Business24 Newspaper 10th March, 2021

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BUSINESS24.COM.GH

NO. B24 / 169 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

Gov’t close to picking strategic investor for bauxite project

WEDNESDAY MARCH 10, 2021

Lead managers to be selected for record Eurobond sale

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

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overnment has begun the process to mandate lead managers for this year’s Eurobond issuance under the 2021 International Capital Market (ICM) Funding Programme.

Cont’d on page 3

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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overnment is close to finalising a deal to bring in an investor to partner the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) for bauxite exploitation in the

IES blames power outages on GRIDCo’s financial challenges

country.

Addressing Parliament in his first State of the Nation Address in his second term, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced that GIADEC has made good progress on the bauxite exploration programme that will drive the government’s industrial transformation

agenda.

“We are in the final stage of an open and transparent investor engagement process, and we are in negotiations to select strategic investors to partner GIADEC for the bauxite mining and alumina refinery projects,” Cont’d on page 2

Support for Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry now vital – Dominic Adu, FNB CEO

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irst National Bank Ghana, a member of the FirstRand Group of South Africa, has affirmed its support for the pharmaceutical industry in Ghana with a set of products which are

By Benson Afful Cont’d on page 3

affulbenson@gmail.com

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he Institute for Energy Security (IES), a think tank, has blamed the recent power outages on poor Cont’d on page 5

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Editorial / News

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Editorial

Unlock the Ghanacard potential

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he national identification card has been long in coming. More than 11 years ago, the process was started but was not completed – with the project appearing to be abandoned.

The appointment of Ken Attafuah on the resumption of office by the New Patriotic Party in 2017 breathed some new lease of life into the project.

After months of registering Ghanaians into one database, President Akufo-Addo in his state of the nation address on Tuesday extolled the achievement of the Mr. Attafuah-led administration.

According to the President, nearly 15.5m people have been enrolled onto the National ID Card system (the Ghanacard),

which is expected to help formalise the economy.

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, the President indicated that the process is expected to be completed this year and that from April 1, all National ID numbers will become Tax Identification Numbers.

“In so doing, the number of people registered by GRA (Ghana Revenue Authority) for tax purposes will increase from the current 3m to 15.5m. I should recall that at the end of 2016, only 750,000 people had TIN numbers. The increase to 15.5m in just four years is simply phenomenal,” he said.

He also announced that from the second quarter of this year, all National ID numbers will

become SSNIT numbers, which will increase the number of people on the SSNIT database from 4m to 15.5m, making it easier for new contributors to be enlisted on the scheme.

The National ID numbers will also become NHIS numbers, the President disclosed.

“Very soon, we will link the National ID to all SIM cards, bank accounts, Births and Deaths Registry, DVLA documents, and passports,” he added.

There is no denying Ghana’s economy is largely informal and attempts to create a system that incorporates that sector into the formal economy will have a tremendous impact.

Gov’t close to picking strategic investor for bauxite project Continued from cover

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the President said. “The selected partner will be announced imminently,” he added.

GIADEC was established through an act of Parliament to promote and develop Ghana’s bauxite reserves and downstream industry.

Over 40 local and multinational companies have expressed interest and gone through selection processes to develop various aspects of the aluminium value chain.

The objective of GIADEC is to ensure that Ghana gets the best out of the aluminium industry, with at least 30 per cent stake in any new mine, refinery or smelter.

GIADEC plans to operate four mining concessions with a combined production of about 20m tonnes of bauxite a year and three refineries with a combined capacity of four to six million tonnes of alumina or refined bauxite.

The corporation’s management has started engagement with key state agencies, power producers and other stakeholders on the development of a coordinated master plan to help build the needed infrastructure and secure reliable power supply for the effective operation of the industry.

Michael Ansah, CEO of GIADEC

GIADEC has already set up and inaugurated 19-member committees for the various communities where bauxite mining or refineries are going to be established. These comprise Asiakwa (Atewa) in the Eastern Region, Awaso in the Western North Region, and Nyinahini and Mpasaaso in the Ashanti Region.

Members of the committees represent all interested parties in the areas. Each team is made up of chiefs, opinion leaders, local government leaders, district police commanders, forestry representatives, women’s group representatives, youth association representatives, and religious leaders.

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Lead managers to be selected for record Eurobond sale Continued from cover The Ministry of Finance in a release revealed that government is in the process of mandating Bank of America, Citi Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Standard Bank as lead managers under the programme.

“One of the key mandates for the banks is to advise the government on various alternative funding structures and options, especially for the Eurobond, that would best fit Ghana’s funding requirements and provide fiscal capacity to further support economic revitalisation and recovery at this time,” the Ministry said.

This year’s ICM programme is targeting up to US$5bn to support growth-oriented expenditures in the 2021 budget and to conduct liability management of both outstanding Eurobonds and domestic bonds.

The programme instruments

consist of Eurobonds, Diaspora bonds, sustainable bonds, and syndicated or bridge loans.

The President’s nominee for Minister of Finance, Ken OforiAtta, told Parliament last year that of the total US$5bn to be

raised, US$1.5bn is planned to be used to support the 2021 budget and US$3.5bn to cater for the government’s debt obligations.

