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Transcript

00:00:00 Day number two in the week, the first day of the eighth month.

00:00:04 Welcome on the AM Show.

00:00:06 Like I said yesterday, I'll repeat today.

00:00:08 This minute, this second, this hour,

00:00:10 this day will never come again.

00:00:12 So let's make the most of it.

00:00:14 Every day you're alive is a great gift.

00:00:17 Someone slept yesterday, didn't wake up this morning.

00:00:21 My name is Benjamin Akako.

00:00:22 It's a pleasure to host you on the AM Show this morning.

00:00:24 Now coming up, we'll be serving you the news in a bit

00:00:27 and right after that for the news review,

00:00:29 former presidential candidate of the PPP,

00:00:31 the Progressive People's Party,

00:00:33 Bridget Jogwanuku joins us for an incisive dig

00:00:37 into the newspapers.

00:00:38 And then we get into our big stories.

00:00:40 And the first one, of course, you guessed it.

00:00:42 We're going to be talking about

00:00:43 the mid-year budgetary review.

00:00:46 Now, Finance Minister Ken Oferueta

00:00:48 has once again acknowledged

00:00:50 the country's economic difficulties.

00:00:52 He notes that the economic hardship

00:00:54 was as a result of global happenings.

00:00:56 According to him, the economic crises

00:00:59 emanated from fundamental and systemic weaknesses

00:01:02 that the country has to confront.

00:01:05 Now we've got this on our table this morning.

00:01:08 Our guests, Professor Godfrey Bachman.

00:01:10 You know him.

00:01:11 He's an economist, also a lecturer of finance

00:01:13 at the University of Ghana Business School.

00:01:15 Professor Isaac Witte,

00:01:16 Dean Faculty of Accounting at the UPSA.

00:01:19 And Dr. Theo Echampon,

00:01:21 economist and political risk analyst.

00:01:24 All of them will join us on that beat

00:01:26 to elaborate, to expand on what Ken Oferueta said.

00:01:31 But also on the show, even as we talk money,

00:01:33 many of us want money

00:01:35 because we also want to build our dream homes.

00:01:39 Well, we're beginning to build up

00:01:40 to another Habitat Fair clinic.

00:01:42 And this time, we'll be stationed

00:01:44 at the West Hills Mall this weekend.

00:01:46 Join us as we interact with some of our sponsors,

00:01:49 elegant homes, and global lighting,

00:01:52 right here on the show.

00:01:55 (upbeat music)

00:01:57 Are you thinking of (beep) or buying?

00:02:00 Are you thinking of luxury, affordability, or comfort?

00:02:04 Well, this year, that's our focus.

00:02:06 Stay with us as we host some of our guests.

00:02:08 And later on the show,

00:02:09 we'd offer you the chance of getting interactive with us.

00:02:11 In fact, throughout the show, throughout the live stream,

00:02:13 news review, you can send me your comments.

00:02:16 Even the news, you can drop your comments there

00:02:18 as we go live, and the big stories as well.

00:02:20 But when we activate the phone lines,

00:02:22 be sure to give us a call

00:02:23 because the show is all about you.

00:02:25 On that note, stay with me.

00:02:27 I'll bring you the news shortly.

00:02:29 (upbeat music)

00:02:56 - Thank you for staying.

00:02:57 Let's get into our first story now.

00:02:59 And the Colleges of Education Teachers Association

00:03:02 of Ghana, CTAG, has declared an indefinite strike.

00:03:06 The group is asking government to redeem its promises

00:03:09 to them over the implementation

00:03:11 of negotiated conditions of service.

00:03:14 According to the association,

00:03:15 government has failed to implement

00:03:17 the National Labor Commission's arbitral award

00:03:20 of settling its seven-month arrears

00:03:22 and other service conditions.

00:03:24 Imani Obride-Kweku was at the association's

00:03:27 National Delegates Conference held in Kumasi

00:03:29 and filed this report.

00:03:31 (singing in foreign language)

00:03:36 - The industrial action will not be the first this year.

00:03:43 In January, 2023, teachers at the 46 colleges of education

00:03:48 embarked on an indefinite strike

00:03:50 following protracted negotiations

00:03:52 between them and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission

00:03:57 for new service conditions.

00:03:59 This strike was eventually called off

00:04:02 after an intervention by the National Labor Commission,

00:04:05 which subsequently saw the introduction

00:04:08 of a compulsory NLC arbitrary order award.

00:04:13 But three months down the line,

00:04:16 the group says this particular order

00:04:19 is yet to be implemented.

00:04:21 Here is Prince Hema Oben,

00:04:23 who is the president of the association.

00:04:26 - Now, following several efforts by leadership of SETAC

00:04:30 to impress on our employer to comply

00:04:33 with the arbitral award orders

00:04:34 issued by the National Labor Commission,

00:04:37 effective Tuesday, 1st August, 2023,

00:04:41 all tutors, all tutors with emphasis,

00:04:45 all tutors of the 46 public colleges of education in Ghana

00:04:50 are to withdraw teaching and related services

00:04:53 until our employer has complied

00:04:56 with all the orders of the NLC.

00:05:00 One, full payment of seven months arrears of allowances

00:05:05 accruing from the approved conditions of service

00:05:09 owed members per the NLC's arbitral award order.

00:05:13 Two, payment of one month salary to each member of SETAC.

00:05:20 As compensation for additional duty

00:05:22 performed in the year 2022 as ordered by the NLC.

00:05:27 Three, publication of the report of the staff audit

00:05:34 and subsequent extension of public universities

00:05:36 rate of allowances to reserve and members of SETAC

00:05:39 per the NLC's arbitral award order.

00:05:43 - The group says it shall from the beginning

00:05:45 of the 2023, 2024 academic year,

00:05:49 not continue with its all year round academic calendar,

00:05:52 describing it as scalar.

00:05:54 - Four, immediate release of leave roster

00:06:00 by each college of education to enable each tutor

00:06:04 take 15 working days leave for the year 2022

00:06:08 as ordered by the NLC.

00:06:11 And then five, unconditional cancellation

00:06:15 of the killer all year round academic calendar,

00:06:19 effective 2023, 2024 academic year.

00:06:24 It is expected that every branch association

00:06:30 shall act on this resolution with a dispatch

00:06:33 and comply accordingly.

00:06:35 Enough is enough.

00:06:37 We have gone through this suffering for far too long

00:06:40 and we believe that the college teacher deserves better.

00:06:44 And we have said, we are not retreating.

00:06:47 Not until all the items talked over here

00:06:50 have been complied with,

00:06:52 not until all of them have been delivered,

00:06:54 we wouldn't budge.

00:06:56 - The colleges of education teachers association

00:06:59 therefore says until the government meets their demands,

00:07:02 they are not resisting or rescinding their decision.

00:07:07 (chanting)

00:07:09 - For JOY News, my name is Emmanuel,

00:07:11 Godspeed.

00:07:12 (chanting)

00:07:14 - Now the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission

00:07:19 is on a move to equip council members

00:07:21 of colleges of education with the requisite knowledge

00:07:24 to reduce the friction between council members,

00:07:27 the GTAC and managers of these colleges.

00:07:30 The training centered on the regulatory framework,

00:07:33 the governance structure of the tertiary system

00:07:35 and the role of the council members

00:07:37 within the tertiary system.

00:07:41 Speaking to journalists on the sideline of the training,

00:07:45 Director General of GTAC, Professor Mohamed Salifu said,

00:07:50 they have had situations council has appointed a person

00:07:54 and there've been disagreement over qualification.

00:07:57 - For example, the councils are in charge of appointments

00:08:00 in the colleges of education.

00:08:01 That's a statutory duty of the council.

00:08:04 The councils also supervise the work of the principals

00:08:08 of the colleges of education.

00:08:10 On the other hand, GTAC is supposed to be the regulator

00:08:13 that provides oversight for even governance

00:08:17 in the tertiary education institutions.

00:08:19 You want to appoint a principal,

00:08:21 there are pre-set criteria for appointing the principal.

00:08:24 And we've had situations in which councils have reported

00:08:28 to appoint somebody who probably has not even met

00:08:31 the requirements that are expected of a principal.

00:08:36 We've also had situations where councils have the tendency

00:08:41 to take up responsibilities

00:08:43 of what executive management should be doing.

00:08:46 So these are areas of confusion that we need to clarify.

00:08:50 That yes, the council has the mandate to do these things,

00:08:54 especially appointments, but they don't do it capriciously.

00:08:58 You have to do it in accordance with laid down procedures

00:09:01 and standards which GTAC supervises.

00:09:04 And there has to be a clear line of distinction

00:09:07 between what the role of council is

00:09:08 and what the role of management is.

00:09:10 These are the things we're trying to emphasize.

00:09:13 - Responding to questions earlier,

00:09:15 Professor Sallifu explained challenges they face

00:09:18 when it comes to transition of councils.

00:09:21 - Some people say, as John Knight has already mentioned,

00:09:24 it is still within the same party.

00:09:28 The same party has known for years,

00:09:30 it's coming back, all the previous appointments,

00:09:34 it will go back to say,

00:09:35 we have to do new appointments again.

00:09:37 And what GTAC has started to carry across is that

00:09:41 we should have a situation where we say,

00:09:44 the last appointed, after it's been appointed

00:09:46 by government, and government is in perpetuity.

00:09:49 When this government does something,

00:09:51 the other one doesn't come and say,

00:09:52 no, we have to do it all over again.

00:09:54 We can't forward from there.

00:09:56 So, any day we have to do that kind of transition.

00:10:01 Let the existing council stay active

00:10:03 until a decision is made about the next one that is coming.

00:10:07 - Head of Institutional Support and Coordination,

00:10:10 GTAC Jerry Salfu,

00:10:12 outlined some of the functions of the council.

00:10:16 - The council of the college of education

00:10:17 shall determine the policies of the college of education

00:10:21 and have control over the general programs.

00:10:24 I think we focus extensively on this one.

00:10:26 And that you find out that to do that,

00:10:30 you have to ensure that the attainment of the,

00:10:32 you have to ensure the attainment of the gains

00:10:35 of the college of education,

00:10:36 internal organization, managed finances,

00:10:39 and so on and so forth.

00:10:41 The second one is that council will establish committees.

00:10:45 That is considered necessary,

00:10:47 and they shall assign to a committee functions

00:10:50 that it considers appropriate.

00:10:52 So, there are statutory committees of council.

00:10:56 First, they need to have been provided for

00:10:59 in the act as well,

00:11:01 and in the statutes that is derived from the act.

00:11:05 Council has the right to set up at all committees,

00:11:08 and then most of these committees

00:11:10 must have a representation of the council.

00:11:13 When you don't have a rep of council on such committees,

00:11:17 that committee only becomes advisory.

00:11:22 - Now, the president of the World Energy Council's

00:11:24 future energy leaders,

00:11:26 Prosper Ahmed and Mukwanda,

00:11:28 wants government to augment the study

00:11:31 of technical and vocational skills training

00:11:33 and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

00:11:37 He says, these are, or there are several job opportunities

00:11:40 that the Africa Green Jobs Strategy was built on.

00:11:44 Prosper Ahmed and Mukwanda made the statement

00:11:46 at a green jobs forum at Jrapa.

00:11:48 Rafik Salam now reports.

00:11:51 - The green jobs forum was under a team

00:11:54 transforming Northern Ghana into a greener economy,

00:11:58 the role of stakeholders.

00:12:00 The forum brought together chiefs, farmers,

00:12:03 and other stakeholders across the 11 municipal

00:12:06 and districts in the upper West region

00:12:08 to discuss the employment landscape in the North of Ghana

00:12:12 in the context of changing climate.

00:12:15 A research by World Bank estimates that

00:12:18 at least 1 million more people will fall into poverty

00:12:22 due to climate shocks if agent climate actions

00:12:25 are not taken.

00:12:26 Income could reduce by up to 40%

00:12:30 for poor households by 2050.

00:12:33 The analysis calls for pursuing a development pathway

00:12:36 that builds resilience to climate change

00:12:40 and foster a transition to low carbon growth

00:12:43 through a combination of policies

00:12:45 and public and private investments.

00:12:47 President of World Energy Council's Future Energy Leaders,

00:12:51 Prosper Ahmed Amakwondo, says the only way

00:12:55 to overcome the formation issues

00:12:57 is for a change in the narrative

00:12:59 from a continent of talkative to a continent of doers

00:13:03 using the continent green jobs strategy

00:13:05 to buttress his claim.

00:13:06 - Doers will develop the continent.

00:13:08 And who are the doers?

00:13:10 The doers are the people with the TIFEX skills,

00:13:13 not those who sit on TV and talk big English.

00:13:16 TIFEX skills.

00:13:18 That is based on which the continent's

00:13:20 green jobs strategy was developed.

00:13:23 And people who have skills in what we call STEM,

00:13:26 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

00:13:30 That is the basis on which

00:13:32 the green jobs strategy was developed.

00:13:34 Finally, it was developed based on the fact that

00:13:39 at the continent level and based on the vision

00:13:42 of the continent, people will move from Togo

00:13:46 and come to Ghana, take opportunities

00:13:49 that the green jobs presents or the climate change presents,

00:13:52 develop it, get the money, and go back.

