Business24 Newspaper 13th September, 2021

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

BUSINESS24.COM.GH

Monday September 13, 2021

NO. B24 / 247 | News for Business Leaders

Akufo-Addo to host Presidential Business Summit

5.7m Ghanaians to benefit from government’s water project

See page 5

See page 7

Transport Min. charges new boards to deal with challenges in maritime domain

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

Shipping lines tasked to help drive down cost at Ghana’s ports

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

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he Ghana Shippers’ Authority has asked shipping lines operating

in the country to ensure clarity business at the country’s seaports. and transparency in their tariffs, The authority also wants from an expedited refund system, and the liners standard operating also entrench common standards procedures—including for of service quality as a way of Cont’d on page 2 improving the ease of doing

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he Minister of Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, has urged the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) and the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), two key agencies clothed with the responsibility of managing and regulating Ghana’s maritime sector, to collaborate and spearhead Cont’d on page 3

Intravenous Infusions says to explore new areas to drive growth

DVLA to register bulldozers, excavators in war against illegal mining

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

T

he Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) will soon begin the

registration and tracking of earthmoving equipment that is brought into the country, Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah has said.

According to him, See page 3

Managing Director Moukhtar Soalihu (third from left) and his team from Intravenous Infusions addressing the virtual audience.

Intravenous Infusions Plc. (IIPLC), says it will vigorously pursue innovative and prudent ndigenous Ghanaian policies to drive the sustained producer and distributor See page 5 of intravenous fluids,

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

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Cont’d on page 2 Cont’d on page 2

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Editorial / News

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Editorial

Time for an autonomous regulator for the maritime sector

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ransport Minister Kweku Ofori Asiamah has sparked a debate with his request for an independent body with general supervisory oversight over the nation’s blue economy.

“I will would propose that there should be a committee between GMA and GPHA, Shippers’ Authority, GIFF, GUTA and Shipowners and some other people to come together to see how you can develop adequate rules and regulations to guide our industry,” he said at the inauguration re-constituted boards of directors of four key agencies under the Ministry of Transport namely: Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), and the

National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).

This call from the sector is very tenable given the absence of a regulator for one of the nation’s most lucrative business areas.

Ghana’s maritime business revolves around three core state agencies with each of them serving specific interests but none of them could exercise any regulator function in the industry.

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority is both an operator and a player in the nation’s maritime sector whilst the Ghana Maritime Authority is tasked to ensure the safety of our territorial waters.

It also licenses both qualified seafarers as well as the vessels that operates in our territorial waters.

The Ghana Shippers’ Authority, which negotiates shipping rates and charges through dialogue and advocacy does its function primary in the interest of the Ghanaian importer or exporter.

It is therefore obvious that although these state institutions have underlining responsibilities in the sector, none of them has any cross-cutting control over the industry as a whole.

We therefore see enough reason in the minister’s call for an inter-agency committee that will help develop workable rules and regulations to steer the affairs of the maritime business.

Given the myriad of challenges facing the sector, we encourage the related agencies to act swiftly on this recommendation.

Shipping lines tasked to help drive down cost at Ghana’s ports Continued from cover

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digitised services that they provide to shippers—to ensure that the industry reaps the needed benefits that come with the digitalisation of the shipping business, especially at a time that the industry is recovering from the harms of the pandemic.

The recommendations come on the back of sustained allegations by some maritime and trade associations that shipping lines are engaging in arbitrary increases in fees and charges.

“Negotiations with shipping lines on their charges revealed a plethora of inexplicable charges, whilst others were engaged in blacklisting clearing agents for outstanding debts on previous transactions.

These actions were detrimental to innocent consignees who subsequently had to make colossal demurrage payments and have equally impacted the rising cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports,” Chief Executive Officer of the authority, Ms. Benonita Bismarck, told a gathering of shipping stakeholders at the 2021/2022 cocoa freight negotiations conference in Accra.

A number of trade associations in the maritime industry, including freighters, importers and exporters and brokers, have

bemoaned what they described as arbitrary increases in cost of freight and associated service charges by shipping lines.

But the liners have responded that the increases reflect the harsh impact of the pandemic across the shipping value chain, whilst other costs such as demurrage are entirely avoidable if shippers return containers to the liners on time.

Currently, over 8,000 boxes are estimated to be on the Uncleared Cargo List—a category for goods that have overstayed at the ports but the applicable duties on them have not been paid, and they may have to be auctioned to recoup rent and other associated costs to the state.

According to Ms. Bismarck, the situation has prompted the

composition of an industry-wide committee to come up with a standard operating procedure that will govern the administration of uncleared cargo to give sufficient clarity to stakeholders relevant to the process.

One key expected outcome of this exercise, she indicated, will be to expedite the release of the landed boxes or containers to the shipping lines.

The GSA boss has however commended the shipping lines for digitising their operations and services to offer convenient and real-time services to shippers.

Those digital interventions, she admitted, have greatly enhanced the competitiveness of shippers in Ghana and also complemented government’s efforts at moving towards a digital economy.

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DVLA to register bulldozers, excavators in war against illegal mining Continued from cover government is concerned about the indiscriminate use of earth-moving equipment for unauthorised mining and has therefore directed that the DVLA register all such equipment used

in the country.

Speaking at the joint inauguration of the boards of DVLA, National Road Safety Authority, Ghana Maritime Authority and Ghana Shippers Authority in Accra, he indicated that DVLA will put up a facility at

the Tema and Takoradi ports to make sure that all earth-moving equipment that enters the country is registered and tracked.

“The benefits that will accrue to us will be enormous. The tracking will be operated by them, not any private entity, because we want to

Minister of Transport Kwaku Ofori Asiamah

control the system. And they are doing it in conjunction with the Ministry of Local Government.”

The move is part of the recommendations by government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining in 2019 to track all earthmoving equipment (excavators, bulldozers, etc.) for licensing and registration.

Furthermore, a directive by the Transport Minister in 2019 noted that a person who uses or keeps a motor vehicle or trailer not being an exempt motor vehicle on a road when particulars of the motor vehicle or trailer have not been entered in the register maintained by the licensing authority in accordance with section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 2004 commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, or to both.

Transport Min. charges new boards to deal with challenges in maritime domain Continued from cover the development of new policies capable of resolving the safety issues in the country’s maritime space.

According to him, although there exists a number of policies or regulations that seek to protect Ghana's maritime domain, they aren't strong enough considering the development of new safety challenges.

He said safety challenges such as piracy; illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; illegal bunkering; ship-to-ship transfers; drug trafficking; pollution; transnational crimes; smuggling; and absence of regulation for inland water ways and unchartered navigational fare ways are critical issues that need immediate attention.

He therefore advised the GMA and GSA to deepen their collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs) with expertise in maritime issues, academia and organisations outside the country to come out with a comprehensive policy framework to protect the country’s maritime domain.

Mr. Asiamah made these observations in Accra on Friday when he inaugurated the reconstituted boards of directors of four key agencies under the

Ministry of Transport: Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), and the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).

Commenting further, the Transport Minister urged the GMA and GSA to critically also look at expanding physical infrastructure and the deployment of technology by deepening their relationship with the National Security, Navy, Marine Police and the Ministry of Communications.

Another issue of critical concern, Mr. Asiamah noted, was

the development of adequate rules and regulations to guide the country’s maritime industry.

