Business Analyst - April 5

BUSINESS MARKET RATES
US$ 1 – GH¢7.52
GHANA STOCK MON, 4 APRIL. 2022
Indices and Market Cap Level Previous Level Change % Change
GSe Composite Index 2,810.01 2,798.27 +11.74 +0.42%
GSe Financial Index 2,073.63 2,073.63 0.00 0.00%
GSe Market Cap (GhS 'mn) 63,883.61 63,760.71 +122.90 +0.19%
Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Vol. No. 145
GH¢2.50
COCOA: US$2,650.33 per tonne
CRUDE OIL: US$99 per barrel
GOLD: US$1914.92 per ounce
• Dr. Ernest
Addison,
Governor
of BoG
There is
hope for
firm
stability of
the cedi as
the Bank of Ghana
plans to sell $350
million dollars to
dealers for the next
• President Akufo-Addo

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Russia-Ukraine War Update
Biden calls for Putin war crimes
trial over civilian killings
Ukrainian intelligence
publishes list of russian
servicemen in Bucha
The Ukrainian intelligence
service has published what it
claims is a list of russian
personnel "who committed
war crimes against the people
of Ukraine in Bucha".
The list, published on the website of
the Ministry of Defense, included the
names, dates of birth, passport numbers
and ranks of about 2,000 servicemen.
A message read: "remember! All war
criminals will be brought to justice for
crimes committed against the civilian
population of Ukraine."
It comes after senior government
sources told the BBC that the UK
government is considering action to
target captains, majors, and colonels in
the russian military.
The measures could include sanctions
as well as ways to hold individuals legally
accountable for any crimes committed in
Ukraine.
russia’s ambassador to UN has
insisted no civilians were harmed during
the month-long russian occupation of
the Ukrainian town of Bucha - and
accused Ukraine of fabricating evidence.
As we've been reporting, the bodies of
dozens of civilians as well as a mass grave
have been found following the
withdrawal of russian troops.
But, speaking at a press conference in
New York, Vasily Nebenzia said it was
"staged provocation" by Western
countries.
he also accused the UK of
"unprecedented abuse" in its role this
month as president of the UN Security
Council, said it was refusing to allow
russia to bring the Bucha incidents up.
The BBC has verified footage in Bucha
in recent days and found the bodies in
the streets would have been there for a
number of days, and while the town was
under russian control.
A weekend of appalling images and
harrowing stories has triggered a fresh
wave of international outrage, and,
inevitably, talk of more sanctions.
No concrete announcements yet, but
Joe Biden said those were coming and
that he’d been right, in mid-March, to
condemn Vladimir Putin in the harshest
terms.
War crimes trials may have to wait,
but leaders agree new sanctions are
needed. France’s president, emmanuel
Macron, has called for more measures to
target russian oil and coal.
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz,
said Mr Putin and his supporters would,
in his words, “feel the consequences” of
what happened in Bucha. The economy
minister, robert habeck, said Germany
was working towards an embargo on
russian energy, but that it couldn’t
happen immediately.
The small Baltic republic of Lithuania
is leading the way. After years of reducing
its heavy reliance on russian gas, its
government announced, on Sunday, that
imports had finally been reduced to zero.
"If we can do it," the country’s president
said, "the rest of europe can too".
The UK's foreign secretary, Liz Truss,
said tough new sanctions will be
announced at a meeting of G7 foreign
ministers later this week.
After meeting her Ukrainian
counterpart in Warsaw, she said these
would include banning russian ships
from western ports, cracking down
further on russian banks and going after
new industries which she said were
filling Mr Putin’s war chest, including
gold.
Factchecking
russian
claims about
Bucha killings
Since the
withdrawal of
russian troops
from Bucha,
horrific images of
bodies lying in
the streets and
accounts of
killings have
emerged.
The reports
have sparked
widespread
condemnation
and the United
Nations has
called for an
independent
investigation
into what happened in the town.
Ukraine accused russia of a
"deliberate massacre" but russia called it
"a staged provocation by the Kyiv
regime".
It made a series of unfounded claims
about the footage from Bucha, including
that people shown are not actually dead
and that no civilians in Bucha were
harmed.
The BBC has fact checked the claims.
read the full report here.
United States backing
international prosecutors team
The US State Department says the US
is supporting a multi-national team of
international prosecutors going to the
region to collect, preserve and analyse
evidence, at the request of Ukrainian
officials.
The aim is to pursue criminal
accountability against russia, a
spokesperson for the State Department
said.
"Those responsible for atrocities must
be held accountable as must those who
ordered them.
"They cannot and will not act with
impunity."
They said the US is tracking and
documenting atrocities and sharing
information with institutions working to
hold responsible those accountable.
France to expel russian
diplomats
France is the latest country to decide
to expel russian diplomatic staff, after its
foreign ministry announced it was
expelling many russian diplomats.
"Their actions go against our national
security interests," the French Ministry
of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
"This move is part of a european
initiative."
The French news agency AFP quoted a
source close to the Foreign Ministry as
saying 35 people would be expelled.
It follows a similar decision taken by
Germany which expelled 40 russian
envoys over the killings of civilians in
Bucha, near Ukraine's capital Kyiv.
Bucha should be a game changer in
West's support, says Ukrainian foreign
minister
The killings in Bucha should be a
"game changer" for the support the West
is willing to provide Ukraine, the
country's foreign minister has said.
Speaking to the BBC's hardtalk
programme, Dmytro Kuleba said: "The
Bucha massacre should remove any kind
of hesitation and reluctance in the West
to provide Ukraine with all necessary
weapons... to defend our country
and to free it from the russian
occupants."
he said additional support
should include planes, tanks,
multiple launch rocket systems,
and armoured vehicles as well
as a strengthening of sanctions
against russia.
Kuleba added that the
outcome of the war would be
decided not only on the
battleground, but in the "offices
in europe and North America"
where decisions about the level
of additional support will be
taken.
"I'm ready to exchange every
word of sympathy and
admiration for a tank or a plane
that will help me, or or an
embargo on gas and oil that will
help me to save human lives in
Ukraine," he said.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Hope For Cedi
• Continued from front
three months.
This is expected to boost supply
and reduce the pressure on the local
currency.
According to the Bank of Ghana, it
plans to sell $150 million in May 2022,
and sell $100 million each in April 2022
and June 2022.
This is in accordance with the
Foreign exchange Forward Auction
Guidelines.
According to the Central Bank, bids
• As BoG plans to sell $350 m to
dealers for the next three months
are invited as per the prescribed
format to purchase the United States
dollars against Ghana cedis, separately
on each auction date.
The Central Bank further said it
will publish an auction calendar for
the Foreign exchange Forward Auction
on a quarterly basis.
Also, the calendar will be published
one week preceding the next quarter
on the Bank of Ghana website.
It concluded that the Competitive
Multiple-priced Foreign exchange
Forward Auction will be governed by
the guidelines published and available
on the Bank of Ghana website.
The cedi lost more than 15% to the
dollar on the forex market in the first
quarter of 2022, as a result of several
factors.
This includes the downgrade of the
country’s credit rating by ratings
agencies, Fitch and Moody’s, and the
usual demand of dollars by importers
to settle goods bought during the
Christmas period.
E-levy target
Gov’t can only
collect GHC3.5 bn
• NDC asserts
The Deputy National Communications
Officer of the opposition National Democratic
Congress (NDC), Mr Kwaku Boahen
has asserted that the government
cannot achieve its 6.9 billion estimated
revenue with the collection of the e-
levy.
According to him, this is because the
government has lost almost five months
of collection.
Despite the above, he intimated that
government may be able to collect only
about 3.5 billion at the end its term.
Nonetheless, he said that money
cannot do exactly what the government
is saying it will do with the e-levy, explaining
that even the money spent by
Flagstaff house in a year is almost 3.8
billion.
With the 3.5, Mr Kwaku Boahen said
government cannot even take care of
the Jubilee house, adding that it (government)
lied about what it will use the
money for.
The e-Levy was passed, the Minority
on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
On March 31st, 2022, the President of
Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo
signed the e-Levy into law.
