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ICT Insights: The danger of online banking and e-payment system

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The use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards or debit cards is on the rise as banking institutions have made it easier for all its customers to acquire ATM cards. Having the card has an advantage for the banking institution because customers do not put much pressure on the human workforce in the banking hall, but rather utilize the service of the ATM.

According to Wikipedia, an ATM card is any payment card issued by a financial institution that enables a customer to access an ATM in order to perform transactions such as deposits, cash withdrawals, obtaining account statement, online transactions, etc.

Now let us delve deep into an aspect of the functions of the ATM card which is online banking. Online banking allows the card owner to perform banking services on the internet and engage in online transactions such as the payment of utility bills, shopping and online reservations which usually require the customer to make electronic payment on the internet. Life has become much easier because these actions can be done from any place in the world.

The use of ATM cards on the internet exposes the user to so many cyber-crimes such as identity theft. The banking system in Ghana has weak security controls and the entire online banking system does not provide security measures to protect the card owner in case a cyber criminal intercepts the card owner’s online banking login credentials or steals the ATM card.

Vulnerabilities in the online banking system

The current online banking system in Ghana has no authentication processes. Authentication is the process of determining whether someone is who he/she declares to be.

In Ghana, banking institutions do not verify the actual owner of the card before authorization is granted to online transactions. The danger is that if anyone gets access to the customer’s online banking login details or the ATM card, the person could easily have access to the card owners banking account.

For instance if a customer in Ghana, makes a hotel reservation online and then makes electronic payment, the bank will authorize payment immediately without asking the customer whether he is the one actually making the payment.

This makes it extremely dangerous to use debit cards or ATM cards issued in Ghana to transact business on the internet. This is not so in other parts of the world such as US, UK, India, China, etc. These countries have strong online banking security features which always ask for the customer’s approval before any online payment could be authorized.

The banking institution sends text message to the customer to approve the transaction; this action is done to confirm if the customer is actually the person performing the online business.

Once a cyber criminal gets access to the customer’s online banking login details, all the money in the customer’s account could be withdrawn without his/her knowledge. Malicious persons or cyber criminals use many techniques to acquire information from the customer, especially login details. It has now become very easy for anybody including non-IT professionals to conduct criminal activities on the internet.

These miscreants often download hacking tools from the internet to steal or intercept the credentials of customers online. Other malicious persons also use phishing scams. These scams are based on communication made via email or on social media networks.

Cyber criminals mostly send messages (SMS or email) to their unsuspecting victims in order to trick them to give away sensitive information or login credentials such as bank account, social media account, debit card information or any other information that can prove to be useful or valuable, which will help the criminals to launch an attack on the victim.

ATM Card fraud

Almost all the banking institutions in Ghana issue either Visa or Master Cards. Each card has a specific or unique security feature such as the 16-digit card number and the 3-digit-code. When you turn your ATM card and look at the signature box, you should see either the entire 16-digit debit card number or just the last four digits and the special 3-digit code.

This 3-digit code is the Card Verification Value/Code(CVV) number as indicated in the diagram below.CVV is an anti-fraud security feature which helps to verify that the card owner is the one using it.

Should anyone get access to your CCV and your card number, the person can easily withdraw or transfer money from your account or perform online transactions without your knowledge.

It is quite unfortunate that Bank of Ghana has allowed this security breaches to permeate deep into the banking system in Ghana. All banking institutions must introduce an appropriate card user authentication feature whereby each activity done with the card could be verified by the card owner before authorization could be granted.

The way forward

BOG must outline a suitable online banking authentication mechanism for all the banking institutions. The implementation of such mechanisms must ensure that an alert must be sent to the customer for any banking activity on his/her account. In this case, the customer or the bank could prevent or authorize withdrawal of money and online payments. The proposed solutions for this vulnerability are:

  1. Banks must be tasked to send text message alerts to the card owner, to authorize or deny any activity on the card
  2. The bank could ask the user some personal questions of the card owner, failure to provide correct answers shall obviously lead to the cancellation of the transaction
  • The bank may also call the customer to verify if he/she is actually performing any transaction online before the bank grants authorization.

Conclusion

We are all at risk in Ghana. This is a serious matter and the banking regulatory body must rise to the task to ensure all banking institutions in the country implement some form of security measures to protect the customer. The country must not wait till the zero-day a big cyber disaster hit the banking industry, the solution has been provided so the designated authorities must ensure that the right security measures in the banking industry are implemented.

 

Author: Owusu Nyarko-Boateng, ICT Expert(Member: Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana). For comments, contact author: [email protected]Mobile: +233244305305

Are You Afraid to Ask Questions at the Workplace?

