Kofi Ahovi

By John LIPSKY Africa was far from the epicenter of the global financial crisis. Despite that, Ghana and other countries in the region were hit hard by the aftershocks. Falling global demand reduced prices for many commodity exporters and resulted in slumping sales for many nontraditional exports. The turmoil in the financial markets in the developed countries also means that investors had less money to invest in countries like Ghana. Africans abroad had less income to send home. And as growth in Africa slowed, so did tax revenues in many countries. Reflecting these developments, the global recession has created very real cost for Africa. After averaging more than 6 % growth since 2002, last year African countries averaged just 1 % growth. That means per capita income actually fell by 1 % – the first decline in African living standards in 10 years. The IMF is keeping that in mind as we work with Ghana and its neighbours to speed the process of recovery. Restoring strong and sustainable

By Fred SARPONG The Nouvelle Societe Interafricaine d’Assurances (NSIA), a company with a experience in the banking and insurance industry in mostly the French-speaking countries in Africa, has acquired 80% shares in CDH Insurance, with the remaining 20% held by individual Ghanaians. The company, which was founded in Abidjan, La Cote d’Ivoire, barely 16 years ago, has about over 18 subsidiaries from 11 countries, including NSIA Ghana, and one is in the process of being established. The countries include Senegal, Gabon, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Togo, Benin, Cameroun, and La Cote d’Ivoire. Before the official launch of NSIA Ghana in Accra last week, the Group Chairman of the company, Jean Kacou Diagou, and all the managing directors from the subsidiary companies from other African countries, had a group strategic committee meeting. BusinessWeek learnt that the meeting was to develop some strategy on how the NSIA Ghana can break into the Ghanaian insurance industry and make an impact as far

For most people living in environments where the level of financial literacy is low, securities market operations present an exoteric enigma. They hardly understand the kind of financial engineering that takes place in the securities market, not to mention the complex terminologies used by the participants in the market. It appears that if you are not a participant, hardly would you understand the lingo of the market. Yet, we expect these people to invest their earnings and life savings in a market they know very little about and do not fully understand. Even in developed countries with high financial literacy rate, the workings of the securities market are not fully understood by all. Some analysts have argued that the recent global financial crisis could have avoided if questions had been raised about some of the financial engineering that led to the crisis. Indeed, in their ignorance, some regulations buried their heads and allowed tricks and techniques they did not understand t

By Kofi AHOVI The central banks in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) have signed an agreement for the establishment of a general framework for mutual assistance and the exchange of information in areas of licensing, supervision and regulation of financial institutions within the zone. This is to enforce and secure compliance with national laws, regulations or rules relating to supervisory and regulatory functions and duties of the national central banks. Under the framework, the national central banks are required to exchange information on the state and development of the financial sector and the requirements of central bank laws and any amendment. The central banks are also required to exchange information on the activities of cross-border establishments and their parent financial institutions, with respect to issuing licences to conduct operations and events which are likely to threaten the interest of depositors and creditors, as well as the stability of the financial system. W

By Kofi AHOVI The Volta River Authority (VRA) is making plans to produce about 200 megawatts of energy from solar and wind to the national grid within the next five years. This is to reduce the pressure on the use of both hydro energy and thermal energy, which are the sole energy sources for the country. The solar plant and the wind farm would be situated in the Northern Region, but part of the wind farm would be located in Ada in the Greater Accra Region, which will add between 50 and 80 megawatts of electricity to the national grid, BusinessWeek gathered. The Northern Region was chosen as the location for the plants because of its vast stretches of land. Also, it is to ensure economic development there. VRA is in the process of acquiring acres of land for this purpose but it is constrained financially. The project is estimated to cost US$700 million. Currently, the Akosombo dam generates about 1020 megawatts, while the generation from Kpong and Aboadze Thermal plants is 160 and 550 m