This was irrespective of the fact that
the Minority did not accept the manner
in which the levy was passed and had
sent the matter to the Supreme court to
declare that the approval of the e-levy
was contrary to law.
Speaking on Atinka TV yesterday,
Kwaku Boahen said if the government
cuts cost and reduces its expenditure,
then the revenue generated with the e-
Levy will be able to solve some issues in
the country.
If not, he said then there was no
need to introduce the tax.
“They said when they collect the
money, they will get GhC6 billion, and
now they cannot get it because five
months is gone, so with the 6 billion,
they can only get about 3.5,” he said.
he continued that,” with the 3.5, are
you saying that if contractors are crying,
you will use it to sort them out? Pay
teachers, and even the Black Stars?
Meanwhile, you have taken a loan of
about 250 billion, it could not construct
roads, it could not support teachers, it
could not help citizens and so what will
you do with the GhC3billion? Will it
bring us hope?”
said when they
collect the money,
they will get GHC6
billion,
““They
and now they
cannot get it because
five months is gone,
so with the 6 billion,
they can only get
about 3.5,” he said.
Ghana card will improve
pensions penetration
• SSNIT boss asserts
The Social Security and
National Insurance Trust
(SSNIT) has stated that
the introduction of the
Ghana Card will revolutionise
the pensions sector
and increase pension
penetration in the country.
The Director-General
of SSNIT, Dr. John Ofori-
Tenkorang, explained that
the introduction of the
Ghana cards will make it
easier to enroll people
into the pension scheme
as data on them would be
readily available.
“The Ghana Card, for
me, is going to be a gamechanger.
It’s going to be a
game-changer because
you see previously when
you sign somebody onto
SSNIT, they have to take
their biometric, you have
to collect all their personal
data, as well as the
work-related data. Thank
God through the Ghana
card all this information
or I say most of them has
been provided to the National
Identification Authority.”
“So, when I come to
you and I convince you
that you have to join and
you decide to join, all you
have to do is to give me
your gonna card. I swipe
it and immediately I have
all the information on
you, your telephone number,
your email address if
any. how old you are, your
date of birth and all that
stuff and if we need to add
any additional information,
it’ll be minimal information.
And then now
we are able to also identify
you biometrically because
you have the Ghana
Card, we don’t need to
take a new set of fingerprints
so that makes it
easy,” he said.
Dr. Tenkorang also
highlighted efforts his
outfit has made to make
payments of contributions
to SSNIT convenient
for contributors.
The other thing that I
think is gonna make it
easy for us to make inroads
is the mode of payment
that we are going to
roll out. One of them was
going to be payments
through mobile money.
When your SIM cards are
linked to your Ghana
cards and so on and so
forth. All these things become
seamless and we
have come up with a back
end platform that allows
payments to be made
through MoMo (mobile
money) to integrate directly
into our systems.
recent data from the
Ghana Statistical Service’s
Population and housing
Census (PhC) indicates
that 10.8 million of the
population are workers,
out of which just about 1.7
million workers are covered
by SSNIT.
A situation many have
expressed concern over
while calling on authorities
to put in the required
effort to close the gap.
when I come
to you and I
convince you that
you ““So,
have to join
and you decide to
join, all you have
to do is to give me
your gonna card. I
swipe it and
immediately I have
all the information
on you, your
telephone number,
your email address
if any.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
FUNCTIONAL
ADDRESS SYSTEM KEY
TO BOOST GROWTH
THE need for a functional address system in the country
is increasingly becoming critical for the management of
rapidly growing urban areas, where most cities lack a
comprehensive and standardised addressing system.
The lack of an efficient and standardised address
system in the country hinders urban planning and the
delivery of urban services, as well as revenue generation
by local government authorities.
Indeed, an efficient and standardised address
system, which comprises street naming and property
addressing, does not only facilitate the operation of
modern technological devices but, more importantly,
serves as an essential tool for effective urban
development and management.
The process involves using a system of maps and
signs that assign names to streets and numbers to
buildings or parcels of land to ensure easy identification
of people and places.
It is of great significance that the Land Use and
Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA) has developed a new
system for the monitoring and implementation of the
street naming and property address system.
The system enables LUSPA officers to work with local
government authorities for the implementation of the
already ongoing project.
The street address system started over 20 years ago,
with metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies
(MMDAs) working with traditional authorities and other
key stakeholders on the project.
But there are problems that inhibit the complete roll
out of a functional street naming and property address
system because local government authorities, who are
constitutionally mandated to manage spatial
development of the cities, are faced with challenges that
hinder the efficient planning and effective coordination
and control of physical development.
Again, some of the local authorities have gaps in the
preparation of appropriate city layouts, and even in
instances where they are prepared, the enforcement of
land use regulations has been weak.
Indeed, the pace of development of properties in
most urban centres has outstripped the rate at which the
local government authorities are able to design
approved layouts to be used as a basis for enforcement.
This development has resulted in a situation where
a considerable number of developed properties have no
permits as well as addresses, as most of the
developments hardly go through the approval processes
of the MMDAs.
However, planning theory shows that when people
and local power structures are not involved in the
planning process of a project, its implementation often
runs into difficulties.
For us, functional street naming and property
addressing are the basic systems of identifying a physical
location in cities.
They are tools city local authorities can use to track
urban growth by guiding the development and provision
of infrastructure and services in the urban environment.
They also help businesses deliver essential services
and provide a reference system for the delivery of mail
more effectively and efficiently.
Even more important is that a functional street
naming and numbering system forms the basis for the
intuitive identification of places.
Residents and visitors alike depend on street
addresses to find their way.
Indeed, many street names are linked to a cultural
set of identification born out of local or regional, ethnic
or historical inventory.
Should I Be Scared of
Artificial Intelligence?
IMAGINe you are the boss
of a new company in a
time which has seen the
immense maturity of AI.
You plan to employ a fully
automated service architecture
and model for your business that
not a single human labor will be
employed. You chose this model
because:
1) It is possible to automate
everything you need to run your
business;
2) You do not trust humans
because humans are prone to
emotion, fatigue and sickness:
3) It is cost effective;
4) highly productive.
Now imagine if this line of
thought and belief in automation
becomes the trend then we will be
seeing an entire automated job
industry which is owned by only
investors, owners and managers
i.e. the top brass of any business.
how will it affect human
employment? how will there be
widespread money circulation in a
vast unemployed human
existence? Possibly this circulation
will be even more entrenched and
limited among the rich even more
than it is currently now. This is a
very likely reality because “ultraintensive
computational power
and lower dimensions and
affordable cost, have enabled
researchers to implement artificial
intelligence algorithms on various
applications”.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
AI is a machine intelligence whose
perfection largely depends on its
ability and capacity to detect,
identify, process and remember
increasing number of relevant
variables from an environment.
This is part of the statistical and
machine learning that AI uses to
mimic human intelligence.
examples of their usages are in
voice recognition, language
processing, computer vision and
neural networks for example.
These are the building blocks of
the robotic mind.
A machine can be taught
exactly how to behave, or it can be
taught to decide its own behavior
depending on the objective given.
how Does AI Function? The
general functionalities of an AI
system can be summarized in the
following ways:
1. Probabilistic learning: AI is
designed on a model of
computation and then data is fed
into it. The efficacy and
rationalizability of AI depend on
its quality and logic of data.
Collective data-based decision is
always probabilistic.
2. Model based learning: AI is
designed with a model which
takes data as input and processes
it to make decisions. These models
implement algorithms based on
mathematics and statistics or state
computations such as automata,
trees etc.
3. Critical response to small
changes: An AI system may
behave completely randomly even
if there is a very slight variation is
mathematical and statistical
approximation. For example,
image or speech recognition AI
systems can be fooled by small
alteration in the images or
speeches.
AI makes people’s lives easier
because AI can automate work by
its massive data crunching power
which even surpasses human
mental capacity. AI does not have
fatigue, boredom or human
emotions to deal with when
thinking so this makes them very
efficient and effective. AI can
analyze massive data which is
impossible by humans and
“machines can be immensely
more effective in this task [than
humans] due to their fast
response, multi-dimensional data
structures, parallel processing,
huge data storage and lack of
fatigue”.
