic; followed by information security and transaction processing and execution.

Riskbusinessmag.com

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

Aviation

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Simon Allotey retires as GCAA boss July 31, Kraikue takes over he Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Ing. Simon Allotey, will be retiring from the Authority effective July 31, 2020.

He will hand over his responsibilities to the Deputy Director-General, Ing. Charles Kraikue, who has been appointed to act as the Director- General of the Authority by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Prior to his appointment as Director-General of GCAA in 2015, Mr. Allotey, was Ghana’s representative on the ICAO Council from 2009 to 2010 and served as a member on ICAO’s Air Navigation Commission (ANC), from 2011 to 2015.

Ing. Allotey, who is a long-standing fellow of the Ghana Institute of Engineers (GhIE), served variously as Deputy Director of Engineering, Director of Engineering, Deputy Director-General (Technical) and as Acting Director- General of GCAA from 2006 to 2007.

Following the decoupling of airport operations from aviation regulation and air navigation

services provision, Mr. Allotey maintained concurrent oversight of the newly created Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) from January to September 2007, until a substantive managing director was appointed for GACL. Under his leadership, the aviation industry in Ghana has recorded phenomenal growth, with a thriving domestic sector and over 35 international airlines serving Ghana.

The country also attained an Effective Implementation (EI) score of 89.89%, the highest by an African country at the time, after ICAO concluded its safety audit in April 2019. In recognition of Ghana’s progress in resolving aviation security and safety oversight deficiencies, and the country’s commitment to the Effective Implementation (EI) of its Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS), ICAO conferred its prestigious Council President Certificates in Aviation Safety and Security on Ghana at its 40th Triennial Assembly in Montreal, Canada.

Spain:Catalonia Curbs Movement Of 200,000 People After New Coronavirus Outbreaks

Police at roadblocks warned motorists they were entering a lockdown zone on Saturday as Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia reimposed restrictions on more than 200,000 people following several new coronavirus outbreaks.

Residents in Segria, which includes the city of Lleida, are now unable to leave the area, but they will not have to stay at home as was the case during Spain’s original lockdown.

“We’ve decided to confine Segria due to data that confirm too significant a growth in the number of COVID-19 infections,” Catalan regional president Quim Torra told a news conference.

Regional health ministry data showed there were 3,706 cases

in the Lleida region on Friday, up from 3,551 the previous day.

Catalonia is one of the hardesthit parts of Spain, with a total of 72,860 coronavirus cases, according to regional health ministry data released on Friday.

People in Lleida will be allowed to go to work outside the city, but from Tuesday workers entering or leaving the lockdown area will have to present a certificate from their employer.

Spain has registered 205,545 coronavirus cases and 28,385 deaths, making it one of Europe’s worst-affected countries.

After imposing a strict lockdown on March 14, the government has been gradually easing restrictions in a multi-phase plan since early May.

Mr. Simon Allotey (Left), the current Director-General of the GCAA retires on July 31. Mr. Charles Kraikue (right), the In-coming GCAA boss

Owing to his in-depth knowledge and experience in the aviation industry, he was nominated to chair several international high profile meetings including the Technical Commission, ICAO 40th Triennial Assembly in Montreal, Canada, 2019; the Safety Committee at the 13th

ICAO Air Navigation Conference, Montreal Canada, 2018; ICAO’s Regional Aviation Safety Group for Africa(RASG-AFI), December 2015 -2018 etc.

His retirement brings to an end a successful career in the Aviation industry spanning over 24 years.

South Africa’s National Treasury says “no further action” to bailout SAA airline

South Africa’s National Treasury said on Friday there was “no further action” planned to bailout struggling national airline SAA except to settle guaranteed debt as attempts to revive the airline hang on a knife edge.

The South African government wants creditors to back a restructuring plan for South African Airways (SAA) but did

not allocate new bailouts for the loss-making state airline in an emergency budget last week.

In its strongest statement yet that it doesn’t plan on giving SAA more bailouts, the National Treasury told lawmakers they would not provide any new money to the airline as they are “insolvent” and turnaround plans have not been finalised yet. (Source: Reuters)

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

African Economy

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Land Bank default forces S.Africa’s central bank into US$200m bailout of state investment arm South Africa’s central bank has issued a 3.45 billion rand ($200 million) guarantee to bail out the Corporation for Public Deposits (CPD), a government investment arm hit by surging defaults at state agricultural lender Land Bank.