Should the government raise US$5bn on the international capital market, it would be the

largest value of Eurobonds ever issued by the country since its maiden one in 2007.

Market analysts have indicated that to increase investor appetite for the planned issuance, the government must signal a strong intention to revive economic growth and domestic revenue collection, both of which were battered by the COVID-19 shock.

There has been a tightening of spreads for Ghana’s Eurobonds since June last year, with prevailing conditions being favourable as there is an increase in the risk appetite of global bond market investors.

Analysts have also said that conditions can further be improved if the government signals its intention in the 2021 budget to compress the fiscal deficit and reduce the risk to debt sustainability.

Ghana’s total public debt stood at 74.4 percent of GDP in November 2020.

Support for Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry now vital – Dominic Adu, FNB CEO Continued from cover intended to meet the credit needs of players in the sector.

The bank’s response to the needs of the industry is designed to support all players in the full value chain – from manufacturing to retailing, and from importation to distribution, according to Chief Executive of First National Bank Ghana, Dominic Adu. He believes that banks,

government, regulators and the broader financial services sector in Ghana need to pull together, like never before in a constructive partnership to help grow Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry exponentially in these difficult times of Covid-19.

Mr. Adu said the emerging pharmaceutical industry in Ghana, has been underserved for many years but it is about to realise an expansion with the support of

First National Bank coupled with that of government, regulators and other key stakeholder.

He said First National Bank Ghana’s parent company has supported the health sector in Africa and more importantly the pharmaceutical sector for several years, especially in South Africa, which is home to many large manufacturing and distribution companies “First National Bank Ghana hopes to replicate this support to the pharmaceutical sector here in Ghana which has great potential for boosting economic growth and creating jobs if the full value chain is properly funded and monitored,’’ Mr. Adu said. “Our solution is like none other on the market because it is shaped in line with our principle to grow with our customers.”

With an average gross domestic product growth of 6% just before the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020, the opportunity has always been enormous for Ghanaian pharmaceutical companies to do better. With the official start

of free intra continental trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), those opportunities have received an exponential boost.

“It’s very exciting that Ghana has received the very first set of vaccines for COVID-19. This provides a sweet opportunity for the expansion of the availability, distribution and hopefully local manufacturing in the shortest possible time,” Mr. Adu said.

“Undoubtedly, First National Bank Ghana is ready to support players who have the capacity to also acquire the patents and rights to produce or buy and distribute not only the coronavirus vaccines, but other important drugs used in the treatment of infections.”

“Players in the pharmaceutical value chain should be aware that our doors are always open with the right solutions to cushion them from the fallouts of the Covid-19 pandemic,’’ he added.

“Providing funding to indigenous companies to enable them increase capacity to meet the increasing demand for healthcare arising from the coronavirus crisis is in line with our shared values.’’

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News

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Minority vows to oppose Agyapa deal again

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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he Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has maintained that his side will again oppose the Agyapa deal if it is re-laid in the legislature.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, presenting his first State of the Nation Address in his second term on Tuesday, stated that government will bring back the controversial Agyapa deal to Parliament for a second approval.

The Agyapa deal seeks to monetise Ghana’s future gold royalties through an equity listing transaction on the London and Ghana stock exchanges, expected to raise at least US$500m to fund development projects.

Opposition lawmakers had opposed the deal when it was first submitted to Parliament in August last year. The members of Parliament on the majority side however gave it the green light.

The minority had raised

concerns over the creation of Agyapa Royalties Limited as an offshore company in a tax haven as part of the deal and also alleged a conflict of interest because of the involvement of Databank, a company owned by then Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, in the transaction.

Speaking to the press after the President’s address on Tuesday, Haruna Iddrisu said: “What do they need US$500m for? What is the justification that you have to

15.5m people have Ghanacards

By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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resident Nana Akufo-Addo has announced that close to 15.5m people have been enrolled onto the National ID Card system (the Ghanacard), which is expected to help formalise the economy.

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, the President indicated that the process is expected to be completed this year, and that from April 1, all National ID numbers will become Tax Identification Numbers.

“In so doing, the number of people registered by GRA (Ghana Revenue Authority) for tax purposes will increase from the current 3m to 15.5m. I should

recall that at the end of 2016, only 750,000 people had TIN numbers.

The increase to 15.5m in just four years is simply phenomenal,” he said.

He also announced that from the second quarter of this year, all National ID numbers will become SSNIT numbers, which will increase the number of people on the SSNIT database from 4m to 15.5m, making it easier for new contributors to be enlisted on the scheme.

The National ID numbers will also become NHIS numbers, the President disclosed.

“Very soon, we will link the National ID to all SIM cards, bank accounts, Births and Deaths Registry, DVLA documents, and passports,” he added.

securitise our mineral royalties for 25 or more years and to create an SPV (special purpose vehicle) which is suspicious and gives us room to be worried about corruption? We will not support this. I am very certain in my mind.”

The Agyapa deal began two years ago, when the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 was passed by Parliament.

The act established the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF)

to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies and receive royalties on behalf of the government.