AI use in medical industry is
in automated diagnostics, clinical
decision making, automated
surgery and prognostication. AI
can be also used in power grids
and electrical industries to predict
various power related issues such
as power outage depending on past
hurricane data, fault detection and
wind power forecast for power
generation depending on wind
speed, among other things. AI can
be used in waste industry to
predict models and techniques of
the most efficient waste reduction.
AI robots can replace waste
disposal construction workers who
often in many countries work in
hazardous conditions with low pay
and low perks. The fear of a super
intelligent machine can be
rejected by the following
propositions:
1) AI works on limited
models and thus cannot mimic
general human cognition and
intelligence.
2) AI abilities and
capabilities are as much as the
developer sets it to be.
Computationally and
algorithmically there are
limitations to software design and
development.
however, these can change if
AI is implemented through
quantum computers. Quantum
computers may truly help create
the terminator that we all fear!
Dangers
Will AI impede and
downgrade medical professional’s
creativity and thinking ability by
reducing brain usage caused by
depending overtly on AI systems?
So “Increasing use of automation
may exacerbate de-skilling of
human physicians due to overreliance,
poor understanding,
overconfidence, and lack of
necessary vigilance of an
automated clinical workflow”.
Will there be any use in
training doctors when we will be
able to only train machines which
can be operated by the one having
the most basic medical education
or even none at all? Will we have
our own personal machines as our
doctor or surgeon which will
diagnose and/or perform surgery
by push of buttons or initializing
up a routine as a bot? What
happens in case machine
malfunctions during a lifesaving
surgery and we do not have
qualified doctors as they have been
replaced by AI?
Such examples can be
extended to many of the vital
occupations. This begs the
question will AI mistakes surpass
professional human mistakes?
Automation thus is posing a great
risk to educated professionals and
their job markets. People may say
technologies have always created
new jobs by taking old jobs,
however AI is a unique kind of
technology as AI seeks to mimic
human intelligence thereby really
threatening worth of human
intelligence.
While historically
technologies only replaced a very
limited aspect of human action AI
seeks to replace human mind
itself. Can AI understand
implications or hidden
assumptions to perfect decision
making? human beings often do
understand intents, emotions and
implied assumptions. These are
some of the great essentials in
human relationship and in many
of the vital human activities such
as in a court of law or during an
interview for example.
• To be Continued

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Fuel prices to fall further by middle of April if…
IF the trend continues, fuel prices
will go down again in the next
pricing window from 16th April
2022.
Price of Brent crude has tumbled
to about $104 per barrel, whilst
the free fall of the depreciation of
the cedi has also slowed down rapidly.
Analysts are very hopeful that
fuel prices will fall in the next review
of prices, based on the present
trajectory.
The Institute for energy Security
(IeS) had projected a drop in
the price of fuel on the local market
due largely to the fall in prices on
the international market and the
government's proposed forex support
for the bulk oil importers.
however, it noted that the
changes in the market variables
and the government's announced
intervention may not be enough to
produce any significant drop in the
prices of fuels on the local market.
But some Oil Marketing Companies
have since adjusted the
prices of fuel at the pumps downwards.
Benab Oil, Zen sell the
least price of fuel
According to the IeS market
scan, Benab Oil, Amser, Goodness
Oil, Star Oil, and Zen Petroleum
were the OMCs with the leastpriced
fuel on the local market.
Puma, Petrosol, Allied,
Shell/Vivo, Goil, and Total however
sold the highest-priced fuel on the
market within the window.
World Oil Market
Price of Brent crude fell from its
highs at the beginning of March
2022 but closed the window above
the $120 per barrel mark.
For the window under assessment,
prices reached an average of
$108.27 per barrel, representing a
4.08% reduction over the previous
window's average price of $112.87
Akufo-Addo launches
“Destination Ghana”
Tourism Project
The President of the
republic, Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo,
on Sunday, 3rd April
2022, launched one of
his government’s flagship projects
in our tourism sector,
dubbed “Destination Ghana”, in
London, United Kingdom.
The “Destination Ghana”
London event is the first in a series
of activities of the “Destination
Ghana” project, which has,
at its core, the objective of inviting
and welcoming the rest of
the world to visit Ghana.
Building on the successes of
the Year of return, and with the
slow but steady recovery being
witnessed in the tourism sector,
after the outbreak of the COVID-
19 pandemic, President Akufo-
Addo noted that interest in
nature-based adventure and
leisure tourism has grown, offering
new opportunities to visitors.
“Ghana has an abundance of
these offerings, and that is what
we are here to present to the
world, using our historical connection
with the United Kingdom
as a launchpad,” the
President said.
he was of the belief that the
tourism industry offers a great
avenue to deepen Ghana-Britain
relations for the mutual benefit
of the two countries, adding that
“we can turn the tourism and
hospitality industry into a major
tool for the positive transformation
of the Ghanaian economy,
and into a win-win situation for
investors”.
According to President
Akufo-Addo, “Ghana is not only
gifted with a rich culture, but is
also the best place for doing
business in West Africa, as well
as the safest and most stable
country in the region, with a
governance system that rests on
the separation of powers, with
an independent Judiciary promoting
accountability in public
life, and that respects the rule of
law, human rights and the principles
of democratic accountability.
Indeed, she has been for
several years the recipient of the
largest foreign direct investments
in West Africa.”
To this end, the President
Akufo-Addo indicated that
Ghana, over the last few years, in
addition to the abundance of
natural resources, has embarked
on a product improvement plan,
where several tourist sites in the
country are currently undergoing
site renovations.
These, he said, include the
Aburi Botanical Gardens, modelled
after the famous Kew
Botanical Garden here in London,
the Yaa Asantewaa Memorial
Museum and the Kente
Museum, both in Kumasi.
“Further, an aggressive sector
skills development process,
under the Ghana CAreS
Obaatanpa Programme, the one
hundred billion cedi (Gh¢100
billion) post-COVID economic
recovery programme of the
country, is currently ongoing,
under the auspices of the Ministry
of Tourism, Arts and Culture
and its implementing
agency, the Ghana Tourism Authority,”
he added.
This year alone, President
Akufo-Addo revealed that some
$25 million would be expended
to upgrade some of our iconic
sites, including the famous
elmina and Cape Coast Castles,
the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial
Park, the Mole and Kakum
Parks, and cultural Museums in
Yendi in the Northern region,
ejisu in the Ashanti region,
Akropong in the eastern region,
and ho in the Volta region,
under the Ghana Tourism Development
Project, supported by
the World Bank.
In addition to this, the President
noted that funds will be directly
injected into supporting
• Continued on Page 8

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Connecting mining to the
wider Ghanaian economy
For over a century Ghana’s
mining industry has been
regarded as an enclave one,
contributing to the country’s
economy directly but adding very
little to economic activity outside
of the mining sector itself. Now
however, through the self
regulatory efforts of the mining
companies themselves, under the
guidance of the Ghana Chamber
of Mines, the industry is not only
joining mainstream economic
activity , but is actually
empowering the manufacturing
sector to become internationally
competitive in both product
quality and pricing. TOMA
IMIRHE examines the potential
impact Ghana’s mining industry
has started asserting over the
country’s manufacturing sector.
IT may have taken close to a
century, but finally, Ghana’s
vibrant mining industry – the
country is now the biggest gold
producer on the entire African
continent – is being brought into the
mainstream of economic activity across
the nation. This is crucial; for most of the
past 100 years the mining industry had
correctly been criticized for being an
enclave one, generating more to Ghana’s
tax revenues (Ghc4.172 billion in 2020)
and foreign exchange inflows (US$3.67
billion in 2020) than most – if not all – of
the other sectors of the economy but not
offering significant knock-on business
opportunities for the rest of the
economy.
By its very nature, the mining
industry relies much more on
technology than human resources to
extract solid minerals from the ground
which means its ability to generate
employment opportunities is very low.
Last year, for instance the mining industry
directly employed 8.760 and another 25,803
indirectly. By comparison Ghana’s cocoa
industry is responsible for the livelihoods of an
estimated 800,000 entire households.