00:13:55 That is a continent strategy

00:13:58 because we are moving towards integration.

00:14:00 Integration.

00:14:02 - He urged people living in the northern Gulf of the country

00:14:05 to take their destiny into their own hands

00:14:07 as politicians are sometimes the cause

00:14:10 of some of the problems in respect to climate change

00:14:13 in the northern ecological zone.

00:14:16 - Government has promised to deploy solar systems

00:14:18 across this part of the country.

00:14:21 Government has promised in its books

00:14:23 to promote climate smart agriculture.

00:14:26 Monies have been voted,

00:14:29 but those monies are not entirely dispersed

00:14:32 to these communities.

00:14:33 So my message to these community members is,

00:14:35 look, take your destiny into your own hands.

00:14:39 And as far as the green economy is concerned,

00:14:42 it has come to stay.

00:14:44 Let us take action, take the risk, take the initiative,

00:14:47 support each other, collaborate,

00:14:50 and then defend and protect the green economy future

00:14:53 of northern Ghana.

00:14:55 - For the past three years,

00:14:56 the Frederick Ebers Stifton

00:14:58 Economic Policy Competence Center,

00:15:01 and the Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunity, YARU,

00:15:05 have held several stakeholder fora

00:15:07 in discussing employment needs of the teaming youth

00:15:11 and growing population on green job creation.

00:15:13 Program coordinator, Frederick Ebers Stifton

00:15:17 Economic Policy Competence Center,

00:15:19 and executive director, Youth Advocacy on Rights

00:15:22 and Opportunities, Eunice Asedo and Benin Hadji,

00:15:26 bring more light on the program.

00:15:28 - Now, do you know when the rains start and end

00:15:34 in different parts of Ghana?

00:15:36 If you can find them in the books and online,

00:15:38 well, it was the initiative of one man,

00:15:41 Ghana's foremost climate scientist,

00:15:44 KNUST's Professor Leonard Kofiche Amekuji.

00:15:48 As Professor Amekuji delivers

00:15:50 his professional inaugural lecture,

00:15:52 joining us takes a look at how he realized this vision.

00:15:55 - It was a decade ago,

00:15:59 Leonard Amekuji received a call from an insurance company

00:16:04 inquiring about the rainfall seasonal patterns

00:16:07 in the northern regions.

00:16:08 The question they asked me was,

00:16:11 when would the rain start

00:16:14 in the northern part of the country?

00:16:15 And then the second question that followed was,

00:16:19 how would the rainfall pattern be in the north?

00:16:23 And then the third question quickly followed again,

00:16:27 when will the rain stop?

00:16:31 And I realized I couldn't give just a first wanted answer,

00:16:38 then I stopped and told them,

00:16:40 okay, let me make some few checks.

00:16:44 - Professor Amekuji sought to make a quick dig

00:16:47 in some few tomes and online portals,

00:16:49 but wasn't successful.

00:16:51 - I thought I could find some information,

00:16:54 relevant information from the literature to help them,

00:16:57 but I realized that this was not available

00:17:00 in the literature for the countries.

00:17:02 - He then formed a team to find the answers.

00:17:07 After fulfilling the request of the insurance company,

00:17:10 he proceeded to extend the exercise to the entire country.

00:17:13 - Something dawned on me that,

00:17:16 this information needs to be going to the literature,

00:17:19 because there's none there.

00:17:20 So then I decided to do it for the entire country.

00:17:23 And so provided a seasonal forecast,

00:17:26 a seasonal early warning tool for us,

00:17:31 so that if you ask me right now,

00:17:34 when will the rain starts for Kumasi,

00:17:38 I can quickly think through and just tell you,

00:17:40 when will it start in Thakrali,

00:17:42 I should be able to give you information.

00:17:44 When will it start in Hope,

00:17:46 and then how long will the rain likely to be?

00:17:49 And then I can also provide you the variabilities likely

00:17:53 that will be in the starting day of the rain.

00:17:56 When the rain starts in February,

00:17:58 then you ask me, is it a climate change?

00:18:00 I'll tell you it's not a climate change,

00:18:02 because it's a climate variability,

00:18:04 because I'm able to tell you what it is.

00:18:08 - This culminated in a paper he published in 2015

00:18:12 in the journal Climate, titled,

00:18:14 "Variabilities in Rainfall Onset,

00:18:16 "Cessation, and Length of Rainy Season

00:18:19 "for the Various Agroecological Zones of Ghana,"

00:18:22 which happens to be his most cited publication.

00:18:25 Professor Makuji has recently been involved

00:18:28 in a project, Swift Science for Weather Information

00:18:31 and Forecasting Technique.

00:18:33 - Within that project, we want to ensure

00:18:36 that the knowledge base for the academy,

00:18:38 and then those in the industry,

00:18:43 that's the operational centers.

00:18:47 Operational centers here,

00:18:48 I refer to Ghana Meteorological Agency.

00:18:51 - On the 3rd of August, 2023,

00:18:54 Professor Makuji will be delivering

00:18:56 his professorial inaugural lecture,

00:18:58 and on the topic, "Cracking the Climate Change Code,

00:19:02 "the Sub-Saharan Africa Revolution."

00:19:05 Reporting for Joinings, Kwesi Debra.

00:19:08 - Now, a member of parliament for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim,

00:19:14 is asking government and other stakeholders

00:19:16 to rebuild the lives of drug addicts

00:19:19 by providing more rehabilitation centers.

00:19:22 Speaking at the commissioning

00:19:23 of the Kairos Women Rehabilitation Center

00:19:26 at Banda Henkro by Kairos Global Mission,

00:19:29 Mr. Ibrahim said, "Imprisoning drug offenders

00:19:32 "was a sole measure not yielding the expected outcome."

00:19:36 Professor Semerville has more.

00:19:38 - The involvement of the youth, especially women,

00:19:41 in drug abuse worsens their vulnerability,

00:19:44 and further exposes them to social vices

00:19:47 such as prostitution and other unethical behaviors.

00:19:50 (speaking in foreign language)

00:19:54 Kairos Global Mission, a Christian NGO

00:19:58 based in the USA to rebuild the lives of such women,

00:20:02 has built a rehabilitation center for women

00:20:05 at Banda Henkro in the Bono region.

00:20:07 (speaking in foreign language)

00:20:26 Banda Kairos Ladies and Children Home

00:20:28 aims to take in over 20 women in the future,

00:20:31 but five are now undergoing a life transformation process

00:20:35 in line with the mission's goal

00:20:37 to reform and reintegrate addicts into society.

00:20:40 Reverend Anna Drawe is the president of the mission.

00:20:42 - Most of the recovery programs

00:20:45 or rehabilitation centers are devoted to men.

00:20:49 In fact, in the whole country of Ghana,

00:20:52 I know of one in Accra for women,

00:20:55 but in this remote place,

00:20:57 we have a place where women can come out of their suffering.

00:21:00 It needs to be in a place like this, in-home care.

00:21:04 The addiction is just too strong.

00:21:06 In this place, women can recover and learn new skills

00:21:10 and recover their ability,

00:21:12 recover their identity as whole people,

00:21:17 and once more leave this place

00:21:20 with the ability to engage in society,

00:21:23 to work, to raise their families, to raise their children.

00:21:27 - At the commissioning of the center,

00:21:29 Banda MP Ahmed Ibrahim urged the women

00:21:32 not to be ashamed of their past,

00:21:34 but to strive to become better.

00:21:36 He called for a different approach

00:21:38 to dealing with drug addicts instead of imprisonment.

00:21:41 - What I'm seeing is that, one,

00:21:43 there must be rehabilitation centers

00:21:45 so that you don't keep on piling the people into the prisons.

00:21:47 Like the man said, even in the cells of the prisons,

00:21:50 they still continue to abuse the drugs.

00:21:53 So if there are rehabilitation centers

00:21:55 and you bring them to rehabilitation centers,

00:21:57 it can help them to transform and reform the people

00:22:01 and bring them back into the society.

00:22:03 So that is the prevention is the best way to go,

00:22:05 and that's what I'm advocating for.

00:22:07 There are people in Ghana who are richer

00:22:09 than this woman herself.

00:22:11 So if she can volunteer to come and do this,

00:22:13 why can't our rich men in the country do it?

00:22:16 The Church of Pentecost has done about three prison cells

00:22:19 where they are rehabilitating and transforming

00:22:21 the lives of drug addicts and all people

00:22:23 who have already been pushed into jail.

00:22:25 It's not everything that government can do.

00:22:27 - Board member of Kario's Rehab Home,

00:22:29 Superintendent Jeremia Ahale,

00:22:31 while urging the youth to avoid drugs,

00:22:34 appealed for support to sustain their home.

00:22:36 - The law says when you use it, this should happen to you.

00:22:40 When you sell it, this is what should happen.

00:22:43 Judge cannot use his discretion to reduce the punishment.

00:22:46 So the best way to go is what we are doing.

00:22:50 (speaking in foreign language)

00:22:54 - Precious Semevo, Joy News, Banda.

00:23:03 - And that's our recap of the news this morning,

00:23:07 but stay with us, we'll be joined shortly

00:23:09 by former candidate of the Progressive People's Party,

00:23:12 Brigitte Jogmanuku, as we get into the newspapers.

00:23:15 We'll be right back.

00:23:16 (dramatic music)

00:23:44 Hello there, welcome back on the News Review.

00:23:47 Well, welcome back on the AM Show,

00:23:49 and it's time now for the News Review.

00:23:51 We're joined by former presidential candidate

00:23:54 of the Progressive People's Party, Brigitte Jogmanuku.

00:23:58 She joins us shortly for a conversation.

00:24:01 But before we do that, Endpoint Homeopathic Clinic

00:24:05 helping us to bring you the News Review

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00:24:25 If you're a woman, fertility screening for free.

00:24:28 Now, you may have hit a certain age,

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00:25:09 We're bringing us to the start of the news review.

00:25:12 I'd like to say a very good morning to Bridget Jogbenuku.

00:25:16 How are you?

00:25:17 - Morning, Ben.

00:25:19 I'm very well, thank you.

00:25:21 How are you?

00:25:21 And good morning to your viewers,

00:25:23 and I suppose listeners, maybe.

00:25:26 - Yes, there are some who,

00:25:29 you know there are those who turn on the TV,

00:25:32 but their eyeballs are not on the images,

00:25:34 but they are doing something else,

00:25:35 and they are listening to what is happening.

00:25:37 So I think it makes sense to say listeners as well.

00:25:41 Anyway, it's good to hear from you,

00:25:42 like we usually do when you're on the show.

00:25:44 You're a businesswoman.

00:25:45 How is business?

00:25:46 Yesterday we heard from the finance minister.

00:25:49 He says, yes, on the back of COVID-19

00:25:52 and the Russo-Ukrainian War,

00:25:54 we faced a lot of challenges,

00:25:56 the exigencies and all of that,

00:25:58 but we shall come out of it,

00:26:00 and God willing, things are headed in a positive direction.

00:26:04 Do you see that positivity out there?

00:26:06 The dollar, I mean the exchange rate,

00:26:09 inflation and all of that.

00:26:11 - You seem to be reciting those words

00:26:14 because you've heard them so much.

00:26:17 I mean, if I close my eyes--

00:26:17 - I mean, just yesterday the finance minister

00:26:19 mentioned them again, so.

00:26:21 - I would assume that it was

00:26:23 maybe the finance minister saying his words again.

00:26:26 Maybe the tone of your voice only makes the difference.

00:26:28 You are reciting those words.

00:26:29 We've heard it so many times.

00:26:32 It's become like a chorus,

00:26:34 and it's only the Russia-Ukraine War and COVID,

00:26:38 and it has nothing to do with our own policies

00:26:42 and how we've implemented them.

00:26:44 Okay, if that is what they say.

00:26:46 I mean, right now where we are, it's difficult.

00:26:50 I mean, if they say we've taken a turn for the better,

00:26:53 and we see, you know, we are not feeling it.

00:26:57 Food is still expensive.

00:26:58 I mean, the basics are still very expensive.

00:27:01 Inflation is still high,

00:27:03 even if it has come down to 30-something percent.

00:27:06 It is still high.

00:27:08 You know, people are suffering.

00:27:11 So, well, we can keep blaming COVID and Russia-Ukraine,

00:27:16 or take a look at the implementation of our policies

00:27:22 and do something about it.

00:27:26 Because, you see, I always say that

00:27:27 as long as we are going to blame those external factors

00:27:31 and not take responsibility for our own actions,

00:27:35 we're not prepared to do anything about it.

00:27:38 We're going to look at the obstacles and say,

00:27:40 these are the things that have set us on edge,

00:27:44 and we won't do anything about it.

00:27:46 So, yeah, Russia-Ukraine, we hear you.

00:27:50 But even if you are starting to recite it like that,

00:27:55 then you know that everybody has heard this line before,

00:27:59 and we really need to take responsibility

00:28:01 and see how we can do something about turning things around.

00:28:06 - Interesting picture you paint,

00:28:09 but what did you make

00:28:10 of the finance minister's delivery yesterday?

00:28:13 The things he said.

00:28:14 - You know, Ben, I'll be very honest with you,

00:28:18 and I knew you were going to ask me when they called me.