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                          …the Causes of Errors and Financial Losses

It is said that silence is golden…is it, always? Of course not. Have you ever regretted not asking for explanations to instructions given you at work? For Christians, even though we should have absolute and child-like faith in God and trust Him, we are also expected to ask, seek, and knock. Mathew 7v 8:“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”. It is in asking that we get answers, and especially the basic reasons and concepts underlying the instructions given.

Banking is always about risk …..Taking bold risks to make a return. Risk management is therefore is about maintaining a good balance between the risk and return. In taking these risks, Management evolves several policies as well as documents of standard operating instructions/procedures to ensure that every function/activity is guided by these processes. As human beings, how are these assimilated by the staff during implementation.

 

What next, after policies and procedures?

“We have launched a new product. Yes. We have ticked all the boxes. Every policy and process is in place……both in hard and soft copies. The Regulator is aware”. We’re all busy, caught up in our day-to-day work to satisfy customers and get the product out there, which too often means taking a reactive rather than proactive approach to risk. But thinking about risk now can keep your organisation from being the subject of negative press; avoid fines, penalties, and lawsuits; and missing strategic targets. Have the staff who will be involved in the fieldwork and operational areas assimilated the intricacies of the product that have been developed? Let me pose a few questions to them.

Learning on the Job

Are you a banker or bank staff? Let me begin by asking you a few questions:

  • Are you receiving regular coaching on the job?
  • How well do you understand your policies and procedures?
  • Do you understand the products of your bank….the benefits and features?
  • How were they handed over to you?
  • Was it by taking you through practical on-the job training?
  • Or, were you just asked to sit by a senior colleague to learn the job?
  • Or, were you handed the process manual and asked to start working…This means you have been given a gun at a shooting range to try your hands on! Good luck.
  • Are you afraid of the likely comments others will make when you ask questions?

Like…..“He is too known”. “Why are you in a hurry my friend? We came to meet it like that…That is how it has always been done. Just do it”.

Even if these examples seem far-fetched, they may not be far from the truth. My interactions with many young bankers sometimes gives me get the impression that many of them are working without much guidance from their supervisors; sometimes without standard operating manuals…..and this is the very foundation or cause of errors, some leading to customer complaints and even financial loss.

The Learnable mindset

At my Alma Mater, a school that has low tolerance levels for students who do not have enquiring minds, it was difficult. After every lecture, you were encouraged – or rather, expected – to ask questions; otherwise the teacher would not be satisfied. Whenever we attended lectures outside the school, teachers who accompanied us always pressured us quietly to ask questions. This encouraged the students to cultivate a learning mindset, as they assimilated more through group discussions and tutorials rather than “chewing, pouring and forgetting”.

If you are a Supervisor, you should believe in encouraging people to ask the right questions on the job, instead of just telling them what to do and leaving them to their fate. This creates success and pushes people to be successful. Asking the right questions gives people the answers they need to perform their functions well, as well as moving forward in their careers and private lives.

The Benefits of Asking Questions

  • We learn the job’s fundamentals through questions

It is scientifically proven that we learn about life by asking questions. Children naturally start learning about the world by observing, testing and asking “why?”. In the banking field, staff who ask more questions learn the cause-and-effect relationship much more quickly, and – most importantly – the banking concepts behind the transactions to be effected. Don’t forget that although the principles of banking have not changed, banking itself has now evolved into a highly technological arena.

  • The more we question, the better answers we get

Unfortunately, as we go up the organisational ladder and our responsibilities grow, some of us stop asking questions and sometimes settle down with mediocrity – with very few options to work with. After all, we feel that people expect us to understand virtually everything, so we relax and feel every decision taken is the best and should not be challenged.

  • The quality of our service-delivery depends on the questions we ask and our understanding of answers given

The quality of our service-delivery as well as risk management is directly related to the quality of our thinking and assimilation of the policies and processes. Questions are the driving force behind thinking.

  • Questioning makes you wiser.

 

When you become more open because of a flexible brain, you become perceptive of many different perspectives. The more you ask, the more practical cases you appreciate. Your increased awareness makes you a better analyst and decision-maker.

  • Asking the right questions creates a healthy working environment

Consider why cash in banks s kept under joint-custody. Trust your workmates, but verify every transaction that you oversee. Can you imagine the case if two vault custodians, who were also best-friends, decided to compromise the joint-custodian policy and enabled each to enter the vault without the other…ah, the trust was really absolute! Guess what happened. A shortage of GH¢10,000 one day, which remains unresolved up till today.                                                                                                   This incident wiped away the trust they had for each other. It has been ten years now and they have not spoken to each other! Did they bother to find out the reason behind the dual control policy? They felt that the policy was too “colonial” and outdated.