Furthermore, with the development of a
gold mine requiring hundreds of millions of
investment into equally large values of physical
infrastructure and equipment, Ghana’s local
financial services industry lacks the capacity to
fund more than working capital requirements
and the relatively cheaper
aspects of project finance
such as acquisition of
vehicle fleet. The sheer size
of mine development
financing costs requires that
mining firms are listed on
foreign, more developed and
liquid stock markets than
the Ghana Stock exchange,
although a couple have
listed locally in addition to
their foreign listing to give
Ghanaians a chance to buy
into (insignificantly) small
portions of their equity.
Add to this the fact that
the end products of their
activities are necessarily
sold on international
commodity markets rather
than local markets which deprives the
domestic commerce community from deriving
business opportunities.
however, over the past half a decade,
Ghana’s mining industry has taken deliberate,
concerted steps toward mainstreaming it into
the wider economy and this has produced
impressive successes. Key here has been the
drawing up of a Mining List which identifies an
ever increasing array of production inputs
which mining companies are required to
procure locally. This has dramatically increased
the local sourcing of such iputs, giving local
enterprise huge production and sales
opportunities.
In 2020 alone, mining companies in Ghana
spent US$4.387 billion in the local economy
through payments to manufacturers and
suppliers of goods and services (including
labour), government taxes and financing of
corporate social responsibility projects. This
amounts to 85.7% of their total expenditure for
last year.
Specifically, last year mining companies in
Ghana spent US$ 2.670 billion on the
procurement of non-energy goods and services
from manufacturers and suppliers domiciled
in the country, this translating to 51/93% of
their revenues for the year. Importantly the incountry
spend on locally procured goods and
services continues to rise – in 2019 the
proportion of the industry’s revenues spent on
local procurement was 42%.
There are still problems though. Most
notably, a significant proportion of locally
procured products are actually
imported and only qualify as locally
procured because they were secured
through enterprises registered and
domiciled in Ghana. Although this too, adds to
business opportunities and wealth generation
by local firms along the supply chain , it is not
an optimal situation.
Crucially though, Ghana’s mining
companies, operating through their industry
association, the Ghana Chamber of Mines, are
determined to change the situation for the
better. “Locally produced goods should mean
locally manufactured goods, as much as is
possible” asserts Sulemanu Koney, the
Chamber’s chief executive officer.
This however requires deliberate
affirmative action to dramatically upgrade the
capacity of local producers of mining industry
inputs, with regards to production volumes,
product quality and price competitiveness.
Instructively, it is the mining industry itself
through its Chamber, rather than government
that is leading this drive. For instance the
Chamber has been engaging the Ghana
Association of Bankers to facilitate the
provision of competitively priced funding to
support the local content agenda. Consequently,
the two associations are noe developing special
purpose vehicles for the provision of supply
chain financing for local mine support services
companies.
even more instructively, the Chamber’s
producing members are deliberately turning a
blind eye to the availability of cheaper imported
alternatives to the locally produced versions
they tend to, opt for. regulations frequire them
to opt for the local version rather than the
foreign alternative as long as the former is not
more than 5% more expensive than the latter
but mining companies in Ghana willingly
accept local versions that are up to 10% more
expensive, without prodding from anywhere.
however product quality cannot be
compromised on like pricing can and this is
where the Chamber is making potentially its
most promising interventions, having devised a
product quality improvement strategy for local
manufacturers that not only stands to make
them quality – competitive for Ghana’s mining
industry, but for all industries they are involved
in and for markets all across Africa.
This strategy is based on quality
standardization through collaborative action
between the Chamber, manufacturers, product
standards institutions and government itself. It
has already been applied for the electrical cables
industry – the quality if which is crucial to the
mining industry but which hitherto was not
subject to universally accepted international
quality standards. It involved a procedure
developed and implemented over half a decade
of intensive research, conceptualization and
actual implementation and has produced
excellent results – Ghana now produces
electrical cabling that is accepted worldwide for
its quality.
But even more importantly, the procedure
used to arrive at the standards for locally
manufactured electrical
cables can be used for all sorts
of other locally made
products too. Indeed this goes
far beyond their usefulness to
Ghana’s mining industry; it
shows that the mining
industry can play a vital role
in ensuring that locally
manufactured products meet
quality standards that would
enable them be
internationally competitive.
Coming at a time that the
African Continental Free
Trade Agreement is opening
up markets all around the
continent to made in Ghana
products on preferential, duty
free terms, this can prove
pivotal.
here the mining industry thus goes far
beyond providing a market for Ghanaian
manufacturers. Through the product quality
standards it is setting, such as with electrical
cables, is challenging them to meet the
standards than can make them competitive all
around Africa and indeed globally.
Given that transnational firms demand
that their inputs meet globally acceptable
standards, ultimately with the appropriate
development programmes in place, local
companies will not only be in a position to be
competitive in producing for the local
transnational firms but also be able to compete
in the regional and African markets.
“The presence of transnational firms such
as large-scale mining companies in a
developing country as ours provides a fillip for
building the local capacity of local producers of
their inputs” asserts Sulemana Koney.
“Accordingly, whilst deepening local content is
a desirable goal, the building blocks to a
competitive, sustainable and thriving local
production base is predicated on a sound
strategy that includes appropriate supply
development programmes.”
This is precisely what Ghana’s mining
industry has facilitated with regards to
electrical cables; and having identified a most
effective process, is now positioned to replicate
with regards to a host of other products which
it uses and which can be made in Ghana and
sold world wide.
This may turn out to be the biggest and
longest lasting legacy of Ghana’s mining
industry, and its members, through their
Chamber, are leading by example. The Chamber
is already heavily invested in a comprehensive,
thoroughly workable initiative aimed at
making the industry a hub for mining support
services across the whole of West Africa.
Indeed, even as Ghana’s mining industry
has proven hugely successful in
mainstreaming it into the wider national
economy it has already embarked on the next
step – facilitating the capacity of local industry
to compete in foreign markets, using the local
mining industry as the staging post. Thus it is
establishing a legacy that will prove crucial yto
Ghana’s economic performance well into the
future.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Opportunities in the Ghanaian
Asset Management Industry
By Emmanuel Boakye
The nascent asset management
industry in Ghana is very linear
with clearly defined revenue
streams and formidable vertical
competitors (Commercial Banks
& Fintech’s). Also, the low level of publicity
and public education about the differences
in commercial banking products (such as
fixed deposits & savings account) and
investment banking products (such as
mutual funds & managed funds) has
contributed to the industry’s slow growth
and untapped potential.
That notwithstanding, the passive
approach to investing by most asset
management companies, where most firms
invest in only short dated Government
treasuries (ignoring equities) and hold them
till maturity, coupled with the lack of varied
investment products or options for fund
management companies has not helped
either.
Below are the few opportunities I believe
fund management companies can explore to
take advantage of the industry and grow
their asset under management.
(1). Collective Investment Schemes offer
the biggest opportunity for scalability and
widened margin: Collective investment
schemes are pools of funds that are managed
on behalf of investors by a professional money
manager. The manager uses the money to buy
stocks, bonds, or other securities according to
specific investment objectives that have been
established for the scheme. Collective
Investment Schemes (CIS) are more
frequently known as 'investment funds',
'mutual funds', ‘unit trust’ or simply 'funds'.
CIS is predominantly a retail product and
rivals with the savings account product of
commercial banks. According to the Securities
& exchange Commission’s 2020 annual report
the total value of CIS in the industry stood at
Ghc 3.14 billion. At the same time, mobile
money deposits mobilised into the MTN
mobile money wallet only stood at Ghc 6.56
billion whiles non-interest bearing deposits
held in the vault of ecobank Ghana Limited
alone stood at Ghc 7.15 billion.