The law also gave power to MIIF to establish SPVs to manage investments on its behalf. Based on this, MIIF set up Agyapa Royalties Limited as an SPV to monetise future gold royalties.

However, controversially, Agyapa Royalties was incorporated in Bailiwick of Jersey in the UK, which happens to be a tax haven.

According to the government, this was done to limit Agyapa’s tax liabilities and maximise returns to the government.

In October last year, the government suspended the transaction to allow the Office of the Special Prosecutor to conduct a corruption risk assessment of the deal. The assessment identified multiple issues with the transaction, which caused the President to direct its resubmission to Parliament for further scrutiny.

IES blames power outages on GRIDCo’s financial challenges interruptions have heightened Continued from cover maintenance and upgrade of the transmission system owing to Ghana Grid Company’s (GRIDCo) illiquidity, which continues to render the grid weak and unable to withstand shocks.

“The poor maintenance regime due to the liquidity challenge of the operator is evident in the increasing levels of transmission losses in recent times,” the institute told Business24.

The IES therefore called on government to work to address the cash-flow challenges of GRIDCo, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other sectoral utilities to enable them carry out effective operations and maintenance to forestall the persistent system failures that continue to undermine power service delivery.

“Until the financial, technical, and commercial issues of the power companies are dealt with, the Ghanaian cannot be assured of consistent and reliable power supply, even though current plant available capacity exceeds current system peak demand.”

The IES said the increasing rate at which the transmission grid has been failing, resulting in several interruptions in power supply to homes, businesses and other places is a worry that needs better explanation from GRIDCo. “More worrying is how the

since the beginning of this year, and the kind of explanations put forward,” the institute said.

“With respect to the Sunday, 7 March 2021 incident, GRIDCo explained in a new statement that ‘the total power system shutdown experienced at 14:10 GMT was due to a technical fault on one of the major transmission lines between Prestea and Obuasi, leading to a sequence of trips and eventual power system shutdown in the country.’ What GRIDCo’s statement failed to do was to put across the kind of technical fault that occurred, leading to the system collapse,” IES said.

The institute said its checks indicated that the tripping of the Prestea to Obuasi line occurred at 13:46 GMT, causing voltages in the middle belt to collapse.

“Under such a circumstance, operators on site are required to act swiftly and salvage a total shutdown by taking some customers off the grid to prevent a cascading trip of connected transmission lines, as it happened at 14:10 GMT,” it said.

“The IES would like to understand the cause of the delay in salvaging the situation that eventually led to the total shutdown, particularly what operators did between 13:46 GMT and 14:09 GMT as a way of preventing a total shutdown of the transmission grid,” it added.

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Address land tenure system to reduce housing deficit -- Entrepreneur

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he Chief Executive Officer of the Sani Group Limited, Lord Ibrahim Sani, has called on the government to protect estate developers against land litigation and the activities of land guards to help reduce the country’s housing deficit, which hovers around some two million housing units.

He said land litigation was among the major bottlenecks stifling growth in the housing sector that needed to be addressed urgently.

“The ineffective land system has resulted in multiple sale of lands which has also brought about the land guards’ phenomenon and has slowed down the overall growth in the housing sector,” he said.

Lord Sani who has vast interests in the real estate sectors in both the United Kingdom and West Africa,was speaking in an interview via Zoom on how to bridge the gap in the country’s housing deficit.

He said purchasing a land in the country was not straightforward because there were no organised systems to acquire them and as a result, information about who owns what piece of land was not readily available to help guide prospective land developers.

“The legal and administrative systems for transferring titles

needs,” he said.

He said other challenges like the high cost of land, delay in obtaining building permits and high cost of building materials must also be addressed in the medium to long term. ‘’Even though it may not miraculously solve the housing problem in the country, it has the potential to make a huge contribution towards the alleviation of the housing deficit,” he said. are also problematic and these challenges are having serious repercussions on housing supply, that is why property transactions are slow and costly, and financial institutions are unwilling to extend credit to property holders without a clear title,” he said.

To help reverse the situation, he said the government must begin streamlining the land tenure system by properly implementing the Land Administration Project (LAP), to help create a reliable system for the sale and purchase of land in the country.

He said the government must also consider the provision of lands from the country’s land banks to developers who would show interest in investing in affordable housing projects for the masses to help reduce the

housing deficit.

Equitable share

Continuity

Lord Sani noted that the housing challenges in the country were more peculiar in Accra and other urban centers compared to rural areas due to rural urban migration that tends to put pressure on the limited infrastructure in some urban areas. ‘’There should be the provision of social amenities and an extension of infrastructural development to the rural communities to help better their lives and encourage them to build their lives in these places because when people can fairly access these basic needs it will prevent them from migrating to the urban areas where the pressure on housing keeps mounting,” he said.

Beyond land litigation, he said the lack of continuity of publicfinanced housing projects, like the affordable housing projects, due to change of governments had led to the abandonment of prospective projects that could have helped address the housing needs of the country.