00:28:21 I did not listen.

00:28:22 I did not listen because I knew

00:28:25 that there would be that recital that you just gave.

00:28:29 I knew that it was going to be a sermon

00:28:34 with many biblical quotations.

00:28:37 There's really nothing wrong with that,

00:28:39 but I don't think that the speaker himself believes in it.

00:28:43 So he's preaching a sermon in which he doesn't believe.

00:28:48 I knew that it was going to be just another academic exercise.

00:28:51 I mean, of course, it wasn't even delivered

00:28:54 on the day or the dates that it was planned for

00:28:57 and had to be postponed a couple of times,

00:29:00 and therefore, you are starting to see,

00:29:02 there's not very much seriousness

00:29:03 put to those exercises there.

00:29:06 So at that point, I was actually in an all-day meeting,

00:29:11 and therefore, I missed it,

00:29:15 but I got accepts of it from other channels,

00:29:19 and I heard the same recital that you gave.

00:29:23 I heard the biblical quotations to begin it.

00:29:27 The one thing I heard that I thought

00:29:29 was actually quite funny was the fact

00:29:31 that we are not going to be taxed anymore.

00:29:36 I mean, there's no more to tax

00:29:40 unless you start taxing the taxes, you know?

00:29:43 There's no more, which is happening in certain ways.

00:29:47 If he had said that some of the taxes had been repealed,

00:29:50 like maybe the COVID tax, for example, and a few others,

00:29:55 the poor Ghanaian worker and trader

00:29:59 would be a little more comfortable.

00:30:01 But if you say, "Oh,"

00:30:03 I mean, it's almost like you're patronizing us to say,

00:30:05 "Oh, we won't tax you anymore," you know?

00:30:08 There's nothing more to tax.

00:30:12 We are taxed out of our, you know, pockets.

00:30:16 So yeah, for me, it was just another academic exercise.

00:30:21 It was just another sermon in the house, not on the Mount.

00:30:27 And I don't think that the preachers,

00:30:33 not just the government,

00:30:35 the preachers of the sermon themselves, believe in it.

00:30:38 It was something that had to be done, and they did it.

00:30:40 - I see.

00:30:42 I find that interesting.

00:30:44 So you actually avoided the whole occasion

00:30:48 because you felt there was going to be nothing new in there.

00:30:53 Some of the things the finance minister-

00:30:53 - I didn't avoid it.

00:30:55 If I had been in my office,

00:30:58 it is likely that I would have, by default, heard it

00:31:02 because I do have the radio in the background.

00:31:04 But I had to be in a meeting, and it was an all-day meeting,

00:31:09 so I did not listen to it.

00:31:12 But when I heard excerpts of it,

00:31:15 and of course, as I said,

00:31:20 because it had been postponed a couple of times,

00:31:23 I started to feel that, you know what,

00:31:26 not much seriousness is being put to this budget.

00:31:29 Besides, I mean, looking at our economy

00:31:32 and how broke we are, how is a budget,

00:31:37 I mean, what are we budgeting on?

00:31:39 And I think one of the minority parliamentarians

00:31:43 mentioned it the day before.

00:31:45 What are you budgeting on?

00:31:46 What are you using to budget?

00:31:48 You don't have the money.

00:31:50 So it was okay.

00:31:55 I'll hear the excerpts later, and I heard a few of them.

00:31:58 As I said, the one thing that I thought I heard,

00:32:03 which ought to have been encouraging,

00:32:05 but really didn't say much,

00:32:08 was the fact that we aren't going to be taxed anymore.

00:32:11 - Let's get into the papers.

00:32:13 They also talk about the same bit.

00:32:16 We'll get into the Daily Graphic,

00:32:18 the Daily Guide newspaper, and the Economy Times.

00:32:22 Let's start with the Daily Graphic.

00:32:25 Ghana elected to World Tourism Organization

00:32:27 Executive Council, and we have a number

00:32:29 of these organizations that we're on now.

00:32:32 There's also media budget review.

00:32:34 Economy shows signs of recovery.

00:32:37 That's according to Finance Minister Ken Ufuriata.

00:32:40 Are we recovering?

00:32:42 You give your verdict.

00:32:43 I'd love to hear from you out there,

00:32:45 those of you watching us.

00:32:46 And I'll come to you, Bridget, on that same point as well.

00:32:49 New GDP target signals decline.

00:32:52 That's according to the minority.

00:32:54 And yesterday, in asking for the suspension

00:32:59 so that matters could proceed,

00:33:01 the minority leader, Dr. Cassiel Atiforsen,

00:33:04 started ferociously on that point.

00:33:06 $300 million dispute.

00:33:08 Court places injunction on mining firm,

00:33:09 the AG involved there, and then tertiary students visit NCA.

00:33:14 On the back page, E&I Ghana, or Eni Ghana,

00:33:16 partners give scholarship to 1,000 students,

00:33:20 and Communications Minister commissions

00:33:22 rural telephony sites in northern region.

00:33:26 So let's get into the stories now.

00:33:29 I'll start with a major one,

00:33:31 giving us the banner headline.

00:33:34 Now, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ufuriata,

00:33:36 has said the implementation of fiscal adjustments

00:33:39 and sustained investments have contributed

00:33:42 to the stabilization of our economy.

00:33:45 He said since the 2023 budget was presented

00:33:48 to Parliament in November last year,

00:33:49 to date, the exchange rate had stabilized,

00:33:53 inflation had softened, and interest rates had declined,

00:33:57 while plans for private investments had been announced

00:34:00 due to increased investor confidence in the economy.

00:34:04 Presenting a media review of the 2023 budget

00:34:07 to Parliament yesterday in fulfillment

00:34:08 of section 28 of the Public Financial Management Act,

00:34:11 that's the PFMA 2016 Act 921,

00:34:15 the Minister said the government would continue

00:34:17 to pursue adjustment and work hard to build

00:34:20 and sustain a favorable macroeconomic environment.

00:34:25 Now, after an anxious wait for the media budget review,

00:34:29 which was rescheduled twice,

00:34:30 Parliament gave the Minister the opportunity

00:34:33 to address the House in fulfillment of the PFMA.

00:34:38 Briefly, before I come to you, Bridget,

00:34:40 touching on the country's fiscal performance

00:34:42 within the last six months,

00:34:43 after the 2023 budget was read,

00:34:45 the Minister noted that the economy was back on track,

00:34:49 and I'd like you to talk on that

00:34:50 when I give you the opportunity,

00:34:51 back on track to a positive primary balance.

00:34:55 Notably, he said there had been a slower pace

00:34:57 in expenditure execution relative to revenue shortfall,

00:35:01 resulting in an overall budget deficit on commitment basis

00:35:05 of 6.3 billion Ghana CEDs, that is 0.8% of GDP.

00:35:10 He also expressed the confidence

00:35:13 that the prices of goods and services

00:35:15 would reflect the trend of economic recovery

00:35:18 to ease the burden of families

00:35:20 or on families and enterprises.

00:35:22 I found this point also very interesting.

00:35:25 Confidence that prices of goods and services

00:35:29 would reflect the trend of economic recovery

00:35:31 to ease the burden on families and enterprises.

00:35:34 If you look at the inflationary rate,

00:35:36 we're still hovers around 42%,

00:35:38 and the cost of things out there,

00:35:40 I don't see this reflecting.

00:35:42 Your take, Bridget.

00:35:43 - Well, he yesterday mentioned that inflation

00:35:47 was going to come down to, did he say 31?

00:35:50 I think end of year 31.

00:35:54 I mean, this is what will happen.

00:35:57 It's not happening now.

00:36:00 The prices of things, I mean, if you go,

00:36:02 my food basket is still very high.

00:36:07 I mean, if I went to tomatoes, for example,

00:36:10 are still very expensive,

00:36:11 and that's one thing we consume a lot of.

00:36:13 Everything is still very expensive.

00:36:17 Transportation is still very expensive.

00:36:19 Fuel prices are supposed to be going up today,

00:36:22 and that will not reduce,

00:36:25 you know that when fuel prices go up,

00:36:27 all prices go up.

00:36:28 I don't know what he's talking about

00:36:31 if he's saying that prices are going to begin to come down.

00:36:36 On the contrary, if fuel prices are going up today,

00:36:41 like I said, it then becomes a very academic exercise.

00:36:45 It's got to be done, so we are doing it,

00:36:48 and we've got to say something positive.

00:36:50 It's good.

00:36:51 Positive is good.

00:36:52 It's encouraging, but it's not true.

00:36:55 It's not true that prices are going to come down.

00:36:57 Fuel prices are going up by a certain percent,

00:37:01 between four and 11%, if I read right, today.

00:37:05 So if that is going to happen,

00:37:07 prices are generally going to go up.

00:37:11 Prices aren't coming down,

00:37:12 and when he says that the exchange rate's stabilized,

00:37:16 yes, it's stabilized.

00:37:17 It came down.

00:37:18 It was maybe teetering on about 15 CDs to the dollar,

00:37:24 thereabouts, and it came down to--

00:37:25 - It got to 16 at a point.

00:37:28 - Yeah.

00:37:29 Came down to around nine or so, and rapidly rose,

00:37:34 and it's almost hitting 12 now.

00:37:36 And we've remained there.

00:37:39 I have made some losses through foreign exchange.

00:37:43 But we've remained there, and it's high.

00:37:50 When this government came to power,

00:37:53 I think the dollar was around five CDs or so,

00:37:56 and we are now at 12.

00:37:59 So if you are saying it's stabilized,

00:38:02 well, it's stabilized at a very high point.

00:38:05 It's more than 100%.

00:38:08 So these things are, you know,

00:38:10 with the finance minister, with all due respect,

00:38:15 speaking academics, speaking theory.

00:38:20 - In-- - But practically, no.

00:38:22 It's not true.

00:38:24 - And you're a business person.

00:38:26 You're selling, and you have people come and buy,

00:38:28 so you can feel.

00:38:29 Are people able to buy as they were before?

00:38:32 And even as you tell me about that,

00:38:34 because you sell your Gary, if I'm not mistaken,

00:38:36 your Zoomie, among others, among other things.

00:38:40 And then again, what picture does that paint?

00:38:43 Because of course, this is our reality,

00:38:46 versus, for example, what some have couched,

00:38:49 the Sicilia Da Paz saga.

00:38:50 The source of money, that one,

00:38:53 the courts will determine what exactly happens.

00:38:56 But the general picture out there is,

00:38:58 okay, there's a small class, the elite,

00:39:02 with chunks of money,

00:39:03 and the masses have to endure what is happening.

00:39:06 What do you make of that situation?

00:39:09 - It's a pity, you know?

00:39:10 The Sicilia Da Paz saga, I wish you had called me then,

00:39:13 so to speak, but yes, that's what's happening.

00:39:18 They don't know their reality.

00:39:19 Our governments, our leaders,

00:39:25 obviously don't go to the markets.

00:39:28 They can afford, they have affordability.

00:39:30 So they don't know how hard things are for people,

00:39:35 when you have to buy four pieces,

00:39:38 or four tomatoes, for 10 cities.

00:39:41 And 10 cities is a lot of money, for anybody.

00:39:45 Where did I go the other day,

00:39:46 where something was two cities?

00:39:48 Yes, I went to the Volta region, over the weekend.

00:39:52 And we stopped at Timpuku.

00:39:55 And we bought, my friend who traveled with us,

00:39:59 bought the shrimps in the bag.

00:40:01 And one bag was 50 cities.

00:40:07 And the other was 30 cities.

00:40:09 It was only between 30 and 50 cities.

00:40:12 And the size hasn't changed,

00:40:13 from when we were buying it for five cities and 10 cities,

00:40:16 just a short while ago.

00:40:20 So now that delicacy, that the bus would stop,

00:40:24 and people would buy, and you would,

00:40:26 my sister said it was poverty reduction strategy.

00:40:30 You go there, you feed into the economy,

00:40:32 by buying some of those things.

00:40:34 Can't buy it anymore.

00:40:35 If we had bought, we would have bought three.

00:40:37 We bought one.

00:40:38 So things have gotten very, very, very expensive.

00:40:43 And those who can afford it,

00:40:44 obviously do not realize that

00:40:46 the people below are struggling.

00:40:51 It's a struggle.

00:40:53 We've been impoverished.

00:40:55 We've been impoverished by, you know,

00:40:58 the Sicily and the Pass Saga, for example.

00:41:01 How is it that one person has so much,

00:41:04 and school kids, for example, are being fed-

00:41:07 - But Bridget, it could be in Sawa,

00:41:10 money got from donations at a funeral.

00:41:12 - Ben, please, let's not do that.

00:41:14 - That has been said.

00:41:15 It could be her former, her brother.

00:41:16 I'm just telling you what people have said.

00:41:18 Her brother, Cooper, who was the chief,

00:41:20 who used to be a cobbler,

00:41:22 that's what people have put out there.

00:41:23 It could be her husband,

00:41:25 who is a longstanding architect of great, you know,

00:41:30 repute. - Repute?

00:41:32 How come we haven't heard about him until now?

00:41:33 - Yeah, all of that has been said.

00:41:35 I mean, are you discounting all of that?