Data from SeC annual report & 2020
financial statements of eGh & MTN Ghana
It is quite disturbing from the table above
that the combined industry CIS value trails
that of the major players in the banking and
fintech space who also equally target the same
clients. Ironically, these institutions pay no or
minimal interest (below inflation rate) for
monies held in their vault compared to the
CIS product. In all I estimate the market size
for the CIS product to be approximately Ghc
30 billion provided the industry can tap into
the mobile money space and mob up banking
Products
Collective Investment Schemes
MTN Momo Deposits
eGh-Non-Interest-Bearing retail customer Deposits
deposits. This can be achieved through mass
education and innovative integration into the
Fintech space to mobilize deposits. Also,
players and SeC should step-up mass public
education to instill confidence in the industry
which would facilitate the flow of funds into
the industry. It is a no brainier that a vibrant
CIS industry will reduce the overall risk of the
asset management industry.
Private equity & Private Debt remains
untapped: Ghana’s private equity market still
remains underserved and fledging whiles
private debt market remains interestingly
nonexistent. however, for the country to
develop and capital to flow into key sectors
such as real estate and SMe financing, the
private debt and equity market will need to be
developed to meet the peculiarities of these
industries that cannot access conventional
commercial bank funding due to their
uniqueness. At the same time asset
management companies can set-up
department and subsidiaries to manage
private equity funds to boost the revenue and
address certain key market areas where
commercial banks & SL companies cannot
address. Currently, there exist only four main
private equity firms that manages funds on
behalf of limited partners (mainly
Development Finance Institutions).
The introduction of the new pension
scheme and approved NPrA allocation
guideline allows pension fund managers to
allocate 15 percent of the total asset under
management into Pe funds. This provision
avails a total of Ghc 3.9 billion worth of funds
for domestic private equity companies in
Ghana. Given
that most
Value in Ghc private equity
companies
3.14 billion charge 2
6.56 billion percent on
7.15 billion asset under
management
and 20 percent of profit, this potential revenue
line can boost the profitability and margins of
fund management companies.
Pensions remains a solid area despite low
margins: The total pension assets of the
country currently stands at Ghc 26.29 billion
representing a cumulative average growth
rate of approximately 94.3 percent over a five
year period. Pension funds are expected to
grow based on two key parameters (1)
demographics and (2) penetration rate
1. Demographics: The current
demographics of the country benefits our
pension and social security scheme with a
significant proportion of our pension
contributors in their youthful ages. This
means that the number of active pension
contributors exceeds the pension dependents
thereby creating a net contribution into our
pension funds. This positive demography
means our pension asset will continue to
grow above the rate of GDP on an annualized
basis.
2. Penetration rate: Data from SSNIT
indicates that out of a total number of
5,090,137 SSNIT members only 1,533,942
representing 30.05 percent of scheme
members were active contributors to the
scheme as of 31st December 2018 in our
country. This indicates that active
enforcement of the regulation in the distant
future will spur up contribution rate which
will be a big boost to the industry. Also, the
data further indicates that a significant
portion of our economy of approximately 30
million people is yet to be formalized. The
introduction of the informal pension scheme
Private equity Firm
Oasis Capital
Mustard Capital Partners
Injaro Agricultural Capital holdings
coupled with the formalization
of several sectors of the economy
and overall economic growth
will widen the penetration rate
of pensions contributions in the
country and further grow our
pension funds under
management.
These factors provide a great
environment for the growth of
pension fund assets in the
distant future. Asset
Management Firms that can
work with Trustee Companies to
propose solutions to increasing
the active contributor base will
be well positioned.
Conclusion
Based on the assessment
above it is clear that the
opportunities for the asset
management industry in Ghana
is enormous and therefore
players and regulators need to
work together to ensure a
formidable industry that will
unleash its full potential.
“In all I estimate the
market size for the
CIS product to be
approximately GHc
30 billion provided
the industry can tap
into the mobile
money space and
mob up banking
deposits. This can
be achieved
through mass
education and
innovative
integration into the
Fintech space to
mobilize deposits.
Asset Under Management
$ 70 million
$ 32 million
$ 30 million

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Akufo-Addo launches
“Destination Ghana”
Tourism Project
• Continued from Page 5
SMes in the hospitality and
beverage sector, with negotiations
currently ongoing with
the World Bank.
“This forty-million-dollar
($40 million) project is expected
to position the tourism and
hospitality sectors as key drivers
of social and economic development.
Some of the benefits
that the project is expected to
bring are an enriched access to
Ghana’s tourism market, better
provision of tourism products
and services, and the upgrading
of skills in the labour force in
the tourism, arts, and culture
sector,” he added.
Ghana, the President said,
needs the support of business
partners the world over, and
challenged the Ministry of
Tourism, Arts and Culture and
its agencies to ride on the back
of the “Destination Ghana”
project to help attract, by 2024,
one million tourists annually
from Britain and europe.
“I have made my contribution
by lifting, a week ago, virtually
all the COVID-19
restrictions, including the
opening of all Ghana’s borders,
to enhance movements in and
out of Ghana, whilst still maintaining
the hygiene protocols,
like the wearing of face masks
at indoor gatherings,” he added.
“I want to invite you, here in
London and Britain, europe and
the rest of the world, to the
CeNTre OF The WOrLD,
where longitude zero degrees
crosses latitude zero degrees;
where the bright sunshine enriches
the quality of the skin
and bodies of all; where music,
dance and culture not only create
fun but also excite the body,
soul and mind for spiritual
growth. Indeed, I welcome you
to Ghana, the CeNTre OF The
WOrLD, to enjoy our famed
hospitality, and take advantage
of our favourable investment
climate,” the President added.
KGL launches its CSR arm, KGL Foundation
KGL Group has launched its Corporate
Social responsibility arm, the KGL
Foundation to support the needy to
overcome the challenges of the time.
The Foundation which was launched
in Accra last Friday reflects the
commitment of the KGL Group to
providing sustainable social
intervention programmes in the fields of
health and sports, entrepreneurship and
Youth empowerment, culture and arts in
Ghana.
Speaking at the ceremony, executive
Chairman of the KGL Group, Alex Dadey,
said, “I am indeed humbled by your
presence on this august occasion of the
formal launch of the KGL Foundation.”
According to him, it was moments
like these, when the world is facing
uncertain times; that “the need to
support each other becomes
fundamental to our hopes of overcoming
these challenging times”.
The KGL Foundation, he said is the
Corporate Social responsibility arm of
the KGL Group, while autonomous, plays
a very important role in their
developmental vision.
“As a Group, our vision is clear and
within reach: Becoming a powerhouse
in digitalization across Ghana and
emerging markets across the sub-region
by capitalizing on our portfolio of strong
operating companies across diverse
areas of expertise,” he stated.
Mr. Dadey disclosed that Corporate
Social responsibility is a bedrock of the
KGL Group’s operations and that KGL
Foundation reflects the commitment of
the Group to providing sustainable
social intervention programmes in the
fields of health and sports,
entrepreneurship and Youth
empowerment, culture and arts in
Ghana.
he also stated that the foundation’s
aim is to make a lasting difference, bring
hope, and joy and most importantly,
leave everything they touch better than
it used to be.
“I am immensely proud of the work
done by the foundation so far. Of
personal delight is the refurbishment of
the A. A Dadey Assembly hall for the
Okuapeman Senior high School,
reference to the video we just watched,
in honour of one of the first headmaster
of the school, my father, Dr Alex Apau
Dadey of blessed memory. In the area of
healthcare, the Foundation has
supported Kokrokoo and Asaase
Foundations respectively, to provide
incubators and dialysis machines to
hospitals across the nation further
reiterates our desire to see lasting
change in the communities we operate
in. We have also funded the equipping of
the Fadama health facility in New
Fadama, a very deprived area of Accra,”
Mr Dadey stated.
“I am particularly passionate about
Youth empowerment. My firm belief in
nurturing the next generation of leaders
is fundamental to all the Foundation
stands for. I am very hopeful that names
like Baba Sulemana Bangaham, Tsatsu
Mawusenam and Justice Babigama, and
all other beneficiaries of our scholarship
program will soon play prominent roles
in our society and country as a whole,”
he hinted.
he said the foundation’s
collaboration with the West Africa
Centre for Crop Improvement for the
annual entrepreneurial training
program for selected Post Graduate
students to champion youth education,
entrepreneurship and employment in
agribusiness further highlights their
desire to make entrepreneurship a more
attractive proposition for the next
generation.
he also said that the KGL Group has
been the main sponsor of our national
team, the Black Stars for a while now. At
a time when all hope was lost in them,
we decided to invest heavily in terms of
Financial and brand building. If you
have the courage to admit mistakes,
things can be turned around.