“It is true that our democracy has deepened over the years, especially under the Fourth Republic, with the successful change of power from one government to the other, but that too has contributed to the abandonment of projects started by previous governments which has also been a major setback in addressing the country’s housing

Liquid Icons unveils nominees for Golden Vines Hall of Fame wine education The rest are: the Golden Vines Award and Golden Vines awards inclusion-related programmes, including the World’s Best Rising Star Award,

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iquid Icons – the fine wine research and content production company founded by the late, great Gerard Basset OBE MW MS and his friend Lewis Chester DipWSET – has announced the nominees for its Golden Vines Hall of Fame Award and Golden Vines Innovation awards.

The winners, along with other Golden Vines Award winners, will be given their Golden Vines

Trophies at a fundraising event to be held at Annabel’s Private Members’ Club, London’s preeminent private members’ club, in Mayfair, London on 7th October 2021.

The not-for-profit Golden Vines Awards will recognise and uphold excellence in the fine wine industry and raise funds for The Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation with the aim of funding diversity and

headline Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship, Internship & Mentorship Programmes.

The Golden Vines Awards will be awarded to the world’s best fine wine producers as voted by leading members of the global fine wine industry in The Gerard Basset Global Fine Wine Report produced by Liquid Icons, with polling opening yesterday, 8th March 2021.

The Golden Vines Award Categories, independently adjudicated by Deloitte LLP, are: the Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in Europe Award, the Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Americas Award, the Golden Vines Best Fine Wine Producer in the Rest of the World (Australasia, Africa, Asia & Middle East) Award and the Golden Vines World’s Best Fine Wine Producer Award.

the Golden Vines Innovation Award and the Golden Vines Hall of Fame Award – awarded to a living individual for extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the production of fine wine, or for outstanding service to the world of fine wine.

For each award leading members of the fine wine industry nominate who they want to win, however, for the Golden Vines Hall of Fame Award and the Golden Vines Innovation Award, 5 pre-listed nominees have been put forward, although there is an option for an alternative nominee should the voter wish to nominate someone else, the statement on the awards indicated.

Every award winner will be given the Golden Vines Award Trophy, designed and produced in collaboration with Amorim Cork.

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News

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Newmont’s Women & Allies Network supports host community schools in Covid-19 fight

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ewmont Ghana’s Women and Allies Network has donated protective wear and sanitary supplies to three schools near the company’s Akyem mine to support COVID-19 relief efforts in its host communities.

The beneficiary schools – Ntronang Presby School, Afosu D.A. School and Mamanso Presby School – received nose masks, paper towels, gallons of handwashing soap and “Veronica” buckets.

Making the donation, the Senior Manager of Sustainability and External Relations at the Akyem Mine, Mr. Derek Boateng, reiterated that the health and safety of people in the host communities is a priority for Newmont Ghana.

“As Ghana continues to implement measures to control the spread of the virus and reduce its impact, we are committed to actively supporting schools, local government, medical institutions and other stakeholders by directly addressing the health challenges in our communities,” Mr. Boateng said.

With the recent reopening of schools, Newmont Ghana said it recognizes the importance of providing learning institutions with relief items to help students and teachers to resume studies safely.

Against this backdrop, Newmont’s Women and Allies Network took the initiative of raising funds towards the purchase of safety and sanitary supplies for schools in its host communities.

Receiving the donation on behalf

of the beneficiary institutions, Birim North’s District Director of Education, Mrs. Rosemond Antwi, thanked the Women and Allies Network for the supplies and expressed the belief that they would significantly contribute to ensuring safe behaviours in the community schools and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Women and Allies Network is a Business Resource Group that empowers women within Newmont and its host communities by providing

them with developmental opportunities through education and advocacy.

The group has previously donated medical supplies and equipment to nursing and expectant mothers at the Adausena Maternity Centre and New Abirem Government Hospital, and supported the Ntronang Presby School with books and computers through its Read to Inspire project.

Beyond these efforts, when most educational institutions across the country closed down as a precaution against COVID-19, Newmont drew from Africa’s allocation of its $20 million global fund to help Junior High School ( JHS) students in its Akyem host communities to continue their academics through a weekly community radio school.

As the country continues to navigate the impacts of COVID-19, the company said it will direct its resources towards addressing the greatest needs in its communities in partnership with the government, public health institutions and other organisations.

Asharami Synergy pledges support for downstream past several decades and attracted sector transformation in Kenya foreign investment independent

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sharami Synergy Kenya, a Sahara Group oil marketing company, has reiterated its commitment to working with all stakeholders to transform Kenya’s downstream sector for sustainable growth and regional competitiveness.

Debola Adesanya, Country Manager, Asharami Synergy, said the company would leverage its affiliation with its parent company, Sahara Group to join forces with relevant stakeholders in the energy sector to enhance capacity building, access to clean energy and sustainable development in Kenya. Sahara Group is a leading energy

conglomerate with operations in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

“Asharami Synergy’s operations in Kenya will be boosted by outcomes expected from the expansion drive by Sahara Group with a strong focus on investment in technology, artificial intelligence, and human capital transformation in global markets.