“I would propose that there should be a committee between GMA and GPHA, Shippers’ Authority, GIFF, GUTA and ship owners to come together to see how you can develop adequate rules and regulations to guide our industry. You should deal with these issues so that everybody will become confident. I don’t want anybody to be cheated,” he said.

The board chair of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Stella Wilson, speaking on behalf of

the directors of GSA, said: “We are ready for the challenge and the task at hand. We have been entrusted with a responsibility and we’ve been called to action.

We have noted with keen interest what the Minister has told us, and we are going to take our responsibility very seriously and make sure that those projects that we have been tasked to undertake, we work on them.”

She entreated all the directors to work as a team, stressing that their cooperation with management will enable them achieve success.

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Akufo-Addo to host Presidential Business Summit

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resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will host and deliver the keynote address at this year's Presidential Business Summit at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra, slated for September 14-15.

It is an annual calendar event being organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in collaboration with the Office of the President and selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry said the summit is to provide a platform for structured dialogue between government and the private sector on critical areas of interest to the private sector.

The theme is: “Public-Private Dialogue on the Role of the Private Sector in Ghana’s PostCOVID Economic Recovery”.

The deliberations in the plenary sessions will focus on five crosscutting thematic areas: Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Incentives to Support

Production and Private Sector Development; Foreign Exchange Regulation and Currency Stability; Access to Finance and Cost of Capital; Energy Pricing, Availability, Access and Reliability; and Supporting Local

Industries through Government Procurement and Local Content Regulation.

This will be followed by breakout sessions for a deep dive into seven economic sectors: agriculture and agribusiness,

manufacturing, construction and mining, financial services, Information and Communication Technology, tourism and hospitality; and transport and logistics.

Deliberations at the summit will feed into government’s policy framework for private sector development, including the budget statement and the economic policy for the year 2022.

The outcome will be a Ghana Business Compact, which will detail out specific priority areas of government policy interventions in support of private sector development.

Speakers include Mr. Pierre Frank Laporte, the Country Director for World Bank Group; Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Senior Presidential Advisor; Mr. Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry; Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, Finance Minister; Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Energy Minister; Mr. Charles Adu-Boahen, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, and Dr Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana.

Intravenous Infusions says to explore new areas to drive growth Continued from cover growth and profitability of the brand so as to offer the right value to shareholders.

Despite the harms of the pandemic, the company is convinced of a brighter future, with plans to diversify its product portfolio to enhance its share of the market through strategic partnerships and linkages.

“Strengthening our local

market dominance whilst exploring export market opportunities will be the focus looking ahead. In addition, the company is venturing into other non-drug areas such as medical consumables and disposables,” Managing Director Moukhtar Soalihu said at the Ghana Stock Exchange’s Facts Behind the Figures session.

“As part of our product diversification strategy, a number

of new products are being brought on board under a contract manufacturing arrangement with a strategic partner from India. IIPLC will also intensify its ongoing collaboration on product development with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Pharmacy,” he added.

Intravenous made a profit of GH¢1.45m in 2020, resulting in an increase in retained earnings by

36.6 percent.

As at half-year 2021, the company’s revenue had increased by 44 percent, after recording a 10.5 percent decline in 2020, attributable to a significant drop in volumes of sales across all business segments due to the pandemic.

In 2020 the company’s total assets grew by 22.5 percent, compared to the 2019 figure of 14.8 percent, as a result of using both internal and external funds for investments in plant and equipment and other operating assets aimed at creating future value for shareholders.

Strengthened controls resulted in an increase in operational efficiency at all levels of the organisational value chain, with operational costs declining by 9.7 percent year-on-year as against the 18.1 percent that was recorded in 2019.

To expand its production capacity, the company has obtained approval from the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for the construction of a new factory.

The plant will be financed by a medium-term loan facility of US$3.2m secured from Ecobank Ghana.

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

5.7m Ghanaians to benefit from government’s water project

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he Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Mrs. Cecilia Abena Dapaah says 5.7 million Ghanaians will be placed on the government’s water project across the country by the year 2023.

She said ongoing water projects in Keta, Damongo, Tamale Water, Sekondi, Wenchi, Yendi and Sunyani will help achieve the above-mentioned goal.

This, she noted, will help Ghana to also achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water and sanitation.

“That is why I am proud to say that the government is on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 for water and sanitation,” she added.

Mrs Dapaah said this while speaking to the media on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, during a working visit to the Keta Water Supply System in the Volta Region.

The visit was to equip the minister and her entourage, who included her Deputy, Mr Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, with firsthand information on the progress of work on the Keta water project.

The minister, who was delighted

at the progress of work on the Keta water system, commended the contractors, consultants and the municipal chief executive for the area for the progress on the project.

She said in the case of Wenchi water project, the contractors were on-site, while for Tamale, Damongo water projects, value for money had been done.

“All the sod-cutting we did last year are bearing fruits. We are

also doing value for money for Sunyani, Sekondi Takoradi water projects,” she added.

She further thanked the chiefs and traditional rulers for their supportive role, especially in the provision of land for the project.

Compensations Mrs Dapaah also urged the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the area to ensure that compensations are paid to persons affected by the water

project.

“It is also good that we have workers staying on-site, and also to hear that the old bungalows are going to be rehabilitated and made fit for purpose for the workers,” she added.

Mrs Dapaah affirmed that the government’s “mantra of water for all” was not just a slogan, stressing the government is working hard to fulfill its promises.

“If people say we are sloganeering it is not true. It is not factual; everything that we say we try to do them. So work has started and very soon we will see action here,” she assured.

Keta Water Supply System The District Chief Executive (DCE) for South Tongu, Emmanuel Lewis Agamah, named Agordome, Sogakope, Atiavi, Dabala, Lolito, Galosota, Salo, Agottoe, Anloga, Woe, Tegbi, Dzelukope, and Keta as some of the communities to benefit fron the Keta water supply system For his part, the acting General Manager of GWCL at Keta, Dr Remy Puoru, was full of praise for the government following its initiative to rehabilitate the Keta water project.

MTN, Ayoba launch “life inside ayoba” campaign

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TN in partnership with ayoba has launched a dynamic media campaign entitled: ‘Life inside ayoba’ that will bring the African super app to life. The campaign brings together all the features of the ‘super app’ including chat, voice and video calling, channels, music via playlists, gaming, micro apps and payment facilities (only in certain territories).

The campaign is set to launch in early September and is designed to highlight the simplicity of the app, and the advantages a user gains in using all the exciting features.

“Ayoba is a strategic platform for MTN as it harnesses Africa’s

unique digital ecosystem and context. We believe it to be a triple play opportunity to advance free messaging, content distribution and e-commerce powered by an open platform. Made in Africa for the World, ayoba is highly localised and tailored for African and Middle East consumer needs.

This campaign is perfect for our markets, its vibrant and relevant and is sure to appeal to all who use it, ” says Serigne Dioum, Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer.

Digital revenue increased by 23.8%* at half year, supported by the greater uptake of our services. In the period, our instant messaging platform ayoba,

recorded 8.0 million monthly active users, an addition of 2.5 million since December 2020. It has now been integrated into 18 MTN markets.

Our goal is to reach 19 million monthly active users (MAUs) by 2021 and 100m by 2025. Our plan is to leverage MTN existing base to scale up quickly and then grow as OTT player in new markets The ayoba TV campaign is supported by radio, localised to each broadcast territory as well as outdoor, print and on-ground activations through our unique trade tool. The message is simple - ayoba has everything you need “all-in-one app”.