The Chief executive Officer (CeO) of
the KGL Foundation, elliot Dadey said,
significant collaborations have already
been built for the sustainability of the
Foundation, adding, “It is my belief, as an
entrepreneur that wealth creation and
poverty eradication through job creation
are two sides of the same coin. This is
why I also believe that every
entrepreneur has to be a philanthropist.”
he disclosed that the foundation
being the CSr arm of the KGL Group, the
KGL Foundation is dedicated to realizing
a Ghanaian society that is healthy,
innovative and self-developed.
“Our end goal is for every
marginalized community in Ghana to
have the means to self-development and
improvement so that they can be the
architects of their own dreams.
“As a Diasporan, I have been blessed
with the opportunity to live and work in
different countries, learn their cultures,
languages and ways of living. But I was
raised by proud Ghanaians, who taught
me that no matter where I go, I must
represent my culture,” he stated.
he noted that issues that persist in
this country are many, but it was his
belief that if we face them together, we
can work towards a stronger and more
inclusive Ghana.
The official launch of the Foundation
which emerged in 2021 was attended by
high profile personalities including the
First Lady, the Second Lady, rebecca
Akufo Addo and Samira Bawumia
respectively.

TRADE
Tuesday, April March 5, 2022 1, 2022
Africa’s unfinished
trade agenda
The African Continental Free
Trade Area (AfCFTA), which
entered into force on January 1
last year, promises to accelerate
the diversification of the
region’s economies and reduce the impact
of commodity-price cycles on growth.
Whereas Africa’s external trade is
dominated by primary commodities and
natural resources, the first shipment
under the AfCFTA – from Ghana to South
Africa – comprised manufactured goods of
the sort that largely drive intra-African
trade.
Many therefore hope that the AfCFTA –
by creating a single market of 55 countries
with a total population of more than 1.3
billion and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion
– will catalyze industrialization as firms
take advantage of economies of scale to
spread the risk of investing in smaller
markets. To that end, the trade agreement
will eliminate tariffs on 90% of goods (the
ultimate goal is 97% liberalization).
The AfCFTA will likely boost foreign
direct investment across Africa – empirical
evidence elsewhere shows that joining a
free-trade area could increase it by around
a quarter – and shift its emphasis from
natural resources toward labor-intensive
manufacturing industries. Moreover, the
pact has the potential to transform African
economies, significantly increase the
continent’s share of global trade, and
strengthen its bargaining power in
international trade negotiations.
But while many have touted the
AfCFTA as a game changer for Africa, trade
liberalization alone will not necessarily
guarantee economic success.
To be sure, the agreement has rightly
attracted much attention in academic and
policy circles. The World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, the United
Nations Conference on Trade and
Development, and the African export–
Import Bank have all compiled extensive
studies on the AfCFTA’s potential impact.
And the Journal of African Trade recently
published a special issue on “The AfCFTA
and African Trade,” which I co-edited with
Andrew Mold of the UN economic
Commission for Africa.
All these analyses point to the
agreement’s significant and positive
impact on economic development.
Specifically, the empirical results
according to computable general
equilibrium models – which allow for
trade-diverting and trade-creating effects
of tariffs and non-tariff shocks by
exploiting countries’ comparative
advantage and price adjustments – are
highly encouraging. Aggregate headline
estimates derived from these models show
that the AfCFTA would increase Africa’s
GDP by 0.5% after full implementation in
2045, relative to a scenario without
continental trade integration.
real wages would increase for both
skilled and unskilled workers, and
especially for the latter, suggesting a shift
toward more inclusive growth. The World
Bank estimates that the AfCFTA could lift
30 million people out of extreme poverty
and around 68 million out of moderate
poverty by 2035, with women benefiting
more than men. Trade integration could
also have a significant impact at the
household and corporate level: Combined
consumer and business spending is
projected to reach $6.7 trillion by 2030.
Trade within Africa is expected to
grow strongly under the AfCFTA, with
intracontinental exports increasing by
34% (equivalent to around $133 billion
annually) compared to a scenario without
the agreement. Moreover, around twothirds
of intra-African trade gains will
likely be realized in the manufacturing
sector – historically the most effective
elevator out of poverty. This would set the
stage for a welfare-enhancing and
mutually reinforcing relationship between
intraregional trade and industrialization,
resulting in sustainable growth of wellpaid
manufacturing jobs while
broadening countries’ tax bases and
improving their external accounts.
But substantial non-tariff barriers,
regulatory differences, and divergent
sanitary, phytosanitary, and technical
standards increase the costs of crossborder
trade within Africa by an estimated
14.3%, well above the average tariff of 6.9%.
removing these constraints and
deepening the integration of African
businesses into global value chains will
significantly boost intra-African trade and
drive growth. The World Bank estimates
“Overcoming Africa’s
chronic infrastructure
deficit – both physical and
digital – will boost the
power of trade creation
and help to ensure the
successful implementation
of the AfCFTA. By tackling
the continent’s supplyside
constraints,
policymakers can enhance
both production and
logistics in a region with
more landlocked countries
(16) than any other.
that full implementation of the AfCFTA
could raise Africa’s real income by 7%
(about $450 billion) by 2035, with trade
facilitation measures to cut red tape and
simplify customs procedures responsible
for $292 billion of this increase.
Overcoming Africa’s chronic
infrastructure deficit – both physical and
digital – will boost the power of trade
creation and help to ensure the successful
implementation of the AfCFTA. By tackling
the continent’s supply-side constraints,
policymakers can enhance both
production and logistics in a region with
more landlocked countries (16) than any
other. As investors seek to capitalize on the
economies of scale offered by the AfCFTA,
integrating markets and improving
connectivity must be a top priority.
Clarifying the AfCFTA’s rules of origin
– which determine whether products are
duty-free under the agreement – also is key
to accelerating industrialization and the
development of regional value chains.
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19,
negotiators have made significant
progress on the rules-of-origin agreement,
which should be concluded later this year.
That will pave the way for phase-two
negotiations on key drivers of future
growth, including protocols on
investment, competition policy, and
intellectual-property rights.
But, as the rush to conclude bilateral
trade agreements with third-party
countries suggests, Africa’s most
important trade-integration challenge
may be the perennial one of putting the
region’s collective interest first. Although
the AfCFTA does not bar member countries
from entering such negotiations, bilateral
deals with third parties could affect
African trade patterns and set precedents
for regional trade and investment rules. In
practice, they could lead to trade
deflection, given that the AfCFTA’s mostfavored-nation
clause automatically
extends tariff concessions granted to a
third party to AfCFTA members.
As Jeffrey Sachs has argued, “Without
a doubt, if Africa becomes economically
integrated, it will be a global leader and the
largest economic region in the world.” As
of this writing, 41 countries have ratified
the AfCFTA. But if the pact is to become
the launchpad for Africa’s deeper
integration into the global economy,
governments must complement trade
liberalization with robust trade facilitation
measures, and strengthen regional
coordination in order to engage with
external partners as a unified trading bloc.
Hippolyte Fofack is Chief Economist
and Director of Research at the African
Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Resource Backed Loans in Ghana:
Risk, Opportunities and Lessons
from Sub-Saharan Africa Date
SeVerAL resource-rich
developing countries
have increasingly in
the last few decades
sought to leverage
their resource endowments to
finance development. Through
these arrangements,
governments have secured
funding in exchange for or
guaranteed by future streams of
resource income. Oil and
minerals are the most common
resources often relied upon in
such transactions, commonly
referred to as resource-backed
loans (rBLs).
In a 2020 NrGI global
research of 52 resource-backed
loans (rBLs) between 2004 and
2018, 30 rBLs were entered into
by Sub-Saharan African (SSA)
countries and another 22 in
Latin America using mainly oil
and mineral resources. Sub-
Sahara African countries that
have gone down this path
include the republic of Congo,
Dr Congo, Sudan, Guinea,
Angola, and Ghana. Across the
continent, governments have
sought severally to use their
abundant mineral and oil
wealth to fund its massive
infrastructure deficit.