When you are learning anything new, start by asking yourself simple but deep questions. When we ask questions and understand the reason behind certain policies, the easier it becomes to accept ourselves and take charge in ensuring best practices are maintained in our banking career.

  • Mastery over the Job

Dear manager, are you aware that staff who ask searching questions are those who master the job early. Obviously, that mastery also helps you control your risk, doesn’t it? In establishing a positive culture for controlling risks, you must ensure there is adequate training, knowledge and understanding of what risk is, and its implications, management and mitigation.

 

  • Building Strategic Thinkers and Fostering Special Skills

 

Ever heard the saying “there are no stupid questions?” It’s really true. The impact of asking questions on the job is meaningful in both the short- and long-term. Asking questions can lead to building strategic thinkers who foster critical thinking skills as well as the following:

  • boost self-confidence
  • enhance creativity
  • strengthen relationships/partnerships
  • establish trust
  • develop oral communication skills
  • encourage good listening skills
  • encourage others to ask questions
  • spark lively and productive discussions
  • open your mind to other opinions/beliefs
  • protection against serious mistakes
  • make work more productive
  • make solutions more effective
  • help in taking better choices/decisions

 

Final Remarks

 Dear manager, if you let your staff know that asking questions is an obligation as well as a right – while being there to offer guidance – then indeed you have given them a great gift. They have permission to be curious and creative. They get to think and question in a way that helps them become strategic thinkers. They get to strive for deeper knowledge and more meaningful answers. They get to grow in mind, body and spirit. And you, dear Manager, get to help them make it happen…….and of course experience fewer errors and financial losses.

Please, let us all remember that risk management is a journey…not a destination.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alberta Quarcoopome is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and CEO of ALKAN Business Consult Ltd. She uses her experience and practical case-studies for training young bankers in operational risk management, sales, customer service, banking operations and fraud.

CONTACT

Website www.alkanbiz.com

Email: alberta@alkanbiz.com or [email protected]

Tel: +233-0244333051/+233-0244611343

Investigation Committee set to investigate Starbow accident

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An Incident/Accident Investigation Committee has been instituted to investigate last month’s incident involving Starbow Airline Flight S9 104 bound for Kumsi from Accra.

The five-member Committee is made up of Nana E.R Krakue (Rtd Air Commodore), Group Captain G.S Parker (Airforce Base), Wing Commander Emmanuel Akatue, Squadron Leader C. Gaddah (Airforce Base), and Edward Agbodjan (Ministry of Aviation).

On Saturday, the 25th of November, a Starbow aircraft skidded off the runway during its take-off run and at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

According the Minister of Aviation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, who was speaking at the committee’s inaugural ceremony in Accra, the work of the new committee, seeks to enhance safety and security of air services in the country.

The move, she noted, is also in accordance with section 13.6.1 of the Ghana Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act 2016), which states that: “The Minister responsible for Aviation shall when an accident occurs in the State of Ghana, order an independent investigation into any accident involving a civil aircraft whether such accident is required to be notified under there Regulations or not”.

“It is in consonance with the provisions of the Act, that I have constituted this Committee ti investigate the incident involving the Starbow aircraft,” the minister said.

The Act further empowers the Minister under Sub Section 13.6.1.and 13.6.2, to appoint or designate any person qualified as an Accident Investigator to be an Investigator-in-Charge and or team of investigators for the purpose of initiating and carrying out the investigation immediately and reporting as soon as possible.

Ms. Dapaah tasked members of the committee to work diligently and independently in the discharge of their duties, and propose recommendations that will be helpful in ensuring safety and security of air services in the country.

The Chairman of the Committee, Nana E.R Krakue (Rtd Air Commodore) assured of his team’s readiness to investigate the incident fully, to avoid the many speculations that according to him, are being circulated on different platforms about the situation since it happened.

“Within this period, we have seen a lot of public interest in the matter, but in the absence of any official address on the matter, so many stories are going around.

I am glad that today, we have set up this board to find out exactly what happened, and we will work diligently to get to the bottom of the matter,” Mr. Krakue noted.

 

GRA chases construction firm over GH₵5m tax

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The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued a garnishee order to Allied Oil Limited, seeking to collect all outstanding monies that the company has to pay a construction firm by name Ace Façade.

This follows the failure of the construction firm to pay tax of over GH₵5million, part of which is in respect of aluminium panels it imported to install on an ultramodern office complex belonging to Allied Oil.

Ace Façade, upon a visit by the GRA’s Special Taskforce to the building site at Dzorwulu, had abandoned the project without paying the applicable tax.

According to the GRA, the unpaid taxes span a period of two years, comprising income tax, workers’ Pay As You Earn, withholding tax for services rendered and penalties on late payment.