The issue adds a further strain on state finances as the government props up its main power utility and airline, which were already struggling before the coronavirus crisis, and now faces rising defaults at the agricultural lender.

CPD, which purchased various debt instruments from Land Bank, said overall it suffered a 2.8 billion rand loss in the 2019/20 financial year, necessitating the central bank bailout.

Deputy governor of the Reserve Bank (SARB) and chairwoman of the CPD, Fundi Tshazibana, told Reuters in an interview this week the guarantee was to cover the investment arm’s losses in the 2019/20 period and replenish reserves, which had dwindled to zero.

“We had to provision for what we will not be able to recover from the Land Bank. That was one of the reasons why we (central bank) had to provide the guarantee,” said Tshazibana.

“Because of the Land Bank default, we were running at a loss and we weren’t going to be a going concern...That would have been of real concern to depositors,” she added.

In April the Land Bank, the country’s largest agriculturalfocussed lender, defaulted on 50 billion rand of loans repayments and in June it failed to make interest payments of nearly 120 million rand.

On Friday the Land Bank told Reuters it had not made interest payments of around 320 million rand on debt which was due end June.

The South African Treasury guarantees around 5.7 billion of the Land Bank’s debt and last week granted the firm 3 billion rand of emergency equity funding.

First National Bank completes merger with GHL Bank First National Bank Ghana has announced the conclusion of its merger with GHL Bank.

A released issued by the bank said the merged entity will be known as First National Bank Ghana. The newly formed and strengthened entity is expected to offer a portfolio of unique innovative financial solutions for retail, corporate and investment banking clients.

The bank has also enhanced its existing solutions for the housing and real estate markets.

Commenting on the completion of the process, Dominic Adu, Chief Executive Officer of First National Bank Ghana said: “We are very excited about the work that we have done to-date and the resulting seamless synergies we have achieved with this merger.

We believe that this merger will offer customers the advantage of a broader suite of banking products and services while maintaining our commitment to all our stakeholders.”

The release stated that a key benefit of the merger is the expanded branch network across the key cities of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi where customers can now access all banking services from a total of eleven branches and on First National Bank Ghana’s world-

class digital platforms, which make convenient banking services available 24/7.

The Executive Director of First National Bank Ghana, Richard Hudson commented that this merger reflects First National Bank Ghana’s focus on helping

individuals and businesses achieve their full potential.

“This is an exciting time for us, and we are committed to partnering with our customers on their individual or business journey.

There are current challenges impacting general growth and

opportunities in the financial services sector, but we believe that our innovative approach to products and the focus on inhouse digital banking solutions will give us the competitive edge,” he said.

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

Real Estate

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The post-pandemic real estate market

BY CHRIS MCALLISTER

T

he real estate market has never been tighter. I have been licensed for 20 years now, and I have never seen the market more aligned with the interests of sellers and residential real estate investors.

Sellers who are putting their homes or investment properties on the market are seeing multiple offers and immediate sales. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, buyers never left the market, and sellers became extraordinarily cautious.

the run-up to the real estate crash of 2008. Brokerage performance over the last 90 days

supply and demand dictates that this is a rational strategy. Party on!

Here are the facts about our brokerage’s performance in the last three months, as an example:

The one potential downside for an investor in a sellers’ market is what to do with the proceeds from the sale. The circumstances that make it attractive to cash out are the same that make buying anything on the market right now a bad financial move.

March was the best month we have ever had as a company. Both property management and sales set records.

•

Why Sellers Are Scarce

In April and May, contrary to my fears, the property management business remained strong and actually continued to grow. Our owners have done very well during this time. June is coming in on plan.

Sellers are cautious because a quick look at Zillow will show you that in many places, exciting next home possibilities are few and far between. This creates a vicious cycle. If you don’t see anything to get excited about, why move?

•

•

As an aside, I predict home builders will have their best years ever coming up because of this phenomenon.

Demand from buyers is as high as or higher than it has ever been.

•

Residential real estate investors are the happiest investors on the planet.

Buyers Are Taking On Risks They Shouldn’t Buyers are making bad decisions.

We have clients getting outbid in multiple-offer situations by competing buyers who are willing to waive inspection contingencies and committing to make up the difference between the contracted purchase price and lenderappraised value if the appraisal comes up short. This behavior is reminiscent of what happened in

Home sales in April and May were down by a full 50%, but they appear to be stabilizing now in June.