00:41:37 - I'm not disputing it.

00:41:38 All I'm saying is, if you have all this money,

00:41:42 why have you, if indeed it belongs,

00:41:45 whoever it belongs to, why are school kids suffering?

00:41:49 Why are they begging that their daily feeding allowance

00:41:54 should be only three CDs a day?

00:42:00 When I bought, what is it I bought also at Atipoku,

00:42:03 that was two CDs, and I said,

00:42:05 "If you buy this for two CDs,

00:42:07 there's no accompaniment with it."

00:42:08 I can't remember what it was.

00:42:10 But why is it that one person is keeping all this

00:42:15 when our children in school are begging to be fed

00:42:18 on just three CDs a day?

00:42:20 You know, why is it that somebody has all this,

00:42:26 and if they pumped it into the economy,

00:42:28 our exchange rates would not come down?

00:42:32 Why?

00:42:35 - You know, someone said that if the claim was that,

00:42:39 and of course, these are all things out there,

00:42:41 if the claim was that the money belonged

00:42:43 to her brother who passed,

00:42:45 then if that brother's children come right now

00:42:47 and they say they want the money, what's going to happen?

00:42:50 - Why is it in a bank?

00:42:52 Why don't you say there's the money in the bank?

00:42:55 Here's your bank statement.

00:42:57 - Well, I mean, what can I say?

00:43:01 This is Ghana.

00:43:02 But let's get into a related story

00:43:04 and move away from the daily graphic.

00:43:06 So new GDP targets signals decline.

00:43:10 That's the minority on the same media budget review.

00:43:13 Now, the minority caucus in Parliament says,

00:43:15 "Government's review of the 2023 gross domestic product

00:43:18 target from 2.8% to 1.5% signaled an expected decline

00:43:23 of the country's economic fortunes

00:43:25 rather than the touted recovery."

00:43:27 The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofoyeta,

00:43:29 yesterday spoke eloquently about the bright outlook

00:43:32 of Ghana's economy towards the second half of the year

00:43:34 as he presented the 2023 media budget review in Parliament.

00:43:38 But the minority leader, Dr. Kassi Alataforse,

00:43:40 in addressing the media after the minister's presentation

00:43:44 said the downward revision of the GDP target

00:43:47 was an indication that the economy was declining

00:43:49 or shrinking and that it would affect jobs

00:43:53 and the general welfare of Ghanaians.

00:43:56 Again, the minority caucus in Parliament has described

00:44:00 the city's supposed stability at present

00:44:02 as merely artificial, saying claims by the finance minister

00:44:07 about the currency's supposed recovery

00:44:08 is not supported by evidence on the ground.

00:44:12 In fact, Dr. Forsen stresses that the minister's claim

00:44:15 that the economy had, quote, "turned the corner"

00:44:18 could also not be true and that the government

00:44:20 had rather deepened the woes of ordinary Ghanaians.

00:44:25 That is the bit in there.

00:44:28 Maybe I should just throw in the fact,

00:44:29 I don't know whether, okay, so it is in the daily graphic.

00:44:33 Niger's ousted president in high spirits.

00:44:35 That's according to the prime minister.

00:44:37 I just want to chip that in,

00:44:38 especially with everything happening in our sub-region.

00:44:42 And now another nation that seems to have fallen.

00:44:45 By the way, ECOWAS is planning some sort of military action.

00:44:50 The Nigerian airspace has been labeled a no-fly zone

00:44:55 and all of that.

00:44:56 Niger's prime minister, Oumoudou Mouhamadou,

00:44:59 has said there is no question

00:45:01 of President Mohamed Bassem resigning.

00:45:03 He is currently being held in detention by the military

00:45:05 following a coup last week.

00:45:07 And quote, he says, "This is a seizure of power by force.

00:45:11 "It is not a voluntary departure of the president,

00:45:13 "so there is no reason to talk about this resignation issue,"

00:45:17 Mr. Mouhamadou said in an interview

00:45:19 with a French television station.

00:45:21 But with everything happening and the Wagner Group

00:45:24 courting Niger and everything in the sub-region,

00:45:26 vis-a-vis economic developments among others,

00:45:30 what picture does it paint, Bridget?

00:45:32 - It's a very grave picture.

00:45:35 Yesterday, somebody put on my platform,

00:45:39 a platform, a Legon platform, a map of Africa

00:45:43 with the entire middle belt in red.

00:45:46 And all those countries had been taken over

00:45:50 by the military, by their military.

00:45:53 And it's- - It's almost like

00:45:54 a repetition of the late '70s and '80s in Africa.

00:45:58 - Yes, we've- - And maybe the '60s.

00:45:59 - We've gone back, haven't we?

00:46:01 We have re-progressed.

00:46:03 And maybe it is because, who knows,

00:46:06 maybe democracy obviously was not working for them.

00:46:09 And why is democracy, why hasn't democracy worked for them?

00:46:14 Because leadership and governance has been poor,

00:46:18 has let the people down, has let the youth down

00:46:23 because you have a bunch of idle youth

00:46:26 waiting to be influenced.

00:46:28 And when they are, I mean,

00:46:29 we saw what was happening in Niger last week.

00:46:32 It was frightening.

00:46:33 And therefore, leadership,

00:46:36 ECOWAS and their leadership must take an inward look

00:46:42 and address the issues of governance

00:46:46 and leadership in their countries.

00:46:49 They must look at it and understand

00:46:50 that their way of practicing democracy is not working.

00:46:55 It is not that democracy is wrong.

00:46:57 It is the way it is practiced in these various countries

00:47:02 when it disenfranchises people and the youth

00:47:05 and they get disgruntled.

00:47:07 And all they want to do is do things by force.

00:47:11 If ECOWAS is thinking of going to take over,

00:47:16 take out those military leaders,

00:47:20 they must be very careful

00:47:22 because ECOWAS has been known to accept

00:47:25 or to overlook issues of bad governance

00:47:32 in some of these countries,

00:47:34 where in some cases,

00:47:36 presidents want to extend their period of rule

00:47:41 or of governance,

00:47:44 and they come in and impose themselves on their countries

00:47:50 and sit in ECOWAS meetings.

00:47:52 And the other leaders of the other countries say nothing.

00:47:56 Rather, when these co-leaders try to get into ECOWAS

00:48:02 and go for ECOWAS meetings, they are ostracized.

00:48:06 But we must ask ourselves, what are we doing wrong?

00:48:10 Why is it that all these countries,

00:48:12 all of them, are being taken over by these forces?

00:48:18 - And really, really, Bridget, we have very little time.

00:48:22 We have to make tracks.

00:48:23 But really, if you look at the situation

00:48:25 in all of these countries, you see a certain thread.

00:48:28 There's a theme that runs through,

00:48:30 the suffering of the people.

00:48:31 I've seen some pictures, supposedly from Niger.

00:48:33 I cannot corroborate,

00:48:34 so I'm not gonna go ahead to say what they actually portray.

00:48:38 But if they are true, it tells you what the elite class,

00:48:43 the political class, is enjoying

00:48:45 vis-a-vis what ordinary people are facing.

00:48:48 And that is problematic.

00:48:50 I don't see why our leaders cannot comprehend

00:48:53 that if you are living in a different,

00:48:55 it's almost as though there were two different Niger,

00:48:58 two different Mali, two different Burkina Faso.

00:49:00 I don't want to mention any other names

00:49:03 before people take me on and say I am saying something.

00:49:06 But if you create certain scenarios,

00:49:11 some things, if you are not careful,

00:49:15 anyway, Tijani Isaka says,

00:49:17 "The new proposal of using national service personnel

00:49:19 "in farming is a clear indication

00:49:20 "that planting for food and jobs didn't work.

00:49:23 "The government must also know that health workers,

00:49:25 "that is nurses and public health,

00:49:27 "who completed or graduated from 2020,

00:49:29 "have still not been posted to work.

00:49:31 "Things are not working anymore for anybody."

00:49:33 Tijani from Kofuridia sends that.

00:49:35 Martha Quason says, "Good morning.

00:49:37 "I want to find out whether veterinarians matter

00:49:40 "in this country.

00:49:41 "Clearance was given in 2021

00:49:43 "about recruiting veterinarians in 2022 and 2023.

00:49:46 "We've not heard anything since then,

00:49:48 "and graduates are just sitting at home."

00:49:51 To cap off the conversation,

00:49:52 the Daily Guide newspaper,

00:49:54 a Hunter West MP denies resigning,

00:49:56 and then Pius Hajide contests Eswe Djamal NPC,

00:50:00 the former deputy minister for information.

00:50:03 I'll focus on the finer in economy times as we wrap.

00:50:06 2023 GDP growth revised to 1.5%.

00:50:10 We've looked at that.

00:50:10 Headline inflation pegged at 31.3%.

00:50:13 UK government supports Ghana with 3.9 million pounds

00:50:16 to sanitize small-scale mining sector.

00:50:18 Whenever I see stories like this

00:50:20 with sums of money and hard currency,

00:50:23 pounds, dollars, euros,

00:50:25 I get concerned because Charlie, the money.

00:50:29 Economy times, cost of credit to rise steadily.

00:50:32 Cost of credit.

00:50:33 And go to the banks and see.

00:50:35 This is one of the most difficult times

00:50:36 if you're a business person going for a loan.

00:50:38 Trust me.

00:50:39 - Well, our central bank by itself is broke.

00:50:44 - It is.

00:50:46 - We recorded a loss of what, 60 billion?

00:50:48 - Yeah, 60 plus billion.

00:50:50 We've added about 20 plus percent to our debt stock.

00:50:54 - Yeah.

00:50:55 So, I mean, the banks,

00:50:58 if our central bank is going into insolvency,

00:51:02 as I think it was Chosa who said,

00:51:04 "If gold rusts, what should iron do?"

00:51:08 And to add to that, Bank of Ghana exposure,

00:51:11 stock and bonds undergo 50% haircut.

00:51:14 The government has given a 50% haircut

00:51:16 to non-marketable holdings of government

00:51:18 to Ghana instruments, including long-term stocks,

00:51:21 a COVID-19 bond, and overdraft in an attempt

00:51:24 to restructure central banks' holdings of government debt.

00:51:27 So, when you hear of all these things

00:51:30 and the central bank's governor tells us,

00:51:33 "Look, we are getting there."

00:51:35 And the finance minister also tells us,

00:51:37 "We are turning the corner."

00:51:38 And you begin to ask yourself, "Which corner exactly?"

00:51:41 Final words, Bridget.

00:51:42 - That's the theory.

00:51:43 - Final words.

00:51:45 - Well, you know, it's gloomy.

00:51:48 Wake up, I mean, I'm not talking about the weather.

00:51:50 Indeed, the weather is gloomy this morning.

00:51:53 It's probably a reflection of the state of the country

00:51:56 and the economy.

00:51:58 But we wake up each day and we do our bits

00:52:01 and we pray that everybody keeps calm

00:52:05 and everybody still has hope.

00:52:10 There's a lot of despondency, I know,

00:52:11 but let's keep hope alive and look forward to 2024

00:52:16 when we can vote again.

00:52:19 All the best to everybody.

00:52:24 It's a struggle, but we will get there.

00:52:27 Heaven knows.

00:52:28 ♪ We are going ♪

00:52:29 ♪ Heaven knows where we are going ♪

00:52:32 Yes, yes.

00:52:33 We must keep hope alive because the alternative,

00:52:38 if we go, we can't go the way of what any of the countries

00:52:45 in the middle of Africa, we cannot afford it.

00:52:48 - Definitely not.

00:52:48 - Those of us who were here when it happened

00:52:51 and young as we were, saw how terrible it was.

00:52:56 And we don't want that.

00:52:58 I mean, we've already re-progressed.

00:52:59 If we should go that way, we've only gone further.

00:53:04 - Thank you, Bridget.

00:53:04 - We must continue to pray for our leaders.

00:53:07 - Right, and that we must continue to do.

00:53:09 I've said that if you've seen war,

00:53:11 if you've seen civil strife before,

00:53:13 like I have and you have,

00:53:15 you wouldn't want to go down that road.

00:53:19 But God grant our leaders, I call them misleaders,

00:53:23 the grace, the favor, the wisdom,

00:53:25 the knowledge, the understanding to reflect and change

00:53:29 because you keep doing the things the same way,

00:53:34 you get in the same house.

00:53:35 - I sat next to a friend in church one day

00:53:37 and when they said, let's pray for our leaders,

00:53:39 she opened her eyes and said,

00:53:41 I stopped praying that prayer.

00:53:43 - Wow.

00:53:44 - Let's just get there.

00:53:46 - Let's not get to despondency.

00:53:47 Thank you so much, Bridget Jogbenuku,

00:53:49 former presidential candidate

00:53:50 of the Progressive People's Party.

00:53:52 Thank you so much and have a good day.

00:53:54 Right, and that's our recap of the show.

00:53:57 Sports is up next,

00:53:59 but before that, Endpoint Homeopathic Clinic

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00:54:31 And now, it brought us to the end of the news review.

00:54:34 There's more from the Women's World Cup,

00:54:36 among others, coming your way in sports.

00:54:39 (dramatic music)

00:54:43 (dramatic music)

00:54:45 Good morning, let's do sports now.