Briefing journalists at the project site, Chief Revenue Officer at the GRA, John Yaw Boaben, said: “Allied Oil engaged the services of Ace Facade Limited to install aluminium panel system on its office project in Accra but the construction firm failed to pay tax.

The directors of Ace Facade Limited have, since 2014 to 2016, evaded tax to the tune of GH₵5.1million and have absconded, hence the need to serve Allied Oil Company with the order.”

According to Mr. Boaben, should it be determined that Allied Oil owes no money to Ace Façade, the GRA will liaise with Interpol and the Nigerian Revenue Authority to help track down the company to face the appropriate sanctions.

The distress action is being carried out in line with the laws of the GRA to get defaulting taxpayers to pay their taxes whilst encouraging other businesses to voluntarily fulfill their revenue obligations to the state.

“Organisations must do well to pay their taxes to the authority to avoid any form of embarrassment because the distress action is always the last resort after negotiations with tax defaulters have failed,” Mr Boaben said.

“We have data of all defaulting companies and so we want them to voluntarily come and clear their tax liabilities,” he advised.

AGI Construction Sector lauds 2018 budget

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…..but calls for deliberate policy for construction sector

 

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Construction Sector has commended government for the bold initiatives in the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy that seek to support industrial development generally and particularly manufacturing.

That, the AGI Construction Sector which is supported by the BUSAC Fund and its development partners DANIDA, EU and USAID said the industrial support programmes earmarked in the budget would help create the needed employment and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

The AGI Construction Sector, Chaired by Mr Rockson K. Dogbegah said in a report on the Sector’s views on the budget said   the 2018 budget sets the tone for building Ghana as the most business-friendly and industrialized economy in Africa and was a clear departure from previous one which focused on generating additional tax revenue.”

It said the budget placed emphasis on developing the productive sectors (Industry and Agriculture) of the economy which had experienced consistent decline in their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product in the past five years, saying the potential impact of these sectors and their impact for job creation could not be over emphasised.

“We welcome government’s proposed policy initiative of a three-pronged economic development programme that will focus on, integrating and accelerating investments in infrastructure development, and industrialisation as the primary vehicles to fundamentally transform our economy under the Akufo-Addo Programme for Economic Transformation (AAPET)

The report entreated government to develop deliberate strategy to develop and grow the construction sector, which the AGI Construction Sector said “serves as a life blood to all economies due to its linkages to all industries.”

It however, said the  construction was not receiving the necessary attention to help the sector thrive and grow.

“Government must expedite action on the passage of the bill that will enable the establishment of the proposed Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA),” saying the   draft bill on the CIDA was currently under review by the Ministry of Works and Housing and Ministry of Roads and Highways.

It also said the government should adopt the local content policy for the construction sector to create “a globalised competitive indigenized construction industry.”

It called on government to promptly pay contractors to ensure the survival of construction companies, saying the delay in paying contractors by the government remained a big challenge to the Construction Industry.

To this end, the report stressed the need for “interest payment on all delayed payments to contractors to guarantee their sustenance,” and a law to make it mandatory for government to pay interest on all delayed construction payments

…calls for formulation and passage of delayed payment law

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Construction Sector has called for the formulation and passage of a Delayed Payment Law (DPL) to ensure that local construction firms are paid promptly for government contracts executed.

The DPL, it said, would ensure that funds for construction projects are well budgeted for and available before the commencement of projects, and make provision for compensation to be paid contractors in the event of delayed payments.

The AGI Construction Sector said the DPL had become necessary to address the late payment of contractors for construction work they have executed for government.

This was contained in a baseline study proposal by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Construction Sector to make a case for the passage of a DPL.

It said delayed payment has been identified as a major problem to the Ghanaian construction industry, and this makes it difficult for the players in the sector to compete with their foreign counterparts.

The study proposal is being supported by the BUSAC Fund and its development partners – DANIDA, the EU and USAID.

The proposal said local contractors often borrow working capital from banks in order to finance their construction operations, and invariably have to pay interest on those borrowings, yet government delays in paying contractors – stressing that government projects have become “notoriously popular in delayed payments”.

It found out that delayed payments increase credit defaults by the local construction companies, and make it difficult for players in the sector to raise credit from banks to finance their operations.

“Indeed, most banks consider government projects as risky because of the common issues of delayed payment associated with them.  They have therefore become increasingly disinterested in lending to the construction sector,” the proposal said.

Among other effects of delayed payment on the construction industry, the study revealed: “It renders local construction firms less competitive to their foreign counterparts, and also unable to raise the needed finance to execute projects; and where they are able to raise funds, they are often at a high cost of capital.

“Another effect of delayed payment on construction firms is inadequate equipment holding. This contributes to late completion of projects, poor quality work, and unemployment: and increased total cost of project, disputes, liquidation of construction firms, and loss of productivity.”