We expect to take full advantage of our affiliation with Sahara to enhance the energy value chain and more importantly, also seek collaboration with the stakeholders in the various regulatory bodies, private

sector and the good people of Kenya towards promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kenya,” Adesanya said.

Adesanya said Asharami Synergy had over the past 24 months supplied 701,000,000 litres of petroleum products to Kenya representing total investment of $346,908,023 in the East African nation. The products include Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO).

“The energy sector where Asharami Synergy operates is an integral part of Kenya’s economy and helps to shore up capacity for further growth of the nation’s agricultural engine room to yield more globally sought-after cash crops such as tea, fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables and coffee.

We are committed to enhancing access to clean and top-quality petroleum products through our operations in Kenya,” he stated.

The Oxford Business Group reports that Kenya stands out on the African continent as a major economy that has grown over the

of any resource production.

Downstream, domestic energy consumption is dominated by the traditional use of biomass. For the future, however, Kenya aims to increase access to modern energy as demand grows. Total petroleum consumption is expected to triple from 4.5m tonnes as of 2015 to 12m tonnes by 2030.

Only recently, Asharami Synergy’s parent company, Sahara Group flagged off activities to mark its 25th anniversary all through 2021. Executive Director, Sahara Group, Temitope Shonubi said the energy conglomerate’s impressive growth trajectory since 1996 had been “phenomenal”, leading to its expansion across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Shonubi said sustainable economic, social, and governance models have driven the achievement of annual revenues in excess of $10 billion, with over 4,000 employees and operations in over 40 countries,” said Shonubi said.

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Companies

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UBA poised to change the face of e-banking with new mobile app

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an African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Plc is set to change the face of digital banking services with its new mobile banking app aimed at delivering first-rate services to customers.

The new UBA mobile banking app, has been armed with benefits and features designed to give its customers increased control and accessibility to carry out transactions with ease.

UBA’s Group Head, Digital Banking, Kayode Ishola, who spoke about the new banking app to members of the press during an international virtual media parley on Monday, explained that apart from being able to decide where they want their cards to operate and block, view, or request new cards straight from the app to suit their specific needs, the app has been tailor-made to give customers what they want, how and in the way they want it.

Reeling off some of the features and benefits of the app, he said a lot of investment in cutting edge technology and attention to details was put into the new UBA mobile app.

Ishola said, “The new UBA Mobile App is your personal finance manager built with a distinctive user interface that will change the face of banking.

With this app, we are reimagining banking as our engagement has moved from being channelbased to being platform-based.

The speed of the platform has been made to match the speed of light as we have cut down significantly on the number of processes expected to carry out your transactions.

“Interestingly, we have worked towards creating behavioural insight for our customers and working around this to address the real needs of our customers using the Omni channel platform and running on our open digital platform, which is very interactive and armed with lifestyle services. It is sleek and trendy with seamless user interface” Ishola stated.

UBA’s Head, SME Banking, Sampson Aneke, said that apart from the fact that the app has been created with journey that has a high-level of intelligence as it can work based on frequent transactions, it can also speak to the specific country where it is being used as the new mobile app runs concurrently in the 20 countries of UBA’s operation interacting in the different languages and cultures in line with the specific needs and regulation of the country in focus.

“This all-encompassing

platform which boasts of a new user interface because of its sleek, modern nature of delivering seamless experience across several devices; can be used as a budgeting tool, loan application and also allows customers view their expenses according to their various categories such as the amount spent on data within a particular period;” Aneke added.

On the security features of the app, UBA’s Group Chief Information Officer, Onyebuchi Akosa, said that security of the app are best in class adding that the new platform, which will revolutionise the way banking

services are offered, promises to deliver increased personalized banking via a watertight and highly-effective security system.

“The new app has also been built with the best-in-purchase security features and has been modelled appropriately to ensure that all the features are working properly to secure transactions maximally. It is also important to mention that the bank took into consideration the virtually impaired, and thus has used voice recognition as a channel for transaction which suits both convenience and the visually impaired customers,” he said.

Huawei women developers program drives technological innovation

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uawei officially launched its HUAWEI Women Developers (HWD) program, which aims to empower women developers to create applications and tools that can change the world.

The program is intended to encourage more women to join in technological innovation by providing participants with more opportunities and platforms for career development and skill training. Any woman developer from around the world can register to join the program on the HUAWEI Developers official website.

Huawei states in the announcement that, in the digital era, more opportunities and support must be given to women to ensure they have access to the education and training that they need to be fundamentally competitive in the digital economy. Equipping women with these skills has proven to promote social integration and inclusive and diversified societies.

Huawei Senior Vice President Chen Lifang said: “We believe that women will lead technological innovation. We hope that the HUAWEI Women Developers program will help women better leverage their talents and unique value, and give them opportunities to demonstrate their leadership abilities. This will help make our world a better place.”

The HUAWEI Women Developers program is the newest initiative that Huawei has

taken as part of its commitment to promoting gender equality.

The program will provide participants with training on technological innovation and career development paths, along with opportunities to meet with experts in cutting-edge technologies from various fields, and to participate in hands-on scenario-based experiments and drills. Huawei hopes to create a special community for women developers on the HUAWEI Developers platform, and

organize a series of online and offline events.