00:55:08 On the AM show with me, Mufti Awunabila Abdullah.

00:55:11 And in the last couple of days,

00:55:13 there has been some controversy

00:55:15 between the Ministry of Youth and Sports

00:55:17 and former Black Stars coach, CK Akono.

00:55:20 Minister of Youth and Sports,

00:55:21 Mustafa Yusuf, last week Wednesday,

00:55:23 mentioned that his outfit has settled.

00:55:27 The former Black Stars coach,

00:55:29 his aria is following the decision

00:55:31 of the Football Association to part company with him

00:55:34 in September 2021.

00:55:36 CK Akono, in an interview with the Graphic Sports,

00:55:40 said that he has not received any money

00:55:42 from the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

00:55:45 Well, the ministry has released a statement

00:55:48 detailing how much has been paid

00:55:50 to the former Kumasi Asantegol and House of Oak coach,

00:55:55 following the decision of the Ghana Football Association

00:55:59 to part company with him.

00:56:00 And they say that the attention of the Ministry of Youth

00:56:03 and Sports has been drawn to publications in the media

00:56:06 regarding an amount of money owed

00:56:08 from a Black Stars coach, Charles Koblana Akono,

00:56:11 following the termination of his contract.

00:56:14 In response to the claims made by Coach Akono

00:56:17 in the said publication,

00:56:18 the ministry would like to clarify the details

00:56:21 of the payment transactions in accordance

00:56:24 with agreement between him

00:56:26 and the Ghana Football Association.

00:56:27 The statement goes further to say that

00:56:31 upon the termination of Coach Akono's contract,

00:56:33 he was paid an amount of 318,378.41 Ghana cedis,

00:56:38 which is equivalent to $54,054 at a rate of 5.89.

00:56:44 And this payment was disbursed on 22nd October, 2021.

00:56:51 That is a month or just more than a little over a month

00:56:56 after the GFA parted company with him.

00:57:01 They went on to further to say that on February 22,

00:57:05 10th February, 2022,

00:57:07 he received an amount of 335,635,

00:57:12 which is equivalent to $54,054 at a rate of 6.21.

00:57:17 And then on 12th January, 2023,

00:57:20 an amount of 860,000, equivalent to $100,000,

00:57:25 was disbursed at a rate of 8.60.

00:57:28 And on 27th July, which was just last week,

00:57:32 the ministry again paid $30,000, which was paid in check.

00:57:36 And that CK Akono rejected this,

00:57:38 but the ministry decided to pay the money into his account.

00:57:42 So in total, CK Akono, as of 31st July,

00:57:47 has been paid $508,108.12.

00:57:52 They say the balance remaining for him

00:57:54 to be paid is $220,000.

00:57:58 These are the details of payment

00:57:59 that has been given to CK Akono

00:58:02 after he denied that the ministry has paid him

00:58:06 following the decision of the Ghana Football Association

00:58:08 to terminate his contract.

00:58:10 He has said that he has not received

00:58:11 any $100,000 from the ministry,

00:58:14 but the ministry has detailed payment

00:58:15 that has been made to him.

00:58:17 Let's still stay on stories

00:58:18 that has to do with the Black Stars.

00:58:19 And it's been over 40 years since Ghana last won

00:58:23 the African Cup of Nations.

00:58:24 And former Black Stars coach,

00:58:27 Black Stars captain rather, Stephen Appiah,

00:58:29 has offered an advice to the Ghana Football Association.

00:58:32 He tells them that it is important

00:58:34 they engage ex-players who have won the competition

00:58:38 and ask them how they did it.

00:58:40 He believes with this,

00:58:42 the Ghana Football Association will be getting closer

00:58:45 to laying its hands on the lost African title.

00:58:55 - I wasn't talking about former players

00:58:59 getting positions, being coaches,

00:59:01 or that you can get something from them

00:59:06 when you try to ask them about certain opinions.

00:59:14 For instance, Mohamed Polo, Abedipele,

00:59:24 Abdurazak, and the rest,

00:59:26 they have won the African Cup before.

00:59:28 So you can even, I'm not talking,

00:59:29 when I talk, I don't speak about Stephen Appiah,

00:59:32 trust me, I'm not talking,

00:59:34 I've never talked about myself, never.

00:59:36 Because I think that there are people who came before us.

00:59:40 There are people who won trophies.

00:59:43 As I mentioned, Abedipele and the rest,

00:59:45 we have been since 2008, semi-finals, finals,

00:59:49 semi-finals, finals.

00:59:51 I mean, against Cote d'Ivoire,

00:59:52 we had the chance where they lost their two--

00:59:55 - First two penalties.

00:59:56 - Yeah, first two penalties.

00:59:57 But we couldn't grab the cup.

00:59:59 So I mean, you can invite certain former players

01:00:04 and ask them what did they do to win the trophy

01:00:11 their time.

01:00:12 You see, they will give you ideas.

01:00:15 You can take it or not.

01:00:17 But I think that they didn't get what I was trying to--

01:00:20 - Communicate.

01:00:20 - Yeah, then they took it in a different--

01:00:23 - So the Ghana Premier League now,

01:00:26 last season, the competition lacked patronage.

01:00:31 The patronage of the Ghana Premier League

01:00:33 or Ghana's domestic competitions in general

01:00:36 suffered hugely from patronage.

01:00:38 Well, Joy Sports and Insura Sports

01:00:41 decided to conduct a survey to find out

01:00:44 why people do not patronize Ghana football anymore.

01:00:48 Well, one of the things that came up

01:00:50 was the lack of quality in the competition.

01:00:53 Let's hear from my colleague who is with Insura FM,

01:00:57 the head of sports, Bismarck Owusu-Bempa,

01:01:00 officially called Ayala,

01:01:01 who detailed the reasons why people do not patronize

01:01:05 the Ghana Premier League.

01:01:07 And this was done on Monday night

01:01:10 at Joy Sports' Tot Leadership event.

01:01:13 (silence)

01:01:16 - Interestingly, majority of our respondents

01:01:28 says the quality of our football is going down.

01:01:31 And you can see by the graph,

01:01:33 the quality of the Ghana Premier League,

01:01:36 the quality of the Division One League,

01:01:38 the quality of our Coast Football,

01:01:40 the quality of every level of our football,

01:01:43 people says are the number one reason

01:01:45 why they are not attending games.

01:01:48 Infrastructure comes too,

01:01:50 because they will say, look, we go to the stadium,

01:01:52 we leave our homes, we leave our offices, comfort zone,

01:01:55 and we want to be welcomed by our infrastructure.

01:01:58 That is welcoming in its edifice.

01:02:01 But we go to the stadiums

01:02:02 and we don't really have an environment

01:02:05 that is enabling for us to sit

01:02:07 and we want to come back and sit and watch.

01:02:09 So that is one for the NSE.

01:02:11 The second factor is the infrastructure

01:02:13 that welcomes football fans to the stadium.

01:02:15 They say that is a very, very particular reason

01:02:17 why they don't attend games anymore.

01:02:20 Of course, the economic situation,

01:02:21 how much you need to invest

01:02:23 in transporting yourself from home,

01:02:25 what you will eat, the price of the ticketing

01:02:27 and all that comes third.

01:02:30 Then the teams playing,

01:02:32 their strategies to attract the fans

01:02:35 is a very, very, the fourth reason

01:02:37 why people don't really go to the stadium.

01:02:39 Now, this come back to what Mr. Neil Armstrong was saying.

01:02:43 The clubs themselves, as the major beneficiaries

01:02:47 of the gate process and the attraction to football,

01:02:50 seems to be not doing so much

01:02:52 in terms of their media strategies,

01:02:54 in terms of their support engagement strategies

01:02:56 to get their own fans to come and watch their games.

01:02:59 And that is well documented in the reasons

01:03:02 why people say they are not going to the stadium.

01:03:04 Now, the services at the various stadium

01:03:06 have already enumerated that.

01:03:09 The safety and the spectator behavior is among the reasons.

01:03:13 The less time people do not have is also another reason.

01:03:17 And the media, myself, has been criticized here

01:03:20 that is among the reasons why they are not watching.

01:03:23 - Lack of quality in the Ghana Premier League

01:03:26 is one of the major reasons why people do not patronize

01:03:31 the Ghana Premier League.

01:03:32 And this survey, which was put together

01:03:35 by the multimedia group Sports,

01:03:39 and we are seeking to actually have a detailed understanding

01:03:44 of why people do not patronize the competition

01:03:46 and how we can get them back to the various venues

01:03:50 to be able to watch the Ghana Premier League.

01:03:51 The new season is upon us

01:03:53 and the Ghana Football Association,

01:03:54 they have released the fixtures for that competition.

01:03:58 And hopefully, this new season,

01:04:00 people who patronize the competition

01:04:02 based on the findings that were made

01:04:05 by the Insura Sports and Joy Sports team.

01:04:08 But these are the fixtures for match day one

01:04:10 in the Ghana Premier League.

01:04:11 Defending champions, Midyam and FC,

01:04:13 will open their campaign against Accra Lions.

01:04:15 Lagoon Cities will come up against Kuala United.

01:04:18 Real Tramalei United will play Accra House of Oak.

01:04:22 And so, Ataman FC, who recently appointed

01:04:25 former Black Stars assistant coach, Maxwell Konadu,

01:04:28 as the head of their technical team,

01:04:30 will come up against Bechemi United.

01:04:31 FC Samartex 1996 will play Ediana Stars.

01:04:36 Dreams FC will play Nations FC.

01:04:38 They are making their debut in the Ghana Premier League

01:04:40 after qualifying.

01:04:41 Asante Kotoko, former champions of the competition,

01:04:44 will come up against Heart of Lions.

01:04:46 The last team Heart of Lions played before

01:04:48 they were relegated from the Ghana Premier League

01:04:50 was Akumasi Asante Kotoko.

01:04:51 And interestingly, on their return,

01:04:53 they're coming up against the Porcupine Warriors once again.

01:04:56 Great Olympics will play Tanobu Fuakwa,

01:04:58 who are making a return to the top flight

01:04:59 for the first time in 16 years,

01:05:02 whilst Brecoum Chelsea will come up

01:05:04 against Bibiani Gold Stars.

01:05:05 So these are the fixtures for March the 1st

01:05:08 of the Ghana Premier League.

01:05:09 The competition is tentatively scheduled

01:05:12 to start on the weekend of September 9th.

01:05:14 Now, to the facilities that will be used by these clubs

01:05:23 for the new football season,

01:05:25 the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Fagin-Sif,

01:05:27 has charged the National Sports Authority

01:05:30 to ensure the venues are friendly enough

01:05:32 for those who patronize Ghana football.

01:05:36 - The National Sports Authority,

01:05:40 entrusted with the care of our stadiums,

01:05:42 I urge you to transform these venues

01:05:45 into more than the mere arenas for watching games.

01:05:49 Let us create family-friendly spaces

01:05:51 where parents can bring their families and children

01:05:55 to engage in sports that we all love,

01:05:57 and also leisure activities.

01:05:59 Safety must be paramount,

01:06:01 and the stadium experience should be perceived

01:06:04 as an exciting place for everyone.

01:06:07 Premier League clubs, in your pursuit of attracting fans,

01:06:11 consider innovative marketing strategy

01:06:13 that resonates with the young generation.

01:06:16 Engaging the community and giving back

01:06:19 through corporate social responsibility initiative

01:06:22 can foster deeper connection with fans.

01:06:26 (audience applauding)

01:06:29 To Ghana Football Association,

01:06:31 the organizers of the league strive for fair

01:06:34 and attractive competition that fans can be proud of.

01:06:37 We must be conscious of global competition

01:06:41 from the top league, like the English Premier League,

01:06:45 and avoid future clashes.

01:06:48 Taking into consideration our account of our climate

01:06:51 and work schedule,

01:06:53 we aim to match time that are convenient

01:06:56 and enjoyable to our football fans.

01:07:00 - Still on the minister of youth and sports,

01:07:05 he has said that his outfit is committed

01:07:08 to supporting athletes that will be going

01:07:10 to the World Athletics Championships

01:07:12 to be staged in Budapest later this month.

01:07:15 Ghanaian athletes, seven athletes have already qualified

01:07:19 to participate in the competition,

01:07:20 and they are expected to camp in France

01:07:23 effective the 6th of August.

01:07:26 And the minister says that government is committed

01:07:28 to ensuring that the athletes will have the best

01:07:31 of preparation so they can fly high the flag

01:07:33 of the country during the competition in Budapest.

01:07:36 - I've had conversation with the Ghana Athletic Federation

01:07:40 led by Bawa Fuseni,

01:07:42 and they have put in the team together,

01:07:44 and I'm very confident that the team will go to Budapest

01:07:48 and do us a honor again,

01:07:51 just like they did in Oregon in the USA,

01:07:53 where they did so well,

01:07:55 especially the quartet team was,

01:07:58 they performed splendid performance.

01:08:01 And I have confidence that even going to Budapest,

01:08:04 they will even do better.

01:08:06 As a country, we are giving them all the necessary support

01:08:09 to ensure that their participation becomes very successful.

