Business Analyst - June 21

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Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Vol. No. 166
GH¢2.50
FInanCE Minister, Ken
Ofori-atta, is optimistic
that the national
Unemployment Insurance
for workers affected by
COVID-19 will give many
opportunities to get on board the
progarmme.
according to him, the government
is committed to addressing the rising
unemployment situation in the
country, whilst reducing the hardship
on Ghanaians.
Speaking at the launch of the
innovative national Unemployment

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Africa is a hostage of Russia's
war on Ukraine, Zelensky says
UKRaInIan President
Volodymyr Zelensky has called
africa "a hostage" of Russia's
war during an address to the
african Union (aU) on
Monday.
Russia's invasion, and its blockade of
Ukraine's grain exports, have sparked grain
and fertiliser shortages and put millions of
people at risk of hunger.
the chair of the aU commission said
there was an "urgent need for dialogue" to
restore global stability.
western countries have urged Russia to
release Ukraine's vast grain stores.
the blockade has sent food prices
soaring.
"africa is actually a hostage... of those
who unleashed war against our state", Mr
Zelensky said in his speech.
He said his government was engaged in
"complex negotiations" to unblock grain
reserves trapped in Ukraine's Black Sea
ports.
"this war may seem very distant to you
and your countries," he told the aU. "But the
food prices that are catastrophically rising
have already brought [the war] to the homes
of millions of african families."
Mr Zelensky's aU speech comes nearly 10
weeks after he first asked to address the
continental body.
the BBC understands that 55 heads of
state were invited to the virtual session, but
only four attended. the rest of the countries
sent representatives.
african countries have been divided in
their response to Russia's war in Ukraine. In
March, 17 african countries abstained in a
Un vote to condemn the invasion.
But on Monday, aU's chairperson Macky
Sall thanked Mr Zelensky for addressing the
union.
Mr Sall said that "africa remains
committed to respecting the rules of
international law, the peaceful resolution of
conflicts and freedom of trade".
Initially, the aU did not want to be
addressed by Mr Zelensky, and it does not
fully agree with what he's saying - they want
dialogue to solve the crisis, as they always
have.
Earlier this
month, Mr Sall
held talks with
Russia President
Vladimir Putin. He
told Mr Putin that
african countries
are innocent
victims of the war
in Ukraine and
Russia should help
ease their
suffering.
Is Russia
exporting grain
from Ukraine?
Ukraine calls
for safe passage for
grain exports
Ukraine war:
wtO boss warns of
global food crisis
Volunteers
prepare meals for
Internal displaced
people, fleeing the
recent clashes
between M23 rebels and Congolese soldiers,
at a camp in Kanyarushinya north of Goma
Food prices across african countries have
rocketed, meanwhile millions of tonnes of
grain are sitting in warehouses and
Ukrainian ports
Earlier on Monday, EU foreign policy
chief Josep Borrell said of Russia's blockade:
"this is a real war crime, so I cannot imagine
that this will last much longer."
Mr Borrell met EU foreign ministers in
Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the
crisis.
He described Moscow's actions as "a
deliberate attempt to create hunger in the
world".
He rejected Russia's claim that the
current food crisis is a result of EU sanctions,
adding that they "don't forbid" countries
outside the EU from conducting food trade
with Russia or other nations.
1px transparent line
Percentage of wheat exports from
Ukraine
French Foreign Minister Catherine
Colonna said that "Russia must stop playing
with global hunger" as it seeks leverage over
the west.
"Leaving cereals blocked is dangerous for
stability in the world," she said.
the head of the Polish prime minister's
office, Michal Dworczyk, spoke with
Ukraine's infrastructure minister Oleksandr
Kubrakov about changes that will speed up
checks for trucks on the Polish-Ukrainian
border to help export more grain from
Ukraine.
Ethiopia violence in Oromia: 'Villages full of dead bodies'
EyEwItnESSES to an outbreak of
ethnic violence in western
Ethiopia have told the BBC that
they were left helpless during
attacks, which resulted in the
deaths of more than 250 people.
One man said he and other
villagers had buried about 250
bodies, including those of his
brother and sister-in-law.
the numbers have not been
independently verified but other
witnesses have provided similar
accounts.
the victims are said to be
ethnic amharas killed by Oromo
rebels.
the Oromo Liberation army
(OLa) has denied responsibility
and said the government's
"retreating soldiers" were behind
the attacks. a spokesperson
further blamed a militia group
formed by the Oromia regional
government.
according to witnesses, the
attacks happened in six small
farming villages in Gimbi district,
western Oromia.
the BBC's attempt to get more
information from local officials
and Oromia region's spokesperson
have not been successful.
the area has recently seen
fighting between government
forces and the OLa. the attacks
may be related to that fighting,
said Ethiopia's government rights
watchdog, the Ethiopian Human
Rights Commission.
One man, whose 16-year-old
daughter was among the dead,
said: "I was told the villages were
full of dead bodies."
Map showing Gimbi
the attack reportedly began
around 09:00 on Saturday and
continued until about 13.00.
Residents said they called the
district authorities immediately
but help came only hours later.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Government says
More jobs coming
• Continued from front
Insurance Scheme which is part of the
Ghana Cares Obaatanpa programme,
Mr Ofori-atta said “the training and
retraining programme which is a
component of the nUIS is aimed at
preserving and upgrading the human
capital and skills of the current cohort
of workers who lost their employment
or are under-employed because of the
pandemic”.
“It is focused on skills upgrading,
work ethics, productivity and
attitudinal change. It is focused on
enhancing workers’ prospects for reentry
into the labour market at higher
• As it launches National
Unemployment Insurance for
workers affected by COVID-19
levels of productivity or performance. It
emphasises vocational, technical and
professional training and retraining”,
he pointed out.
the national Unemployment
Insurance Scheme which is starting
with the tourism and educational
sector will undertake vocational and
technical training for private-sector
workers who lost their jobs as part of
the negative impact of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Minister for Employment and
Labour Relations Ignatious Baffuour
awuah in a speech defended the reason
for choosing the tourism and
educational sector, saying they are the
highest affected by the COVID-19.
