Business Analyst - May 26

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Thursday, May 26, 2022. Vol. No. 159
GH¢2.50
• Minister of
Trade, Allan
Kyeremateng
• The re-launch of the COA mixture
• President
Akufo-Addo
The COA Research
and Manufacturing
Company Limited
has re-launched
COA Mixture, the
world-acclaimed herbal
medicine that supports the
general wellbeing of people.
COA Mixture is a wellresearched
plant medicine
that is scientifically developed
for general wellbeing and has
also been approved by the
Food and Drugs Authority
(FDA).
The re-launched COA
Mixture is an upgrade in drug
development and after going

Thursday, May 26, 2022
Gunman posted just before
deadly US school attack
Biden: 'It's time for action'
The people of Uvalde need the
support of every American,
Biden says, declaring: “As a
nation I think we all must be
there for them, every one.
“And we must ask when in God’s name
will we do what needs to be done to, if not
completely stop, fundamentally change the
amount of carnage that goes on in this
country.
“To state the obvious, I’m sick and tired,
I’m just sick and tired of what’s going on
and what continues to go on.”
Before moving on to the subject of
policing, Biden says: "It's time for action."
gun lobby."
Biden to deliver remarks on
'public trust and safety'
President Joe Biden and Vice-President
Kamala harris are due to deliver remarks in
the next few minutes on the topic of "public
trust and safety" at the White house.
he is signing an executive order on
police reform, an event that was scheduled
before the Uvalde massacre.
According to a senior official, Biden will
address the Uvalde shooting at the
beginning of his remarks.
he also spoke on Tuesday about the
tragedy, just after returning from a trip to
Asia.
Biden: Guns laws in Texas
'just wrong'
"Since I spoke last night, the confirmed
death toll has tragically climbed," Biden
begins his remarks.
he says he and his wife, Jill Biden, will
travel to Uvalde in the coming days to meet
families "and get a sense of their pain, and
hopefully bring some little comfort to the
community in shock, grief and trauma".
he adds that all Americans must stand
together to be there for the Uvalde
community in their suffering.
Biden goes on to say that the idea that a
teenager is able to legally purchase weapons
that are "designed and marketed to kill, is
just wrong".
Vice-President harris:
'enough is enough'
Vice-President Kamala harris began her
remarks at the White house by paying
condolences to families who said goodbye to
their loved ones for the last time on Tuesday
morning.
"enough is enough," she says.
"As the president said last night we
must have the courage to stand up to the
Meta comments on gunman's
Facebook posts
As we reported earlier, the Texas
governor said earlier on Wednesday that the
attacker had posted three times to Facebook
before the attack.
Governor Greg Abbott said the killer
wrote that he was planning to shoot his
grandmother, then to say he had done it,
and then again to say he would attack an
elementary school - about 15 minutes before
it unfolded.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, has
released a statement clarifying the
gunman's post was not public.
"The messages Gov Abbott described
were private one-to-one text messages that
were discovered after the terrible tragedy
occurred," the California-based company
said in a statement.
Meta added that it was "closely cooperating"
with investigators.
Teachers broke windows to evacuate
children - Texas official
Olivarez describes the scene when law
enforcement officers arrived at the school Lt
Christopher Olivarez from the Texas
Department of Public Safety describes the
scene police faced when they arrived at
Robb elementary School.
he tells CBS news that teachers
evacuated children through broken
windows while the gunman was barricaded
inside the building.
Don't expect meaningful change to
US gun laws
This tragedy has reignited the debate
over gun control in the US. But realistically,
it is unlikely to result in significant reform.
The argument over guns has simply become
too politically divisive and culturally
entrenched to allow for meaningful change.
It is important to remember that guns
are normal in many parts of America. They
are not seen as exceptional or frightening as
they may look to outsiders. They are a part of
everyday life.
American gun owners - and there are an
estimated 80 million of them - see their
weapons as protection: a way to defend
their own freedoms and property. In a
country where there is a real prospect of an
armed criminal entering your home or
assaulting you on the street it is considered
by many to be a sensible precaution.
Guns are so ubiquitous in America no
one will be able to get them out of the hands
of felons. And so the argument goes: the
good guys should have them too.
School cancelled in rest of district
There were only two days left of the
school year for the Uvalde area, but those
have both been cancelled for pupils.
Staff are to report to their campuses, and
school counsellors will be available at all
campuses to provide counselling support, a
post on the Uvalde Consolidated
Independent School District Facebook page
said.
It said graduation ceremonies -
scheduled for Friday according to the
district's calendar - would be "addressed at a
later time".
"This is a tragic time in our district, we
Tanzania leader: I’ve outperformed male presidents
TAnzAnIA’S President
Samia Suluhu says she has
in some circumstances
handled the country’s top
office better than other male
presidents before her.
The Tanzanian president
said she faced challenges of
mistrust during her first
days in office because she is
a woman – which she had to
overcome.
Ms Samia was speaking
at a forum in the Ghanaian
capital Accra – her first
official trip to West Africa
since she was sworn in as
president following the
death of her predecessor
John Magufuli in March
2021.
“It was very difficult to
make people of Tanzania
trust me. That I can run the
country in the same way
men do - that was the major
challenge,” she said during a
session organised as part of
the annual African
Development Bank (AfDB)
meeting.
“In the course of one
year I have shown women’s
power, I led the country the
same way men did and in
some circumstances better
than they did,” she added.
Ms Samia is Africa's only
current female national
leader - the ethiopian
presidency is a largely
ceremonial role.
The Tanzanian leader
told the AfDB forum that the
country's economic growth
had dropped from 6.4% to
4% amid the Covid
pandemic – but under her
leadership it rose to 5.2%
and was forecast to reach
6.7% by 2025.
The forum in Accra was
also attended by Ghana
President nana Akufo-Addo,
Mozambican President
Filipe nyusi and Comoros'
President Azali Assoumani.
Ms Samia will on
Wednesday be awarded a
trophy after being named
the 2022 winner of the Africa
Road Builders–Babacar
ndiaye Trophy last month.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
COA Mixture re-launched
• Continued from front
through the processes from the FDA, it
has been upgraded from a food
supplement to herbal medicine for
general wellbeing.
Speaking at the launch, the Founder
and Chief executive Officer (CeO) of
COA Research and Manufacturing
Company Limited, Professor Samuel Ato
Duncan debunked notions that the COA
Mixture is a cure for hIV.
however, he noted that the COA
Mixture is so powerful that it preserves
itself and has unique phytochemicals
that can support the immune system
for healthy living.
• Upgraded from food supplement to medicine
he also made it known that the COA
Mixture is a 100 percent natural
product from plants and has no
artificial preservative.
Professor Ato Duncan announced
that the COA Research and
Manufacturing Company Limited is
close to a research breakthrough,
adding that when successful, Ghana
stands to realize not less than 32 billion
dollars annually from this plant
medicine.
"This is what I want to achieve for
Mother Ghana as part of my Global
peace Mission Project. This will bring
economic relief to Ghana and also get
treatment for some diseases the world
is struggling to treat," he said.
he, therefore, called on the
government, research institutions, and
investors to collaborate with the
Company in order to carry the above
vision to reality.