01:08:14 - And one of the things that I remember speaking to Bawa

01:08:17 was the fact that they needed to be able

01:08:18 to camp the athletes.

01:08:19 Have you had such a conversation?

01:08:20 And is the military putting together resources

01:08:23 to ensure that they can?

01:08:24 - That's why I said the resources and logistics

01:08:27 that are needed for the national team,

01:08:29 the government is committed in making sure

01:08:31 that we give them the necessary support

01:08:32 so that when they get to Budapest,

01:08:34 they will lift the flag of our country high.

01:08:36 - That's our wrap up.

01:08:38 I am Sports here with me, Mufti Awu Nabila Abda.

01:08:40 We appreciate your company.

01:08:41 (dramatic music)

01:08:46 (dramatic music)

01:08:49 - In the 2023 budget,

01:09:12 government outlined a series of measures

01:09:14 to mitigate the impact of the severe economic challenges

01:09:19 and also to preserve growth.

01:09:22 These include the implementation of flagship programs

01:09:25 such as the One District, One Factory,

01:09:27 Planting for Food and Jobs, Phase Two,

01:09:30 Strategic Anchor Industries,

01:09:32 Infrastructure for Veterinary Education and Program,

01:09:36 IPEP, Ghana Cares, U-START, Agenda 111, among others.

01:09:42 Mr. Speaker, within the context of IMF-backed PCPEG,

01:09:46 these interventions assume greater significance

01:09:49 in promoting growth and medium-term fiscal consolidation.

01:09:53 In addition, as stated earlier,

01:09:56 we are pursuing a social protection agenda

01:10:00 to mitigate the impact of adjustment on the vulnerable.

01:10:04 Mr. Speaker, in line with government's unwavering commitment

01:10:09 to industrialization, the implementation

01:10:11 of the flagship One District, One Factory initiative

01:10:14 is on course.

01:10:16 As of June 2023, 126 factories were operational nationwide.

01:10:21 Over 160,000 direct and indirect jobs have been created,

01:10:25 especially for the youth who have been mobilized

01:10:28 to establish agro-processing factories in 58 districts.

01:10:32 Mr. Speaker, government initiated Agenda 111

01:10:36 to address infrastructure deficits

01:10:38 in the health sector and improve healthcare outcomes

01:10:42 in the country post-COVID-19.

01:10:45 As of May 2023, total payments under the program

01:10:49 stood at 189 million US dollars,

01:10:52 with 83 active projects on site

01:10:55 in all 16 regions of the country.

01:10:57 Mr. Speaker, planting for foods and jobs

01:11:00 has brought substantial improvements

01:11:02 in Ghana's agriculture sector.

01:11:04 This has resulted in increased food security,

01:11:07 employment along agricultural value chains,

01:11:10 and accessibility of raw materials

01:11:12 for developing industries.

01:11:13 The program has directly contributed

01:11:17 to increased crop yields for major foodstables

01:11:20 such as maize, rice, and soya by 135%, 67%,

01:11:25 and 18% respectively within the period.

01:11:29 After comprehensive review,

01:11:31 government is finalizing PFJ Phase 2

01:11:34 to ensure a more efficient and targeted support

01:11:38 for the agriculture sector.

01:11:40 The key elements of Phase 2 are input-spread systems,

01:11:44 storage and distribution infrastructure,

01:11:48 commodity trading, and digitized platforms.

01:11:52 Mr. Speaker, I can also report that efforts

01:11:55 towards promoting commercial agriculture,

01:11:58 building technological capability,

01:12:01 and advancing digitalization

01:12:04 under the Ghana CARES program are on track.

01:12:07 Last year, I indicated that government is spearheading

01:12:10 the economic NCARES project to establish growth goals

01:12:14 in key locations, including Kasonya, Greater Accra,

01:12:18 Kumau, Ashanti, and Banda in Oti regions.

01:12:22 The approach under the EEP is to provide

01:12:25 agricultural infrastructure and land development support

01:12:28 to entrepreneurial youth and the private sector.

01:12:32 Mr. Speaker, to enhance production and value addition

01:12:35 in the enclaves, the provision of ancillary services

01:12:39 such as housing, training, facilities, irrigation,

01:12:42 canals, farm roads, and electricity have also commenced.

01:12:47 Mr. Speaker, it is gratifying to note

01:12:49 related to the provision of these services,

01:12:52 about 10 medium and large-scale entrepreneurs

01:12:54 who have experience in the commercial agriculture space

01:12:57 have applied to play diverse roles,

01:12:59 ranging from ancho farmers to machine and equipment services

01:13:04 in the EEP site in Kasonya.

01:13:07 Mr. Speaker, in partnership with the National Service Team,

01:13:11 about 20,000 acres of land in Sechwe-Kumau,

01:13:14 in the Ashanti region, is being developed

01:13:17 to accelerate maize, tomato,

01:13:18 groundnuts, and animal production.

01:13:20 Mr. Speaker, government expects that by end 2023,

01:13:25 the DEP will have fully seeded some 7,500 acres of rice

01:13:30 on boarded qualified private sector entrepreneurs

01:13:34 as ancho farmers embarked on value chain activities

01:13:38 such as rice milling and packaging in Kasonya,

01:13:42 and develop and seeded 1,500 acres of lands

01:13:46 in Kumau and Banda, respectively,

01:13:49 and also engage private sector partners in these enclaves

01:13:53 and the school feeding program.

01:13:55 The 2023 budget, for example,

01:13:57 doubled the benefits under the LEAP program

01:14:00 as well as boosted the allocations

01:14:02 to the school feeding program.

01:14:05 Three, strong and ambitious structural reforms

01:14:09 in tax policy, revenue administration,

01:14:12 public financial management, financial sector,

01:14:15 as well as strong measures to enhance revenue mobilization

01:14:19 and address weaknesses in the energy

01:14:23 and cocoa sectors.

01:14:24 Both are critical to bring public finances

01:14:28 back on sustainable path

01:14:30 while creating fiscal space for critical development spending.

01:14:36 Four, to bring inflation under control

01:14:39 through prudent monetary policy,

01:14:41 including appropriate monetary policy tightening

01:14:44 and the elimination of monetary financing of the budget.

01:14:48 Containing inflation pressures

01:14:50 requires coordination between fiscal and monetary policies.

01:14:55 Five, to rebuild international reserve

01:14:57 by first three months of import by the end of the program.

01:15:00 The Bank of Ghana is pursuing enhanced

01:15:02 world-wide standard rate policies

01:15:04 to help rebuild international reserves.

01:15:07 Six, to restore sustainability

01:15:09 and preserve financial stability

01:15:12 following the domestic debt exchange program,

01:15:14 support private investments and growth.

01:15:17 And seven, to pursue reforms

01:15:20 to encourage private investments,

01:15:21 strengthen groups and create more jobs.

01:15:25 Mr. Speaker, it is instructive to note

01:15:28 that our path towards securing an approved

01:15:31 IMF supported program

01:15:33 has been characterized by speed and resoluteness.

01:15:37 More specifically, the following key

01:15:39 and significant milestones were accomplished.

01:15:43 We achieved staff level agreement in December 2022,

01:15:48 six months after we formally requested

01:15:51 for the IMF support to back our PCPEC.

01:15:55 We were supported by China's agreement

01:15:57 to co-chair Ghana's Paris Club Official Credit Committee.

01:16:01 We secured financing assurances

01:16:03 for the Official Credit Committee,

01:16:06 a co-chair by China and France on 12 May 2023,

01:16:10 five months after our formal request in December 2022.

01:16:15 We secured an IMF board approval on 17 May 2023,

01:16:19 five months after the SLA

01:16:22 and 10 months after a formal request for a fund program.

01:16:25 - That was Finance Minister Ken Ufuriata

01:16:31 in Parliament yesterday.

01:16:32 We all saw, we witnessed, and now the fallout,

01:16:37 the aftermath of that.

01:16:39 What are the salient, the crucial matters for discussion?

01:16:44 The Finance Minister says we're rounding that curve

01:16:48 and that the economy is turning around.

01:16:51 But with the figures that minority leader

01:16:54 Dr. Kassi-Elatofosun had to play with,

01:16:56 he says, especially when GDP forecasts

01:17:01 are not going our way,

01:17:02 in fact, we are receding in that regard,

01:17:05 then it does not point to the same picture

01:17:08 that is painted by Ken Ufuriata, the Finance Minister.

01:17:11 Joining us for that conversation

01:17:12 as we delve into the economy,

01:17:14 we have Professor Isaac Bwedi.

01:17:17 He is Dean, Faculty of Accounting

01:17:19 with the University of Professional Studies.

01:17:21 We'll also be joined by Professor Godfrey Bokpin

01:17:24 of the University of Ghana Business School,

01:17:25 together with Dr. Theo Echampong,

01:17:28 an economist and political risk analyst.

01:17:30 But let's start with Professor Isaac Bwedi,

01:17:33 Dean, Faculty of Accounting

01:17:35 at the University for Professional Studies at Kriprof.

01:17:38 A very good morning to you, sir.

01:17:40 - Good morning, and how are you doing?

01:17:43 - Ah, well, I'm okay.

01:17:44 I hope you're well too.

01:17:46 - Very well, and good morning to your viewers.

01:17:49 - Great.

01:17:50 Let's start with your assessment of,

01:17:54 briefly, of course, a roundup

01:17:56 of everything that happened yesterday.

01:17:58 The Finance Minister, what he said about taxes

01:18:01 and not imposing any further ones,

01:18:03 what he said about infrastructure,

01:18:05 what he said about the stabilization of the city,

01:18:08 what he said about the domestic debt exchange program,

01:18:11 and what he says about our economic fortunes going forward.

01:18:15 Pivotally, or crucially, he says,

01:18:18 "We are turning the curve.

01:18:20 We're rounding that bend."

01:18:22 You support that narrative?

01:18:24 - Yes, Ben, thank you very much for the opportunity.

01:18:31 Yesterday, the mid-year budget was reviewed,

01:18:36 and to help your listeners to sit with the discussions well,

01:18:41 it's better to give just an introduction,

01:18:43 a overview of what the mid-year budget seeks to achieve.

01:18:48 In fact, in every year, the governor counts

01:18:51 for how it has managed the economy

01:18:53 for the first half of the year,

01:18:56 and then he tells the citizens what they should expect

01:18:59 for the rest of the year.

01:19:01 This time around, what has made it so topical or important

01:19:06 is the country going back for an IMF program

01:19:12 just three years after ending the extended credit facility.

01:19:17 Now, we wanted to know whether Ghanaians

01:19:22 are going to be sacrificed in favor of IMF,

01:19:26 although government enhanced domestic program

01:19:28 with the fund has not yet started at the point in time.

01:19:33 In fact, yesterday, the governor gave a media review,

01:19:37 and it was about the summary of the entire budget

01:19:42 was the forecast, a slower growth in 2023,

01:19:47 and then a higher inflation.

01:19:50 These were two issues that were discussed.

01:19:53 But Ben, let me also say that in the budget,

01:19:56 that was, I mean, the media review,

01:19:59 we didn't have any request for supplementary.

01:20:02 It was just a revision of figures.

01:20:07 Now, it was on three of seven pillars.

01:20:12 It provided us an output, an update

01:20:18 on economic performance for the first year,

01:20:21 provided us an update on the implementation

01:20:23 of IMF supported PCPEG,

01:20:27 including update on structural reforms

01:20:29 and progress towards achieving the quantitative performance.

01:20:34 And then it gave us an indication

01:20:36 about debt restructuring program,

01:20:38 provide an overview, a revised physical framework.

01:20:41 Now, we can discuss this issue

01:20:44 without looking at a global economic outlook.

01:20:47 And that was what the minister sought to do.

01:20:51 It was to give us a global economic outlook

01:20:54 that remains uncertain,

01:20:56 despite declining food and energy prices.

01:20:59 If at the latest PMI,

01:21:02 that is a purchasing managers indices,

01:21:06 point a rebound in economic activity

01:21:09 driven mainly by the service sector.

01:21:10 That's the global picture.

01:21:12 So in the Kenya context,

01:21:15 the 2020 budget, 23 budget statements,

01:21:20 it was all about restoring and sustaining micro stability.

01:21:23 That was what it was about.

01:21:25 Now, let's come back to whether,

01:21:27 in terms of my assessment of the entire budget.

01:21:30 What just to tell Ghanaians about IMF conditionalities

01:21:38 and how we as a country, we are going to be gripped in line.

01:21:44 So there were some projections that were given

01:21:49 in a budget.

01:21:51 For the first six months of the year,

01:21:54 continue to make progress to exceed

01:21:56 our non-oil revenue targets.

01:21:58 Some projections that came out.

01:22:00 Then we've seen some improvement in non-oil tax revenue.

01:22:04 And then we had also submitted budget not needed

01:22:10 at this point in time.

01:22:12 Let me also say that, in fact,

01:22:17 if you look at the micro economic stabilities,

01:22:20 let's start with the GDP.

01:22:23 And then we move on to other indicators as well.

01:22:28 We have been told of a growth in a rare GDP,

01:22:33 as crude, including oil.

01:22:36 What was the target?

01:22:37 It was 3.1.

01:22:40 That mean that 2, 3.7, that was the target for 2023.