I expect sales to recover from May lows by 20% or so between now and Labor Day. Presidential election years are always quirky, so I don’t expect a full sales recovery until spring 2021.

Real estate investor activity Several of our clients are listing and selling their single-family rental properties to owneroccupants right now. Given the fact that inventory is light and interest rates are freakishly low, the law of

Where to invest the harvest

In most cases, the asking prices for multifamily properties are too high to generate a suitable return.

I may be wrong, but I refuse to count on being able to increase rents in the short- to medium-term to offset the purchase price.

Commercial Alternatives I don’t think commercial real estate is a viable option either.

I expect retail and office space will take years to recover from the pandemic. Many people can, and prefer to, work from home and are far more productive outside of the office. I predict shared space concepts such as WeWork and Industrious will see less future demand from sole proprietors of all types, as well as from anyone who spends their days in Cloudlandia and on Zoom.

I think commercial retail and office space will be cheap, but I don’t see how it can be cheap enough if nobody needs it. Warehouse and distribution centers supporting e-commerce and server farms supporting Cloudlandia are definite possibilities, but in the

spirit of full disclosure, they are beyond my expertise and the capacity of most of the clients we work with.

As an aside, there is a cool idea for the WeWorks and Industriouses of the world where they convert some of their office space into apartments. There is a huge cohort of people who would love to live, work, party and go to the gym with their friends and workmates, all in the same building.

All of this just brings us back to why residential real estate is going to continue to appreciate due to high demand.

What’s an investor to do?

Unless you have high-interestrate debt you want to pay off with your harvest or you are lucky enough to identify a new, bigger, more exciting, residential real estate opportunity that you can’t pass up, I think this is the time to remain invested where you are and enjoy the ride.

On the other hand, if you are cashing out and moving to Costa Rica, again, party on!

Return on portfolio Your interest is in the total return on your portfolio over time. You want to get the biggest return possible and see all of your motivations for getting into real estate investing begin with come to life. To successfully expand your portfolio these days, you need every advantage you can find.

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MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

MONDAY JULY 6, 2020

Feature

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Pursuing cybersecurity maturity at financial institutions

BY DELOITTE

W

E are entering an era in which digital and physical technologies are more combined and connected than ever.

For financial institutions, developing an innate understanding of where and how they could encounter cyber risk in this environment is now of primary importance. At the same time, security teams must continuously strive to fulfill their fiduciary and regulatory responsibilities, while meeting rising expectations for consumer privacy and innovative business solutions. Over the past two years, Deloitte has worked with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FSISAC) to survey members on how they are confronting these cyber challenges. The objective is to measure good stewardship of both the cybersecurity budget and overall cyber risk management program.

Our 2018 pilot provided a snapshot of how the chief information security officers (CISOs) who responded to our survey were discharging their responsibilities, while offering preliminary insights into the industry’s broad spectrum of cybersecurity strategies, structures, and budget priorities.1 This year—in addition to identifying spending patterns across the industry by sector, size of company, and cyber risk management maturity level—we identified several core traits of those that have already reached the highest maturity level as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

(See figure 1.) These defining characteristics of “adaptive” companies, which are alluded to in the NIST cybersecurity maturity framework,2 include: • Securing the involvement of senior leadership, both top executives and the board; • Raising cybersecurity’s profile within the organization beyond the information technology (IT) department to give the security function higher-level attention and greater clout; and • Aligning cybersecurity efforts more closely with the company’s business strategy.

Organizations that can integrate these fundamental elements and follow the example set by leading

cybersecurity programs will more likely become and remain adaptive in the face of an ever-evolving business and threat landscape.

The survey indicated that money alone is probably not the answer, as higher cybersecurity spending did not necessarily translate into a higher maturity level. That likely means exactly how—and how well—financial institutions go about securing their digital fortress is at least as important as the amount of money devoted to cybersecurity.

•Partial: Organizational cybersecurity risk management practices are not formalized, and risk is managed in an ad hoc and sometimes reactive manner.

• Informed: Risk management practices are approved by management but may not be established as policy across the organization.

• Repeatable: The organization’s risk management practices are formally approved and expressed as policy.