The study therefore stressed the need to identify ways of improving contractors’ cash flow in the Ghanaian construction industry.

Among the study’s objectives was to establish the nature and cause of delayed payments and the periods involved, and examine the effect of delayed payments on the construction industry’s performance and sustainability.

AgroEcom wins  business excellence  award

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Mr Seth Hammond, Administration Manager of Agro Ecom Ghana (middle) receiving the award on behalf of the company while others look on admirably

Agro Ecom Ghana Limited, a licensed buying company  has been awarded with  business excellence award, Gold category at the 14th Ashanti Business Excellence Awards recently  in Kumasi.

The award ceremony which was organised by Top Brass Ghana Limited under the auspices of Manyhia Palace was in comemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Ghana’s Indepenpence

The objective of the awards was to acknowledge the essential contribution of the business community to the development of Ashanti since Ghana’s independence 60 years ago and to honour deserving enterprises.

The awards committee comprised institutions such as  Association of Ghana Industries , Bank of Ghana, National Insurance Commission , Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ghana Export Promotion Authority and the Ghana Tourist Authority.

Agro Ecom Ghana is part of the Ecom Group which is a Swiss based commodity merchant and sustainable supply chain Management Company with operations in over 40 countries world-wide.

In Ghana, Agro Ecom is a member of Cocoa Buyers Association of Ghana (LICOBAG) and works with over 140,000 farmers. The Company has the vision to show that through its innovation and entrepreneurship, it helps build prosperity. This means that everything the Company does is based on the principle of building wealth for the farmers and buys and sells other crops such as cashew and sesame.

The Company guides and trains farmers on how to reach sustainability and high quality, certified produce as well as create awareness of broader social and environmental issues. Agro Ecom provides input products that yield healthy crops and offer innovative micro-finance options and also runs a large logistics business with a fleet of almost 150 modern trucks.

The company constantly innovates, creates efficiencies and empowers its farmers to grow their businesses. This has positioned the LBC at the forefront of changing the industry, driving a unique business model that safe-guards the future of cocoa and other crops in Ghana whilst building prosperity in rural community.

HR practitioners urged “Say goodbye to raw academic qualifications”

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The newly-elected President of the Institute of Human Resources Practitioners, Ghana (IHRMP), Dr. Edward Kwapong has said that to be relevant to industry, HR practitioners must welcome professional certification and say goodbye to raw academic qualifications.

Dr. Kwapong said this when he delivered his speech at the 9th Graduation Ceremony of the IHRMP held in Accra on Friday, December 8, 2017 at the premises of the Ghana Academy of Arts & Sciences.

“Academic giants are exchanging their academic crowns for professional trowels, and that is the reality of the situation. Goodbye raw academic qualifications, welcome professional certification. The days of academic fleece are over, the time has come for a professional fleece,”, the President of IHRMP added.

In his welcome address, the Executive Director of IHRMP, Mr. Ebenezer Agbetor said: “This morning’s event marks a high-point in the Institute’s calendar of activities because it shows we have grown as an institute since inception of the Professional Certification Programme (PCP) in 2002. The numbers graduating today are 136 Associate and 9 Certified members, as against last year’s figures of 98 and 12 respectively – a remarkable increase of 32% in the number of students graduating”.

Mr. Agbetor charged the newly graduated HR practitioners to step out there and be good ambassadors of the profession that they have chosen, and to stand tall with their equipped tools/competencies to distinguish themselves from the cowboys/girls in the HR industry.

Mrs. Irene Asare, Director of HR, Facilities & Administration of Tullow Ghana Limited – who doubles as the reigning HR Practitioner of the Year – said: “There is fear that applying artificial intelligence and robotics will gradually spell the death of jobs, but HR practitioners need to come to terms with the fact that artificial intelligence, robotics and human being combine to deliver better levels of productivity and outcomes in an organization”.

Speaking on the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence and Robotics – The continued Relevance of HR Management’, Mrs.  Asare explained: “It is not the future of the workplace; it is here with us and happening today in our workplaces. A radical change is already evident in the customer service sector. Chatbots (a software developed to enhance communication) are now the most popular to provide around-the-clock service for customers. Unlike a conventional call centre, a Chabot never sleeps; it never needs to go on a lunch break and it never gets impatient with its customers. I have to say we really need to improve our customer service culture in Ghana”.

Egg consumption boosts health, poultry sector – Health Experts

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Poultry farmers in the country are struggling to increase their returns on investment following low consumption of eggs by Ghanaians as a result of fears about egg-cholesterol, a source close to the National Egg Campaign has disclosed.

The situation has led to slow growth of the poultry and other related businesses.