“There is a need to go above the line to raise the awareness of ayoba. We strongly believe that our app will appeal to many in Africa and the Middle East and provides digital solutions to the day-to-day life of the consumer. In building the campaign we looked at what unites our African users, rather than what divides them.

We had to show users that they

can find everything they need in our all-in-one app. This approach has brought us a textured and innovative campaign, and we are very proud of it. We excited to launch the campaign with the full support of MTN’” says Burak Akinci, Chief Executive Officer of Simfy (ayoba).

2021 has been a fast-paced year so far for the messaging app, ayoba celebrated its second year in operation in May 2021 and recorded 8 million monthly active users as of July 2021 across MTN’s 18 markets.

Ayoba is accelerating not only digital inclusion but also financial inclusion, MTN MoMo has been integrated into ayoba in select markets including Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, and Congo Brazzaville.

Ayoba has recently receive the award for Best OTT Brand of the Year at the Marketing World Awards 2021. This adds to the 2020 win for ayoba at the Africa Digital Award for Best Mobile Application in November 2020.

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President satisfied with work on Oti compost plant

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resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed satisfaction with ongoing works on the state-of-theart Integrated Recycling Compost Plant (IRECOP) in Dambai, the capital of the Oti Region.

After visiting the waste treatment plant, the President said he was satisfied with the level of work so far.

He was taken around the facility for him to see the various phases of work on it.

The Oti waste treatment project is a collaboration between the government and the private sector, led by the Jospong Group of Companies ( JGC).

Briefing the President, the contractor disclosed that about 80 per cent of the work had been done, adding that the facility would be completed by the end of the year.

According to him, the ongoing construction works had created 2,000 indirect jobs for the youth in the community, adding that when completed, it would employ 150 people.

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, explained that the President’s visit was to afford him

the opportunity to see for himself the progress of work.

According to her, the facility, when completed, would bring an end to the scenario of having numerous refuse dumps scattered across in the region.

“The Oti IRECOP will not only receive solid waste from various municipalities in the region but equally turn waste into usable products for the benefit of the good people of Oti,” she said.

The minister noted further that

the plant would ensure sanity in the environs of communities in the region.

other private sector players in the sanitation sector who had interest in undertaking such projects to come on board, maintaining that “my ministry’s doors are always open”.

Health

Enabling environment

President Akufo-Addo, Ms. Dapaah intimated, was very particular about the health of Ghanaians, and that explained the various projects being undertaken by his government in the water and sanitation space.

To that end, she challenged

For his part, the Executive Chairman of the JGC, Mr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, commended the President for creating the enabling environment for private sector players in the sanitation sector to contribute their quota to the development of the country.

“We have more resources than any other continent yet we are poor”

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he Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy and Research at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, is still struggling to come to terms about Africa’s underdevelopment and with some of its people wallowing in poverty, in spite of the abundance of resources as compared to other continents in the world.

According to him, destiny beckons on us to move faster with confidence and to look into the future, and this should be the beginning of breaking from the past and moving into the future.

He made these remarks in Accra where the ECOWAS Commission held a three-day meeting for planning exerts of member states to validate the final draft report of ECOWAS Vision 2050 which ended on Sunday.

“ECOWAS would be as good as you all wish it to be, we represent the aspiration and hope of our region, we want to be an ECOWAS of people where people lead in

dignity and confidence of the future, in the final analysis within our capacity to do that the world is moving on. We cannot be left behind”.

Dr. Apraku said, “every step we take, we seem to take two more steps backward”, adding that we have to reflect deeply on our responsibility to each other, and to our countries, and to the future

generations, and make this work.

No one is going to do this for us”, he emphasized.

In a speech on behalf of the Vice President of the Commission, Her Excellency Madam Finda Koroma, he noted that the meeting is a key step towards the finalization and adoption of the ECOWAS vision 2050 document.

And stated that the decision

to develop this 2050 vision document was with a strong conviction on the need to appreciate the current and emerging opportunities as well as challenges that confront the region in these contemporary times.

It is to build resilience and deliver sustainable development for our people and countries to achieve five phases road map: preparatory stage, assessment stage, formulation and framing, review and revision of 2050, and validation and adoption, recommended by the Council of Ministers had been adhered to.

He indicated that having completed the four-phased of the roadmaps, the expectations of this meeting is to further strengthen the quality and relevance of the draft vision document and to take steps closer to its adoption by the Authority of Heads of States and Government, as a result of your review and validation in this meeting.

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Maxwell Kojo wins 2021 Israeli Green Innovation award

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he third edition of the Israeli Green Innovation Competition came to a successful end at the closing ceremony of the 9th edition of the Ghana Garden and Flower Show.

Mr. Maxwell Kojo Xonu emerged as the winner, ahead of four other competitors, with his EbaPreneur Solutions.

In her remarks, newly designated Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, H. E. Shlomit Sufa, stated that: “this is the third time we have committed to hosting the Israeli

Green Innovation Competition and for us, it is a real pleasure to see each year, incredible young innovative and talented Ghanaian entrepreneurs, apply and participate in the competition.”

She also expressed gratitude to the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement and the management of Strategic Communications Africa Limited (Stratcomm Africa) for their professional collaboration and organization of the 9th edition of the Ghana Garden and Flower Show.

On her part, Madam Esther

Cobber, C. E. O of Stratcomm Africa, expressed delight in both the quality of the entries and the level of interest in this year’s competition. She said: “with the Israeli Green Innovation Competition startups are being encouraged to do amazing things that will help transform Ghana.

She encouraged more young entrepreneurs to apply next year for the award.

Judges for the competition were Israeli Ambassador Designate, H. E. Shlomit Sufa, Madam Esther Cobber of Stratcomm Africa, Ms. Mona Asem, Advisory Board Member of the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement, Mr.

Foster Awintiti Akugri, Founder & President, Hacklab Foundation, Mr. Felix Baidoo, Sustainability and Responsibility Manager, Guinness Ghana Breweries Plc., and Managing Director of Metro TV, Mr. Kayode Akintemi.

Instituted in 2019, the Israeli Green Innovation Competition (IGIC) seeks to honor individuals and organizations that come up with innovative solutions that promote environmental conservation and agriculture in Ghana. The initiative is undertaken in collaboration with the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement.

The Competition activities are therefore hosted by the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement and managed by Stratcomm Africa, initiators of the Movement.

Past winners of the competition are Mr. Prince Pius Nutsugah from Coologi Ghana, who won the competition in 2019 and has made the trip to Israel Mr. Jefferey Appiagyei of SAYeTECH, the winner in last year’s competition in November 2020, will travel to the State of Israel as soon as COVID-19 related restrictions are eased further.

Finance Minister lauds ECOWAS Commission for production of account current development Vision 2050 dynamics.

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inance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has lauded the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission for producing the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050, a successor to Vision 2020.

He said ECOWAS Vision 2050 is a very important milestone in the community’s journey to the realisation of “an integrated, peaceful and prosperous West Africa” by 2050.

"It is also important that I congratulate all major actors in the region for the achievements and successes recorded during the implementation of the ECOWAS Vision 2020," Mr. Ofori-Atta said in a speech read on his behalf at the opening experts’ meeting to validate the Draft ECOWAS Vision 2050.

The Vision 2020, which had the ambition of transforming the community from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of Peoples expired last year.