“the sectors chosen for now have
been most affected and looking at the
number involved and impact, it is just
understandable that we begin with
them, so that we can expand the scope
subsequently” he noted.
Other stakeholders including the
trades Union Congress, and Ghana
Employers association, among others
have given their blessings to the
initiative.
Secretary-General of the tUC, Dr
yaw Baah, urged the Ministry to fasttrack
the process which will ensure
that other sectors of the economy that
have been affected by the COVID-19
pandemic are added to the programme.
Government announced in the 2020
Mid-year Fiscal Policy Review the
establishment of a national
Unemployment Insurance Scheme
(nUIS) which is to offer income support
to workers who become unemployed
due to external factors like COVID-19.
the training and re-training
programme is a component to preserve
and upgrade the human capital of the
affected workers and facilitate their reentry
into productive employment at
higher levels of performance.
the training is being piloted in the
tourism, hospitality and education
sectors
BoG holds financial literacy
programme for Immigration officers
tHE Bank of Ghana has organised a Financial
Literacy porgramme for Officers of the
Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) in the
Volta Regional capital, Ho.
the programme, dubbed ‘Public Sensitisation
Programme on Banking Services,
Consumer Rights and Responsibilities’,
seeks to help officers of the Ghana Immigration
Service understand the financial
system and empower them with relevant
knowledge to assist them to make the right
financial decisions.
Speaking at the Financial Literacy programme,
the Head of the Conduct Supervision
Unit of the Financial Stability
Department of the Bank of Ghana, augustine
amoako Donkor, cautioned the public
on certain financial products which promise
huge returns on investments, saying
such offers are usually fraudulent.
He advised the officers to always consider
the safety of their funds as they get attracted
to the unreasonably huge returns
promised by some financial institutions.
Mr. amoako Donkor stressed the need
for customers of financial institutions to
exercise due diligence before signing on to
investment products, indicating that most
people are lured into investments without
adequate knowledge of the critical components
of the financial instrument and how
it works.
He encouraged the officers and public
to avoid any suspicious financial product or
company and report same to the regulator
for it to take quick action.
Mr. amoako Donkor stressed the need
for customers of financial institutions to
read and understand the agreements and
terms and conditions of products and services
given them by service providers before
signing for them.
He urged the GIS Officers to ensure that
they receive clarity on all information on
products and services provided by financial
institutions, particularly on fees and
charges, and requested them to report all
undisclosed fees and charges to the central
bank.
Mr. amoako Donkor further encouraged
the GIS Officers to continuously monitor
their accounts and the activities of the institutions
they do business with, and not to
go to sleep after signing on to financial
products and services. In this way, they are
able to promptly observe or detect any
unauthorized or illegal happenings on their
accounts to enable them raise the necessary
alerts.
He urged customers of financial institutions
to demonstrate responsibility by sticking
to signed agreements and terms and
conditions, especially in the area of credit
facilities.
He called on borrowers to endeavor to
pay off credit facilities, adding that the
credit reporting system which facilitates
credit information sharing among lenders
could make other lenders refuse to grant
further credit to borrowers who default in
loan repayment.
Speaking on Customer Complaint Handling
Procedures, Mr. Daniel Mensah Sarpong
of the Market Conduct Office of the
Financial Stability Department of the central
bank stated that it is the right of every
customer of a financial institution to make
a complaint to the service provider and receive
resolution anytime they are not satisfied
with a product or service.
He added that customers may seek the
intervention of the Bank of Ghana where
they are not satisfied with the resolution
provided by financial institutions.
the officers were also encouraged to update
their bank records with the Ghana
Card.
the programme focused on topics such
as the regulatory authorities of Ghana’s financial
sector, institutions regulated by the
Bank of Ghana, responsible borrowing,
identifying Ponzi schemes, complaint reporting
guidelines, and anti-money laundering/countering
the financing of
terrorism matters
GJA Elections
Dwumfour is number
3 on ballot paper
• Intensifies campaign ahead
of polls on Friday
GHana Journalists association (GJa) presidential
hopeful, albert Kwabena Dwumfour
picked the number 3 spot on the ballot paper
ahead of the upcoming elections slated for
June 24, 2022.
the balloting was yesterday at the
International Press Center with all the
three candidates in attendance.
Dave agbenu picked number 1
whilst Gayheart Mensah, was number
2 in that order.
the Director of Elections at EC, Dr
Siriboe Quarcoo who is the supervisor
of the GJa elections noted that with
the balloting done, all is set for the
GJa elections slated for Friday (June
24, 2022).
according to him, the EC will
work on printing the ballot papers
and make them ready ahead of the
elections.
He later advised all the candidates
to intensify their campaigns
stressing that “it is a campaign that
wins elections, EC doesn’t make any
candidate win elections”.
In an exclusive interview, Mr. albert
Dwumfour told journalists that
ballot number 3 represents God the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“God has already fought the battle
for us. My campaign team has always
been saying the battle is the
Lord’s and this is a testimony that
God’s miracle is at work”, Mr Dwumfour
emphasized.
Mr Dwumfour later entreated all his supporters
to remain resolute and stand firm as
they campaign rigorously until sweet victory
is delivered on Friday.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
REVIEW CURRICULA TO
PRODUCE INNOVATIVE
GRADUATES
In the recent past, graduates from our
universities formed an unenviable association
known as the Unemployed Graduates Association
of Ghana.
As is to be expected, the graduates came out
of the various universities with high hopes of
landing jobs mainly from the government.