Through its existing ShiningStar program, Huawei also offers women developers special incentives to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Participants from this program who develop outstanding projects with big potential will have the opportunity to be featured in future campaigns and invited to other official Huawei events.

To date, Huawei has successfully launched similar digital skill training programs for women in many countries including Ireland, Argentina, Bangladesh, Kenya, and South Africa. Over 30% of trainees in Huawei’s other ICT training programs, such as Seeds for the Future, are women.

The HUAWEI Women Developers program is now open to women developers from around the world. For more information, please visit the HUAWEI Developers official website.

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Feature

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The impact of COVID-19 on womenfinding ways to be more flexible and inclusive

It’s International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021. In recognition of the celebration of International Women’s Day this week, Hannah Annobil-Acquah, Head of Retail Banking at First National Bank Ghana shares her thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on women; and how we are learning and evolving as a result.

The McKinsey Women in Work 2020 Report indicated that 1 in 4 American women consider downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce. As the report states – the “double-shift” that women have already been working has become even more intense.

In South Africa, the Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey reported that of the 3 million job losses reported in 2020, 2 million were that of women. For those fortunate enough to have jobs, our days are often filled with technology, ensuring the continuation of children’s education or logistical changes, occupying children whilst in meetings or presenting, doing general household chores and working late to catch up on work.

Global leaders like Sheryl Sandberg have raised their concerns noting that the impact of the pandemic is a threat to the progress women have made in the workplace over the past decade. This is because of the delicate balancing act and load that so many of us are juggling.

“I see it as an opportunity to challenge our thinking and evolve our approach in business and society when it comes to our new reality - to fully support this evolution, our focus needs to rest on diversity, inclusion and constant upskilling within the workplace”, Hannah stated.

According to Hannah, an understanding by employers around the continued and exaggerated needs for flexibility goes a long way, allowing women and parents the freedom to serve both their personal and business commitments. “Leaders can support staff needing to avail of leave and book out “meetingfree” times in their staff ’s diaries– this gives people the space to gather their thoughts and manage their load.

We are not working 9-5 anymore, and so the workday and the attitude of society can evolve positively to accommodate and be flexible towards the rest of our lives. Pervasive feedback indicates that people value the freedom that work from home allows, as long as it is appropriately managed, and as long as trust and commitment is upheld – this is encouraging.

Inclusivity means an acceptance that people are working from their home environments, and so an expectation around disturbances for both men and women alike, such as children’s voices in the background, allows people to feel more comfortable rather

than feeling like they need to be put ‘on mute’. Setting up time for casual, judgement free interactions where employees are called upon to share their perspectives and opinions have become critically important for people to remain connected and included.

She further explained that inclusivity from a business perspective should however be viewed with an even broader lens.

Male and female leaders should continue to give exposure and ‘open the door’ to opportunities for women. When operating in such a virtual world of work, this is a deliberate effort of stepping aside to allow women to lead a project, pitch, take their rightful seat at the boardroom table and drive initiatives. Succession plans can play a valuable role in this if they are deliberate, fair, and supported by mentors and sponsors.

The pandemic has put a spotlight on business and political leaders and the value that people place on empathy, communication, collaboration, teamwork, relationships, and the ability to motivate – I am hopeful that this will be sustained well beyond the pandemic. These are all categories that many women excel in and given the opportunity to tap into these and use it to better society and business, could create even more of a platform for women to thrive in the workforce and beyond.

It takes a village to juggle

multiple work and personal life responsibilities, and this village is comprised of both men and women, family members, friends, business colleagues, and even the local grocery delivery service. If we as leaders, colleagues, friends and family work together to accept and appreciate everyone’s varying circumstances and challenges, to create opportunities, and importantly, to share the physical and mental load, we can emerge from this pandemic and set ourselves up for a future that is more human and more connected than ever.

To the mom assisting customers on the phone while her children are playing next to her; to the daughter taking care of her parents; to the manager running a meeting and worrying about what’s for dinner; to the friend checking in regularly with those who need her; to the leader who gives care and support to her team – we see you, value you and thank you for helping us all learn how to be better. Happy International Women’s month.

The Author

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Feature

WEDNESDAY MARCH 10, 2021

When Vaccination is a “Crime”

By Peter Singer

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n December 29 last year, Hasan Gokal, the medical director of the COVID-19 response team in Harris County, Texas (which includes Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States by population), was supervising the administration of the Moderna vaccine, mostly to emergency workers. The vaccine comes in vials containing eleven doses. A vial, once opened, expires in six hours and unused vaccine must then be thrown away.

On that December day, a patient arrived just before closing time, so a nurse had to open a new vial, leaving Gokal with ten doses. He offered them to the health-care workers and to two police officers still on the site, but they had either been vaccinated, or declined. He called a colleague whose parents and in-laws were eligible – anyone over 65 or with a medical condition that increases the risk from the coronavirus could then be vaccinated – but they weren’t available.