… BECOMES ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE WORLD United Bank for Africa, the Pan-African banking group, has received further endorsement of its strong brand strength, rising 161 places to 285th in the latest ranking of the Top 500 Banking Brands by the Banker Magazine. The increase from 451 in 2008 to 285 in the 2009 ranking marked UBA out as the second fastest growing financial brand globally and the fastest world-wide outside the US. UBA was awarded an “A” rating in the annual ranking of banks worldwide, with a brand value estimated at US$322million. Brand value was arrived at through a discounted cash flow methodology based on estimated future royalties. The survey benchmarked the strength, risk and potential of a brand, relative to its competitors, on a scale ranging from AAA to D, similar to a credit rating. The data used to calculate the ratings came from various sources including Bloomberg, annual reports and brand finance research. As in previous years, HSBC and Bank of Am

British Airways, in partnership with the Solena Group, is to establish Europe's first sustainable jet-fuel plant and plans to use the low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014. The new fuel will be derived from waste biomass and manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility that can convert a variety of waste materials, destined for landfill, into aviation fuel. The self-contained plant, likely to be sited in east London, will convert 500,000 tonnes of waste per year into 16 million gallons of green jet fuel through a process that offers lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of up to 95 per cent compared to fossil-fuel derived jet kerosene. This volume of fuel would be more than twice the amount required to make all British Airways’ flights at nearby London City Airport carbon-neutral. A statement issued by British Airways in Accra Tuesday said the project would make further major savings in greenhouse emissions by reducing the volume of waste sent to landfill, thus avoiding pr

HFC Bank has embarked on a Health Awareness Campaign for the people of Tamale and its environs in a bid to help de-stress its customers and the entire larger community. The two-day event which was under the theme ‘A Healthy Customer - The way we like it’, followed on the heels of a similar campaign rolled out for the people of Techiman and surrounding areas. Isaac Okyere-Bimpeh, the Techiman Branch manager of HFC Bank, said the exercise was part of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility to promote self-worth and healthy living attitudes among its customers and the general public which ultimately translates into nation building. About one thousand people turned up in the 2-day programme to screen for blood sugar level, blood pressure, body mass index, eye and dietary diseases, as well as have some free general health education. Among the issues discussed were personal hygiene, hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, and glaucoma. Some of the participants donated blood for the Holy Family Hospital wh

The mood at Davos last year was pessimistic. This year, it was realistic. It will have to wait until next year to become optimistic. This year's annual gathering of the great and the good at the World Economic Forum's annual event in Davos was themed, "Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild". There certainly was much rethinking and redesigning; now this needs to be followed through in the rebuilding. Sustainable recoveries certainly need sound foundations. This is particularly so with respect to the financial sector. The realism seen at Davos was reflected in most views expressed about the world economy. In particular there was caution about the near-term and about challenges facing the advanced economies. There was also realism about addressing some of the current issues, particularly those related to the banking and financial sector. Debate about the banking sector formed only part of Davos 2010, but it was a significant part, and was enough to steal most of the headlines. The

By Kofi Ahovi FirstBanc Financial Services Limited has launched and commenced the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of a new mutual fund dubbed First Fund. The IPO which started on February 9 is expected to end on March 1, 2010. To be considered successful, the fund needs to raise a minimum of GH¢100,000 during the IPO. First Fund is a Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) licensed money market mutual fund that pools resources of a group of investors and manages it on their behalf. The main objective of the fund is to provide regular income while preserving capital and maintaining liquidity at all times by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of high quality fixed income securities and other money market instruments. The fund invests in money market securities such as commercial papers, bankers acceptance, certificate of deposit, other fixed deposits and Government of Ghana debt obligations. First Fund is primarily targeted at those who wish to earn additional income from their sav

United Bank for Africa (UBA) has donated consumables and non consumables items to the children’s ward of the 37 Military Hospital. The items range from cartons of milk, Milo and bottled water, text books, pencils, to crayons. The gesture was to show love to the children who were on admission. It was also to express appreciation to doctors and nurses who attend to these children. The MD/CEO, of UBA, Gabriel Edgal, who presented the items after an interacting with the children expressed the bank’s appreciation to the management of the hospital and called on other corporate bodies to do same. Receiving the items, Dr Adwoa Kwashie, the Pediatrician in charge expressed appreciation to the bank on behalf of the hospital management and the children. The interaction by the staff and MD of the bank brought smiles on the faces of the children even though some of them were in pains. The donation to the hospital forms part of a health walk dubbed “jogging to bond” organized by UBA to enable it sta