However, that hope was short-lived as most of
them found themselves back home after their
mandatory national service.
So they decided to form a pressure group and
that birthed the association.
Really, we cannot blame them, paticularly,
because of some of the courses most of our
universities offer.
The curricula some of the universities run give
no room for students to be creative, think outside
the box and, indeed, prepare to establish
themselves after school.
Well, the situation is not peculiar to Ghana,
but also to other African countries, as was
articulated by the Secretary General of the
Association of African Universities (AAU),
Professor Olusola Bandele Oyidowole, at the
maiden edition of the African Academic and
Heritage Fair in Accra on May 27, 2022.
On that occasion, the professor did not mince
words when he called for the review of the
curricula of our universities to help produce
innovative graduates.
He justified his call by saying that the
universities needed a system that would produce
young people with a different orientation for a
new market.
The newspaper believes that the call by the
Secretary General is timely and managers of
universities must begin to take a second look at
the courses they offer in their respective
institutions.
It is in this regard that we commend the
managers of our educational system for turning
the attention of learners to science technology,
engineering and mathematics (STEM) education,
and technical vocational education and training
(TVET).
Surely, the government’s direction of
education with a focus on TVET and STEM is the
way to go if we as a nation wish to rub shoulders
with other countries globally.
The current unemployment situation
worldwide truly calls for a sober reflection on the
programmes offered in our tertiary institutions.
We need critical thinkers and skilled
individuals who will complete their courses, set
themselves up and become employers and not
employees.
We need critical thinkers who will use their
knowledge to reshape and inject new ideas to
improve themselves anywhere.
How mortgage
interest rates can
further be reduced
Dan Mohenu, Senior
Manager for
Commercial &
Retail Banking of
Republic Bank
(Ghana) PLC has offered some
explanations as to why interest
rates on mortgage facilities, and
for that matter all loans may not
go down as significantly as some
members of the public expect. .
according to Mr. Mohenu,
“mortgage loans are usually long
term in nature, however Banks
tend to finance these loans using
short term funds mainly due to
reliable flow of such funds. Banks
and other financial institutions
have invested in innovative
solutions to mobilize deposits,
however, after these deposits are
mobilized, depositors demand
high returns on funds placed with
financial institutions. Most often,
their expected investment
rates are benchmarked to the
risk free investment instruments
issued by Government”, he said.
according to him,
Government is competing with
Banks in the same domestic
market, borrowing from the
market at relatively high rates, for
example, 364-day treasury bill is
priced at 16.2% p.a., 2-year at
17.25%, 18.3% for the 5-year bond
and 20% for the 15-year bond
issued in 2019. “It is therefore
practically impossible for Banks
to lend lower since Banks will
have to price higher in order to
compete for the same funds and
will end
up being crowded out. after
factoring in various provisions,
rollover risk and making the
necessary reserves, it ends up
pushing the rates high,” he added.
Specifically, on mortgage rates,
Mr. Dan Mohenu offered some
recommendations that may lower
the cost of mortgage financing.
He advocated for long term
cheaper funding from
Government to financial
institutions.
Government could issue
“affordable Housing Bonds” at
lower rates with incentives for
investors to compensate them for
the relatively low returns.
He acknowledged the
partnership with national
Housing and Mortgage Fund
(nH&MF), where Government has
provided funding to subsidize
mortgage interest rates for Public
Sector workers. “Republic Bank is
currently offering an interest rate
of 11.9% p.a. for mortgages per
this arrangement. as a Bank, we
have currently exhausted the
funds allocated to us, and
awaiting new allocation,” he
added.
Mr. Mohenu applauded the
move by Government to acquire
lands for the construction of
affordable homes.
according to him, this will
drive down the cost of houses to
enable qualifying individuals to
purchase. “where land is
available, Government could go
into a partnership with the
private sector to develop and sell
at lower prices”, he said.
according to the Senior
Manager, Republic Bank has also
made mortgage loan repayment
flexible for mortgagors.
“we appreciate the high
interest rates and its impact on
customers; reason we have
introduced two (2) additional
mortgage repayment options to
allow customers save up to 40%
on their mortgage interest cost, by
helping them to pay their
mortgage even faster and thus
reducing their repayment period.
this is available
to existing and new
customers”.
Republic Bank continues to be
your Bank of choice for housing
finance and we appreciate the
trust customers have reposed in
us over the past 31 years.
“affordable housing is
possible. However, it must involve
partnership and buy-in from all
stakeholders and ultimately
guided by Government policy.
Once each partner knows their
role, we will be getting there as a
country” Dan Mohenu explained.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
6 interdicted TOR
staff recalled
SOME staff of the
tema Oil Refinery
(tOR) who were interdicted
for allegedly
causing financial loss
to the state through some underhand
dealings.
an Interim Management
Committee (IMC) was set up to
probe the disappearance of
105,927 litres of gas oil on 4th
September 2021, which belongs
to a BDC client.
In addition, there was also a
disappearance of 18 drums of
electrical cables worth GHS 10.4
million from the technical
• After investigations
Storehouse of tOR, discovered
in april 2021 as well as the disappearance
of LPG belonging to
a client between 2012 and 2015,
as a result of which tOR became
indebted to the client to
the tune of $4.8 million.
after the investigations, the
six staff were cleared.
the recalled staff are Mr
Emmanuel tetteh Doku, MOP
Unit, Mr Joseph akuure of the
Finance Unit, Mr George Kweku
Gaisie also from Finance, Edmund
Kojo Baiden from MOP,
Mr Victor Dekayie, Import, and
Export Unit, who are all senior
staff, and junior staff, Mr abu
Osman from Distribution Unit
the letter exonerating the
workers was dated June 17,
2022, and signed by the Managing
Director (MD), Mr Jerry Kofi
Hinson.