The Vision 2050 is, therefore, needed to provide the region with a new and a medium-term strategic plan that takes into

It would be adopted by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in December, 2021 but its implementation will begin in January 2023.

The Vision Statement is to create: “A fully integrated Community of peoples, living in a peaceful and prosperous region, with strong institutions and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, striving for inclusive and sustainable development”.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said government is proud of the achievements of ECOWAS in peace and security; democracy and good governance; intra regional trade and investments; free movements of people, goods and capital; and infrastructure development (transport, energy and ICT) during the implementation of the Vision 2020.

He said those achievements have earned the community a prestigious place amongst the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa, saying: "ECOWAS is no doubt the model REC in

Africa".

"Despite these achievements, so much still remain to be done in order to raise the living standards of our people and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent as enshrined in the revised ECOWAS treaty," he noted.

Mr. Ofori-Atta urged the participants to consider, in their deliberations, how the Regional Vision would be aligned with the national development plans in member states and how the vision would address extraordinary shocks such as covid-19, as well as adequate funding for its implementation.

Mr Ludwig Kirchner, representative of GIZ, who

reiterated the high value that GIZ places on its cooperation with the ECOWAS Commission, urged the participants to scrutinise the ECOWAS Vision 2050 Document to ensure the outcome formed a good basis for future development.

Madam Ngone Diop, representative of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), said strengthening of development management and steering capacity of ECOWAS to support member states’ development, required the formulation and implementation of a regional prospective vision associated with development plans that responded to the aspirations of the populations.

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President Akufo-Addo commissions Gh¢6.07m Hohoe Technology Solution Centre

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resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 10th September 2021, commissioned the Hohoe Technology Solution Centre, one of five new facilities being established by the Rural Enterprise Programme of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The Hohoe Technology Solution Centre, located at Gbi Godenu, and constructed at a cost of GH¢6.07 million, is to aid the Government’s industrialization agenda, particularly the 1-District-1-Factory initiative.

The key functions of the Technology Solution Centre will be the production of spare parts and repair services for district factories and oil and gas industry, the manufacturing of agroprocessing equipment, and the provision of training for human resources capacity building The Hohoe TSC is expected to serve factories, artisans and other customers in the following

districts in Volta and Oti, including Hohoe, Afadjato South, Kpando, North Dayi, Jasikan, Kadjebi, Biakoye, and the soon to be inaugurated Guan District.

The Hohoe Technology Solution Centre is one of five Centres spread around the country, with the others located at Kumawu in the Ashanti Region, Savelugu in the Northern Region, Elmina in the Central Region and Dormaa Ahenkro in the Bono Region.

The five new TSCs are an

upgraded version of and an addition to the original 26 Rural Technology Facilities (RTF) established by Rural Enterprises Programme across the country, in collaboration with GRATIS and the host district assemblies.

The RTFs were established to serve as magnets for industrial activity and have been equipped to perform as hubs for technology promotion, dissemination and transfer to the informal sector.

They also provide skills training to master crafts persons and

apprentices.

Their main roles and functions were to increase the productive capacity of rural producers and to promote the commercialization and specialization of agriculture within the framework of national economic growth.

The new TSC model was conceived in 2017 by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, under the general plan to realign the Rural Enterprises Programme to be consistent with Government’s Industrialisation Policy.

The TSCs have enhanced capacities with much bigger workshop buildings and workshop spaces for machining and fabrication, offices, classrooms, showrooms, kitchenette and conference facilities.

They are equipped with modern machinery and tools to provide the technology solution needs of industries within their catchment.

President cuts sod for phase-two of UHAS project

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resident Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for the second phase of construction works on the main University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho. The 68-million-dollar China Aid Phase-Two project will provide fully equipped state-ofthe-art Administration Block, School of Nursing and Midwifery, classrooms, offices, libraries, and laboratories to mitigate the infrastructure challenges of the University, since its establishment in 2012.

President Akufo-Addo, who was on a working visit to the Region, said the University had persisted and continued to prove its worth with countless achievements, and assured of government’s readiness to help it expand.

“Even though it is a young University, already, its receiving lots of laurels and accolades and rankings…therefore, there is the need for the Government to ensure the infrastructure is at the measure of the University,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo said China continued to hold firm her friendship with Ghana, which would continue to grow into progressive partnerships.

“It gives me the opportunity to express once again, the strong

appreciation of the Government and the people of Ghana to the Government of the People’s Republic of China. The solidarity the Chinese Government and people continue to exhibit towards us is something that, Mr. Ambassador, we appreciate very much indeed,” he said.

“The various things that make up Ghana’s Foreign Policy to China are well known. We are not deviating and we will not deviate from the One China Policy. It continues to be an important cornerstone of the Foreign Policy of our country.”

The President recognised the University’s role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it was a testing centre for the region and surrounding areas.

Mr. Lu Kun, the Chinese Ambassador, said the development would aid the school’s advancement to provide more professionals to sustain the government's bold health delivery

initiative; Agenda 111.

“China and Africa will embark on a long journey of collaborations based on the One China principle,” he said.

Mr. Lu said the collaboration had long flourished in education and would be expanded to other areas, adding: “China will always remain Ghana’s ultimate friend and partner.”

As a partner in the fight against the coronavirus, China would work with Ghana to secure the much-needed vaccines, he said.

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Education Minister, said the project showed government's commitment to expanding tertiary education intake to help meet the country’s educational needs.

He said the coronavirus pandemic made it more crucial to prioritise educational demands, and expressed the hope that the project would be timeously delivered.

Chinese Nantong Si Jian Construction Company is executing the project within a 22-month period, and the Government of Ghana will provide road infrastructure and other inputs as part of a counterpartfunding component.

Professor John Owusu Gyapong, the Vice Chancellor of the University, said upon completion, the University would add close to 30,000 square meters of floor space, and the student population would grow from the current 6,000 to 10,000.

He acknowledged government’s dedication to the development of the prime Health University to make it a centre of excellence.

“It is always humbling to see that you take great interest in the development of UHAS. UHAS is determined to be a star in tertiary education, and your constant interest in us gives us all the zeal and commitment to push this agenda to provide quality health manpower to solve our country’s health needs,” he said to President Akufo-Addo.

“Indeed, it is a necessary and crucial aspect of the overall goal of this University, which will facilitate our mandate as a university dedicated solely to the training of health professionals for national development.”

11

Mining

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Asante Gold moves to fast track Bibiani to production

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sante Gold Corporation has revealed that following a period of detailed review, Harlequin International (Ghana) has been mobilized to initiate the refurbishment of the company’s 3Mtpa Bibiani Mine Processing Plant.

Harlequin is a locally owned company based in Takoradi, Ghana. Since 1998 Harlequin has become a byword for quality in heavy industry within Ghana and internationally.

Harlequin practices recognized standards for construction, fabrication, and maintenance and was recently recognized as the Best Specialist Engineering Services Firm 2020, West Africa. It also received the Distinction Award for Component Manufacturing and Fabrication

2020 at the African Business Excellence Awards.

Harlequin has created employment in its local communities by providing opportunities for graduates through internship/national service placements. Over 90% of

its staff are Ghanaian. As part of the Asante strategy, Harlequin will continue to focus on building local competence. To this end, the project is expected to employ up to 300 people, including subcontractors, over its 9-month duration. Asante anticipates that

the Process Plant Refurbishment Project will be complete in June 2022.