Professor Ato Duncan made it
known that already, the company has
acquired 1000 acres of land in the
Ashanti Region to cultivate raw
materials.
however, he said the company
needs an additional 9000 acres of land
for the cultivation of raw
materials to produce COA
products to meet the
international market demands.
he donated GhC 100,000 to the
Ghana Federation of Traditional
Medicine Practitioners Associations
(GhAFTRAM) to support members who
have potential medicines but do not
have sufficient funds to go through the
process of evaluation and registration.
Prof Ato Duncan appointed the
Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to be
Patron of the COA Mixture because of
his support to COA Mixture.
he entreated everyone including
those abroad to take COA Mixture for
their general wellbeing.
Play key role in
Africa’s development
• Akufo-Addo to African
Development Bank
PReSIDenT Akufo-Addo has charged the
African Development Bank (AfDB) to play
a key role in the continent’s development.
Speaking at the formal opening of the
2022 AfDB Annual Meetings, President
Akufo-Addo said the ongoing fiscal and socioeconomic
challenges facing the continent
require AfDB to play a central role in
the continent’s development goals.
18 African economies have faced
credit downgrades, amid the headwinds of
the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This President Akufo-Addo said the
combined effects of the debt situation, rising
interest rates, and the rising cost of living
are resulting in severe
macroeconomic and financial instability.
“What is clear is that the resulting
damage cannot be cured so easily with the
limited fiscal tools at our disposal and national
policy adjustments. Therefore, I reiterate
my call for an elevated role for
Africa’s premier bank, the African Development
Bank,” President Akufo-Addo
pointed out.
he added “the African Development
Bank is in a position to drive sustained
transformation in Africa. With increased
financial resources, the bank could recapitalize
key African financial institutions,
such as the regional development banks,
Afreximbank, Africa Guarantee Fund,
Africa-Reinsurance Company, and
Africa50.”
Finance Minister, Kenneth Ofori-Atta,
who is at the end of his term as the current
chairman of the African Development
Bank Group’s board of governors,
said the stakes were high and spoke of the
risk of a lost decade.
Africa’s economic growth contracted
by 3.2% in 2020 and debt-to-GDP ratios
edged up from 60% to 71.1%, Mr. Ofori-Atta
noted.
he pointed out that “in truth, growth
prospects on the continent are not bleak,
especially once Africa is provided with the
requisite capital to succeed.”
Calling the African Development
Bank, a “reliable partner,” Mr. Ofori-Atta
said it was necessary to support the bank
in raising competitive financing for its
members to tackle the continent’s greatest
threats: rising food and fertilizer
prices, rising fuel prices, tightening financial
conditions and climate change.
“We must build from our unique resilience
and strengthen partnerships,” the
Minister stressed.
Bank Group President, Akinwumi
Adesina, said Africa suffers disproportionately
from the negative impacts of climate
change, including increased frequency
and intensity of droughts, cyclones, and
floods, compounded by desertification.
According to him, this is despite the
fact that Africa contributes the least to
global warming, accounting for only 4% of
all carbon emissions.
In his welcoming remarks, Bank
Group Secretary-General Vincent
nmehielle said the meetings were intended
to promote Africa’s resilience to
climate challenges.
Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto
nyusi, currently on a state visit to Ghana,
and President Samia Suluhu hassan of
Tanzania also attended the opening ceremony.
The African Development Bank
Group’s meetings run from the 23rd to the
27th of May.
Gov’t to support local pharma
industry to attain WHO standards
• Trade Minister assures at COA re-launch
The Minister of Trade, Allan
Kyeremateng has re-affirmed
the government's commitment
to supporting local
pharmaceutical companies
to reach the World health
Organisation (WhO) standards
to enable the companies
to sell their products on
the international market
and as well compete with the
other world-class medicines.
The Minister gave the assurance
at the re-launch of
the COA Mixture by the COA
Research and Manufacturing
Company Limited in Accra
on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
The COA Research and
Manufacturing Company
Limited today re-launched
COA Mixture, herbal medicine
that supports the general
wellbeing of people.
The COA Mixture is a
well-researched plant medicine
that is scientifically developed
for general wellbeing
and has also been approved
by the Food and Drugs Authority
(FDA).
The re-launched COA
Mixture is an upgrade in
drug development and after
going through the processes
from the FDA, it has been
upgraded from a food supplement
to herbal medicine
for general wellbeing.
Speaking at the relaunch,
the Trade Minister
commended the COA Research
and Manufacturing
Company Limited for manufacturing
plant medicine,
saying it is not just going to
cater for the well-being of
people but as well provide a
high- skilled jobs for the
youth teeming youth.
Speaking at the relaunch,
the Founder and
Chief executive Officer (CeO)
of COA Research and Manufacturing
Company Limited,
Professor Samuel Ato Duncan
debunked notions that
the COA Mixture is a cure for
hIV.
he also made it known
that the COA Mixture is a 100
percent natural product
from plants and has no artificial
preservative.
Professor Ato Duncan announced
that the COA Research
and Manufacturing
Company Limited is close to
a research breakthrough,
adding that when successful,
Ghana stands to realize not
less than 32 billion dollars
annually from this plant
medicine.
"This is what I want to
achieve for Mother Ghana as
part of my Global peace Mission
Project. This will bring
economic relief to Ghana
and also get treatment for
some diseases the world is
struggling to treat," he said.
he, therefore, called on
the government, research institutions,
and investors to
collaborate with the Company
in order to carry the
above vision to reality.
Professor Ato Duncan
made it known that already,
the company has acquired
1000 acres of land in the
Ashanti Region to cultivate
raw materials.
however, he said the
company needs an additional
9000 acres of land for
the cultivation of raw materials
to produce COA products
to meet the
international market demands.
he donated GhC 100,000
to the Ghana Federation of
Traditional Medicine Practitioners
Associations (GhAF-
TRAM) to support members
who have potential medicines
but do not have sufficient
funds to go through the
process of evaluation and
registration.
Prof Ato Duncan appointed
the Asantehene,
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to be
Patron of the COA Mixture
because of his support to
COA Mixture.
he entreated everyone
including those abroad to
take COA Mixture for their
general wellbeing.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
LET’S MAKE CREDIT
MORE ACCESSIBLE,
AFFORDABLE
THe Bank of Ghana (BoG) has increased its key
benchmark interest rate, the Monetary Policy Rate
(MPR), from 17 to 19 per cent due to concerns over
rising inflation and unfavourable global economic
conditions.
The policy rate is the rate at which the BoG lends
to commercial banks in the country and serves as the
benchmark interest rate for onward lending to
businesses.
The Governor of the BoG, Dr ernest Addison,
announced the policy rate at the Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC) meeting in Accra yesterday.
The increase in the rate, may stem inflation and
control the spiraling prices of goods and services.
Since the Ghana Statistical Service announced the
March inflation rate of 19.7 per cent, prompting the
central bank to increase its policy rate from 14.5 to
17 per cent, inflation had crossed the 23.6 per cent
mark in April, making it even more difficult for the
government to convince investors to subscribe to the
country’s cedi-denominated domestic debt securities.
Foreign investors themselves may not be
attracted by the higher coupon rates generated by
the increase in the MPR, unless it is inordinately
large, since the cedi’s fragility is a major concern.
even when the government has offered a higher
coupon rate, investors are reluctant to subscribe to
short-to-medium-term debt instruments.