“For instance, due to the reduced incomes farmers are not able to purchase feed regularly; and as a result, feed millers have been producing at a reduced capacity of between 45% and 55%.

“Over the last few years, eight out of the 15 feed mills in the country have not been functional due to low patronage,” the source said.

The Ministries of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Health, Trade and Industry are collaborating with the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers and some private sector partners under the National Egg Campaign initiative to create a national drive to increase consumption of eggs in the country.

The three-year campaign, dubbed “Egg-cite your day”, is to encourage every Ghanaian to eat an egg a day to promote good nutrition and also help engender growth in the poultry industry.

President of the World Poultry Sciences Association, Ghana, Professor George Kwame Aning, said an increase in the consumption of eggs would lead to creating more jobs and affect the entire value chain.

He explained that for years people have been misinformed that eggs contained cholesterol which iss not good for human health, “but cholesterol is biosynthesised in the body. Research has shown that cholesterol is not about what we eat”.

He said, when we consume more eggs, the producers will produce more since they will have a ready market; and they will be bold enough to invest in the business with little or no support from government.

The Director of Animal Production at MoFA, Mr. Kwamina Arkoful, said the campaign will help educate consumers and the public with messages that break the myth surrounding the cholesterol associated with egg consumption.

Ghana, he said, is currently fighting protein deficiency and malnutrition among children and child-bearing women; explaining that per a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 2012 country profile report, nearly a quarter of pre-school children are stunted and affected by chronic malnutrition.

“The underlying cause of Ghanaians’ aversion to egg consumption can be traced to age-old beliefs and misconceptions that have been handed down from generations, but which have no factual basis,” he said.

A Paediatrician at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi – Dr Anthony K. Enimil, who recently endorsed the National Egg Campaign – said the restriction of egg dietary cholesterol consumption could not be supported by recent research findings.

He said there are a number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), such as smoking and sedentary lifestyle, as well as dietary factors like saturated fat and trans-fatty acids.

However, the risk factors, he said, do not include dietary cholesterol intake.

Dr. Enimil, who is also a Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, pointed out that eggs contain more mono-unsaturated fat than saturated fat, and consumption of eggs does not raise cholesterol levels in 70 percent of the general population – even those with existing cardiovascular disease.

Egg consumption, Dr. Enimil said, is associated with lower incidence of stroke.

In exceptionally few cases such as ApoE4 gene, Familial Hypercholesterolemia, and Dietary Cholesterol Hyper-responders, there is risk of high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and diabetes which the untrained eye may attribute to eggs.

“This is false and has no scientific backing,” the lecturer emphasised.

The Resident Paediatrician at KATH, Dr. Yaa Gyamfua Oppong-Mensah, also said a current baseline sampling conducted by the National Egg Campaign in collaboration with the University of Ghana suggested that of the 665 participants who participated in the exercise, nearly all consumed eggs.

Twenty of them (about three per cent) who did not consume eggs cited medical advice and myths about eggs.

The survey suggested that the average intake for those consuming eggs was 143 eggs per year or less than three per week.

This is against the US average of 236 per capita and 258 for Europe. In a recent report by the International Egg Commission (IEC), the average per capita consumption of eggs was 200 pieces per year.

With over 350 eggs, Mexico showed the highest value, followed by Japan, the Ukraine and China. In Europe, Denmark and Hungary had the highest consumption; the lowest was found in the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria and India (57 eggs per capita).

Against this background, Dr. Oppong-Mensah encouraged Ghanaians to consume more eggs because they are high in quality animal protein, which has many benefits including increased muscle mass and better bone health.

Gov’t to slap levy on cashew exports

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Gifty Klenam, CEO of GEPA

Government has announced plans to introduce an export levy on raw cashew nuts (RCN), aimed at promoting domestic processing of the commodity by discouraging excessive exports, Gifty Klenam – CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), has announced.

The cashew market in the country is saturated by exporters, predominantly foreigners who have pushed processors out of business with unhealthy competition. Of the 13 cashew processing factories in the country, only two are currently in business; the rest have shut down largely because of their inability to source RCN at a competitive price for processing.

According to Ms. Klenam, government is currently in consultation with all relevant stakeholders on the proposed levy, subject to all the legal processes. Government is taking a cue from other West African cashew producing countries that generate funds from export levies for reinvestment into the industry.

The GEPA CEO, speaking at the launch of a pilot cashew mass spraying and grafted seedlings programme in Wenchi, said the yet to be introduced cashew export levy is expected to generate funds into a Cashew Development Fund – envisaged for redevelopment of the cashew industry into a more viable venture.

As a prelude to the export levy, new licencing and registration for all exporters and traders of the commodity have already been set.