According to Douglas MacQuarrie, President & CEO, “I am impressed by the quality of people, resources and record of success in the mining business that Harlequin brings to this project. Asante looks forward to working with Harlequin and all of our project partners, towards a safe and successful project execution. Works have already commenced on site. Design and planning initiatives for other aspects of the Bibiani Mine Development Project continue to advance in accordance with our previous communications.”

Source: juniorminingnetwork

Zambian President promises to cut deficit, review mining policies

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ambian President Hakainde Hichilema said on Friday his new government would implement policies to reduce the fiscal deficit, restore economic growth and review mining policies.

In his first address to a new session of parliament since his election in August, Hichilema said officials would also review agricultural policies, revise electricity prices and reform state power firm Zesco.

Last November Africa's secondbiggest copper producer became the first country on the continent to default on its sovereign debt during the pandemic, after failing to keep up with payments on its more than $12 billion of international debt.

"Rebuilding our economy is top on our agenda. We will implement policies to address the fiscal deficit while ensuring that confidence is restored in the markets," Hichilema said.

"We have indeed inherited an economy that is in dire straits and requires bold and decisive action to be taken," he said, adding that his government was committed to halting the accumulation of expensive public debt.

Zambia's external debt includes about $3 billion in Eurobonds, $3.5 billion in bilateral debt, $2.1 billion owed to multilateral agencies and $2.9 billion in commercial bank debt.

Zambia also owes mining companies more than $1.5 billion in value-added tax (VAT) refunds, an issue that soured relations between the government and the

mining sector.

The VAT refunds are the top priority for the industry, said Zambia's Chamber of Mines CEO Godwin Beene, who represents mining companies including First Quantum Minerals' Kansanshi Mining and Barrick Gold's Lumwana Mining.

Hichilema's market-friendly stance will attract new investment into Zambia's mining sector and help boost the country's copper production at a propitious time of near record-high copper prices, Beene said.

"This election was a gamechanger for the industry," he told Reuters.

Hichilema's predecessor, Edgar Lungu, had pushed for greater state ownership of mines. State mining investment company ZCCM-IH took on $1.5 billion in debt in January to take over Glencore's majority stake in the Mopani copper mine.

The previous government was looking for an investor to fund the mine's expansion, which would boost output from 34,000 tonnes of copper a year to 150,000 tonnes.

Zambia as a whole hopes to increase its annual copper output to 2 million tonnes by 2026, new finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said last month.

The country produced 882,000 tonnes last year.

Hitting that target will require significant investment in Mopani and other mines across Zambia, as well as in exploration.

Source : Reuters

Nigeria Mining Week returns in October 2021

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he much-anticipated Nigeria Mining Week expo and conference will return from 12–13 October as planned, but will take place in a digital format again due to the current challenges in the market with regards to travel and COVID-19 restrictions.

Supported by Nigeria’s Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the Miners Association of Nigeria and PwC Nigeria, the online platform will include a high-level opening ceremony and showcase key companies from the sector.

The Hon. Arch. Olamilekan Adegbite, Nigeria’s Minister of mines and Steel Development states: “On behalf of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the organisers, we would like to thank all parties for their cooperation in this year’s virtual event. We are still very much looking forward to welcoming you in Nigeria. In the interim, we wish you all the best of health.”

Nigeria Mining Week Online will take place on the Mine. it Africa – Connect platform, enabling networking, video meetings, questions and answers as well as live chats. This unique, all-in-one, interactive digital mining platform provides African mining news and opportunities, live, interactive events and engagement in one place.

Steadfast and supportive partners

“Nigeria Mining Week has been around for more than six years and thanks to our continuous and innovative digital engagement during the last 18 months of the COVID pandemic, we have remained a steadfast and supportive partner to the industry through it all,” says Sabrina Tab, event manager of Nigeria Mining Week.

“We have also seen that throughout the pandemic, mining activities in Nigeria have continued wherever possible,” she adds, “while digital engagement has been invaluable to keep the communication lines and even more importantly, business discussions, open.”

Tab continues: “We look forward to another lively and well-attended event in October, when we will highlight seven compelling reasons why Nigeria remains an exciting business prospect for any serious mining investors. Despite the recent challenges to the industry globally, the interest in Nigeria’s mining future has not receded.

We’re proud to have perfected the event platform to offer a slick and user-friendly experience and to receive high-level speakers from the public and private sectors as well as an international audience looking to learn about business opportunities in Nigeria.”

Source : miningreview

12

Africa Business

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Botswana: AfDB approves $137m loan for post-pandemic economic recovery

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he Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $137 million loan to support Botswana’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The funds, extended under the Bank Group’s Botswana Economic Recovery Support Program, will be used to enact multisector reforms that will increase spending efficiency, create jobs and drive inclusive growth.

The project has three components: enhancing domestic resource mobilization and mitigating fiscal risks to enhance macroeconomic performance and create fiscal space for spending on social safety nets; supporting private sector-led agriculture and industry to bolster productivity and value addition, and increase job opportunities; and offering

business development services to micro and small enterprises to advance social protection and gender equity. The three components are expected to reinforce one another.

“The African Development Bank is providing support for reforms to enhance private

sector-led agriculture, and transformation of the industrial sector,” said Leila Mokadem, Director General of the Southern Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office.

“Agriculture value addition can serve as a springboard for industrialization and job

creation,” she added.

The project aligns with the Bank Group’s Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022) and its High Five strategic priorities, particularly Industrialize Africa, and Improve the quality of life of the people of Africa.

Botswana is at very low risk of debt distress, and has a positive medium-term growth outlook, although a lack of economic diversification exposes the country to significant vulnerabilities.

The Bank Group’s active portfolio in Botswana amounts to UA 57.7 million ($81.9 million) and comprises four projects.

The financial sector accounts for the largest share of the portfolio by sector (97.1%), followed by agriculture (1.7%) and industry (1.2%).

Radisson Hotel Group cements its leading position in Africa What has the first half of 2021 been like for the group?

Building on the success of 2020 with nine African hotel signings and placing us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels across the continent by 2025, this year we have already announced two key signings with a strong list to follow in our key markets. The first signing, Earl Heights Suite Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals, introduced our new Radisson Individuals brand to the African market. Radisson Individuals is a conversion brand that offers independent hotels and local, regional chains the opportunity to be part of the global Radisson Hotel Group platform, benefit from the Group’s international awareness and experience, with the freedom to maintain their own uniqueness and identity.

We have also announced the signing of the Radisson Blu Resort, Mosi-oa-Tunya Livingstone, our first resort and third hotel in Zambia. Located just 4km north west of the Victoria Falls, the hotel will be constructed and operated in respect of its close proximity to the natural wonders.

We have continued to focus on the execution of our development strategy with a priority on key markets and are proud to soon announce the reinforcement of our presence in North Africa, further balancing our portfolio across Sub-Sahara and North

Africa.

What are the group’s development plans and focus markets for the rest of 2021?

Looking ahead, 2021 represents a year of continued acceleration, with a focus on our identified key markets, specifically Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.

This year, we expect in excess of a dozen new African hotel signings and around 2,000 rooms, 50% of which will be in these core focus countries with the remainder reinforcing our presence in cluster markets or entering into new territories, further cementing Radisson Hotel Group’s leading position as the hotel company with the largest active presence in the most countries across Africa.

We aim to further accelerate our presence across the continent through both new build and

conversions. Africa is mainly led by business hotels, but now we will further expand on leisure offerings and serviced apartments which has proven resilient during COVID-19. Our ambitions are driven not only by creating critical mass in each of our identified focus markets but also ensuring market proximity.