Strengthening gender statistics in Ghana is necessary for the implementation of long term development plans, Kofi Ahovi looks at what is being done to achieve this. Fifty-three years after independence, socio-cultural, traditional beliefs and socialization have continued to put women in Ghana in a subordinate position relative to their male counterparts. This is perpetuated by folklore, proverbs, sayings etc, as well as socio-cultural practices that women have to undergo but men do not. Most Ghanaian women’s economic empowerment depends on agriculture where they predominate as food crop farmers. In Ghana, women constitute 70% of the bulk of food crop farmers. There is, however, distinct division of labour in Ghanaian agricultural production and marketing. Women are more engaged in tasks such as planting, weeding, watering, harvesting, the transportation of farm produce, agro-processing and the marketing of small amounts of farm, women also cultivate their own farms. Furthermore, resear

By Kofi Ahovi Ghana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Italy to enable the former fight organized and other crimes in the country. The agreement emphasizes capacity building and technical cooperation programs to consolidate partnership approaches between the two countries. It also seeks to provide exchange of information, joint operations and mutual visit as well as training and capacity building through professional seminars and courses and practical training through the attachment of Ghana Immigration Officers to Italian Immigration operations. The agreement also seeks to provide technical support through the provision of equipment for border control. Already the Italian government has donated 11 vehicles to the Ghana Immigration Service. These comprise nine Toyota Land Cruisers with two of them be used as Ambulances and two Toyota Coaster buses. The cooperation between the two countries would greatly aid the fight against Trans border crimes, drug menace, illegal mi

HFC bank has opened a branch at Adabraka in Accra, bringing its total branches to 21. At a short ceremony to commission the building, the Managing Director of HFC, Asare Akuffo, assured that the bank will continue to exhibit well class financial services in all its endevours to ensure a continued success in the banking sector. He urged businesses, professionals and individuals in the area to access the bank’s unique banking services, which include commercial, mortgage and investment banking, real estate services and micro-finance. HFC bank is an indigenous entity with several Ghanaian shareholders. Managing Director of HFC-Boafo Micro-Finance called on traders within the catchment area to patronize the micro finance product of the bank saying it will improve their welfare thereby helping to fight poverty. The Boafo Micro-Finance currently has about 4,000 clients. Some of its products and services include the SNNIT Informal Sector Fund scheme and the susu scheme, busy bee, Home Improvem

By Kofi Ahovi The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has drafted a Marine Pollution Bill and other legislations to enable the government to meet its policy objective of commencing offshore oil and gas production in the country. The bill addresses regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil, noxious liquid substances in bulk, harmful substances carried by sea in packaged from, sewage, garbage and air pollution from ships. It also gives contracting parties the mandate to inspect ships including tankers and other supply vessels to ensure that their operations are safe and will not pollute the marine environment. The Bill also incorporates the provision of other conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 (UNCLOS Part XII) dealing with the protection and preservation of the marine environment; 1996 protocol to the convention on the prevention of the marine pollution by dumping waste and other matter, International convention on civil liability for oil

By Kofi Ahovi International Commercial Bank (ICB) has fully met the new Bank of Ghana (BoG) minimum capital requirement of GH¢60 million. The newly appointed CEO of ICB, Sanjeev Anand, observed in a press statement that “the injection of fresh capital reflects the confidence shareholders have in the bank in particular and the economy in general.” He added that the bank is poised in expanding its business and consolidating its excellent customer relations for improved value creation for stakeholders. The new minimum capital requirements are to be met in stages, involving different minimum capital levels for indigenous and foreign banks, during the first stage which had December last year as its deadline, but a common minimum capital level by the end of the second and final stage, which has the end of 2012 as its deadline. Banks with majority foreign-owned equity were required to have a minimum capital of GH¢60 million by the end of 2009. However, banks with majority Ghanaian-owned equit