Total financing for
infrastructure in Africa is
projected to be US$4.3trillion
until 2040 with an annual
forecasted investment of
US$174billion.
At country level, Ghana’s
Ministry of Finance indicates in
a recent assessment that
Ghana’s annual infrastructure
investment will need
to reach US$9.3 billion
by 2030 (13.9% of 2019
GDP). In essence,
Ghana’s total
infrastructure
investment will need
to reach US$96 billion
(143% of 2019 GDP) by
2040 to attain the
sustainable
development goals
(SDGs).
Other SSA country
contexts indicate
similar significant
infrastructure
financing needs.2
Given the foregoing
and as part of the
strategy to bridge the
infrastructure gap, SSA
countries have signed
loan agreements in exchange
for extractive commodities.
Ghana in 2011, barely a year
after commercial oil production
began, signed a US$3 billion
commercial loan agreement
with the China Development
Bank (CDB), out of which US$1.5
billion was eventually disbursed
to fund the Western Corridor
Gas Infrastructure Project. As
part of the arrangement, China
International United Petroleum
& Chemicals Co., Ltd. (UNIPeC)
Asia, a wholly owned oil trading
subsidiary of China Petroleum
& Chemical Corporation
(SINOPeC) was to lift 13,000
barrels per day of Ghana’s
unencumbered Jubilee crude oil
entitlement for 15 years.
Similarly, in 2018, Ghana’s
government entered into a
reported US$2 billion
agreement with Sinohydro
Corp, a Chinese state-owned
hydropower and construction
company. Under a Master
Project Support Agreement
(MPSA), Sinohydro is meant to
finance and execute the
construction of infrastructural
projects in Ghana. In return,
Ghana would repay the loan
amount by granting access to
about 5% of its bauxite reserves
and earnings from yet-to-be
established refined bauxite. The
first tranche of US$649 million
is reported to have been
disbursed, and would be spent
in constructing various road
projects.
Also, in 2020, the
government of Ghana
in the region are:
“Oil for
Infrastructure”
“Others
scheme
during President
Olusegun Obasanjo’s
presidency, under which
Nigeria sought to offer
oil blocks to Chinese
bidders in exchange for
major infrastructure
projects cumulatively
valued at US$20billion.
Some of these projects
included railway
network from Lagos to
Kano and a
hydroelectric power
station in Mambilla.
attempted a controversial sale
of its interest in future gold
royalties to private investors
through a stock exchange
listing — the so-called ‘Agyapa’
mineral royalties deal.
Others in the region are: the
“Oil for Infrastructure” scheme
during President Olusegun
Obasanjo’s presidency, under
which Nigeria sought to offer
oil blocks to Chinese bidders in
exchange for major
infrastructure projects
cumulatively valued at
US$20billion. Some of these
projects included railway
network from Lagos to Kano
and a hydroelectric power
station in Mambilla. however,
this scheme was aborted when
power changed hands. Similarly,
in Angola under the National
reconstruction Program, the
government agreed a
US$2billion oil backed loan
with the Chinese for
infrastructure in 2004.
Across these experiences,
the criticisms often highlight
lack of transparency and threat
to debt sustainability. Despite
some of the controversies, these
rBL arrangements have
provided an opportunity to
develop and expand
infrastructure in beneficiary
countries. Ghana’s CDB loan for
instance helped to eliminate
the dreaded practice of gas
flaring and gas reinjection
while guaranteeing relatively
cheaper natural gas supply for
power generation and
industrial use.
While these loans can
address burning development
challenges, they can pose
setbacks to the economy. As
expressed earlier in some of the
critiques, these loans provide an
avenue to sign opaque deals,
create repayment challenges
and limit benefits to borrower
countries.
For instance, with the CDB
Loan, China began to demand
for more security with the
plummeting oil prices in late
2014/15 as a condition for Ghana
to access the entire
US$3 billion. These
experiences raise an
interesting
question: how have
SSA resource-rich
countries learned
from the challenges
of rBL to inform the
structuring and
negotiation of future
rBL-type deals?
For example,
Bloomberg is
already predicting
that Ghana would
have to use other
sources to service
the Sinohydro loan
if the aluminum
project fails to do so.
In April 2021,
AidData released a
trove of loan agreements
between Chinese entities and
sovereign borrowers in
developing countries including
several Ghanaian loan
agreements and the Sinohydro
bauxite agreement. They found
100 publicly available Chinese
loan agreements in 24
countries.
One key finding of their
report in a blog by NrGI “is the
widespread use of far-reaching
confidentiality clauses in the
Chinese loan agreements
meant to restrict borrowers
from disclosing loan
information. This confirms
worries about opacity and the
need to rein in confidentiality
provisions in sovereign debt
agreements, as previously
highlighted”.
For instance, Ghana’s MPSA
with Sinohydro provides for
non-disclosure of the terms of
the agreement without prior
approval of the other party,
except compelled by law. The
debtor (Ghana) is also required
to open an offshore account
(escrow) to serve as an exclusive
account through which all
receipts from refined bauxite
are paid. The account must hold
enough funds to meet at least
two repayment obligations.
As noted in the NrGI blog,
“rBLs are of particular
importance—they are the
intersection of extractives
transparency and debt
transparency. Momentum
around greater sovereign debt
transparency is building
[especially in post-COVID-19
pandemic context], and this can
only benefit the governance of
natural resources.
Access to information
about past deals and similar
arrangements across the region
will enable Ghana to better
structure and negotiate.” It is
for such reasons that more
transparency regarding the
structure and governance,
terms of agreements,
repayment conditions among
others are important. These
disclosures will enrich public
discourse and help highlight
the impact of these
arrangements on public
finances, project execution and
corruption risks associated with
rBLs.

Tuesday, April 5, 2022 PAGE 11
THE WORK PLACE
The people penalized for
expressing feelings at work
eVerY office has unspoken social
norms around how workers are
expected to feel in a given
situation, and how those feelings
should be displayed. They’re
known as “feeling rules”, and are so
ingrained in our social and workplace
interactions that we rarely pay close
attention to them.
For example, when a colleague
announces he’s engaged, feeling rules
dictate that you would show happiness.
When your boss says the team just lost an
account, the appropriate feeling could be
frustration or even anger. Work-related
disappointment is often tolerated,
particularly if it’s paired with a focus on
finding a solution.
But not all displays of emotion are
treated equally; experts say what is and isn’t
considered ‘appropriate’ can depend the
worker. We already know, for example, that
women who raise their voices in a
professional environment might be
perceived as belligerent, while a man
behaving in the same way would be seen as
assertive or even a leader.
however, research suggests there isn’t
just a gender gap regarding feeling rules –
there’s a racial discrepancy as well. Data
suggests when workers of colour display
emotions, their feelings can elicit a different
response compared to white workers
displaying the same emotions. This forces
BIPOC employees to self-monitor in the
workplace, to guard against colleagues
incorrectly interpreting their emotions in a
way that adversely impacts their careers –
significantly increasing their emotional
load.
‘You see the look’
Throughout the years, multiple
studies have demonstrated how feeling
rules are applied differently to men
and women. The consistent
conclusion: people judge emotions
such as anger, sadness and frustration
much harsher when displayed by a
woman than by a man. researchers
have found women who cry at work
can be seen as weak or unprofessional,
while people assume men are dealing
with external factors behind the tears.
Similarly, men who exhibit anger can
often wield it as an effective
management tool to appear capable,
while women are seen as inept or even
shrill.
In one 2014 project, 170
undergraduate students watched a
video of closing statements by lawyers
in a court case. The participants were
asked to render a verdict and rate the
lawyers’ competence. Angry male
litigators received the highest scores;
angry female litigators were given the
lowest ones. What’s more, the students
attributed the women’s anger to their
emotional state, but attributed the
men’s anger to the situation itself.