• Adaptive: The organization adapts its cybersecurity practices based on lessons learned and predictive indicators derived from previous and current cybersecurity activities. Spotlight on spending Understanding the resources that firms devote to cyber risk was one of the more important data points we wanted to gather from this effort (figure 2). Those responding to the survey spent anywhere from 6 percent to 14 percent of their IT budget on cybersecurity, with an average of 10 percent. This amount translated to a range of around 0.2 percent to 0.9 percent of company revenue, with an average of about 0.3 percent. In terms of spending per employee, respondents spent between US$1,300 to US$3,000 per fulltime or equivalent employee (FTE) on cybersecurity, with an average of around US$2,300.

The ranges represent the diversity we saw in the sample—varying, for example, by the size of the responding company (figure 3).

At first glance, it appears smaller companies have some catching up to do to match the financial commitment of larger respondents. Small institutions surveyed spent a lower percentage of their revenue (0.2 percent) on cyber than did midsize (0.5 percent) or large companies (0.4 percent), and while their average spending of US$2,100 per FTE matched that of midsize firms, it is far lower than the US$2,700 cited

by their large counterparts. That could be explained by the greater complexity of larger institutions, which often offer more products and services and have multiple business units and delivery channels to account for.

Smaller companies surveyed did commit a higher percentage of their IT budget (12 percent) to cybersecurity than did large and midsize firms (9 percent). This may indicate that smaller firms realize they need to commit a larger piece of the IT pie to meeting new regulatory requirements and operational needs on cyber.

Digging deeper into spending decisions, larger firms allocated nearly one-fifth of their cybersecurity budget to identity and access management—nearly twice the percentage of midsize and smaller companies, which tended to spend more heavily on endpoint and network security.

(For more about how respondents compared based on their revenue segment, see the sidebar, “Size drives divergent strategies.”)

There were also differences by industry segment. For example, bank respondents reported that they allocated a slightly higher than average percentage (close to 11 percent) of their IT budget to cybersecurity, while insurance and nonbanking financial services companies were slightly below the overall respondent average of 10 percent— although at around 0.33 percent, all three were nearly even as a percentage of company revenue. Yet in terms of dollars spent per FTE, nonbanking financial services companies allocated considerably more— about US$2,800—than did banks (about US$2,000) or insurers (nearly US$2,200).

The highest spending group among this survey sample were the financial utilities, such as clearinghouses, exchanges, and payment processors, which averaged around 15 percent of their IT budget on cybersecurity, 0.75 percent of revenue, and about US$3,600 per FTE. Service providers (financial products/ services/applications) also reported spending slightly more, at nearly 11 percent of the IT budget and about 0.60 percent of revenue, yet only averaged US$2,000 or so per FTE—about the same as bank respondents.

Most interestingly, while there were slight differences in spending by maturity level, adaptive companies did not necessarily spend more than the sample’s overall average on their

cybersecurity programs. This is in line with our central theme: How a security program is planned, executed, and governed is likely as important as how much money is devoted to cybersecurity.

So, what differentiates adaptive companies in their cybersecurity approaches?

Defining characteristics of advanced cybersecurity programs CISOs work through a multitude of systems and processes in their ongoing efforts to secure their organizations against cyber intrusions, establish heightened vigilance to spot attacks before they can do serious harm, and be resilient when recovering from a significant event. With so many varied risk management activities going on simultaneously, CISOs at times may find it difficult to prioritize their efforts. What fundamental elements should be in place to accelerate an financial institution’s cybersecurity maturity and maintain a high level once it is attained?

While there are many factors that go into making a cybersecurity program successful, we found three common denominators that typically separate adaptive companies from the rest. Adaptive companies were generally best able to: 1) secure executive leadership and board involvement; 2) raise cybersecurity’s profile beyond the IT department; and 3) align cyber risk management more closely with business strategy (figure 4).

These findings conform to the NIST description of what an adaptive organization looks like.

That is encouraging, because almost all the respondents who classified their organizations as “adaptive” did so with a selfassessment, meaning they fully appreciate what they needed to do to indeed reach the highest maturity level.

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The necessity of diversity in the digital newsroom

BY ALEXANDRA BORCHARDT

D

emographically uniform newsrooms have been producing uniformly homogeneous content for decades, and the lack of diversity in the media has actually worsened in recent decades. The most likely reason is that industry leaders continue to regard the digital transformation as a matter of technology and process, rather than of talent and human capital.

When a local radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina started a podcasting competition in its community, it was prepared for many contingencies, except one: that the response would overwhelm the station’s server.