Indeed, by mid-May, the coupon rate offered for
91-day treasury bills had risen to 18.23 per cent; 182-
day treasury bills were offering 19.26 per cent, while
364-day treasury notes were offering 21.13 per cent.
These rates are roughly five per cent more than what
they were a year ago.
This means the BoG would have to set the MPR
at a level that pushes treasury bill rates above
inflation.
The problem here is that with the current spread
of a little over 120 basis points for 91-day treasury
bill rates over the MPR, the BoG’s benchmark interest
rate would have to rise to at least 22 per cent for this
to happen.
While interest rates in general and investment
securities pricing are being driven by the
government’s own debt refinancing and fiscal deficit
financing needs, the MPR is just as impactful on the
cost of private sector debt and economic growth
rate.
The increase in interest rates will, in turn, push
the average lending rate, currently at 21.02 per cent,
to over 23 per cent.
Worse still, higher interest rates will
automatically make loans riskier in the perception of
the lender and so banks would tend to increase the
risk premium they put on the base rate they all use.
Much as we welcome the policy rate increase by
the central bank, we are also worried about the
rising cost of funds and the lack of accessibility to
loans for the private sector, which is touted as the
engine of growth.
We are also concerned about the way an increase
in the lending rate could impact on the outlook for
growth and employment and whether we are not
making the cost of living extremely high by further
squeezing the already tight cedi liquidity levels.
We’ll avert any looming
food crisis with effective
planning – AfDB Boss
The African Development
Bank Group president, Dr.
Akinwumi Adesina, says
he is confident that Africa
will be able to avoid a
looming food crisis in the coming
months.
To tackle the disruption of food
imports from the Russian-Ukraine
crisis, the Board of Directors of the
Bank last week approved a $1.5 billion
African emergency Food Production
Facility, to support 20 million farmers
to produce 38 million metric tons of
food.
Speaking during a media briefing
ahead of the start of the 2022 annual
general meeting of the bank,
President of the African Development
Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina assured
of the introduction of more initiatives
to boost food security on the
continent.
“You may ask, why am I so
confident that we will be able to avoid
a looming food crisis? It is because our
plan is based on the incredibly
successful work of the African
Development Bank through its high 5
on Feed Africa,” he said
The war between Ukraine and
Russia has led to a rise in food prices,
especially for commodities such as
wheat, maize, soybeans and other
grains which many African countries
rely on for their staple food.
With the disruption of food
supplies, Africa now faces a shortage
of at least 30 million metric tons of
food, especially wheat, maize, and
soybeans, which are imported from
both countries.
To tackle the disruption of food
imports, the Board of Directors of the
Bank last week approved a $1.5 billion
African emergency Food Production
Facility, to support 20 million farmers
to produce 38
million metric
tons of food.
The plan seeks
to avert a looming
food crisis in
Africa.
The plan is
anchored on the
provision of
certified seeds of
climate-adapted
varieties to 20
million African
farmers.
The African
Development
Bank will among
other things,
provide fertilizer to
smallholder
farmers across
Africa over the
next four farming
seasons, using its
convening
influence with major fertilizer
manufacturers, loan guarantees, and
other financial instruments.
The Facility will also create a
platform to advocate for critical policy
reforms to solve the structural issues
that impede farmers from receiving
modern inputs. This includes
strengthening national institutions
overseeing input markets.
The Facility has a structure for
working with multilateral
development partners. This will
ensure rapid alignment and
implementation, enhanced reach, and
effective impact. It will increase
technical preparedness and
responsiveness. In addition, it
includes short, medium, and longterm
measures to address both the
urgent food crisis and the long-term
“
“You may ask, why
am I so confident
that we will be able
to avoid a looming
food crisis? It is
because our plan is
based on the
incredibly successful
work of the African
Development Bank
through its High 5 on
Feed Africa,” he said
sustainability and resilience of Africa’s
food systems.”
2022 AfDB Annual Meetings
The 57th African Development
Bank (AfDB) Annual General
Meetings which have begun at the
Accra International Conference
Centre will set the agenda for Africa’s
transformation and recovery from the
current economic challenges facing
the continent amid the ongoing
pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war.
The Annual Meetings are the
most important events on the
governance calendar of the bank
group, attracting around 3,000
delegates and attendees annually.
This year’s meetings mark a
return to in-person sessions following
virtual meetings over the last two
years. The meetings will be held in a
hybrid format, with participants
present in Accra and online.
Representatives of governments,
businesses, civil society, think tanks,
academia, and the media, will
convene to discuss key issues
concerning Africa’s ongoing
development.
With a focus on climate change,
the bank will also review its
operations during the preceding year
and take stock of progress with its
shareholders.
Under the theme of Achieving
Climate Resilience, and a Just energy
Transition for Africa, the Annual
Meetings will act as a forerunner to
the Un Climate Change Conference,
or COP-27 taking place in egypt in
november.
The 2022 annual general meeting
is under the theme “Achieving
Climate Resilience and a Just energy
Transition for Africa”.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
Increased public revenues
to be channeled towards
debt servicing, wage bill
• Fitch Solutions asserts
InCReASeD public revenues
will be channeled
towards debt servicing
and Ghana’s high public
wage bill rather than
capital projects, Fitch Solutions,
the research arm of ratings
agency, Fitch, has said.
This is coming after Ghana’s
access to international capital
markets is expected to be constrained
in the near term.
“Accordingly, we forecast
government capital expenditure
to shrink to 3.3% year-on-onyear
of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in 2022 and 2.9% year-onyear
of GDP in 2023, down from
3.7% year-on-year in 2021”, it
said.
While this puts capital expenditure
levels above those in
2018-2020, when Ghana’s construction
industry growth averaged
-0.1% per year, it pointed
out that it remains below the
comparatively high annual average
levels of 4% of GDP
between 2010 and 2017,
which enabled the construction
industry
growth rates averaging
8.1% per year.
“In 2023, we forecast
Ghana’s construction industry
growth to accelerate
slightly as we
forecast the depreciation
of the cedi against the
US dollar to slow down to
4.6% year-on-year.”
Generally, this will
help reduce revenue
risks for foreign investors,
while lower inflation
will improve
demand for residential
and non-residential construction.
however, Ghana’s access
to international capital
markets will remain constrained
and will continue to
weigh on public infrastructure
spending as well as the market’s
construction industry growth.
Furthermore, it said, “despite
the market’s strong fundamentals,
including a track record of
private investment in energy infrastructure,
comparatively high
political stability and security,
and a relatively diverse competitive
landscape, we expect that a
substantial depreciation of the
cedi against the US dollar in
2022 will in the near term make
private investors more reluctant
to invest in Ghana’s infrastructure
sector”.
“We thus do not expect that
private investment will meaningfully
cushion the negative
impact of subdued public infrastructure
spending on the market’s
construction industry
growth”, it added.
Lift ban on LPG products — GLPGOA
The President of the Ghana Liquified
Petroleum and Gas Operators Association
of Ghana (GLPGOA), Mr. Kwame
Sheikh, has appealed to the government
to immediately lift the ban on
the construction of new Liquefied
Petroleum Gas (LPG) outlets after the
Atomic Gas explosion in 2017.