01:22:46 The mid year, the same year, I mean, around 2022,

01:22:51 the mid year, we were cruising to about 4.7%.

01:22:56 Now, in terms of exchange rates,

01:22:59 in March, Ghana's CD depreciated by 1.9%.

01:23:06 Then in April, it was appreciated by 0.7%.

01:23:12 We've seen a marginal recovery.

01:23:14 And that also tells us that by the successful conclusion

01:23:18 of the DDP, I mean, the domestic debt exchange program.

01:23:22 So in terms of what we have seen, so far since yesterday,

01:23:27 we can say there's a slower growth,

01:23:32 and there is a high inflation.

01:23:36 And we also know that when these indices

01:23:38 or these indicators are a bit high,

01:23:42 we have other implications.

01:23:44 And trust me, goods in that country

01:23:48 becoming more internationally competitive,

01:23:51 sometimes when it reduces.

01:23:53 But then we didn't have this figure.

01:23:55 Commercial banking lending also very high.

01:24:00 We have a figure of, I think, mid year, 31%.

01:24:05 So Ben, these are my initial submission

01:24:10 when the budget was read yesterday.

01:24:15 - And if you look at, since you started on the global front,

01:24:21 today, the graphic business, interestingly,

01:24:23 captures a number of events from different countries,

01:24:26 advanced economies, the United States, the Eurozone area,

01:24:29 Germany, France, Italy, Spain, among others.

01:24:32 And then it looks at other countries, for example,

01:24:35 India, China, the emerging and developing countries

01:24:38 in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

01:24:41 Then it comes to sub-Saharan Africa.

01:24:43 So the tale of the tape, and something I was interested

01:24:47 in finding out about the COVID-19 levy,

01:24:50 but I'll put ice on that for now.

01:24:52 Because the World Health Organization announced in May

01:24:55 that it no longer considered COVID-19

01:24:57 to be a quote, global health emergency.

01:25:00 Supply chains had largely recovered,

01:25:02 shipping costs and suppliers delivery times

01:25:04 were back to pandemic levels.

01:25:06 So that is that, I'll come back to that point later.

01:25:10 But this, the tale of the tape suggests

01:25:13 that immediate concerns about the health

01:25:15 of the banking sector have subsided globally,

01:25:19 but high interest rates are filtering

01:25:20 through the financial system.

01:25:22 And we'll see those crippling,

01:25:24 especially developing countries like ours,

01:25:26 where the cost of credit now is so steep.

01:25:30 This tends to be the general picture,

01:25:32 or the global picture from what we know.

01:25:35 But in Ghana, fighting inflation and everything else,

01:25:39 it is pretty problematic.

01:25:41 From that standpoint, the global picture,

01:25:44 vis-a-vis our own picture, and even our fallback

01:25:47 when it comes to our gross domestic product expectations,

01:25:51 or growth expectations for 2023, the rest of the year.

01:25:55 What do you make of that?

01:25:56 Are we still in line to do something positive

01:26:01 within 2023, economically speaking?

01:26:03 - Yes, I think if you, figures will not lie.

01:26:08 And just as the minister indicated,

01:26:15 and what we are seeing at global fronts,

01:26:17 whatever happened in the global space

01:26:20 obviously will affect our country as well.

01:26:23 And we've seen the IMS also revising their budgets.

01:26:27 I mean, their growth targets.

01:26:30 And that should also tell us that we should also do the same.

01:26:32 And that's what the government, I mean,

01:26:34 yesterday also sought to cover.

01:26:38 In fact, if you look at the revision

01:26:39 and its areas, it covers.

01:26:42 Anytime you try to revise your budget,

01:26:49 then obviously it means that revenues are not coming.

01:26:56 Therefore, you need to also do the same.

01:27:00 It mentioned about four or five areas,

01:27:04 revision and areas that they cover.

01:27:08 Overall, real GDP growth has been reduced

01:27:12 to a rate of 1.5% from the initial target of 2.8%.

01:27:18 And if you look at the non-oil revenue,

01:27:23 I mean, real GDP growth, 1.5 to 3%, initial 3%.

01:27:30 And then we also have primary balance

01:27:32 that has also been reduced.

01:27:34 Another area that government focused

01:27:38 was a revision to the 2023 microeconomic framework.

01:27:43 And then revision of the GDP projections,

01:27:46 revision of the 2020 fiscal framework,

01:27:50 and then revision to the petroleum revenue.

01:27:54 We are seeing line.

01:27:57 I'm sure when the government is able

01:28:01 to control excessive spending,

01:28:05 then we should be on good course.

01:28:07 - How are we going to be able to do that?

01:28:11 Per the plan, per our expenses vis-a-vis

01:28:14 the revenue we're raking in.

01:28:15 Revenue is still, we still have a shortfall in there

01:28:19 vis-a-vis our expenditure,

01:28:20 even the figures that emanated

01:28:22 from the early part of the year before now.

01:28:27 How are we going to be able to do that?

01:28:28 Because in terms of taxes,

01:28:31 we're not adding on any component.

01:28:32 Like I spoke to someone this morning,

01:28:34 the person said, "There's nothing left to tax.

01:28:36 "We've taxed everything.

01:28:37 "We're even taxing taxes themselves."

01:28:39 So that is the first point.

01:28:41 And then you look at the revenue opportunities,

01:28:44 openings that are available.

01:28:46 I don't know, but are we on the right course

01:28:50 in that regard?

01:28:54 - In 2023 budget,

01:28:59 there were key tax policy proposals given.

01:29:05 Remember, the government increased

01:29:09 the standard V, the VAT rate,

01:29:12 by 2.5% from 12.5 to 15%.

01:29:22 And the idea is also to rake in revenue,

01:29:26 reduction of the electronic transfer levy to 1%.

01:29:33 And then there was a review of tax incentives

01:29:37 and exemptions that was also increased.

01:29:39 So concessional corporate tax was increased to 5%.

01:29:44 There was a review of personal income tax.

01:29:47 So if you look at the extreme ends of all the tax components,

01:29:51 the direct tax and indirect tax,

01:29:53 the ones that we can transfer,

01:29:55 the ones that we can transfer,

01:29:57 the service tax, the sales tax,

01:30:00 were to a larger extent increased.

01:30:03 But what I didn't find out in the recent review,

01:30:08 I didn't see, was the performance

01:30:13 of the government initiatives,

01:30:15 the achievements against the targets.

01:30:20 - When you speak of government initiatives,

01:30:22 which ones are you referencing?

01:30:23 - I'm talking about the One District, One Factory.

01:30:28 - Okay.

01:30:29 - The Ghana Priority Insurance Infrastructure Project,

01:30:34 Agenda 111, and then Agriculture,

01:30:38 and then the Food Security.

01:30:40 In fact, I would have loved to see performance against,

01:30:45 I mean, target against actual.

01:30:50 What we saw in the budget,

01:30:52 we didn't see the targets that were given

01:30:57 in the previous budget,

01:30:59 and the figures that were churning,

01:31:00 I mean, compared to what we've seen.

01:31:03 So if you come back to the question that was asked,

01:31:06 how do we control the expenditure of the government?

01:31:09 That is the will of the government to do that.

01:31:12 And if the government is able to demonstrate that will,

01:31:16 we know we should be in the right path of recovery.

01:31:20 - But tell me, especially when it comes

01:31:23 to the IMF program we're on,

01:31:26 which we've latched onto,

01:31:28 and our economic situation, and getting out of it,

01:31:31 some have said that apart from raking in more revenue,

01:31:34 and of course, you have a constrained space

01:31:37 because our tax net isn't that broad,

01:31:40 and the burden is on a small segment of the society,

01:31:43 unless you are looking at indirect taxes,

01:31:46 which hit everybody, regardless of who you are.

01:31:49 But there's also been talk about cutting down on expenditure,

01:31:52 cutting our coat according to our cloth,

01:31:54 and that, Prof, is where we seem to be missing the point.

01:31:58 That appears to be the missing link.

01:32:00 Now, you made reference to the flagship programs,

01:32:04 One Village, One Dam, One District, One Factory,

01:32:08 and the host of them, Planting for Food and Jobs,

01:32:12 you can talk about them, Free SHS.

01:32:15 The question is, if we're going to go ahead

01:32:17 with all of them, the IMF in itself pointed to the fact

01:32:21 that even with Free SHS, we were applying it

01:32:26 in a way that wouldn't help us, essentially.

01:32:30 What then do we do with these flagship programs?

01:32:33 Look, recently, we had another one

01:32:35 of our hotline documentaries, Thirsty Dams.

01:32:38 Some of them are simply not working,

01:32:40 like One Village, One Dam.

01:32:42 Do we keep them?

01:32:44 Do we keep pumping funds into them?

01:32:46 What do we do to trim down on expenditure?

01:32:49 - Yeah, Ben.

01:32:54 In fact, that was what initially I indicated,

01:32:57 the key government initiative program.

01:33:00 In fact, we must say, yes, we have gone through a lot

01:33:04 of economic instability for a long time,

01:33:09 and that is why the government also, at the point in time,

01:33:13 has also initiated a lot of programs.

01:33:17 If you look at the decades, over the years,

01:33:21 it's been inflation, for instance,

01:33:23 I've been in 50-something percent all the way,

01:33:27 and it's not coming down, yes.

01:33:29 Although it's not to the point that we want it to be.

01:33:33 And any time there's a reduction, a bit in inflation,

01:33:36 then we know that things are moving on.

01:33:38 But where we have a problem, as we indicated,

01:33:41 is the will of the government to control the expenses

01:33:45 of the items that the government, I mean, want to pursue.

01:33:50 One Village, One Dam, yes, good initiative, very well.

01:33:55 And the one I talked about, Agenda 111,

01:33:58 I said, yes, they are all good programs,

01:34:03 but then if you tell me you have constructed 70

01:34:10 in your budgets, I would love to see the target

01:34:13 for the mid-year.

01:34:14 What was the target, or what were the targets

01:34:17 for the mid-year?

01:34:19 The rest of the projects, what were the targets?

01:34:21 And I'm sure maybe we'll get the next opportunity

01:34:25 by the government, maybe you'll be able to tell us

01:34:28 the budget against, the budgeted figures against

01:34:32 the actual agriculture and food security.

01:34:35 We have been told that the government has directed

01:34:39 and contributed to increased crop yield

01:34:42 for major food staples, such as maize.

01:34:45 And that is by 135%.

01:34:51 What was the target?

01:34:54 How would the government be able to control expenses

01:34:58 on this area, in these areas?

01:35:01 That's been my major concern.

01:35:03 If we come back again, I'm sure I'll be able

01:35:06 to throw more light on that.

01:35:09 If the finance minister then, when he says,

01:35:13 we have turned the corner, how optimistic he sounds,

01:35:18 and he also intimates that the economy

01:35:20 is in a better position now than it was seven months ago.

01:35:25 So let's say at the start of the year versus now,

01:35:28 are you in agreement with him, and why exactly?

01:35:35 - Yes, we, as a country, and Ben, you rightly agree with me,

01:35:40 in a global space, we've had a lot of issues

01:35:45 right after COVID.

01:35:47 Financial sector turbulence in the US, United States,

01:35:53 the lingering geopolitical tension,

01:35:57 continue to keep uncertainty at a heightened levels.

01:36:02 Difficult policy trade routine,

01:36:05 and the sovereign debt as well in the red.

01:36:08 Let's look at what happened a few months ago.

01:36:14 The country was going through a very difficult period

01:36:19 amidst unpredicted, unprecedented global turbulence.

01:36:23 This was within the context of major external shocks,

01:36:29 and other credit rating downgrades.

01:36:34 Remember, the fetch, the other institutions

01:36:39 were downgraded at a point in time,

01:36:40 tightened domestic financing conditions.

01:36:43 And then we also had an increased cost of borrowing.

01:36:47 I'm just giving you a background to the statement

01:36:51 that we are turning the corner, yes.

01:36:53 Our country, like many other, also experienced

01:36:56 some usual sharp increase in food,

01:37:00 fertilizers, fuel prices, and then rising inflation.

01:37:05 Exchange rate depreciation at a point in time,

01:37:07 we recorded, leading to severe economic challenges,

01:37:11 and hardship for the people.

01:37:13 But the numbers that were given us yesterday,

01:37:16 yes, we can see some lights,

01:37:22 we can see some improvement in the figures.

01:37:27 And I'm sure, despite our challenges in the country,

01:37:31 we have saved many other extreme conditions.

01:37:34 And that includes also the peace,

01:37:37 the health, security as well,

01:37:40 and then supply of power.

01:37:44 So some of these issues are the ones that I can pinpoint,

01:37:48 and also conclude that, yes, we are turning the corner.

01:37:52 - So he says we're turning the corner,

01:37:54 but if you look at our growth projections,

01:37:57 from 3.4% revised to 2.8,

01:38:00 the minority hinges on that,

01:38:02 and said that is a clear sign

01:38:04 that things are not as rosy as you're painting them to be.

01:38:08 You look at inflation, where it still is,

01:38:10 hovering around 42%.

01:38:12 That is monumental.

01:38:14 You'd have to go back over 20 years

01:38:16 to get anything close to those figures.