The initiative was aimed at increasing on-air diversity, and tens of thousands of people wanted in. Groups and individuals from all walks of life submitted more than 370 ideas for podcasts, and 33,000 listeners logged on to vote for them. What started as a one-time experiment will now be a regular feature.

Journalism has always suffered from a lack of diversity.

Demographically uniform newsrooms have been producing uniformly homogeneous content for decades. And while editors around the world have increasingly recognized that this is a problem, too little has been done to address it.

One reason, ironically, is a preoccupation with digital change.

“There has been so much focus on digital transformation in recent years, the question of diversity has had to stand aside,” explains Olle Zachrison of the Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Radio, in a study comparing diversity

efforts in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany. And yet, as the newsroom in Charlotte discovered, diversity is not just an added bonus; it is at the very core of audience engagement today.

In explaining the business ethos of the digital age, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has argued that it is all about “customer obsession as opposed to competitor obsession.”

For the media, then, the guiding principle should be “audience first.” And that means using data to understand and cater better to it.1 Not long ago, editorial choices were guided mostly by gut feelings and assumptions, whereas now they are often informed by analytical metrics and revealed truths about audience behavior.

Some of these revelations are uncomfortable. Editors can no longer fool themselves about their journalism’s real-world impact.

They now know that even the best stories tend to reach just a fraction of their hoped-for audience.

Complicating matters further, newsrooms have discovered that demand can peak at times when they have no new offerings, or when what they’re serving is not what consumers are seeking.

In surveys like the Digital News Report, respondents often complain that the media offer too much negativity and volume, and too little explanation and relevant coverage.

Before digitalization, journalists didn’t have to think about their audiences as much as they do now.

Newspapers were money-printing machines – the advertising dollars poured in regardless of what would now be called “content.”

Likewise, public-service media faced almost no competition.

But now that digital information is a commodity, with a few major platforms controlling its distribution, audience loyalty has become a matter of survival.

Many newsrooms were entirely unprepared for this new reality.

They don’t even know who their potential new customers are, let alone how to reach them and win their trust. The problem is not just that newsroom homogeneity results in an incomplete view of the world and of the reading/ listening public. It is that even when “outsiders” do land a job in this kind of environment, they tend to adapt to the dominant culture rather than challenge it.

As a result, newsrooms remain ill equipped to reach out to new audiences.

The lack of diversity in the media has actually worsened in recent decades. Back in the heyday of local news, newsrooms were no less white or male, but being a journalist at least didn’t require a university degree – only a willingness to dive in and chase leads. Yet as the industry became concentrated more in big cities and employment prospects elsewhere diminished, education became yet another entry barrier. While the better-educated candidates moved up to higher-profile jobs, many others left the profession altogether.

In keeping with the industrial society of the time, the occupational model that followed from these changes was hierarchical. As with teachers and their pupils, preachers and their congregations, and experts and the lay public, education conferred status and authority upon journalists. The public was a passive recipient of information,

not an engaged participant in a broader conversation.

Clinging to this hierarchical structure is now a recipe for failure.

The digital world of information is one of choice and abundance, but also of considerable confusion about what is true and false. Trust is a news organization’s most valuable asset, and the task for journalists is both to challenge and inspire their audience, and to invite conversations among them.

That can’t happen unless journalism represents the society in which it is operating.

Unfortunately, a recent global survey of media leaders finds that while editors see progress toward gender diversity, much more must be done to achieve racial and political diversity, as well as a balance between “urban” and “rural” backgrounds. The most likely reason for this failure is that industry leaders continue to regard the digital transformation as a matter of technology and process, rather than of talent and human capital.

Fortunately, the digital transformation represents an opportunity. As Jeff Jarvis of the City University of New York explains, industry leaders should “Try listening to, valuing, and serving the people and communities who were long ignored and left unserved by our old industry, mass media.”

All news organizations should take Jarvis’s advice – and not just because it is the right thing to do.

Their own survival depends on it.

Alexandra Borchardt is a senior research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. Copyright: Project-syndicate.org

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Priorities for the COVID-19 Economy

BY JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ

W

ith hopes of a sharp rebound from the pandemic-induced recession quickly fading, policymakers should pause and take stock of what it will take to achieve a sustained recovery. The most urgent policy priorities have been obvious since the beginning, but they will require hard choices and a show of political will.

Although it seems like ancient history, it hasn’t been that long since economies around the world began to close down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the crisis, most people anticipated a quick V-shaped recovery, on the assumption that the economy merely needed a short timeout.