According to him, prices of Liquefied
Petroleum Gas have gone up because
of the ban on the private sector
from opening gas stations to serve
the communities.
he noted that users of Liquefied
Petroleum Gas have now resorted to
the use of charcoal as fuel for cooking.
“If the government lifts the sanctions
and allows market penetration,
the prices of the product will be
cheaper and many Ghanaians would
use the product instead of resorting
to cutting down of trees in the middle
belt and up north," Mr. Sheikh
said.
Addressing the media on the
sidelines of this year’s Association
of Oil Marketing
Companies (AOMC) Safety
Week Celebration (ASWeC
2022), on the theme; ‘Petroleum
Accident Brings Tears,
Safety Brings Cheers,’ he
said one of the ways Ghana
can resolve the issue of deforestation
was to make LPG
product cheaper and more
accessible to the people.
This, he said, can only be
achieved if the government
lifted the ban.
Mr. Sheikh said it was
high time the government
of Ghana broke the monopoly
and allowed market penetration,
adding that the
Cylinder Circulation Model
adopted by the government
some years ago contributed
to the ban.
he said one truck fully
loaded with charcoal was
“Addressing the media on the
sidelines of this year’s
Association of Oil Marketing
Companies (AOMC) Safety
Week Celebration (ASWeC
2022), on the theme;
‘Petroleum Accident Brings
Tears, Safety Brings Cheers,’ he
said one of the ways Ghana can
resolve the issue of
deforestation was to make LPG
product cheaper and more
accessible to the people.
equivalent to the cutting down
of four big trees, adding that in
other jurisdictions, gas was
piped into people’s homes.
The CeO Oil Marketing
Company, Mr. Agyemang-
Duah, indicated that “The Government
is not allowing us to
open more LPG plants in the
villages across the country
and, that is why the demand
for charcoal and fire, is up
through the roof.
“If the government of
Ghana would allow us to open
more gas fuel plants in every
village, a lot of gas would be
accessible. This is the result of
restrictions on gas development
over the last 4 to 5 years.
Therefore, there is so much increase
in cutting down of trees
in the forest to get firewood
and charcoal”.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
Whistle Blowing: …A
banker’s dilemma (1)
employee reports to someone in a higher
position such as a manager, or a third
party such as their lawyer or the police.
In the private sector corporate groups
can easily hide wrongdoings by their
individual units. It is not until these
wrongdoings worm its way into the top
officials that corporate wrongdoings are
seen by the public.
The world suffers a lot not
because of the violence of
bad people but because of
the silence of good
people” …..napoleon
Bonaparte.
Many Ghanaians witness
different forms of crimes, which has
the potential to jeopardize the
health, safety or lives of others. Most
individuals who witness such
misconduct often remain silent,
indifferent or conclude that there is
nothing they can do to stop the
crime. however, some also decide to
speak out through “blowing the
whistle” on any unethical or corrupt
conduct. In Ghana, first person who’s
name come to mind easily is Anas
Aremeyaw Anas, the acclaimed
investigative journalist.
What is Whistle blowing?
According to Wikipedia, “A
whistleblower is a person who exposes
any kind of information or activity that
is deemed illegal, unethical, or not
correct within an organization that is
either private or public. The information
of alleged wrongdoing can be classified in
many ways: violation of company
policy/rules, law, regulation, or threat to
public interest/national security, as well
as fraud, and corruption.
Those who become whistleblowers
can choose to bring information or
allegations to surface either internally or
externally. Internally, a whistleblower
can bring his/her accusations to the
attention of other people within the
accused organization such as an
immediate supervisor. externally, a
whistleblower can bring allegations to
light by contacting a third party outside
of an accused organization such as the
media, government, law enforcement, or
those who are concerned.
Whistleblowers, however, take the risk of
facing stiff reprisal and retaliation from
those who are accused or alleged of
wrongdoing”.
The origins of the word date back to
the 19th century. The word is linked to
the use of a whistle to alert the public or
a crowd about a bad situation, such as the
commission of a crime or the breaking of
rules during a game. The phrase whistle
blower attached itself to law enforcement
officials in the 19th century because they
used a whistle to alert the public or
fellow police. Sports referees, who use a
whistle to indicate an illegal or foul play,
also were called whistle blowers.
Whistleblower Act, 2006 Act 720
Ghana’s Whistleblower Act 2006
provides for the manner in which
individuals may, in the public interest,
disclose information that relates to
unlawful or other illegal conduct or
corrupt practices of others. The Act
provides for the protection against
victimization of persons who make these
disclosures, and for a fund to reward
individuals for doing so.
In a study by haruna ndebugri and
emmanuel Tweneboah Senzu, published
in MPRA (Cape Coast Technical
University, Frederic Bastiat Institute)
Paper no. 85602, posted 30 Mar 2018, they
examined the whistle blowing Act of
Ghana, 2006, and its effectiveness in
combating corporate crime. (Dennis,
2010, -source
www.ghanaanticorruption.org.)
Since the Whistle blowing “Act”
was passed in October 2006, its
implementation has witnessed a lot of
controversies, mainly due to lack of
understanding on the part of individual
whistle-blowers and the organizations
that handle or are supposed to handle the
information provided by the whistleblowers.
It is reported, most Ghanaians
who blew whistle, had passed through
harrowing experiences. This has
significantly contributed fears in future
whistle-blowers, observed from our
findings.
Public sector whistleblowing
Recognizing the public value of
whistleblowing has been increasing over
the last decades. In the United States,
both state and Federal statutes have been
put in place to protect whistleblowers
from retaliation. exposing misconduct or
illegal or dishonest activity is a big
fear for public employees because
they feel they are going against
their government and country.
Private sector whistleblowing
protection laws were in place long
before the ones for the public
sector. After many federal
whistleblowers were scrutinized
in high-profile media cases, laws
were finally introduced to protect
government whistleblowers. These
laws were enacted to help prevent
corruption and encourage people
to expose misconduct, illegal, or
dishonest activity for the good of
society.
Whistle blowing in the
private sector
There is a general impression
that private corporations usually
“
There is a general
impression that private
corporations usually
have stricter regulations
that suppress potential
whistleblowers. An
example of private
sector whistleblowing is
when an employee
reports to someone in a
higher position such as a
manager, or a third
party such as their
lawyer or the police.
In the private sector
corporate groups can
easily hide wrongdoings
by their individual units.
It is not until these
wrongdoings worm its
way into the top officials
that corporate
wrongdoings are seen
by the public.
have stricter regulations that suppress
potential whistleblowers. An example of
private sector whistleblowing is when an
Whistle blowing policies
in Banks
What are the implications for banks
and bank staff? how easy and practical
can these be, since many banks
themselves already have whistle blowing
policies? It appears it is easier when it is
being done by the public. Can bankers
tackle this issue without facing reprisals
from their respective bank
managements, as happened in the star
case of Wells Fargo Bank in America. This
week’s article will focus on whistle
blowing from within an institution.
Why should it reach the
whistle blowing stage?
here are some pertinent questions for
reflection:
“Why should we hang our company’s
dirty linen in public”?
“how desperate can one be to go to
that extent”?