The programme encompasses improvement of existing cashew farms through farm-clearing, spraying and pruning; and sets a roadmap for farms expansion as well as establishing new ones to help boost production levels. The pilot mass spraying exercise targets about 10,000 acres in the interim, and scales-up to over 70,000 acres annually beginning from 2018.

The mass spraying programme is expected to increase production by 30 percent. Coupled with other interventions, it [mass spraying programme] is tipped to help increase the production level significantly from the current 70,000 metric tonnes, thereby improving export earnings.

Cashew is currently the Ghana’s leading agricultural non-traditional export (NTE), generating about US$197million in 2016; representing 53 percent of US$371million earnings from the total agricultural NTE sub-sector.

GEPA has approved GH¢1.6million to support production of planting materials and improve yields with the spraying exercise.

“The challenge for today’s cashew farmer stems from inadequate knowledge of best agricultural practices, the apparent lack of mass spraying to fight common diseases, and the lack of logistics and credit to support farmers maintain their farms,” she stated.

The Executive Secretary of the Cashew Industry Association of Ghana (CIAG), Aaron Akyea, expressed his gratitude to the GEPA for its introduction of the programme – indicating that production output could shoot up to at least 90,000mt in the 2018 season- and urged farmers to step up their game.

He said sustainable growth of the cashew industry invariably means sustainable provision of the much-needed resource.

“These resources should be provided not only by GEPA but all who have the nation at heart, including farmers, so that we achieve our goals,” he said.

Building The Ark

0
Nana Yaa Ofori-Atta

At a breakfast table in the noisy restaurant of a hotel in Shenzhen, I met Kwame Song Dongshong, now President of the Powerchina International Group Limited.

The company that built the iconic Three Gorges in China, is a behemoth by its own description in ‘planning, survey, design, engineering, through finance, construction, installation, operation and maintenance of power and infrastructure projects’.  If you want a zen explanation, they claim that their philosophy is ‘harmony among human beings and harmony with nature.’  

In his previous life, when he emerged for the first time in Ghana, Song was merely the Executive Vice President of a company that per the Fortune Global 500 ranking list is 190th with revenues of $48.87 billion.  You wouldn’t think it, on meeting him.

When Noah built the ark, according to the Bible, basically, technology met religion to address weather forecasts.  Warren Buffet, one of the world’s richest men, an investor and philanthropist, a fellow alumnus of Columbia University, is reported to have said ‘Predicting rain doesn’t count.  Building arks does’.  I see what he means.

_______________________________________________________________

The Bui Dam in Ghana, has history.  Every administration has looked, touched, walked away or engaged, belatedly, to mixed results.

The Bui project was first mooted in 1925 (during the British colonial era) and had been discussed ad nauseam since the 1960’s, including during the regime of of our independence era President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with support from the World Bank and the Government of Australia.  It is endlessly fascinating how on some matters practical, Nkrumah could get a grip, dispense of his high drama and deal with the imperialist capitalist powers.  Ghana then and now, requires major investment in infrastructure.  All takers are welcome, as always, buyers, beware.

It was not until the return of democracy to Ghana in 1992, 4 military coups and a considerable reversal of Ghana’s economic and political fortunes later, that the Bui project was seriously addressed, with support for a feasibility study from a French company, Coyne et Bellier.

Former President John (I) Rawlings – 1993 to 2000 and leader of the National Democratic Congress (the NDC is now safely back in the minority) – was in the driving seat.  Environmental and social impact studies including resettlement of of people, as well as cost assessment, meant that the political economy of the time was not conducive, if not controversial. No one really wanted to touch this project.

_______________________________________________________________

It took 4 decades, after the long overdue overthrow of Nkrumah, for the highest officials of Ghana and China to meet in Accra.  In 2006, when the announcement of the Bui Dam was made, under the administration of former President John (II) Kufuor and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), it was quite rightly met with incredulity.  At $622 million, the Bui project was at the time, the single largest investment the Chinese had committed in Ghana, if not in Africa.

Communist China was ready then and now, without equivocation to deal with the most private sector friendly led Government in Ghana (GoG) since independence.  The NPP is back in office, having won the 2016 election led by current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The Bui dam, all 400 megawatts of it, harvesting the waters of the Black Volta on the borders of the Northern and Brong Ahafo region, is the second largest hydroelectric dam in Ghana.  It was preceded by the Akosombo Dam, it became operational in 1965 at a cost then of some 235 million gbps.  Then the largest man made lake in the world, Akosombo was to provide the energy needs of the country and specifically, power our nascent industry including aluminum companies.

The Bui Dam, complete with a power station connected to the national grid, was eventually commissioned in December 2013 by the GoG, led then by President John (IV) Mahama of the NDC.