These regions are sub-divided based on priorities, focus and potential scale.

Radisson has now become our fastest growing brand, as it represents the ideal model for Africa, leveraging our core name “Radisson” along with an efficient and cost effective brand which is well positioned for every African city. We will, however, continue to reinforce Radisson Blu as one of the leading hotel brands, building on its success across the continent.

With the recent introduction of Radisson Collection to Africa with

the hotel opening in Bamako, we see the potential to accelerate the development of the brand in relevant key capital cities and form a collection of iconic hotels.

What African hotel openings can we look forward to this year?

Despite the current situation, we have a strong year ahead of us. Supporting the robust expansion strategy, our teams are working tirelessly to realise the pipeline, with six hotel openings in Africa lined up before yearend. These hotel openings signify our debut into various markets, from a portfolio of three hotels in Madagascar, to Juba in South Sudan and St. Denis in Reunion Island. Building on the continued success of the Radisson RED brand in Cape Town, we will also be debuting this unique brand in Johannesburg with the opening of Africa’s second Radisson RED hotel in Rosebank.

13

News

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Zoomlion trains 51 ladies in heavy-duty truck driving

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total of 51 female beneficiaries of the Youth Employment Programme have received training in driving heavy-duty trucks under the Zoom Captains programme of Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

They undertook a 15-week training in the operation of various categories of heavy-duty and earth moving equipment such as excavators, graders, vibratory rollers, payloaders, and trash compactors.

The Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces Supplies and Transport Training School (FATS), Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Gyamerah Amoako said the ladies have acquired competencies in driving various tonnage capacities of trucks.

He said this at the closing ceremony of the training programme on Friday, September 10, 2021, at FATS, Burma Camp in Accra.

“I must say these were ladies who had no knowledge at all in driving, and within the time frame, they were able to be transformed from ground zero to heavy-duty drivers,” he added.

He charged the beneficiaries to put into practice the knowledge, skill, and discipline acquired during the 15 weeks of training.

He also expressed the school’s appreciation to the Jospong Group of Companies ( JGC) for making them a part of its training programme.

“And it is also my hope that when you get out there, you will be given the opportunity to handle and operate these vehicles because you have all the competencies to do so,” he said.

He recommended that the new female heavy-duty truck drivers should be attached to the company’s male heavy duty trucks’ drivers to further build their confidence and sharpen their competencies.

“I am also happy to note that

in collaboration with the DVLA, the school has managed to acquire for all the 51 participants license B upon which they will systematically be migrated to the license C, D in due course,” he added.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Environment and Sanitation Cluster of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mrs. Florence Larbi, congratulated the trainees for going through a successful programme.

She said ladies were street sweepers who had no idea in driving, but “today they have been trained to drive heavy-duty trucks of the company.”

She added that it has always been the vision of the Executive Chairman of JGC, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, to empower women to take up such challenging opportunities to make them confident and compete with their male counterparts.

She stressed that the company remains focused on enhancing diversity and inclusiveness programmes.

The Zoom Captains Concept was launched on July 16, 2008, with 25 Female Youth Employment beneficiaries trained in the operation of various categories of heavy-duty and earth moving equipment.

“These operators have been absorbed into our mainstream operations and can be seen exhibiting their skills on the various landfill sites and sites where we need to construct roads to aid our operations”, Mrs Larbi said.

“It is the objective of the company to also build a work environment that encourages and promotes affirmative action in less popular feminine job roles that the Zoom Captains program was extended to mainstream commercial driving”, she further stated

TECNO first to release MediaTek’s latest Helio G96 chips in African market

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he International premium smartphone brand, TECNO, dedicated to bringing innovative camera technologies and stylish designs has confirmed that it will feature MediaTek’s Helio G96 chipset in its CAMON 18 series to be launched in October 2021.

The popular CAMON series will be the first to use the MediaTek Helio G96 chipset . This makes TECNO the first smartphone brand to do so for the African market.

The newly launched MediaTek Helio G96 chipset is ideal for powerful 4G smartphones for the mainstream market, and is equipped with enhanced technology features which boosts display and photography experiences.

The CAMON series has been known for its photography feats, having broken a Guinness World Record and collaborating with international partners like National Geographic previously.

TECNO CAMON series was first launched in 2015 with a dedication to bring pioneering camera technologies to African consumers. It has grown to be one of the most popular camera phones. The Helio G96 chipset will allow the TECNO CAMON series to further enhance its position and provide cutting edge display and photography capabilities.

The MediaTek’s latest chip will combine with TECNO’s AI Vision Optimization Solution (TAIVOS) to create smoother, sharper and

clearer photos and videos for the digitally native generation.

The MediaTek Helio G96 SoC ensures premium everyday user experiences with its support for 120Hz displays with up to FullHD+ resolution for notably smoother scrolling of webpages and animations in apps, Helio G96 120Hz display support has no limitation in DDIC supply, C-phy or D-phy interface, and support both LCD or AMOLED display.

Combined with support for up to 108MP cameras for the most detailed images, fast Cat-13 4G LTE

WorldMode modem integration, dual 4G SIM and VoLTE and ViLTE services, as well as its Intelligent Resource Management Engine and Networking Engine, MediaTek’s Helio G96 brings an impressive breadth of features and capabilities to 4G smartphones.

With “Stop At Nothing” as its brand essence, TECNO is committed to unlocking the best contemporary technologies for progressive individuals across global emerging markets.

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

15

Feature

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

COVID-19 and human freedom

By Joseph E. Stiglitz

T

he upsurge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States serves as a bitter reminder that the pandemic is not over. The global economy will not return to normal until the disease is under control everywhere.

But the US case is a true tragedy, because what’s currently happening here is so unnecessary.

While those in emerging markets and developing countries are longing to get the vaccine (with many dying because they cannot get it), the US supply is ample enough to provide a double dose – and now a booster shot – to everyone in the country. And if almost everyone got vaccinated, COVID-19 would almost surely just “fade away,” as former President Donald Trump memorably put it.

And yet not nearly enough people in the US have been vaccinated to prevent the highly contagious Delta variant from driving case numbers in many areas to new highs. How do so many in a country with seemingly well-educated people act so irrationally, against their own interest, against science, and against the lessons of history?

Part of the answer is that the country, for all of its wealth, is not as well-educated as one might expect – which is reflected in the country’s comparative international performance on standardized assessments. In many parts of the country – including some with the highest rates of resistance to vaccination – science education is particularly poor, owing to politicization of

fundamental issues like evolution and climate change, which in many cases have been excluded from school curricula.

In this environment, misinformation can gain traction with many people. And socialmedia platforms, insulated from liability for what they transmit, have made a business model of maximizing “user engagement” by spreading misinformation, including about COVID-19 and the vaccines.

But a key part of the answer is a deep misinterpretation, especially among the right, of individual liberty. Those who refuse to wear masks or socially distance often argue that requirements to do so infringe on their freedom. But one person’s freedom is another person’s “unfreedom.” If their refusal to wear a mask or get vaccinated results in others getting COVID-19, their behavior is denying others the more fundamental right to life itself.

The essence of the matter is that there are large externalities: In a pandemic, one person’s actions affect the well-being of others.

And whenever there are such externalities, the well-being of society requires collective action: regulations to restrict socially harmful behavior and to promote socially beneficial behavior.