“Are the responsible persons so
heartless and callous that they can
deliberately shut their eyes to the
obvious or even look away despite the
writings on the wall?”
“Why should some people sell their
soul and trample on all others just to get
fame or even declare false profits and
enjoy self-gratification”
“Is it a matter of some people
thinking that their party is in power so
nobody can touch them when they are
reported….or they feel they are above the
law?”
Dangers to the whistle blower
Whistleblowers are sometimes seen
as selfless martyrs for public interest and
organizational accountability.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
Unfortunately, some are called
negative names and labelled as
“traitors” or “defectors.” Some
people even accuse them of
solely pursuing personal glory
and fame, or view their
behaviour as motivated by
greed.
Persecution of
whistleblowers has become a
serious issue in many parts of
the world. Internal policies
might pose threats of
retaliation to those who report
these early warnings. Private
company employees in
particular might be at risk of
being fired, demoted, denied
promotions and so on for
bringing potential risks to the
attention of the appropriate
authorities. Generally people
who choose to act as
whistleblowers often suffer
retaliation from their
employers.
The Wells Fargo Case
Let us look at whistle
blowing cases across the globe,
especially the star case of
Wells Fargo Bank in America:
In September, 2011, Wells
Fargo fired its South California
bank manager for excessive
drinking and inappropriate
behavior. Three weeks before
her termination, she had
reported to the company’s
ethics line about bankers
under her supervision who
opened fake client accounts to
meet sales goals.
She reported that one of
the personal bankers she
supervised allegedly had filled
out new client account forms
using the Vermont Avenue
address of a Los Angeles
County building, non-working
phone numbers and email
addresses that repeated across
unrelated customer accounts.
An example is seen from this
exhibit shown in court:
Former Wells Fargo bank
manager Claudia Ponce de
Leon’s handwritten note on a
new client account document
showing a purported home
address, which is actually the
location of the Los Angeles
County Department of Public
Social Services”. Source:
OShA’s Dec. 6 preliminary
decision sent to Wells Fargo.
At this point let me ask this
question. If you a branch
manager and supervisor and
you notice such defects by an
Officer in the account opening
process, why can’t you just get
it rectified? Yes you should.
however the reason for this
star case was that it was a
“This is just to open
the account and
clock it as a
genuine sales deal.
For all you know,
the person could be
a prominent and
well-known money
launderer. After all
the bottom-line will
be enhanced and
that person’s name
will be among the
top scorers on the
“league-table” for
that period. What
happens on the
actual account
operation
sometimes shows
exhibit cases of
suspicious
transactions, which
end up being
reported to the
Financial
Intelligence Center
(FIC).
deliberate or subtle means
employed and to some extent
encouraged by the bank’s
management to open false
accounts. To quote from the
records: “This was almost
exactly five years before
regulators fined the bank for
opening millions of bogus
accounts nationwide for
clients without their
knowledge. Wells Fargo
admitted that it opened about
2 million fraudulent accounts
without the permission of
customers. It agreed to pay
$185 million to federal
regulators and the City and
County of Los Angeles to settle
the case. The Bank’s CeO, John
Stumpf, resigned over the
controversy after the company
fired about 5,300 middle level
bankers nationwide.”
Some bank Relationship
Officers go to the extent of
manipulating account opening
documents or close their eyes
to ficticious documents
submitted by prospective
customers. This is just to open
the account and clock it as a
genuine sales deal. For all you
know, the person could be a
prominent and well-known
money launderer. After all the
bottom-line will be enhanced
and that person’s name will be
among the top scorers on the
“league-table” for that period.
What happens on the actual
account operation sometimes
shows exhibit cases of
suspicious transactions, which
end up being reported to the
Financial Intelligence Center
(FIC). The first question would
be who opened that account?
What sleepless nights of
worry and apprehension can
cause some bank sales staff to
resort to dirty deals. The irony
of it is that when the figures
churn out well,
recommendations are
promotions follow it but if
they raise a red flag or blow a
whistle, and you will find
where power lies. In the Wells
Fargo case, the manager was
well-liked and received eleven
promotions in her ten year
work life there! What an irony!
I will pause here. Let us
continue next week
TO Be COnTInUeD
ABOUT The AUThOR
Alberta Quarcoopome is a
Fellow of the Institute of
Bankers, and CeO of ALKAn
Business Consult Ltd. She is
the Author of two books: “The
21st Century Bank Teller: A
Strategic Partner” and “My
Front Desk experience: A
Young Banker’s Story”. She
uses her experience and
practical case studies, training
young bankers in operational
risk management, sales,
customer service, banking
operations and fraud.
CONTACT
Website www.alkanbiz.com
Email:alberta@alkanbiz.co
m or albique@yahoo.com

Thursday, May 26, 2022
Real Estate
Ramifications of some provisions
of the Insurance Act 2021 (Act
1061) for international trade
IT is an incontrovertible fact that
Ghana’s international trade is mainly
seaborne. Cargoes such as dry bulk
cargoes, liquid bulk cargoes, break
bulk cargoes (which since the late
1960’s, it has become more common for such
cargoes to be unitised) containerised cargoes
are all carried by sea in container vessels,
multi-purpose cargo vessels, refrigerated
ships, bulk carriers, obo carriers, ro-ro ships,
crude oil tankers and liquified gas carriers.
Invariably, marine policies are taken out to
protect the owners of various interests
against losses and damage from perils
insured against.
The insurance industry in Ghana is
regulated by the national Insurance
Commission. The commission is set up by
the Insurance Act of 2021 (Act 1061). This Act
repealed the Insurance Act 2006 (Act 724). Act
724 introduced some innovations in respect
of insurance of goods in relation to Ghana’s
international trade. This article will examine
some of the major changes made by Act 1061,
and will consider to what extent the
provisions of Act 1061 in respect of Ghana’s
international trade represent an improvement
on its predecessors.
For the purpose of this article, this writer
deems it expedient to set out in extenso
sections 37 and 38 of the repealed Act as this will
conduce to a better understanding of the issues
to be raised by the present writer in respect of
the provisions in Act 1061 with regard to
Ghana’s international trade.
Section 37 is captioned: ‘Restriction on
Contract with Offshore insurer’, and stipulates
as follows:
“Unless authorised by the Commission, a
person shall not enter into a contract of
insurance with an offshore insurer in respect of
–
property situate in the country;
liabilities arising in the country;
goods, other than personal effects, being
imported into the country.
A person who contravenes subsection (1)
commits an offence.
nothing in this section affects the validity
or enforceability of a contract of insurance
entered into in breach of subsection (1).
This section does not apply to an insurer
that enters into a reinsurance contract with an
offshore insurer where the reinsurance
contract:
is entered into in accordance with
reinsurance arrangements approved by the
Commission under section 53 (1), or
is exempted from approval by the
Commission under section 53 (2)” “.
Section 38 of the Act is captioned
‘Authorisation to enter into contract of
insurance with offshore insurer’ and is as
follows:
“A person may apply to the Commission, or
through an intermediary, for authorisation to
enter into a contract of insurance of a type
specified in section 37 (1) with an offshore
insurer.
The Commission may authorise the
applicant to enter into a contract of insurance
with an offshore insurer in respect of that risk
subject to such conditions as the Commission
considers appropriate.