Portions of the letter read,
“you are hereby declared fully
exonerated from the incident
and are being requested to report
to work on tuesday 28th
June 2022”.
“Upon receipt of your responses
to the above, discussions
with you at the
Disciplinary Hearing, and also
further investigations into the
incident, it has come to the fore
that you are not liable,” a letter
to a Senior Credit Control Officer
said.
the acting General Manager
in charge of Finance has
been directed to restore his
salary as well as other benefits
in full “from the date of interdiction
to date, as per the
Human Resource Management,
administrative Policies, Systems
and Procedures Manual
Section 6.3.1 and article 55 Section
7 of the Collective agreement
between tema Oil
Refinery (tOR) and the Union
of Industry, Commerce and Finance
workers (UnICOF)”.
Improved transport system will tackle food shortage — Expert
an Economist and Senior Research Fellow
at the University of Ghana, Dr
George Domfeh, says an improved
transport system will solve the issue of
high food inflation
Dr Dompreh’s comments come
after the Minister for Food and agriculture
Dr Owusu afriyie akoto debunked
claims of food shortage in the country.
He said evidence on the grounds
and data presented by the various regional
agricultural directorates point to
the availability of enough food in the
country
Dr. Owusu afriyie akoto said the
high food inflation is not a result of
food shortage rather rising fuel prices,
high cost of agrochemicals and other
external factors including the Russian
invasion of Ukraine.
“One of the motivations for us to
come this time round is this whole
issue about food prices being high and
the explanation the people are giving is
the fact that there is shortage of food.
we know from our visits that, that is
not true. the observations we’ve made
in markets and enclave around tachiman,
Ejura and etc show very clearly.
we were able to identify 25,000metric
tons of maize from last year which is in
stock.that still exist in the
markets.that is not counting what is
up in the northern part of this country
so there is food from last year and as
you can see the rains have been very
good in the next one month the new
harvest will start coming in so we are
well stock of food”.
the Minister stressed “any talk of
famine in Ghana or shortage of food in
Ghana in the coming year is pure speculations.the
reality is totally different.
the data that we have been presented
by the various directorates of agriculture
support the view that we have a
very healthy ,robust agriculture system
which has been spiked by planting for
food and jobs.”
the Minister made the comments
Saturday June 18,2022 in an interview
with the media after touring parts of
the Eastern region to end the first leg of
his annual regional tour to farms and
processing facilities in the agricultural
value chain
However, speaking on atinka tV
yesterday, Dr George Domfeh noted that
although there was enough food, most
farmers were unable to transport them
to the cities due to the transportation
system.
aside from that, he noted that due
to the cost of fuel prices, the cost of
transportation had also increased and
so when the farmers transport food,
they end up sharing the cost of transportation
on the items.
Meanwhile, Dr George Domfeh also
noticed that Ghana practices a free
market system where individuals or
companies determine the prices of
their goods and services, especially food
items, hence the high food inflation.
He, however, suggested that if the
government can provide trucks, cargo
cars or boats that can transport these
food items from the farms and ease the
transportation burdens of farmers, it
may help bring more food to the cities
and as well reduce the prices.
nonetheless, he questioned if the
farmers were also willing to sell their
food items at affordable rates even after
the government has absorbed their
transport burden.
"with the free market system,
sometimes it is worrying and so if the
Government can put down some mechanisms
to control the prices of the
items, it will help," he added.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Policy considerations for
students’ loan adoption
InVEStMEnt in higher
education forms a critical
aspect of improving the
human capital of nations.
In the absence of a
conscious investment effort, a
national skill deficiency ensues;
and there is also an attendant low
quality of human capital which
undermines development and
standards of living. against this
backdrop, it has become a
constitutional mandate for
governments to develop their
people through education at all
levels.
Due to limited resources and
poor planning, governments of
developing countries struggle to
finance higher education for their
citizens. Student loan scheme (SLS)
offer one of the popular platforms
for the financing of higher
education in both developed and
developing countries. Students’
loan schemes (SLSs) are acceptable
cost-sharing mechanisms used
worldwide by governments to
reduce part of their financial
burdens connected to higher
education financing.
Since its emergence in 1950,
SLSs have grown in polarity.
Economically, students’ loans provide
an alternative remedy to the financial
constraints facing students; offering
improved access to higher education for
students from low socio-economic
backgrounds who would otherwise be
denied access to higher education
because of their inability to pay. It also
serves as a third leg to cost-sharing and
makes students more responsible and
value higher education more.
Like other countries, the SLS
administered in Ghana by the Students’
Loan trust Fund (SLtF) is confronted by
pockets of challenges. a major challenge
is an indiscriminate manner in which
funds are disbursed to recipients without
combining it with other finance
schemes. there is also the problem of low
adoption of the SLS among Ghanaians.
Scrutiny of these challenges presents an
opportunity to address policy lapses
undermining the effectiveness of the SLS
in Ghana.
SLSs as an innovation
SLSs are lending innovations which
when appropriately designed, can help
point the way for financial institutions to
lend a hand in higher education
financing and also, impact investors’
interest in supporting access to tertiary
education in emerging markets.
Further, with sustainable models
that provide fair terms to students
and favourable returns to investors,
student finance has the potential to
become a growing terrain for investors.
In Ghana, commercial banks,
educational institutions, churches, nongovernmental
organizations (nGOs) and
some student bodies such as the
students’ representative councils (SRCs)
have supplemented governments’ efforts
in providing loan products, scholarships,
grants and other funding mechanisms to
support student funding but these have
not been adequate.