It’s difficult to dissect the precise cause
of the gender disparity, but entrenched
stereotypes are often to blame as well as a
lack of exposure to seeing women in
leadership, rather than supporting
positions.
More recently, research has
demonstrated a similar phenomenon in
terms of how people perceive emotions of
BIPOC employees in the workplace,
compared to their white counterparts. even
when workers adhere to ‘standard’ feeling
rules, evidence suggests BIPOC workers –
particularly, black employees – must also
manage the emotions they produce in
others or risk negative consequences.
robert, a black media executive based in
the UK, says if he gets too enthusiastic in a
professional environment talking about a
project, those around him often read his
emotion differently than his intention. “I
can see in their body language and their eyes
that they're a bit scared of me when I’m
going into full passion mode,” says robert,
whose last name is being withheld to
protect his job security. “I think as a black
man especially, that a lot of people are just
scared of you, anyway. You raise your voice
slightly and you see the look. People don't
say anything, but you see a look of fear.”
researchers say experiences like
robert’s happen consistently in workplaces
and everyday interactions. A study published
in April by Stephanie Ortiz, a sociology
professor at UMass Lowell near Boston,
shows how feeling rules are enforced differs
substantially depending on the ethnicity of
the worker.
Ortiz conducted interviews with staff at
college LGBTQ centres around the US. The
questions centred on how administrators
perceived their emotions when staff
attempted to discuss issues of racism and
discrimination that students who confided
in them were experiencing.
Analysis revealed white workers who
displayed anger in front of administrators on
behalf of students were seen as having
“passion for their work”. But staff members
of colour were seen as “radical” and “not
viewed as team players when they expressed
anger” over microaggressions or prejudice
on behalf of students. One Mexican
interviewee reported outbursts by her white
supervisor were deemed passionate, while
she was told to be less emotional because it
“frightens the neighbours”.
The researchers conclude unconscious
bias and internalised racism often mean
that BIPOC workers’ anger and other similar
emotions are perceived in majority-white
spaces as more “threatening” than similar
emotions from white workers. Consequently,
BIPOC staff often had to temper their own
emotions significantly in discussions about
race and inequality, or risk being perceived
as antagonistic. “Otherwise, their own
trauma would be seen as agenda-pushing
and unprofessional,” says Chad Mandala, a
PhD student in higher education at the
University of Georgia, who worked alongside
Ortiz on the study.
Sociologist Adia Wingfield, in her
research on feeling rules, has shown that
black workers edit their displays of emotion
regularly not because they’re inappropriate,
but because of how those emotions can be
misread by others. She argues that feeling
rules in workplaces weren’t necessarily
established with BIPOC workers in mind, so
there’s more scope for colleagues to decode
them incorrectly, especially when
stereotypes are driving those
interpretations. And this can have
significant, negative impacts.
“If [BIPOC workers] were perceived to be
angry, irritated, annoyed and frustrated, that
usually would present a major problem, even
if they weren’t necessarily feeling angry,
irritated, annoyed and frustrated,” says
Wingfield, a professor at Washington
University in St Louis, Missouri, US. “But the
perception of that, particularly from white
colleagues, could often spiral out of control
and create additional difficulties and
challenges for them at work.”
‘A daunting task’
The overarching effect of the different
way feeling rules apply to BIPOC workers
increases emotional pressures on them.
Wingfield says workers must combine
“doing your job, adhering to those feeling
rules and making sure that you are engaging
in such self-control that you are preemptively
aware of how people might
perceive you, and making sure that you're
not giving cause for those types of
perceptions, which, as you might imagine, is
a daunting task”.
Failure to do so, however, can result in
major consequences, say Ortiz and Mandala.
“All of our respondents talked about having
learnt the rules by seeing other people
experience the brunt of these rules or feeling
it themselves,” said Mandala. “So, it was
learning what not to do because other
people got fired.”
Yet, Ortiz suggests rather than the onus
being on BIPOC workers to self-censor,
workplaces must push towards becoming
more inclusive. Allyship and awareness from
colleagues in workforces that may only have
one or two BIPOC workers in the group is
vital. “If you're one of the
many and you see an ‘only’
being targeted during a
meeting or you see their
emotions aren’t being
legitimised, you don't save
that for private afterward in
an email or in the hallway
telling them, ‘Oh, by the way I
agreed with you’,” she says.
“You really need to step up.”
For robert, tamping down
his emotions remains a
common, inevitable
experience. even after
earning prestigious awards,
he knows he has to tread
lightly when speaking to
other executives, potential
donors or company heads –
“ease back” as he calls it – so
his emotions aren’t
misconstrued.
“I work with people who
haven't got experience with
other cultures,” says robert.
“It can be a bit daunting for
them to understand who you
really are.”

Tuesday, April 5, 2022
BACK
PAGE
Deputy Trade Minister
clarifies govt’s objectives for
Youth Enterprises project
DePUTY Minister
for Trade and
Industry in
charge of
Industry,
Michael Okyere Baafi has
clarified government’s
objectives for incorporating
the enabling Youth enterprise
under the One District One
Factory Policy.
With this initiative, young
people are put into groups and
funded to roll out mainly
agribusiness industries.
The project with funding
from the African Development
Bank was singled out for
praise by the President during
his 2022 State of the Nation
Address.
President Akufo-Addo
disclosed during his speech
that in order to bring the
youth on board the one
district, one factory
programme, 58 out of the 278
1D1F projects have been
developed as enterprises fully
owned by youth groups.
he further explained that
each of these youth companies
are owned by between 40 and
50 youth as shareholders and
have direct support from the
government.
In an interaction with Citi
Business News, a deputy
Minister for Trade and
Industry Michael Okyere Baafi
noted that all youth, no matter
their educational background,
are qualified for the enabling
Youth concept.
“Young people across the
country are invited whether
you’re educated or not. The
essence is that we want to put
young people in groups in the
form of a co-operative so that
they’ll be able to share ideas
and run a business. The good
news is that the business
resource centers that we have
serve as consulting offices to
help them develop the
businesses and also to grow
their capacity so that they can
manage the business well.”
Mr. Okyere Baafi further
outlined the plans being made
by the government to ensure a
successful implementation of
the policy.
he said “out of the 58
companies, 57 of them are
fully completed except that
not all the 57 have machines.
We are still in the process of
procuring machines for these
companies which are
scattered all over the country.”
EU expresses commitment to
nurture young entrepreneurs
The european Union (eU) Commissioner for
International Partnerships, Jutta
Urpilainen, has expressed the eU’s
commitment to help nurture young
entrepreneurs in the country.
“entrepreneurs trigger positive changes
in their communities by creating jobs and
developing innovative solutions to local and
global issues such as climate change.
“Today, I have seen remarkable projects
and brilliant young people, and I am proud
that the eU is contributing to making these
ideas become reality.”
The commissioner expressed her
commitment when she visited young
entrepreneurs at Innohub, a business
accelerator and investment platform
supporting entrepreneurs in the green and
circular economy in Accra on Thursday.
The commissioner was in the company
of the project manager of Green Initiative,
Beatrice Tschinkel; the Deputy Minister of
Food and Agriculture, Yaw Frimpong Addo;
the eU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad
ramiandrasoa razaaly; the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey;
the Chief executive Officer of the Ghana
Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, among
other officers of state, and the eU.
The meeting formed part of activities of
the commissioner’s visit to the country.
Discussions
Discussions centred on sustainable
business ideas and green growth in the
country. Some small and medium
enterprises (SMes) from different sectors of
the economy, including cocoa and waste
management, also shared their stories,
innovative approaches, and how their
businesses were contributing to turning
their ideas into reality.
Some of the SMes were beneficiaries of a
maiden green employment and enterprise
opportunities in Ghana (Green) innovation
challenge who received grants in various
sums last year to help expand their
businesses.
The programme was an initiative of The
Netherlands Development Organisation,
SNV Ghana, in collaboration with the eU, the
principal donor of the project.
Gratitude
The Founder of Supreme Pod Limited,
Michael Acquah, a beneficiary of the Green
project, shared his entrepreneurial journey
with the commissioner and expressed
gratitude to the eU for its continuous
support to businesses in the country.