In determining whether to grant an
authorisation under subsection (2), the
Commission shall have regard to the local
capacity available to insure the risk in respect
of which the application is made.
Where the Commission issues an
authorisation under subsection (2), the offshore
insurer is considered not to be in breach of
section 36.
A person who is issued an authorisation
under subsection (2) shall pay a premium to be
determined by the Commission”.
It is pertinent to observe that this was the
first time such innovatory provisions were
introduced by our insurance legislation. PnDC
Law 227, which was repealed by Act 724, was
silent on such provisions. even though the
provisions in Act 724, quoted supra, were not a
blanket ban in respect of insuring with an
offshore insurer with regard to the importation
of commercial goods into the country, the
philosophy underlapping the provisions was
quite laudable. The provisions were to ensure
that financial capacity of insurance companies
licensed under the Act were on firm footing.
In 2021, to be precise, on 5th January 2021,
Act 1061 was gazetted. The Act repealed the Act
2006 (Act 724). Act 1061 has copious provisions
which impact on Ghana’s international trade.
The ramifications of these provisions will be
dissected by this writer. As was done in respect
of Act 724, this writer wishes to set out in
extenso the provisions of Act 1061 which
impinge on Ghana’s international trade. The
pertinent sections are sections 221 and 222.
Section 221 is captioned: ‘Insurance for risk
arising in Ghana’, and stipulates as follows:
“A person shall not, unless authorised by
the Commission, enter into a contract of
insurance with an insurance company not
licensed under this Act in respect of :
a property situated in the country;
liability arising in the country; or
goods other than personal effects being
imported into the country
A person who contravenes subsection (1)
commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine, for a term of imprisonment
or both as specified in First Schedule.
nothing in this section affects the validity
or enforceability of a contract of insurance
entered into in contravention of this provision.
By way of comment, this writer wishes to
observe the provisions of Section 221 quoted
supra are almost inpari–materia with section 37
of Act 724 except that the drafting style has
changed and penalties have been introduced.
Section 222 captioned: ‘Marine Insurance’
stipulates as follows:
“A person who imports goods other than
personal effects into the country shall insure
the goods with an insurer licensed under this
Act.
A person shall not place a marine cargo or
hull business other than reinsurance business,
with an insurer who is not licensed under this
Act except with the prior written approval of
the Commission.
For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), a
letter of credit or similar document issued by a
bank or financial institution
in the country, in respect of the goods being
imported into the country, shall be prime cost,
insurance and freight with the insurance taken
from an insurer licensed under this Act or
outside the country, in respect of the goods
being imported into the country shall be on
cost and freight.
A person who contravenes subsection (1) or
(2) commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine or a term of
imprisonment or to both as specified in the
First Schedule”.
Without doubt, section 222 of the Act has
pervasive ramifications for Ghana’s
international trade and this writer intends
to analyse the section critically.
This writer has no qualms about
subsection (1), and wishes to observe that the
purpose of the section is to build the
financial capacity of insurers licensed under
the Act and to conserve foreign exchange.
The sum total of the sub-section is that
importation of goods into the country other
than personal effects must be on C & F basis.
Sub-section (2), however, bristles with
some difficulties.
In the first place, the drafting of the subsection,
with the greatest deference to the
drafters of the Act, is inelegant and the full
import of the sub-section was not, perhaps,
appreciated fully by them. What is meant by
‘marine cargo’ referred to in the sub-section?
This writer is of the view that the rendition
should have been ‘take out a marine policy
on cargo’.
The second issue is with ‘hull business’.
The appropriate terminology used worldwide
in marine insurance is ‘hull ad
machinery insurance’. This writer is at a loss
to appreciate the import of placing “hull
business” other than reinsurance business
with “an insurer who is not licensed under this
Act, except with the prior written approval of
the Commission”. Is it this writer’s
understanding that any ship, whether
registered in Ghana or not, which carries
commercial cargo to Ghana must be insured in
Ghana? The second issue is, how can the
commission enforce this provision? Probably,
the commission, with the greatest respect,
must take a second look at sub-section (2)
because the sub-section as it stands now will be
honoured more in breach than in observance,
and it militates against smooth operation of
Ghana’s international trade.
Sub-section (3) is a novelty. no mention was
made of letters of credit in Act 724 and the
commission must be commended for this
novelty. however, the terminology ‘prime cost,
insurance and freight’ is alien to international
trade. The appropriate special trade term is Cost,
Insurance and Freight.
On this point, this writer will refer to
Professor David Sasson’s magnum-opus on CIF
and FOB Contracts, which is published under
the British Shipping Law Series, and which has
become a practitioner’s vade mecum in this
area of law. In addition to Prof. Sasson’s book,
‘Benjamin on Sale of Goods’, which is published
under the Common Law Library Series, also
uses the term Cost, Insurance and Freight. In
addition to the above authorities, ‘Carver on
Bills of Lading’, which is also published under
the British Shipping Law Series, adopts the
term Cost, Insurance and Freight.
In addition to the above authorities, the
Official Rules for the Interpretation of Trade
Terms (Incoterms 2020) adopts the term Cost,
Insurance and Freight. Further support for the
position being canvassed by this writer can also
be found in the current Uniform Customs and
Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 600),
which is adopted by banks world-wide in
respect of Letters of Credit.

Thursday, Tuesday, May March 26, 2022 1, 2022
ThE WORK plACE
How to overcome startups
challenges in Ghana
In recent years, Africa is making
great strides to become the launch
pad for high-growth innovative
companies. This is evidenced by the
increasing number of tech startups
to have received financial backing, which
grew by 46% annually. This is six times faster
than the global average, according to Partech
Partners (a venture capital firm in the US).
Unfortunately, Africa has not done well
in sustaining and scaling up startups. even
though startup development has been
progressive, there is only three “unicorns” on
the continent, including nigeria’s fintech
Flutterwave. Unicorns are privately owned
tech companies valued at more than $1
billion. Whereas such unicorns are common
in advance economies; 200 in United States,
100 in China and 50 in europe.
Also, there are less than 20 African
‘zebras” including Ghana’s only JUMO.
zebras are privately companies with
valuation of more than $200 million.
According to the Boston Consulting
Group (BCG), African startups rarely survive
beyond the Series B funding stage and return
on venture capital investment remains weak
at a continental average of 3% compared to
16% and 11% in europe and Asia-Pacific
respectively.
The situation is worse in Ghana, which is
one of the growing economies in Africa.
According to Briter Bridges
(briterbridges.com), there were less than 20
disclosed deals in Ghana valued at $19
million at close of Q3 2020 whereas the likes
of South Africa and nigeria closed over 70
deals valuing more than $200 million.
The Ghanaian startup faces various
structural challenges including low
consumer purchasing power, inconsistent
and complex regulations, inadequate
infrastructure, and scarce capital. however
startups manages to surmount these
challenges, there is fierce competition from
incumbent companies, especially from large
companies in -to-consumer sectors, such as
retail, financial services and energy.