One thing necessary with the
proliferation of SLSs in many countries is
the need to have an innovative welltailored
module that meets the peculiar
needs of a particular market. this is the
sure way of making SLSs sustainable.
although admirable, introducing these
innovations straight away in different
markets without testing them can be
disastrous. thus, tailoring students’ loan
offerings to suit specific contexts and
contents is key to the success of any such
scheme. Consequently, any
country/institution determined to have a
well-patronized scheme should not
overlook the innovation bit.
the SLS adoption challenge
Like all innovations, SLSs such as the
one operating in Ghana are confronted
with low adoption rates. the factors that
impact adoption could be broadly
categorised as technological and
behavioural factors. For instance, SLSs
now leverage information technology
(I.t.) platforms to achieve simplicity or
improve service delivery and streamline
administrative procedures.
Limited literature and research are
investigating how technological and
behavioural factors might be impacting
the adoption of the SLS among
Ghanaians. However, available data from
the Students’ Loan trust Fund suggests
that less than 10 per cent of eligible
tertiary students in Ghana patronizes the
SLS.
assessing factors influencing the
adoption of the students’ loan scheme, it
could be envisaged that the relative
advantage of the scheme (i.e. the added
value a scheme offers compared to
existing approaches in the adoption of
loans); its complexity (i.e. its simplicity
in use by students); its compatibility
with the end-users who are the students;
its observability (i.e. students’ ability to
track the benefits that the scheme offers
that encourages peer-to-peer
recommendations); its trialability (as in
how easily the scheme could be tried
before full indulgence); or a combination
of these factors work together as factors
affecting their final decision to adopt the
scheme or not to.
the adoption of a
loan scheme involves
decision-making. as
well, the attitude of a
person is believed to
have a direct link to the
decision.
Organizational
researchers have also
argued that social
norms or the social
expectations of
individuals go a long
way to affect their
financial decisions,
likewise behaviours that
are controlled by
externalities (control
behaviours).
apart from the
aforementioned factors,
policy lapses also
account for this low
patronage. Policy
changes are needed to
address the myriads of
misconceptions
surrounding the
“One thing
necessary with
the proliferation
of SLSs in many
countries is the
need to have an
innovative welltailored
module
that meets the
peculiar needs of
a particular
market. This is
the sure way of
making SLSs
sustainable.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
repayment of students’ loans
in Ghana.
One area of the
misconception that must be
addressed is the argument
that lack of employment
opportunities and subsequent
stigmatization of loan
defaulters might be
responsible for low patronage.
Despite the introduction
of changes to the loan
application process and
disbursement to improve
access, patronage is still low.
Further, the presence of
several brilliant but needy
students requiring financial
assistance for higher
education underpins the
necessity of a paradigm shift
in policy to address the
bottlenecks.
Policy
considerations and
recommendations
From an innovation and
policy perspective, Ghana’s
SLS must be well-defined and
designed bearing in mind the
following characteristics:
Simple management
policies to ensure universal
access to the loan scheme by
all eligible students.
an instrument of
repayment should be flexible,
thus allowing for shocks in
the income of borrowers
during the repayment period.
the coverage of the loan
should include tuition fees,
maintenance fees and other
educational needs to ensure
students from lower-income
families are attracted to adopt
the loan scheme.
Be tailored to suit the
needs of each student with an
adequate evaluation and
monitoring system to ensure
the sustainability of the
program.
Further to the policy
recommendations, the
following recommendations
will help address some
practical bottlenecks of the
SLS in Ghana:
Urgently address all
technical challenges
associated with the use of the
SLS. this will help improve
processes connected with
applying for and repaying
student loan and thus
improve parentage.
Provide financial literacy
training for students.
Financial literacy training
must form part of the
“A revision of the
loan requirements
is needed. Many
student
beneficiaries and
those yet to apply
complained about
the lack of
guarantors and
compound
interests. To make
the scheme more
compatible and
less complex, the
requirements for
guarantors should
be taken out
completely and
biometric national
identifications
used instead.
orientation programs offered
to students by the SLS.
a revision of the loan
requirements is needed. Many
student beneficiaries and
those yet to apply complained
about the lack of guarantors
and compound interests. to
make the scheme more
compatible and less complex,
the requirements for
guarantors should be taken
out completely and biometric
national identifications used
instead. as well, digital
address systems now in place
should be used to track loan
beneficiaries to enforce
repayments. Compound
interest rates should be made
a straight line with a little
margin added to the interest
rate to make up for any loss in
value of funds. these would
relax the requirements.
Conclusion
the success of the SLS in
Ghana depends on policy
innovativeness. It important
that existing policies and
systems are redesigned to
practically cater to the needs
of the targeted users.
Essentially, the relative
advantage of the innovations
(policies) over existing ones
must be evident.
this concerns the
effectiveness/efficiency of the
new SLS system or policy in
addressing issues that the old
system could not properly
resolve. also, users will judge
well the new policy compares
with existing ones, regarding
its integration and
compatibility with already
existing systems.
another important factor
will be the ease of usability of
the new policy/system
underpinned by an
understanding of the extent
to which it streamlines the
performance of actions or
procedures. when policies
introduced to address SLS
bottlenecks successfully
demonstrate its advantages,
innovativeness and ease of
use to students/parents, they
are more likely to adopt it.
a typical example will be
the integration of the
internet and other
electronic/mobile phone
payment systems. this is an
indication that students are
likely to adopt a loan scheme
if they think it will enable
them to accomplish their
educational tasks more
quickly.
The writer is the Exec.
Director, Shield Insurance
Brokers and Shield
Microfinance Ltd

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
BANKING
Why Bank Savings is not a good
retirement planning option
tHIS article is borne out of the different
options people consider for
their retirement income and how
appropriate it can be or otherwise.
One reason people struggle financially
in retirement is the inability to identify
the right financial products.
the various notable retirement planning
options include existing business, investment
into equities, bank savings, property and even
children. this edition looks at the downsides
of fund accumulation using bank savings as
an option. Remember that no option is bad in
itself, but the failure to identify and mitigate
the risks inherent in the options. the article
looks at what pension schemes in Ghana can
offer in relation to bank savings.