Any ordered society entails restrictions. But while prohibitions against killing, stealing, and so on restrict an individual’s freedom, we all understand that society could not function without them. In our post-COVID world, we might interpret the Ten Commandments

to include: “Thou shall not kill, including by spreading infectious diseases when thou can avoid doing so.”

Similarly, “Thou shall get vaccinated.” Any infringement of an individual’s liberty by requiring safe and highly effective COVID-19 vaccination pales in comparison to the social benefits – and consequent economic benefits – of public health. It is a no-brainer to require all individuals, with only limited medical exemptions, to be vaccinated. While many governments appear to be too timid to impose this requirement, employers, schools, and social organizations – any organized activity that brings individuals into contact with others – should do so.

As we have been learning for the last 18 months, global health is a global public good. As long as the disease rages in some parts of the world, the risk of a deadlier, more contagious, more vaccineresistant mutation grows.

In most of the world, however, the problem is not resistance to vaccination but a severe shortage of vaccines. Evidently, the private sector is unable to scale up production to ensure an adequate supply. Is that because vaccine producers lack capital? Is there a shortage of glass vials or syringes?

Or is it because they hope that fewer doses will lead to higher prices and even bigger profits?

Among the key barriers to greater supply is access to the requisite intellectual property, which is why the IP waiver being discussed at the World Trade Organization is so important Given the urgency and scale of

the challenge, more is needed: Among the steps US President Joe Biden’s administration could take is to invoke the Defense Production Act and leverage the federal government’s ownership of key patents. The US has been allowing the pharmaceutical companies to use this public IP freely, while they reap billions of dollars in profits. The US must use every instrument at its disposal to increase production at home and abroad.

This, too, is a no brainer. Even if the costs of global vaccination totaled tens of billions of dollars, the amount would pale in comparison to the costs of persistent COVID-19 outbreaks to lives, livelihoods, and the world economy.

Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University, is a former chief economist of the World Bank (1997-2000), chair of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and co-chair of the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices. He is a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation and was lead author of the 1995 IPCC Climate Assessment.

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

17

Feature

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Improving air quality planning and management for better human health and environment for Ghana

By Sanjay Srivastava and Agata Pawlowska

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ith a rapid economic expansion and population growth and a high rate of urbanization, air pollution has become a serious challenge in Ghana. Almost all Ghanaians are exposed to air pollution that exceeds the levels set in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) guidelines for clean air.

Current air quality conditions present an unacceptable health burden for the population of Accra. It is estimated that about 8% of total mortality which is approximately 16,000 Ghanaians die prematurely each year because of air pollution.

This number is projected to increase to approximately 4,600 by 2030 if no action is taken to reduce current and projected future levels of air pollution.

A recent World Bank Ghana Country Environmental Analysis estimates that the economic cost of air pollution is at US$2.5 bn or roughly 4.2% of the country’s 2017 gross domestic product.

Financial costs of treatment of air pollution-related disease are also high.

Air pollution in the Greater Accra Region is generated by a diverse set of sources including point sources (industrial sites), mobile sources (vehicles), and area sources, both from naturally occurring (Harmattan

wind-blown dusts and sea salt) and man-made (cook stoves and open burning of wastes) sources.

Transportation, solid waste, and commercial/industrial are among the chief sources of air pollution.

Capacity for air quality planning and management The World Bank’s Pollution Management and Environmental Health Program, which is funded by the governments of Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom; has strengthened the institutional capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address existing monitoring and planning gaps for air quality management.

The program has improved air quality monitoring, and the EPA can now employ new measurement methods for air quality monitoring and analysis. It also has an enhanced understanding of the importance of rigorous attention to standard operating procedures and quality assurance protocols necessary for high quality gravimetric analysis.

The Agency now has improved understanding of air pollution across Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and role of various emission sources and natural events in contributing to poor air quality.

The program has enhanced the understanding of key sources of air pollution. EPA now has

enhanced capacity to perform receptor modeling on new results moving forward. Again, the program has supported EPA Ghana to establish a cloudbased data management system to upload, store and query air quality data enabling a realtime Air Quality Index for public awareness. The Program has also supported the EPA to develop a full-scale Air Quality Management Plan for the GAMA. Recommendations for a cleaner air The efforts undertaken through the PMEH project has provided insight into the critical next steps that need to be taken in support of EPA Ghana’s air quality management efforts in Accra. Supporting EPA Ghana with their work in Accra has helped to create a model that the agency can use and apply in other major cities with air quality concerns.

Further, support to EPA Ghana will help to strengthen it as a regional leader in air quality measurement and management that will allow sharing of expertise within West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.

The Program recommends consideration of additional efforts and the following next steps: • Improve enforcement of existing air pollution regulations • Provide sustained funding to deliver on air quality management goals. An overhaul

of EPA’s laboratory equipment will allow them to improve their measurement system to be consistent with international air quality measurement best practices. EPA Ghana has struggled to keep their equipment functioning.

• Design LPG cookstove interventions for rural and urban communities; study supply chains and market conditions to identify incentives for LPG distribution companies and clean cookstove manufacturers/ suppliers; target subsidies to transition away from solid biomass fuel use • Develop an Integrated Air Pollution Prevention and Control Program for Ghana. The need for Ghana to develop an integrated air pollution prevention and control program focusing on key sectors (transport, waste and biomass burning or clean cooking) to reduce emissions. The program should place a special emphasis on how to coordinate policies across three sectors most closely linked to the mitigation of air pollution from road transport— environment, transport, and energy—and how to reconcile the sometimes-conflicting objectives and demands of these sectors to achieve environmental improvement.

Let us all collectively work through our behaviors to reduce the health effects of air pollution, particularly during this era of COVID-19 pandemic.

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

19

Feature

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

This SDR allocation must be different

By Barry Eichengreen

I

n August, the International Monetary Fund announced, to much fanfare, that its members had reached a historic agreement to issue $650 billion of special drawing rights (SDRs, the Fund’s unit of account) to meet the COVID-19 emergency.

SDRs are bookkeeping claims that governments, through the IMF’s good offices, can convert into dollars and other hard currencies to pay for essential imports, such as vaccines. And $650 billion isn’t peanuts: it’s nearly 1% of global GDP. This could make a big difference for poor countries impacted by the virus.

The problem is that SDRs are allocated according to countries’ quotas, or automatic borrowing rights, within the IMF, and the quota formula depends heavily on countries’ aggregate GDP. As a result, barely 3% of the $650 billion total went to lowincome countries, and only 30% went to middle-income emerging markets. Nearly 60% was allocated to high-income countries with no shortage of foreign-currency reserves and no difficulty borrowing to finance budget deficits. More than 17% went to the United States, which can print dollars at will.

The hope was that governments and the IMF would find a way for high-income countries to transfer their SDRs to developing countries in need. So far, there’s little sign of progress in this direction. With the Fund’s annual meetings coming in October, it’s time for the institution – and its members – to step up.

The precedents are not encouraging. In 1965, when serious discussions of creating the SDR first got underway, a group of experts working on behalf of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development argued that SDRs should be allocated with a view to meeting the development needs of newly independent countries.

But when SDRs were issued in 1970, they were allocated instead in proportion to IMF members’ quotas.

Then in 1972-73, spokesmen for developing countries proposed what came to be known as “the link.” They envisaged a bargain whereby advanced economies obtained a reformed international monetary system, in which the SDR performed the function executed by the dollar in the nowdefunct Bretton Woods system, and developing countries, in exchange for their support, received the bulk of the next SDR allocation. In the end, developing countries were placated with a promise that the link might be considered in the future, and a second SDR allocation went ahead. As for the link, nothing was done.