Gokal started calling people from his phone’s contacts to ask if they knew anyone eligible who wanted to be vaccinated and could come to his home that evening. When he arrived home, two people were waiting there, and he vaccinated them. Then he drove to homes where he knew there were eligible people, and vaccinated five more.

Meanwhile he kept calling, and three more agreed to come to his home. That would have exhausted the supply, but one

canceled. Gokal’s wife has pulmonary sarcoidosis, a lung condition that made her eligible to be vaccinated. “I didn’t intend to give this to you,” he said he told her, “but in a half-hour I’m going to have to dump this down the toilet.” Fifteen minutes before the last dose would expire, he vaccinated her.

At work the next morning, Gokal told his supervisor what had happened, and reported the names of those who had received ten doses. A few days later, he was summoned by his supervisor, and told that he should have returned the remaining doses, even if they would then have expired and been thrown away. For failing to do so, he was dismissed.

Two weeks later, the Harris County district attorney, Kim Ogg, charged him with theft and with breaking county protocols.

Gokal’s lawyer requested a copy of the protocols that his client was accused of breaking. He was told that they did not exist.

A judge dismissed the charges, saying that the district attorney had failed to show that Gokal, as the medical adviser for the county’s COVID-19 response, did not have the right to decide whom to vaccinate. Ogg has said that she will try again.

Some moral systems treat rules as inviolable. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, holds that to take an innocent human life is always wrong.

It sometimes happens that during childbirth, the baby’s skull becomes lodged in the vagina, and all attempts to dislodge it fail. In this situation,

if nothing is done, both the mother and the baby will die.

Until the development of modern obstetrics, the only way to prevent that double tragedy was for a doctor to crush the baby’s skull. The baby would die, but the woman would live. In Catholic countries, that procedure was prohibited because it was the direct killing of the baby. As a result, women who could have been saved died.

Utilitarianism takes the opposite view. Its founder, Jeremy Bentham, would ask of any law, custom, or moral rule, “What is the use of it?” By that, he meant, what does it do to increase happiness or reduce suffering?

Bentham and his followers applied that test to a wide range of laws and institutions: the privileges of the aristocracy, the slave trade, restrictions on who could vote, victimless crimes such as homosexuality, and the subordinate status of women.

Rules have an important place, even for utilitarians. John Stuart Mill thought rules embodied the wisdom and experience of past generations about what kind of conduct is likely to bring about a better life for all. Nevertheless, for Mill, rules are not absolute.

“To save a life,” he wrote, “it may not only be allowable, but a duty, to steal.”

We will never know if one of Gokal’s ten injections saved a life, but they surely increased the peace of mind of those who might otherwise have had to wait days or weeks to be vaccinated. In any case, he did not steal. Obviously, using the doses to vaccinate

people had better consequences than throwing them away – or rather, it would have had better consequences, if Gokal had not been dismissed from his job and threatened with prosecution.

One thing we can learn from the injustice done to Gokal is the value of sensible rules to guide vaccination administrators.

In Los Angeles, standby lines outside clinics, though unofficial, have been accepted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which has told health-care providers not to throw away unused doses.

In Israel, people who would not normally be due to be vaccinated can register to receive a text message if a nearby vaccination center has vaccines that would otherwise be wasted. As these examples show, it is not difficult to think of something better than throwing away potentially lifesaving vaccines.

The other lesson to be learned is that it is wrong to punish people who do their best in the absence of clear rules, or in situations that fall outside the range of possibilities contemplated by those who drew up the prevailing rules. In these situations, people should be encouraged to exercise their own judgment to bring about the best consequences for all.

About author Peter Singer is Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and founder of the non-profit organization The Life You Can Save.

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Real Estate

WEDNESDAY MARCH 10, 2021

The real estate act is here finally!

T

he real estate sector in Ghana has proved to be very dynamic and has evolved to become a real boomer in the growing Ghanaian economy over the last few years.

In the last decade, marketing and sales in the sector has grown exponentially, due to the constantly rising housing deficit that plagues the country.

According to Broll Ghana, an average of about 85,000 property transactions takes place in a year for both sales and rentals. A lot of structures are being put up to meet the housing deficit and these structures naturally need to be occupied.

This has seen the influx of many self-styled real estate agents, some definitely being charlatans and crooks (expectedly so), as well as some fairly wellestablished Real estate brokers.

The Real Estate Act could therefore not have come at a better time. The introduction of the Act will help streamline the operations of real estate agents and brokers for better organization and accountability and will also serve to protect the innocent person who needs property for whatever purpose.

A careful scrutiny of the Act reveals that it may be divided into 2 major parts. The first part

relates to the establishment and operations of the regulating Council and Board of the real estate sector. The second part speaks to the regulations pertaining to real estate brokers and agents and their operations and activities.

This article will, however, concentrate on the second part of the Act which deals with the operation of real estate agents and brokers because this is the part that greatly affects the ordinary citizen and the players in the real estate market.

Licensing The Act introduces a licensing regime which requires only licensed real estate brokers or agents to provide real estate agency services, perform any form of business connected with the provision of real estate agency services or engage in real estate transactions.

Anyone can apply to be licensed as an agent or a broker as the case may be. The Board will grant licenses to three types of persons who apply to it.