Pension funds in Ghana
Contributing to a pension fund is one of
the very reliable sources of income during retirement.
what is the difference between a
pension fund and regular bank savings?
there is a downside to using bank savings
as a retirement income. Funds in a savings
account are exposed to the risk of inflation
and the risk of shortfall*. For what we term
defined benefit (DB) schemes, the risk of
shortfall is somewhat mitigated as benefits
are based on qualifying criteria. an example
is a 1st tier SSnIt benefit where one qualifies
after contributing for 180 months. the level of
benefits is based on a pre-determined formula
that uses the best three (3) years’ salary.
Benefits are thus guaranteed and one risk of
shortfall is weaknesses in administration and
data management.
Pension funds in Ghana –
Defined-Benefit Schemes
the level of benefits under the defined –
benefit is also index-linked. Periodic adjustments
would be made based on inflation or
an underlying
“Remember
that no option
is bad in itself,
but the failure
to identify and
mitigate the
risks inherent
in the options.
The article
looks at what
pension
schemes in
Ghana can
offer in
relation to
bank savings.
market rate. again due to the fact that the
government is involved with SSnIt, benefits
are assured. this somewhat insulates the
benefits from the loss of purchasing power,
though not entirely in our part of the world.
there seem not to be much to worry about
here.
Pension funds in Ghana –
Defined Contribution
Schemes
the situation is however different from
the other sibling called the defined contribution
(DC) scheme. In Ghana, both the 2nd and
3rd tier schemes are defined -contribution.
Benefits depend on how much funds are accumulated
and the investment returns (less
all charges to the scheme). It has no qualifying
benefit criteria except that one should
have contributed. therefore, your proceeds
depend on how well your pension scheme is
managed.
Pension funds in Ghana – the Risks
with these schemes the risks of inflation
and shortfall in addition to investment risk
are real. the risks reside in the general economic
and investment climate as well as the
performance of the pension trustees and fund
managers. the pension fund managers usually
advise pension trustees to invest the
funds for returns usually higher than inflation.
If you should keep Ghs100 in a cabinet
for 3 years without any additions, the value
(purchasing power) drops.
Purchasing Power
therefore the Ghs100 cannot do in 3 years’
time what it can do today. the purchasing
power will be eroded and eaten up by the inflation
dinosaur. this animal has sharp teeth!
a good way to keep the Ghs100 strong is to invest
and make some returns. a better way,
however, is to invest the Ghs100 and make returns
higher than inflation.
the inflation rate at the end of September
2021 was 10.6 percent. In order to keep the
Ghs100 going at its appreciable strength, returns
on it should be more than 10.6 percent.
Pension Funds Vrs
Bank Savings
i. nPRa Guidelines regulating Pension
Funds
the guidelines permit schemes to invest
up to 75 percent of the funds in treasury instruments
and 20 percent in equities
(shares/equities of organisations). a good
combination of these as well as other permitted
asset classes in pension fund management
would yield a lot higher than the
regular bank savings would give you.
additionally, the assets are highly regulated.
the regulations protect the fund from
unnecessarily high-risk taking, as well as
services charges. these are all value to the
scheme which monetary benefits become
tangible over the medium to long term.
with good management, a typical pension
scheme could yield anything from 19
percent per annum. this is much higher than
the 5-8 percent offered on typical savings at
the bank. Regular bank savings play a role in
accomplishing other financial objectives but
definitely not accumulating funds for such
long-term life objectives as retirement.
ii. Compounding of Pension Funds
again, with the compounding effect on
pensions fund returns and the continuous
contributions, pension funds grow exponentially.
For those not in any formal sector employment,
there is the need to immediately
lookout for a private pension scheme to join.
the nPRa website has amply provided information
on trustees you can register with. If
you are already in a formal sector arrangement
it would be a good deal to look out for
the extra 3rd tier to contribute more (if there
is still some allowance on tax).
iii. the Banking Failure
the failure of some financial institutions
lately should also inform where you place
funds, else they would be wiped out before
the time they are needed. Bank savings is
useful when retirement benefits are paid
and one wishes to place a portion in a savings
account for easy access to funds.
Instead of regular savings for a longterm
accumulation of funds, consider contributing
to a pension fund. the points
discussed above explain why Bank Savings is
not a Good Retirement Planning Option in
Ghana.
*Inflation Risk: also called purchasing
power risk, is the chance that the cash flows
from an investment won’t be worth as much
in the future because of changes in purchasing
power due to price increases.
*Shortfall Risk: Retirement shortfall risk
is the potential that when someone retires,
he/she will not have enough assets or income
as previously expected for their retirement.
*Rates are as of September 2021
SOURCE: Ghana Talks Business

Tuesday, June March 21, 2022 1, 2022
ENTERPRENEUR
3 definitive rules for marketing
tHE COVID
pandemic has
changed the way
businesses sell
and market their
products and services to
customers, and there is
likely no return to the old
normal.
Prior to the pandemic,
enterprise marketing efforts
were largely focused on inperson
activities, such as
conferences, exhibitions,
trade shows and activations.
Fast-forward eighteen
months and the
overwhelming majority of
marketing activities now
take place in the digital
realm.
Rules for Marketing in
2022
according to Dumisani
Moyo, Marketing Director at
SaP africa, this raises some
fundamental questions.
“the role of marketing
has changed forever, and
marketers now have to get to
grips with what the future
holds. will marketing
activities remain digital, or
will they evolve into a hybrid
of digital and physical,
especially as vaccination
rates rise and the world
returns to some semblance
of pre-pandemic normalcy?
and what are the
implications for the types of
investments marketers and
their organisations must
make to win the hearts and
minds of current and
prospective customers?”
Moyo says marketers
have valuable lessons to
learn from the pandemic as
they plan for 2022, and will
need to focus on delivering
high-impact marketing
initiatives that can help
their organisations grow
faster.