Instead of established companies using
their privileged position to advance the
national interest, they often use their market
power to push new entrants with disruptive
business models out of business. Such
hostility against startups do not only
threatens competitiveness and kills
innovative technologies, products and
business models, it also deprives job creation
and economic development.
notwithstanding, Ghana remains a very
fertile ground for entrepreneurs. It is
politically stable, fast increasing internet
penetration, fast growing economy in the
Africa, and also part of Africa’s young
population. This presents tremendous
opportunities for innovators to develop
product and services to improve social and
economic development. however, startups
will need to develop new strategies, and
Ghana’s national champions, investors and
governments will need to work together to
tackle the challenges of startups.
Scaling up through Corporate
Partnerships
Large companies have demonstrated the
ability to overcome structural challenges
affecting business. They have access to
capital, the human expertise to steer
complex regulatory environment, and the
ability to expand into other markets.
Therefore, rather than Ghanaian startups
competing with incumbents for consumers,
it is advisable to collaborate with such large
entities by providing innovative business-tobusiness
solutions to survive and be
successful.
On the other hand, large enterprises
must be willing to open up and engage
startups as partners. Such partnership model
is already well-established in financial and
geographical technology. For instance tech
companies such as JUMO and Vokacom have
partnered with large corporations and
government respectively to provide data and
addressing services.
With such collaborations, incumbents
can nurture startups by providing direct
investment or partnerships with external
incubators and accelerators. An example of
such collaboration is that of Indonesia
companies Lippo Group, a conglomerate, and
OVO, a leading digital payment service. Lippo
Group provided financial support to OVO in
its early stage. OVO benefited from Lippo’s
ecosystem, which include hypermarkets,
telcos, e-commerce marketplaces, content
streaming, and banks serving small and
medium enterprises. Lippo also got valuable
help from OVO to bring merchants onto its
platforms and provided incentives for
consumers.
Incumbents can also form strategic
alliances with startups to develop new
technologies or innovative business models.
Such partnership can be revenue-sharing,
joint-venture, or technological alliances
between two or
more companies.
JUMO, the
Ghanaian mobile
financial services
is a perfect
example of how
such partnership
can be a win-win
and could enable a
startup grow into a
zebra. JUMO,
which holds
credit-scoring
algorithm, collects
behavioral data
from willing
customers and
share with telecom
operators.
It then collect
mobile-wallet data
from telcos to
provide credit
scores to partner
financial
institutions such
as ecobank and
Letshego to enable
them review loan applications. This alliance
is helping telcos to earn revenue from data
sharing, banks to reached out to untapped
markets and JUMO is gaining access to
wider customers within the informal sector.
In addition to the above strategies,
established companies can also set up
startups on their own. This enables
companies to overcome internal processes
and cultures that inhibit innovation.
established companies can set up in-house
incubators or accelerators to attract and
develop new businesses or products. For
instance, In Ghana, companies like Kosmos,
Stanbic Bank and ecobank has in-house
hubs setup to invest in local talent and
capacity.
Such initiatives have benefited the likes
of ecobank to come up with various Fintech
Products to enhance services delivery and
revenue generation.
Support from Governments and
Investors
Governments and investors are
important players to improve startup
development and growth in Ghana. For
instance large companies can help new
businesses to scale up through strategic
alliances. Financial incentive from
government, such as tax reliefs, cash grants,
is a good initiative to entice investors and
large companies to support the growth of
new ventures.
Ghana, through government initiatives,
has established innovation hubs such as the
Accra Digital Centre to drive digital
innovation in Ghana. however, to further
improve the development of the startup
ecosystem, there is the need for government
to collaborate with development institutions
such as the African Development Bank to
develop bigger innovation hubs to enable
partnership between larger companies and
new venture and attracts and investments.
For instance, the African Development Bank
and Rwanda have invested $400 million to
develop the Kigali Innovation City on a 70-
hectare land size.
Government also needs to support or
direct state agencies such as the national
entrepreneurship and Innovation
Programme and the Ghana enterprise
Agency to educate and build the capacity of
entrepreneurs on initiative and programmes
happening within the West African Region
and Africa. Such as the AfCFTA and the
implementation of a comprehensive legal
and regulatory framework for private equity
and venture capital fund being developed by
the West African economic and Monetary
Union and the World Bank.
The government has undertaken
initiatives to advance the development of
startups in Ghana. however, more needs to
be done by the public and private sector to
release the wave of innovation to create jobs
and improve economic opportunities in
Ghana.
**Credit to Boston Consulting Group**
WRITeR
The writer is a Chartered Accountant
(ICAG) and an MBA holder from the
University of Warwick Business School in the
United Kingdom. A Staff of Ghana Export
Import Bank and a freelance
entrepreneurship trainer. I have been
assisting businesses to develop proposals to
raise funding and improve their financial
management. My research interest include
entrepreneurship and small business
development. I can further be reached on the
mobile number 050 8887688 or email at
daaboagye@gmail.com.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
MINING
Ghana needs to rethink its small
scale mining strategy. Here’s how
GhAnA is among the top two
gold producers in Africa.
What has caught little
attention, however, is the
fact that more than 35
percent of total gold output in Ghana
comes from artisanal and small-scale
miners. Artisanal and small-scale mining
is estimated to support the livelihoods of
some 4.5 million Ghanaians, about 12
percent of the population. They account
for more than 60 percent of the country’s
mining sector labour force.
Artisanal and small-scale mining is a
low-tech, indigenous and often informal.
It occurs in over 80 mineral-rich
developing countries. Up to 100 million
people globally work in this sector.
Artisanal and small-scale mining has
a long history in Ghana. It was only in
1989, however, that government
recognised its legitimacy through the
Small-scale Mining Act (PnDCL 218),
later integrated into the current Mining
Act 703 (2006). The act provides a
blueprint for its formalisation. It also
reserves small-scale mining for
Ghanaians. The law requires prospective
local miners to apply for a licence to
mine up to 25 acres of land in designated
areas.
Government’s intention to formalise
the sector has had very little
success. More than 85 percent of all
small-scale mining operations in Ghana
are carried out by unlicensed operators.
Due to the sector’s evolving nature,
the distinction between artisanal and
small-scale mining has become
contentious and blurred. To avoid any
complications, most scholars now use
them interchangeably. Some use the level
of sophistication employed to make a
distinction. But in Ghana today one sees
rudimentary tools (traditional
artisanal mining) and modern
tools (small-scale mining) being
used on a single mining site.
Jackboot approach
Government’s response to
illegal mining has been to use
the military to raid small-scale
miners. There is a long history to
such a combative approach in
Ghana. It dates as far back as the
British colonial administration
which enacted the Mercury
Ordinance of 1933 to ban and
criminalise native miners.
In 2013, the then president
John Mahama formed the Inter-
Ministerial Taskforce to “flush
out” illegal miners, which led to
many arrests and the expulsion
of illegal Chinese miners. The use
of force intensified under the
current president, nana Akufo-
Addo, who vowed in 2017 to put
his presidency on the line to fight
illegal mining in Ghana. This culminated
in the setting up of Operation Vanguard,
the largest centralised military-police
joint taskforce to combat illegal mining
in Ghana.
The real problem, however, is
government’s failure to implement its
legislative framework for the
formalisation of small-scale miners.
Barriers to formalisation
Government first introduced a
framework for the formalisation of
small-scale miners more than 30 years
ago. But it has very little to show for it.
Less than 15 percent of small-scale
mining operators have been able to
acquire the requisite mining licences.