By Kofi Ahovi The government through the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) will this year develop a National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS) to sustain development in the country. The objective of NSDS is to achieve economic growth through technological and sustained human development. The establishment of the strategy will be spearheaded by the Ghana National Committee on Sustainable Development (GNCSD) which is an all-embracing forum with representatives from government, NGOs, the private sector and civil society to address sustainable development. GNCSD is expected to improve the ground rules governing the strategy process by establishing coordination structures on political and administrative levels; and also by applying leadership and intra-governmental mechanisms of good governance to foster comprehensive results. It will also identify requirement needed to improve synergies and plug gaps as well as communication and information systems to ensure regu

Krif Ghana Limited, a leading importer and distributor of office and school stationery, has announced plans to establish branches in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions very soon to cater for the middle and northern part of the country. The General Manager (GM), Christian Yeboah, made this know in an interaction to share the company's experiences with a section of the media in Accra. “We have decided to open a branch in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions to serve our customers in those areas with ease,” Yeboah stated. He advised customers to always patronize products from Krif because “we only provide nothing but quality,” adding that the company will continue to focus on customer satisfaction. " KRIF appreciate the contribution of every customer, whether large or small, as well as stay focused on its principal objective of providing quality and affordable products”, he stated. The GM recounted how the company had maintained cordial relationship with its customers since establishment

Standard Chartered has opened a representative office in Angola bringing its presence in Africa to14. In a press statement for Standard Chartered Ghana, the Chief Executive Officer for Africa Mike Hart, said “Our new on-the-ground presence will provide us with substantial opportunities to deepen our relationships with our customers operating in Angola and to grow our business, given the significant growth opportunities available in the country”. The statement noted that, across all its markets in Africa, Standard Chartered has a proven track record in being able to assist companies operating cross-border transactions in Africa and China, providing the necessary financial tools and strategic advice to Chinese companies doing business in the region. The economies of both Angola and China, whilst not immune to the global economic downturn, are showing relatively resilient growth and the Bank expects trade flows to continue to grow. The announcement from Standard Chartered comes soon after

By Kofi Ahovi The Volta River Authority (VRA) in consultation with stakeholders is preparing an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Akosombo and Kpong Dams. The plan is to enable VRA to identify, manage the impacts of the operations of the dams systematically and ensure effective monitoring. EMP will identify the total impacts of the construction of the dams both upstream and downstream and outline the measures to be undertaken to mitigate them. The preparation of the plan for the two dams is to fulfill a key legal requirement of the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as required by the Environmental Assessment Regulation LI 1652, 1999. It is also in accordance with international best practices to ensure that the dams are operated in an environmentally sustainable manner. The plan also fulfils VRA’s mandate under the Volta River Development Act 46, 1961 which obliges VRA to provide as far as practicable, facilities and assistance for the development of the lake as a so

By Kofi Ahovi Experts at the just ended African Investment Forum in Accra have called for the need for African countries to invest more in the infrastructural sector. Speaking in turns on the topic “The challenges to enhance investment and growth in Africa in the 21st century” The Rt. Hon. Paul Boateng D.L, Non Executive Director of Accepting and Embracing of Gender Identity and Sexuality (AEGIS) and Richard Gush, Chief Executive‐Corporate & Investment Banking, Standard Bank argued strongly for more investment in infrastructure on the continent. Hon Boateng noted that in efforts to develop African countries must develop new market locally and key to that was the improvement of infrastructure in the various countries, adding these has been a major failure in policy with third world countries. He called for the need to strengthen the various ports to improve revenue collections adding “the objective of Customs Excise and Preventive Services officials is to improve trade not otherwis

The last 10 years has arguably been one of the most eventful and revolutionary periods in the history of air travel. As the new decade commences, British Airways takes a look back at the innovations brought to the skies during the ‘noughties’ as well as some of the company’s fascinating landmarks. The start of the new millennium saw a new era in comfort for British Airways passengers with the introduction of the world’s first fully flat business class bed. In the year 2000, British Airways introduced World Traveller Plus, its premium economy product. The airline was the first global commercial carrier to introduce a fourth class of travel back in 2000. The noughties was the decade of online check-in and in 2000, British Airways launched its online check-in service facility which is now available on over 97% of British Airways’ routes. Following a brief return to service in the early part of the decade, in October 2003, British Airways finally announced the retirement of its seven-stro