“Marketers should focus
their efforts on
understanding the customer
journey, using technology to
fuel innovation within the
marketing discipline, and
stay close to customers and
their data in order to provide
frictionless omnichannel
experiences across the
customer value chain.”
Moyo points to three
rules organisations need to
follow to succeed in the postpandemic
era:
Rules for Marketing in
2022 #1 – (Really) understand
customer journeys
Marketing’s primary role
is to connect with customers
at the right time and at a
touchpoint where the
customer’s purchasing
decisions can be influenced
the most. However, analysts
have pointed out that the
traditional marketing funnel
does not capture all modern
customer touchpoints, partly
due to the emergence of
empowered and informed
customers and an
abundance of choices thanks
to digital channels.
“Marketers need to
thoroughly understand the
customer buying journey,
and apply data-driven
insights to understanding
the complex and often nonlinear
buying processes that
customers are likely to
follow in their purchasing
decisions,” says Moyo.
“Empowered and informed
customers are conducting
online research prior to
making purchasing
decisions. Having an
accessible and – in africa
especially – mobile-friendly
online presence helps
ensure customers have the
most relevant information
to inform their decisionmaking.”
In addition, marketers
should align their resources
and messaging to the
customer touchpoints that
offer the greatest impact on
or influence over the
customer’s buying decision.
Rule for Marketing in
2022 #2 – Use technology to
drive innovation
technology is essential to
marketing success in the
post-pandemic era. a recent
CMO survey found that 43
percent of marketers are
investing in technology to
improve customer
interactions, and 42 percent
are investing in data
integration to enable end-toend
customer tracking
throughout the buying
journey.
“this is an astonishing 71
percent year-on-year
increase and illustrates
marketers’ growing appetite
for access to data-rich tools,”
says Moyo. “Marketing
technology solutions can
help automate processes,
integrate siloed customer
data and enable marketers to
utilize a broad suite of digital
channels to drive sales both
online and in-store.”
Despite major growth in
the adoption of digital tools,
“Marketers need
to thoroughly
understand the
customer buying
journey, and
apply data-driven
insights to
understanding
the complex and
often non-linear
buying processes
that customers
are likely to
follow in their
purchasing
decisions,” says
Moyo.
some marketing solutions
providers are predicting that
the volume of digital
marketing may decrease in
the post-pandemic era.
“Marketers are shifting their
efforts to making campaigns
more targeted and
personalised, with
technology enabling
marketers to optimise their
digital marketing efforts
across customer
touchpoints in online,
mobile and in-store
environments.”
Rules for Marketing in
2022 #3 – Stay close to your
customers – and their data
Recent insights from
the Harvard Business
Review reveal that postpandemic
customers have
high expectations of
frictionless, anticipatory,
relevant, and connected
purchasing experiences
across physical, online, and
other platforms.
“to create such
experiences, companies
must ensure that the
management and
utilisation of customer data
is at the heart of their
marketing activities,” says
Moyo. “this requires the use
of intelligent tools that
employ technologies such
as predictive analytics,
artificial intelligence and
machine learning.”
Putting data at the heart
of marketing enables
organisations to create
more relevant and tailored
customer experiences. “By
analysing customer data,
marketers can create hybrid
experiences that prioritise
personalisation and
convenience. For example,
through the seamless
integration of physical and
online experiences that
allow a customer to
virtually try on make-up
prior to purchase.”
Moyo believes that
marketers will be focused
on using intelligent
technologies to better
understand customer
journeys for the immediate
future. “Marketers and their
organisations will continue
to embrace technology, and
apply data to create tailored
and personalised
experiences for customers in
the post-pandemic era.”
Source: African Media
Agency (AMA)

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
MINING
Ghana needs to rethink its small
scale mining strategy. Here’s how
Ghana is making a
second attempt to
replace illegal small
scale mining with a
formalized, regulated
version after the first
attempt a couple of
years ago achieved
only limited success.
Here are some ideas on
how to achieve this
crucial objective.
GHana is the top 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 lowtech,
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 smallscale
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 smallscale
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 militarypolice
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
“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.
adapt to the conditions of the majority of local
miners. the second is that the blueprints
make it very difficult or too costly for smallscale
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 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 smallscale
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 socioeconomic
dynamics of the majority of
operators. this is attainable when policy
treats small-scale mining as a
survivalist sector rather than a platform
for wealth creation. artisanal and smallscale
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.

WORKPLACE
Tuesday, June 21, 2022 PAGE 11
Why good individual workers are
steamrolled into management
aFtER years working for herself
as a learning and development
specialist, Kate, 38, was delighted
to get a staff job with a
major London-based training
group last year, working with one of their
biggest clients. It was clear to her bosses she
was the most experienced and capable person
on the team, and they soon came to her
with an offer: do you want to run the team?
Kate, whose surname is being withheld
for job-security reasons, was cautious. She
was aware the industry was new to her, unlike
the 30 people she would manage, and
she had no leadership training. “I thought it
would be interesting, but I did feel I was
steamrolled into it,” she says.
But she admits the offer was appealing,
and she didn’t want to risk turning down a
promotion. “It was a position of power; the
salary and the benefits doubled what I was
on. I thought, ‘wow, this is a very visible,
prominent role. this may be a good area for
me to move into.’”
Kate regretted her decision almost immediately.
She says she received no training
or support when she stepped up into her
new role, and encountered roadblocks when
she tried to bring in changes. “I was just constantly
firefighting,” she says. She lasted
three months as manager before resigning,
saying that by the end, the experience had
taken a serious toll on her mental health.