Many don’t bother to apply due to the
tedious and cumbersome nature of the
regulatory process.
To gain a better understanding of
why the formalisation process has not
achieved much, an aspect of my PhD
research sought to unearth local
perspectives on the underlying
conditions for the creation of these
informal local mines. It examines how
these underpin persistent informality.
There are two problems. The first is
that the current formalisation blueprints
fail to adapt to the conditions of the
majority of local miners. The second is
that the blueprints make it very difficult
or too costly for small-scale miners to
comply. They are therefore a disincentive
to formalise.
Only a small segment of small-scale
miners can raise the amount of money
required to become formal operators. The
costs include application fees as well as
the money required for the preparation
and processing of the application. Then
there are costs for environmental
“There are two
problems. The first is
that the current
formalisation
blueprints fail to
adapt to the
conditions of the
majority of local
miners. The second is
that the blueprints
make it very difficult
or too costly for
small-scale miners to
comply. They are
therefore a
disincentive to
formalise.
permits, the hiring of surveyors and for
the acquisition of business documents. A
prospective small-scale mining licensee
could spend at least US$4,000 to secure
the requisite legal status.
When unofficial payments (bribes)
are included, according to small-scale
miners, the costs of getting a licence to
mine 25 acres can balloon to as much as
US$7,000. A burgeoning body
of research has shown that artisanal and
small-scale miners in Ghana are driven
to mining by poverty.
The second challenge revolves around
a centralised bureaucracy and lack of
effective engagement with all
stakeholders. Despite the administration
of small-scale mining being
decentralised into nine mining districts
across the country, only the national
head office can issue a small-scale
mining licence. Key local stakeholders
like municipal and district assemblies
with better understanding of the
complexities play no effective role in the
licensing process.
Again, the creation of a centralised
taskforce to address a localised problem
runs parallel to existing local structures.
This undermines effective policing,
monitoring and accountability.
Finding solutions
President Akufo-Addo’s call for a
dialogue on illegal mining in his January
2021 state of the nation address portends
a potential shift.
To create the enabling policy
environment for a blooming artisanal
and small-scale mining industry that is
environmentally sustainable and
economically beneficial to the state and
citizens, greater engagement with local
actors is the path to chart.
The solution is the devolution of
small-scale mining decisions to
municipal and district assemblies
working in collaboration with traditional
authorities.
This will facilitate greater
recognition and inclusion of local actors
in the licensing process. It will also open
dialogue with local miners since
municipal and district assemblies are the
local development agents. This will bring
decision making processes closer to
small-scale miners and
enhance the effective
policing and monitoring of
the sector.
The reform of the licence
regime for small-scale
mining should be driven by
the need to match the costs
of formalisation with the
complex socio-economic
dynamics of the majority of
operators. This is attainable
when policy treats smallscale
mining as a survivalist
sector rather than a platform
for wealth creation. Artisanal
and small-scale mining has
also suffered because of its
portrayal by the media and
public misrepresentation as
a vehicle for “quick money”.
This article is
republished from The
Conversation under a
Creative Commons license.

Thursday, May 26, 2022 PAGE 11
NEWS
Gold exports push Ghana’s trade
surplus to $1.3 billion in April
neW figures from the Bank
of Ghana have shown that
Ghana’s total balance of
trade recorded a surplus of
US$1.33 billion in the first
four months of this year.
This, according to the Central Bank’s
Summary of economic and Financial
Data, is equivalent to 1.9 percent of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).
The surplus recorded is higher than
the US$1.1 billion recorded in the entire
2021.
The figures which summarise Ghana’s
economic activities in the month of April
stated that Ghana’s total exports increased
to US$6.1 billion as of April 2022.
This was a 34 percentage points increase
from the US$4.5 billion recorded in
March.
The increase in the trade balance can
be attributed to the increase in the price
of crude oil on the world market and an
increase in gold production in the country.
The BoG data further revealed that
gold dominated the total value of exports,
recording US$1.87 billion in April this year,
up from US$1.4 billion recorded in March.
Oil followed suit with US$1.85 billion
worth of exports in the same month
under review.
Although cocoa exports also rose by 24
percentage points to record US$1.11 billion
in April compared to the US$895 million
registered in March, the amount of exports
declined when compared to the
US$1.29 billion gotten in April last year.
Meanwhile, the total amount of imports
for April 2022 stood at US$4.77 billion.
According to the report, non-oil imports
were estimated at US$3.49 billion,
while oil imports accounted for US$1.27
billion for April 2022.
Take control of financing on the
continent – Ofori-Atta to AfDB
FInAnCe Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has
urged the African Development Bank to
strengthen itself to take control of financing
more projects on the continent.
According to him, the bank must
put in place measures to ensure that no
financial institution, including the
Bretton Woods, has a deeper foothold on
the continent than the African Development
Bank.
he also urged the Bank to be innovative
in its operations to mobilise resources
and leverage the African
Development Fund’s balance sheet to
raise additional capital for Africa’s development.
Speaking at the ongoing opening
ceremony of the 2022 Annual Meetings
of the AfDB, Mr. Ofori-Atta also noted
that as the ADF celebrates its 50th anniversary,
its aim must be to raise a further
$50 billion within the next 5 years
in the capital markets.
“In designing our continent’s response
strategy, we must build from our
innate resilience and strengthen partnerships.
AfDBs focus here must therefore
be guided by advancing progres by
digitalizing our society, realising the
potential of raising innovative climate
finance, making progress on SDR
rechanneling and use the AfDB as a
conduit for deploying SDRs on the continent;
and leveraging the ADFs balance
sheet to raise additional capital for the
continent.”
“We must remedy a situation where
any financial institution, including the
Bretton Woods, has a deeper foothold on
our Continent than our own African Development
Bank. Given the current local
and global dynamics, it has become imperative
that we vigorously mobilise resources
through innovative means,
including from the digital space. We
must simply ‘uncover’ this potential to
recover and build forward better,” he
said.
he further noted that, “the bank
must be unshackled to provide competitive
financing for its members. We must
lend support to the proposed reforms in
respect of the regulations around ADF
Funds to enable the bank to leverage
these funds to raise more funds and onlend
at lower coupon rates.”
The 57th African Development Bank
Annual General Meetings which begun
at the Accra International Conference
Centre will set the agenda for Africa’s
transformation and recovery from the
current economic challenges facing the
continent amid the ongoing pandemic
and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Annual Meetings are the most
important events on the governance
calendar of the bank group, attracting
around 3,000 delegates and attendees
annually.
This year’s meetings mark a return
to in-person sessions following virtual
meetings over the last two years. The
meetings will be held in a hybrid format,
with participants present in Accra
and online.
Representatives of governments,
businesses, civil society, think tanks,
academia, and the media, will convene
to discuss key issues concerning
Africa’s ongoing development.
With a focus on climate change,
the bank will also review its operation
during the preceding year and take
stock of progress with its shareholders.
Under the theme of Achieving Climate
Resilience, and a Just energy
Transition for Africa, the Annual Meetings
will act as a forerunner to the Un
Climate Change Conference, or COP-27
taking place in egypt in november.

Thursday, May 26, 2022
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COA Mixture re-launched
• Upgraded from food supplement to medicine