First are persons who are valuation and estate surveyors registered by the Ghana Institute of Surveyors or lawyers licensed by the General Legal Council to

practice in Ghana.

The second category are persons not resident in Ghana but are licensed real estate brokers or agents in their country of residence. T he third, and probably the largest group, are any persons not mentioned above who have passed a qualifying examination conducted by the Board. For existing practitioners at the introduction of the Act, the Council may, on the application of such persons who have practiced as insurance brokers for at least five (5) years before the coming into force of the Act, register such persons as real estate brokers or agent provided, they have no criminal record and have met all tax obligations.

All applicants must have Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). The Board shall refuse the application of any person who has been convicted of an offence involving the security of the state, fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude. Another very interesting introduction by the Act is that all of the applicants must have professional indemnity insurance cover.

When applications for licenses are made to the Board the Council shall carry out background checks and criminal history

checks as well as inspection of the facilities of the applicants. If the Council is satisfied with the application received, the Council will within 60 days grant the applicants a license which license shall be valid for one (1) year and is renewable. The license granted is not transferable.

Suspension and Revocation of License The Council may suspend or revoke a license that has been issued for a number of reasons which include: i.

Accepting cash payment for the real estate transaction. ii. Failing to pay out monies received on behalf of clients within a month at most iii.

Paying or dividing commission or fees with a person who is not a licensed real estate agent or broker. iv. Where a company, society, association or partnership ceases to have a licensed real estate broker as its designated officer or broker, the real estate broker license of that company, society, association or partnership shall be revoked.

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v. A license will also be revoked where it is established that the license was obtained by fraud. vi. The license will also be revoked where an agent or broker is convicted for a serious offence. vii. Where a broker or agent knowingly makes fraudulent misrepresentations, acts in a dual capacity as broker and undisclosed principal in the same transaction, acts for more than one party in the same transaction without their knowledge and consent, commingling money or property of a property owner with that of theirs, failing to disclose information on a property which is the subject matter of a transaction, among other grounds.

database shall be made available on request in writing to the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and any other relevant institution.

Every licensed real estate broker or agent must maintain a place of business in Ghana and conspicuously display in the office his/her license or a certified true copy of it as well as the fees to be charged. Whenever there is a change in the place of business, notification of same must be made in writing to the Council, failure of which is a ground for suspension of license.

Where a Real estate agent alone opens an office, he/she shall be affiliated to a licensed real estate broker and act for no other real estate broker.

The Real Estate Practice

Forms

The Council shall keep and maintain a register of all licensed real estate brokers and agents which shall be open for inspection and extracts of same made available to interested persons at a fee. The Council shall publish in the Gazette a list of all licensed real estate brokers and agents who are in good standing annually.

The Council shall establish and maintain a national database on all real estate transactions which shall contain the transaction records of each licensed real estate broker or agent for a period of at least five (5) years. This

The Council shall introduce real estate transaction forms which shall be used for real estate transactions. A transaction in which forms issued by the Council is not used is voidable.

Besides the forms, the real estate broker shall prepare or caused to be prepared sales and purchase or lease agreements and give the parties involved copies.

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Payment All payments for real estate transactions shall have to go through the bank. No real estate broker or agent shall accept cash

in payment for any transaction.

The brokers and agents shall open and operate a separate client’s account through which transactions shall be made.

Transaction Certificates The Council has introduced a Real Estate Transaction Certificate which shall be issued to the parties at the completion of every transaction within 30 days of application. Without this transaction certificate, the Lands Commission shall not register any acquired interest arising out of a real estate transaction.

Reporting Real estate brokers or agents shall submit quarterly reports to the Council, covering each real estate transaction undertaken by the broker or agent, in addition to their reporting obligation under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2008 (Act 749). Failure to submit the report to the Council will attract a liability of one thousand (1,000) penalty units (a penalty unit is currently GHC 12).

Books A real estate broker or agent is required to keep books of account, records, returns and other documents containing the financial details of transactions.

They must appoint an auditor in the second month of each calendar year who shall submit its report within a month after its appointment. The real estate

broker or agent shall keep its records for a period of at least 5 years.

Aside the books that must be kept by the real estate broker or agent, he/she must keep the details of all transactions including the names of parties, description of property involved, valuation report on each property, amount and mode of payment for property, and any other relevant information.

Offences Any person who advertises as a real estate broker or agent without a license or engages in a real estate transaction without a license; a person with license who transfers same; any person who falsifies a document under this Act, obstructs an officer or authorized person of the Council in performing his/her duties or fails to submit transaction reports, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of between five thousand (5,000) and ten thousand (10,000) penalty units or a term of imprisonment of between five (5) and ten (10) years or both the fine and term of imprisonment.

About the author Cephas Tettey Omenyo is a Commercial and Corporate lawyer who specializes in transactions and civil litigation.

E-mail: ctomenyo@gmail.com LinkedIn: Cephas Tettey Omenyo Instagram: c.t_omenyo Telephone: 020 823 1346

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Markets

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Markets

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WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING MARCH 05, 2021

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WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING MARCH 05, 2021

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