After two months of tender loving care and heaps of money, it would pick up where it left off It was an appealing idea. But now it is July, and a V-shaped recovery is probably a fantasy. The postpandemic economy is likely to be anemic, not just in countries that have failed to manage the pandemic (namely, the United States), but even in those that have acquitted themselves well.

The International Monetary Fund projects that by the end of 2021, the global economy will be barely larger than it was at the end of 2019, and that the US and European economies will still be about 4% smaller.1 The current economic outlook can be viewed on two levels.

Macroeconomics tells us that spending will fall, owing to households’ and firms’ weakened balance sheets, a rash of bankruptcies that will destroy organizational and informational capital, and strong precautionary behavior induced by uncertainty about the course of the pandemic and the policy responses to it. At the same time, microeconomics tells us that the virus acts like a tax on activities involving close human contact. As such, it will continue to drive large changes in consumption and production patterns, which in turn will bring about a broader structural transformation.

We know from both economic theory and history that markets alone are ill suited to manage such a transition, especially considering how sudden it has been. There’s no easy way to convert airline employees into Zoom technicians.

And even if we could, the sectors that are now expanding are much less labor-intensive and more skillintensive than the ones they are supplanting.

We also know that broad structural

transformations tend to create a traditional Keynesian problem, owing to what economists call the income and substitution effects. Even if non-humancontact sectors are expanding, reflecting improvements in their relative attractiveness, the associated spending increase will be outweighed by the decrease in spending that results from declining incomes in the shrinking sectors.

Moreover, in the case of the pandemic, there will be a third effect: rising inequality. Because machines cannot be infected by the virus, they will look relatively more attractive to employers, particularly in the contracting sectors that use relatively more unskilled labor. And, because low-income people must spend a larger share of their income on basic goods than those at the top, any automation-driven increase in inequality will be contractionary.

On top of these problems, there are two additional reasons for pessimism. First, while monetary policy can help some firms deal with temporary liquidity constraints – as happened during the 2008-09 Great Recession – it cannot fix solvency problems, nor can it stimulate the economy when interest rates are already near zero.

Moreover, in the US and some other countries, “conservative” objections to rising deficits and debt levels will stand in the way of the necessary fiscal stimulus.

To be sure, the same people were more than happy to cut taxes for billionaires and corporations in

2017, bail out Wall Street in 2008, and lend a hand to corporate behemoths this year. But it is quite another thing to extend unemployment insurance, health care, and additional support to the most vulnerable.

The short-run priorities have been clear since the beginning of the crisis. Most obviously, the health emergency must be addressed (such as by ensuring adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and hospital capacity), because there can be no economic recovery until the virus is contained. At the same time, policies to protect the most needy, provide liquidity to prevent unnecessary bankruptcies, and maintain links between workers and their firms are essential to ensuring a quick restart when the time comes.

But even with these obvious essentials on the agenda, there are hard choices to make. We shouldn’t bail out firms – like old-line retailers – that were already in decline before the crisis; to do so would merely create “zombies,” ultimately limiting dynamism and growth.

Nor should we bail out firms that were already too indebted to be able to withstand any shock. The US Federal Reserve’s decision to support the junk-bond market with its asset-purchase program is almost certainly a mistake.

Indeed, this is an instance where moral hazard really is a relevant concern; governments should not be protecting firms from their own folly.

Because COVID-19 looks likely to

remain with us for the long term, we have time to ensure that our spending reflects our priorities.

When the pandemic arrived, American society was riven by racial and economic inequities, declining health standards, and a destructive dependence on fossil fuels. Now that government spending is being unleashed on a massive scale, the public has a right to demand that companies receiving help contribute to social and racial justice, improved health, and the shift to a greener, more knowledge-based economy.

These values should be reflected not only in how we allocate public money, but also in the conditions that we impose on its recipients.

As my co-authors and I point out in a recent study, well-directed public spending, particularly investments in the green transition, can be timely, labor-intensive (helping to resolve the problem of soaring unemployment), and highly stimulative – delivering far more bang for the buck than, say, tax cuts. There is no economic reason why countries, including the US, can’t adopt large, sustained recovery programs that will affirm – or move them closer to – the societies they claim to be.

Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University, is Chief Economist at the Roosevelt Institute and a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank. His most recent book is People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent. www.project-syndicate.org

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