And, more recently, when $250 billion of SDRs were issued in 2009 in response to the global financial crisis, the IMF again allocated them according to members’ quotas.

Why might this time be different? Earlier allocations were made to enhance the stability of the international monetary system and the liquidity of international financial markets. These are, in the main, rich-country problems.

Today, by contrast, the raison d’être for the allocation is to relax financial constraints on fighting the pandemic. And it is in poor countries where those constraints bite. Rich-country governments know this – or they should.

So how might the resource transfer be accomplished?

The IMF already has a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, which provides concessional loans, currently at zero interest rates, to low-income countries.

High-income countries, which already lend to the PRGT, could use it to recycle their SDRs. But borrowing countries have to negotiate programs with the IMF, which is contentious and timeconsuming, and its loans are subject to elaborate conditions.

Given that the PRGT lends less than $2 billion in a typical year ($9 billion in 2020), recycling $400 billion of rich-country SDRs, or even a portion of them, appears to be beyond its capacity.1 There are two better alternatives. First, the IMF’s shareholders could agree to create a dedicated COVID-19 trust. Conditionality attached to its loans would be limited to verifying that governments are using their concessional borrowing to obtain vaccines and other health-service inputs and are administering them fairly and efficiently. Effective monitoring would not be difficult. Money could be pushed out the door.

Second, members could recycle their SDRs, with intermediation by the IMF, to the regional development banks, which are already authorized to hold SDRs and to convert

them into dollars and other hard currencies. This would avoid centralizing the lending process in Washington, DC. The regional development banks have boots on the ground and are attuned to local conditions, and they don’t share the IMF’s reputation as an outside interloper that imposes onerous conditions.

IMF management evidently has its own ideas. Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has proposed a Resilience and Sustainability Trust, to be funded by recycled SDRs, that would help poor countries finance investments in climate-change mitigation and abatement in coming decades.

That is all well and good. But COVID-19 is the preeminent challenge of 2021. If the IMF and its members fail to meet it, none of their proposals for how to address the challenges of coming decades, climate-changed-related and otherwise, will be regarded as credible.

Barry Eichengreen is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former senior policy adviser at the International Monetary Fund.

He is the author of many books, including the forthcoming In Defense of Public Debt.

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BUSINESS24.COM.GH MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

NO. B24 / 247 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

MONDAY MAY 3, 2021

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

School Feeding Coordinator monitors caterers

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he National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, has paid an unannounced visit to some public basic schools in the Greater Accra Region to assess the performance of caterers.

Accompanied by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinator of GSFP, Ms. Christiana Nkansah, and some staff from the National Secretariat, Mrs Quashigah interacted with headteachers, caterers, teachers and pupils in the schools last week.

Some of the schools visited included Nungua Presby Primary “A”; Nungua LEKMA “5 & 6” Basic Schools; St Peter’s Anglican “A & B” Primary and Kindergarten; and Krowor Central Kindergarten.

In a brief interaction with journalists after the tour, the national coordinator expressed satisfaction with the food prepared by the caterers in the schools visited.

The national coordinator also joined some of the pupils in their classrooms to have a frank conversation with them in a bid to find out the genuine assessment

of the school meal and the general performance of the caterers.

She revealed that her outfit had lined up a number of activities nationwide to empower the caterers to up their game.

Mrs. Quashigah noted that the secretariat would continue to train the caterers and cooks to ensure that food served to the pupils were healthy and nutritious.

She encouraged the caterers to strictly abide by the GSFP Handy Measures in order to ensure that the children were served with

the right quality and quantity of meal.

“Caterers who fail to go by our handy measures and are feeding the children with poor quality meal will be sanctioned,” she cautioned.

Mrs. Quashigah appealed to assemblies and communities to support the programme by building kitchens for beneficiary schools.

The caterers, however, raised concern about the feeding grant which currently stands at GH¢1.00 per child.

Responding, the national coordinator assured the caterers of the government’s commitment to increase the grant.

Some of the school heads, who spoke to the media, including Ms. Emefa Amoo, the headmistress of St. Peters Anglican A&B Primary, and Mr. Angelis Dzakpasu, the headmaster of Nungua LEKMA “6” Basic School.

They expressed concern about the quantity of food being served to the pupils.

Ms. Amoo also noted that her school was set to introduce “Fruits Day” where the children would be provided with fruits at regular intervals.

This was applauded by the GSFP national coordinator who prayed for its early implementation.

The school heads were also taken through a newly developed COVID-19 chart, supported

by UNICEF to guide caterers, teachers and pupils in observing the protocols.

UNICEF has also engaged a consultant who is to assist GSFP to develop its national and district operation manuals.

CSIR calls for greater investment in snail production

P

rofessor Paul Bosu, Deputy Director-General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Ghana (CSIR), has called for substantial investment in snail farming to position Ghana as the chief snail producer and supplier.

He said redirecting significant resources to develop and promote snail production would help Ghana penetrate the global market of snails, to derive the needed benefits, as snail farming required less capital as against other forms of animal rearing.

Prof Bosu made the call in an interview with journalists at the close of a day’s training in snail farming technology at Bunso in the Eastern Region, under the auspicious of CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana.

He encouraged Ghanaians to venture into high level, mediumto-large scale production of snails, because there is an already market, both locally and internationally, due to its delicacy and medicinal benefits.

“Snail meat is not only enjoyed

locally, there is a global market for it as well, though there are European snails and other types, but we also have our people in the diaspora who patronise the locally breed snails, the Achatina,” he stated.

He asked people to consider snail rearing in their backyard gardens where it could later be integrated, and others with small spaces in their homes could learn from it.

The training was aimed at equipping young people with the skills and knowledge of snail farming to help improve their livelihoods and boost snail production.

The staff of the National Youth Authority (NYA) in Koforidua, Agricultural Extension Agents and farmers from Bunso, attended the snail rearing session.

Prof Bosu noted that the time has come for much awareness to be created so that a lot of people could be trained to gain basic knowledge on how to rear snails.

He indicated that a combination

of the awareness and the training would build the interest of people who would want to venture to see the need to invest it.

“Sometimes when you tell people to attend training on snail farming they will ask, [with] snails too, do we farm them, I thought we collect them from the bush or forest,” he said.

He also said, for some time now, his outfit had realised that many people are missing out on the taste of snails and especially the health benefits of being rich in protein, iron, calcium and low in fats.

The decline in snail numbers, he said, has caused it to be expensive, and that the snail population was decreasing due to human activities such as bushfires, deforestation and use of pesticides.

He said the good way to increase snail production to supplement what was harvested from the natural systems is by training people to venture into its production.

“I encourage the youth, even

if you have a job and you are not making enough income, you can add snail farming, explore opportunities by acquiring knowledge to supplement your work or venture full time and probably this may end up being what will lead you to your dream,” he said.

Mr. Kennedy Datuah, a Veterinary Officer and a participant, urged the youth to venture into snail farming because it required less finance to start and indicated that, everything in the agriculture chain had value in the market.

Another participant, Millicent Amevor from the National Youth Authority office in Koforidua, said before attending the training, she thought snail farming required no teaching, however after the training she had realised that if someone wanted to venture into snail production that person needed to go through the tutorial process to understand its production.

GNA