At the time the original Bui Dam negotiations was underway, Akufo-Addo was Minister of Foreign Affairs.  The much lamented Kojo Baah-Wiredu, was Minister of Finance, he died in office whilst recovering in South Africa from surgery.

In short, infrastructure has no master, it requires focus that transcends the vicissitudes of petty national party politics.

 ______________________________________________________________

“I bring you a Mercedes, not a Rolls Royce, that is not necessary for you right now”.  A memorable quote from my brief meeting with Kwame Song.  The Chinese are practical, if you want to waste your hard earned non replenishable natural resources on frippery in Dubai, go ahead.  They will pay, they will take and they will walk away.

We have been playing this game of Building the Ark, for a while. According to reported comments by the Minister of Railway Development, Mr. Joe Ghartey, the GoG intends to directly invest or facilitate the construction of 1,400 kilometers of railway lines at a cost of some $7.8 billion to link Accra, our capital, to Kumasi, arguably our second largest city, capital of Asanteman and home also to the Boankro Inland through Tamale and Yendi in the Northern region to Paga in the Upper East region.  Envisaged is a combination of Public Private Partnerships operated under a Build Operate and Transfer arrangement, to be completed by 2020.

It is very much up to Ghana to call it and negotiate with intent sustainable integrity.  Dongsheng and many more like him are sizing up Ghana, again. POWERCHINA has pledged (not committed by any means so far) according to Song, some $4 billion of investments in infrastructure projects for the next 4/5 years in some 26 sectors – power including solar energy, water transportation, sanitation, affordable housing, roads and railways. 

_______________________________________________________________

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is a voluntary organisation of more than 1200 companies.  It has released its third quarter Business Confidence Barometer.  In Q2, business confidence rose on the back of the GoG making good on its promises to introduce tax reliefs and address inflation.

Taxes reduced after the 2017 Asempa budget included the abolishment of the following – 1% Special Import Levy on imported raw materials and machinery;, the 17.5% VAT/NHIL on financial services and import duty on spare parts and q review of the Energy Sector Levies Act to reduce the cost of electricity, critical to industry.

The Q3 report, issued before the presentation of the 2018 Adwuma budget is sober.  Business confidence declined marginally as industry sought clarity on if and how they could benefit from the One District One Factory (1D1F) flagship policy of government.  High cost of electricity, access to credit and exchange rate volatility remained matters of concern.

The AGI President, James Asare-Adjei, doubles as Chief Executive of the Asadtek Group Ltd.  He was in China as part of the delegation of the First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo following up on 2 things.

First, was the landmark opening of the first African trade liaison office in Qingdao, a key city in northern China, central to that country’s expansionist Belt and Road Project.

The AGI office, if it actually gets around to effective strategic staffing and implementation, is to identify key sectors of the economy in Ghana and provide information required by Chinese investors who want to commit as well as support Ghanaian investors who want to explore export opportunities to China.

Secondly, the AGI also serves as an implementing partner for a $2 billion supplier’s credit announced by the China National Building Materials Group (CNBM) in support of the GoG’s ‘One District One Factory’ (1D1F) agricultural technology and industrialisation drive.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, local and international banks, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China and a host of others provide critical input in delivering the 1D1F.

_______________________________________________________________

On paper, CNBM will provide the credit, local banks working through international correspondent banks will deliver the credit required for Ghanaian companies and their international partners to design, construct, run and maintain some 200 factories across Ghana to bring the agro processing driven 1D1F to life.

Not so fast.  In the era of John IV Mahama, faced with regulatory issues including concerns of money laundering and other such nefarious challenges, a number of international corresponding banks cut links with Ghana.  Now, in order for Ghana to access the pledged $2 billion of suppliers credit from CNBM, our MOTI must pick its way through a maze.

Other than the 3 international banks – Barclays, Societe General and Stanchart – who continue to provide services, which local banks can qualify to provide the guarantees required to access the CNBM suppliers credit?  Additionally can CNBM get the Chinese government to also go further by insuring the pledged suppliers credit?

Predicting rain doesn’t count.  Building arks does.  Building the new ark of Ghana’s new ambition in infrastructure will take time, careful measurements and agreements.  We are not quite there yet.  Me thinks.

_______________________________________________________________

The China Report, a series of articles on Ghana/China Trade and Economic Relations, for the Business and Financial Times, was occasioned by the maiden visit of the the First Lady of Ghana, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, to China with the first all female delegation of business leaders.  From Micro table tops to retail in Makola through Medical supplies, Media and Manufacturing to Ghanaian companies who rank as Multinational exporters.  The 10 day visit in November 2017 was facilitated by Edward Boateng, Ambassador of Ghana to the People’s Republic of China and his staff.  My trip was sponsored by Stanbic Ghana

 

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