Kate’s experience may be extreme, but
it’s not uncommon. In many industries, people
who excel at an individual level find
themselves on a track to middle or senior
management. Some embrace that trajectory,
but for others who aren’t so sure it’s the path
they want to take, moving into management
can be a miserable experience that takes
them away from the work they love and into
a world in which they feel isolated, inexperienced
or unsupported.
But as companies start taking a more holistic
approach to their people policies, experts
say they are looking again at whether
the traditional career track is the right approach
for everyone. that means examining
how they can support excellent individuals
who don’t want to progress into management
– and making sure workers can turn
down a promotion to management without
damaging career prospects for good.
Set up to fail?
Máire Kerrin, founding director of the
work Psychology Group based in Derby, UK,
says most professions have tended to have
“quite narrow conceptualisations of what
progression is”, almost always framed around
taking on more responsibilities or supervising
others.
an individual who is “very proficient and
capable”, and getting a lot of satisfaction
from their role, seems like a logical choice for
promotion, she says, particularly if the company
wants to hang on to them. Many managers
and supervisors also feel a
responsibility to elevate anyone who shows
potential, says Kerrin – and as Kate found, if
someone feels promotion is the only way
they’ll ever increase their salary or standing,
it’s hard to say no. there is often, after all, a
perception that if you're not moving up
you're stagnating, or not showing real commitment
to the organisation.
But there have always been those people
who are fully committed to their jobs, yet
find the idea of a managerial role deeply unappealing.
that might be the excellent
teacher who can captivate a classroom but
not a staffroom, or the sales rep who shines
on their own but hates in-office teamwork.
Ben willmott, head of public policy at the
UK-based Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development (CIPD), says problems arise
when people “are promoted into managerial
roles because of their technical expertise and
not because they have necessarily any natural
aptitude for managing people”. Most people
can become reasonable managers with
sufficient training, he says, but there are certainly
people who “don't have the aptitude,
they don't have the desire” and find peoplemanagement
skills a real stretch.
It’s also clear many people who step up
into management receive inadequate support:
CIPD’s research suggests that only
about 40% of line managers ever receive any
formalised leadership training. that means,
argues willmott, that some managers “are
slightly set up to fail”.
when they do fail, it can affect both
them and their teams. Having an inexperienced
and unwilling manager in a post can
be hugely destabilising, says willmott. "the
line manager is the lynchpin of organisational
culture," he says. the danger with an
inexperienced or stressed manager is that
they pass that inexperience and stress down
the line, so “it becomes part of the organisational
culture”.
Kerrin says rather than retaining talent,
promoting people who are unsure about
stepping up and then failing to support them
can mean, like Kate, that they’ll decide to
leave. “It's very difficult to go back within an
organisation and say actually, ‘no, I don't
want this new role’,” explains Kerrin. In this
worst-case scenario, it means the skillset
“When they do fail, it
can affect both them
and their teams.
Having an
inexperienced and
unwilling manager
in a post can be
hugely destabilising,
says Willmott. "The
line manager is the
lynchpin of
organisational
culture," he says.
that originally made that person so valuable
is entirely lost to the company.
alternative career tracks
Instead of losing valuable people because
there’s only one rigidly structured way of
progressing, willmott believes companies
should focus on designing jobs around people
and their particular strengths.
In fact, says Kerrin, organisations are
starting to think very seriously about just
this, including how to incentivise valuable
employees who don’t want to join the “talent
juggernaut” of promotions. they’re starting
to recognise that “there may be other ways
that they can contribute to organisations,
where they're still learning and growing”.
the tech world has led the charge on this,
with many tech firms developing Individual
Contributor pathways for people who want to
grow within their role and the organisation,
but not manage people. US-based cloud computing
company Rackspace, for example,
runs a technical Career track which enables
its most valuable programming staff to rise
to executive positions and salaries, without
having to give up the hands-on work they
love, or take on managerial tasks they hate.
Companies such as US-based software
firm Hyland have also explored ways of helping
employees who want to grow within the
company but not move up the leadership
chain, making it easier to make lateral moves
instead, or to receive salary increases for
achievements other than promotion.
But Kerrin says the idea of non-traditional
career pathways is still very much a
developing area for businesses, in part because
it presents a difficult juggling act. the
promise of an accelerated career path can be
a major draw, particularly in graduate recruitment,
she says; companies can send
mixed messages by simultaneously telling
staff “actually, if you just want to stay in a
particular function and not move across the
business, that’s OK, too”. She says that message
needs to be carefully managed so companies
aren’t “shooting themselves in the
foot”.
‘the hardest job’
If you don’t want to be a manager, Kerrin
says it’s important to have an "honest conversation
upfront” with your boss, rather
than feeling manoeuvred into a role you
don't want. that might involve stating very
clearly if salary or titles are not as important
to you as job satisfaction, for example, or explaining
why you are satisfied with your current
work.
the challenge, she says, is to do it without
signalling that you're not interested in
your job or might become disengaged from
the organisation. It helps to express interest
in developing in other ways, like identifying
new areas of expertise you could acquire or
becoming a mentor. “there may be many,
many roles that you can take on that aren’t
managerial,” she says. “It’s about being clear
about your motives and what you will do, because
I think most managers will accept it.”
willmott says whether a company will
consider a less traditional career path for an
employee will depend in part on the value of
their skillset, and how keen the company is
to keep them. He believes that while it's “crucial
that business leaders recognise why they
need to invest in equipping their managers
with the skills to manage people”, they also
need to "take a step back and think, ‘OK, can
we do things in a slightly different way’” for
individuals who are valuable but happy
where they are.
He recalls the example of a "very brilliant
investigative reporter” who had no desire to
become a manager or editor, but was so valuable
he nevertheless became "a high ranking
senior member of staff, but as a specialist, investigative
reporter”. the trick for companies,
he says, is to ensure that a non-managerial
job is not always seen as a dead end but can,
for the right person, lead to progression opportunities
that work for everyone.

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
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