01:38:18 And back then, we went hippoc,

01:38:20 here we are again at the doorstep of the IMF.

01:38:23 Does that match the rhetoric of the finance minister?

01:38:26 - Well, from where I sit, I play with figures.

01:38:33 - Well, these two are figures.

01:38:36 (laughing)

01:38:38 - Yes, if you go back to history, yes.

01:38:41 Anytime you also play with figures,

01:38:46 important to know their context.

01:38:48 And what were the issues years ago?

01:38:53 Did we have COVID?

01:38:55 And I'm sure for this particular budget,

01:39:00 was there--

01:39:02 - Prof, just a point.

01:39:04 Sometimes when we talk about did we have COVID

01:39:07 and all of that,

01:39:08 every administration from Rawlings has had its own issues.

01:39:12 I could give you a plethora of major issues

01:39:14 that the Rawlings administration faced at the time,

01:39:17 that they had to grapple with.

01:39:18 And one thing they did very well with, for example,

01:39:21 rural electrification, access to potable water

01:39:25 to many communities.

01:39:26 The Kufu administration had same.

01:39:28 The Atamil's administration, same, myriad issues.

01:39:31 We can talk about Dumsur,

01:39:33 then someone would say, oh, it doesn't have to be global.

01:39:35 They also faced major situations.

01:39:37 So sometimes, like when I spoke to Bridget Jogwenuku,

01:39:40 former flag bearer of the PPP this morning,

01:39:43 if we're going to whip,

01:39:45 flog the horse of COVID-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian war,

01:39:49 how about the other countries

01:39:51 that are doing way better than we are,

01:39:53 right here on the continent?

01:39:55 Isn't that horse overflogged?

01:39:56 - Yeah, Ben.

01:40:00 I think we also need to understand

01:40:04 in every economy,

01:40:06 in every administration,

01:40:09 obviously there will be challenges at a point in time.

01:40:15 It will happen at any time in administration.

01:40:20 So I am not supporting the fact that

01:40:25 the performance for this administration not being the best

01:40:30 because of the COVID and the Ukraine war,

01:40:34 the geopolitics in that particular region

01:40:37 that has triggered all these issues.

01:40:41 In fact, I can also say that, yes,

01:40:43 the government has not shown commitment

01:40:45 in the management of our revenue.

01:40:49 Yes, this could be a part.

01:40:50 So at this point, let's face the reality,

01:40:55 what we have at the moment.

01:40:57 - Okay.

01:40:58 - We are now at the IMF door.

01:41:00 We were there years ago, three years.

01:41:04 We have gone back again.

01:41:05 What led us into that?

01:41:09 And now we are here again,

01:41:10 implementing the conditionalities of the IMF policy.

01:41:15 In fact, that's all that we are doing at the moment.

01:41:18 Dancing to their music.

01:41:20 They are not telling us what we should do.

01:41:22 And that is why the tax, the increment in taxes,

01:41:27 and which also have other negative effects

01:41:30 in terms of revenue.

01:41:31 We keep also increasing the tax, what happens?

01:41:34 So I am sure it is better to look at figures.

01:41:38 It is better also to look at reasons,

01:41:41 but we cannot discuss all these circumstances

01:41:44 without looking at the global picture as well.

01:41:46 - All right.

01:41:47 Just hold for me.

01:41:48 I have a number of,

01:41:49 some people are targeting messages at you, Prof,

01:41:52 but I'll hold for now.

01:41:54 But this one says, Nicholas Asamwa says,

01:41:56 "Government is doing its best in terms of rhetoric,

01:42:00 "in terms of talk."

01:42:01 That's what he is saying.

01:42:03 But let me introduce into the conversation

01:42:05 Professor Godfrey Bachman.

01:42:06 He's with the University of Ghana Business School.

01:42:09 Prof, a very good morning to you.

01:42:11 - Morning, and good morning to our current listeners.

01:42:16 - Mm.

01:42:17 You have-

01:42:18 - And then the other speaker, I just came in, so I-

01:42:21 - Professor Isaac Bwedi of the UPSC.

01:42:24 - Oh, okay.

01:42:25 Prof, good morning.

01:42:26 - All right, so let me get down to this bit.

01:42:33 For you, since I've not got your appreciation yet,

01:42:35 we've already started running with the conversation,

01:42:37 but Ken Oforiata talks about revised growth figures

01:42:41 from 3.4% to 2.8%.

01:42:45 Then there is talk about the fact that our debt situation,

01:42:49 our debt portfolio to GDP currently stands at 71.3%.

01:42:54 And he says, "We're turning the corner."

01:42:58 For you, what were your major takeaways?

01:43:02 And do you agree by and large with Ken Oforiata

01:43:05 when he says we are slowly getting out of the woods,

01:43:08 so to speak?

01:43:10 - Yes, thank you very much.

01:43:12 Yes, with the approval of the IMF supported program,

01:43:16 we've seen some stability, relative stability.

01:43:19 - Prof, I'd be grateful if you could speak up

01:43:21 a bit more for me.

01:43:22 - Okay, okay, yeah, so thank you very much.

01:43:25 Yes, of course, with the approval

01:43:28 of the IMF supported program,

01:43:30 particularly with the influence of the $600 million,

01:43:33 and then also some of the fiscal consolidation measures

01:43:37 that we are implementing,

01:43:39 we've seen some relative stability,

01:43:43 but it's too early to say that we are out of the woods.

01:43:48 It's too early, because the economy

01:43:51 actually is not in full gear, okay?

01:43:54 You only say you are turning the corner

01:43:58 when the economy is in full gear

01:44:01 and all the variables are turning in the right direction.

01:44:04 For now, the economy is not in full gear,

01:44:07 because we are not meeting all our commitments

01:44:11 to all our stakeholders optimally.

01:44:15 And I'm saying this because we are suspending

01:44:20 coupon payments on our external debt.

01:44:23 That presents some foreign currency for us.

01:44:28 So if that enables stability,

01:44:30 you cannot say you are turning the corner,

01:44:33 because your economy is not in full gear.

01:44:36 We are not making all payments to all areas,

01:44:41 contractors, independent power producers,

01:44:44 school shielding, across the board.

01:44:47 So you cannot say the numbers are turning now good

01:44:51 because the economy is responding fully.

01:44:54 No, your economy is not in full gear.

01:44:58 So if you have suspended certain key things,

01:45:02 for which reason you are seeing some stability,

01:45:06 you could not conclude that you have turned the corner.

01:45:11 Of course, we can see some relative stability

01:45:15 and all of that, but the whole architect of the economy

01:45:19 is not in operation.

01:45:21 So you want to be very careful

01:45:25 how you interpret that figure now.

01:45:28 And that is where the difference is.

01:45:31 - So do you think the finance minister

01:45:32 is being overly optimistic?

01:45:34 Is he, so to speak, financially misleading us?

01:45:38 - Let me tell you something,

01:45:40 and it is characteristic of the current finance minister

01:45:44 in the last three years and government overall.

01:45:47 This is not characteristic of the SPP we used to know.

01:45:51 Let me give you an example.

01:45:53 Eight months ago, when the minister of finance

01:45:56 appeared in parliament,

01:45:58 he was, in finance, we'll say bullish,

01:46:01 aggressively confident.

01:46:03 And that reflected in the projections

01:46:06 in the 2023 budget.

01:46:08 Do you see where I'm coming from?

01:46:10 - Right.

01:46:10 - So look at the target they set for us

01:46:13 and the narrative they gave.

01:46:14 They were going to turn things around quite quickly.

01:46:18 They said they were going to bring inflation

01:46:19 down to 18.9%.

01:46:22 GDP will grow by 2.8%.

01:46:25 I mean, all those things,

01:46:27 eight months down the line,

01:46:29 the same minister showed up in parliament.

01:46:31 The same narrative,

01:46:33 but this time around,

01:46:34 revised all the macro targets.

01:46:36 Now, NDA inflation more than 30%.

01:46:40 That is why I'm saying that we are overly confident,

01:46:44 aggressively confident,

01:46:47 but it doesn't reflect reality.

01:46:49 And therefore, if you see the margins,

01:46:51 the variation, the variance,

01:46:55 it tells you of a certain posture

01:46:59 that does not mirror reality.

01:47:01 That is what you see.

01:47:03 - But the finance minister was real enough.

01:47:05 The finance minister was real enough to say

01:47:07 that 2022 was his most difficult year.

01:47:10 He was real enough to say that.

01:47:11 He did mention that we had suffered those exogenous shocks

01:47:16 from the international system, COVID-19,

01:47:19 the war in Russia and Ukraine.

01:47:20 And so it hadn't been that rosy.

01:47:23 He was, he admitted that.

01:47:25 - Neither has it been that easy

01:47:27 in the first half of 2023.

01:47:29 Let me tell you something.

01:47:32 This recovery we are talking about

01:47:34 is coming at a great cost

01:47:39 that we have not seen in recent times.

01:47:42 It's coming at a very great cost.

01:47:46 We need to appreciate that

01:47:48 and put the sacrifice, the cost,

01:47:50 side by side, the recovery we are talking about

01:47:53 so that we're able to have a balanced posture

01:47:56 that conveys the message that we sympathize

01:47:59 with the sacrifices and the sufferings of Ghanians

01:48:02 and that this recovery is at a great cost.

01:48:06 And therefore, we should look at it

01:48:09 with a certain perspective.

01:48:10 Let me tell you something.

01:48:12 Have you seen the balance sheet of Bank of Ghana?

01:48:15 - I have.

01:48:16 - You know what that means?

01:48:19 That is a proxy of what this country

01:48:24 has had to go through.

01:48:25 The negative, the equity position of the central bank

01:48:29 is hugely negative.

01:48:31 Remember, remember, that is a bank of last resort.

01:48:36 If the government is hard-pressed,

01:48:40 if universal banks, rural banks, community banks,

01:48:44 credit union, if all of them are hard-pressed,

01:48:47 liquidity-wise, sovereignty-wise,

01:48:49 they run to the central bank.

01:48:51 That's the bank of last resort in London.

01:48:54 Now, the bank of last resort is in need of a bailout,

01:48:58 probably from a government

01:49:00 that is already in a bailout arrangement.

01:49:03 You call this one performance?

01:49:05 We've done this to our national central bank

01:49:10 and you say we should clap for you?

01:49:14 Please, where can we run to?

01:49:17 And this tells you that the recovery will be slow

01:49:21 and it will be painful.

01:49:23 - There are--

01:49:25 - It's simply because, look,

01:49:28 when government did the first round of domestic debt taxes,

01:49:32 they said we should clap for them

01:49:34 because it was hugely successful.

01:49:36 But we said it was not

01:49:38 because the eligible bonds had to be reduced

01:49:43 from 137 to 98 billion.

01:49:45 Even with that, only 85% tended at various interest rates,

01:49:50 with the average weighted interest rate

01:49:52 coming to about 8.3% from 19.3%.

01:49:56 We ended up with,

01:49:57 that is yet around 83 billion Ghana Cedis

01:50:01 out of the universe of domestic bonds

01:50:04 eligible for restructuring in excess of 200 billion.

01:50:09 Now, because government failed

01:50:12 to make the much needed progress

01:50:14 with the domestic debt restructuring,

01:50:16 which effectively undermines our ability

01:50:20 to reach debt sustainability,

01:50:22 they had to load that difference

01:50:25 on the balances of the central bank.

01:50:28 And that is why the central bank

01:50:29 has had to take a deeper haircut

01:50:31 for which reason their equity is hugely negative.

01:50:35 The central bank itself is telling us that

01:50:37 they can only restore positive equity probably by 2027.

01:50:41 - Hmm.

01:50:43 All right, so-

01:50:43 - This is what we are talking about.

01:50:45 - Right.

01:50:46 - It's just like the Bible telling us

01:50:47 that you were bought with a price.

01:50:49 So we have to be very careful.

01:50:52 - Let's just get into this.

01:50:55 Some of the comments coming through,

01:50:56 I mean, some were taking on Professor Bwedi earlier,

01:51:00 some are also taking you on.

01:51:01 But let me just reflect on some of those messages,

01:51:04 even as we segue into the DDEP conversation,

01:51:08 and then look at whether the economy indeed is better,

01:51:11 seven months down the road, as Ken Oferiyata says.

01:51:14 So this one says,

01:51:17 "The IMF money has arrived in their pocket,

01:51:19 "so they don't feel the heat again.

01:51:21 "That's what they meant by we have turned the corner."

01:51:24 That is what you are saying, Mba Mustafa.

01:51:27 But these two comments, basically, these two comments,

01:51:32 amidst the government is doing their best,

01:51:35 but the domestic debt exchange

01:51:37 is a harsh one on us, the Ghanaians.

01:51:39 The domestic bonds, the higher influence

01:51:43 and effect on the citizen.

01:51:45 There was a comment that I wanted to go through.

01:51:48 This one says, okay, so this one says,

01:51:53 "Government is doing its best in terms of rhetoric."

01:51:55 But Ernesto Usuwansa says, "Talk about the positives.

01:51:58 "We'll never meet all our payments.

01:52:00 "The government has done very, very well.

01:52:02 "Say that as a professor.

01:52:04 "The whole architect will not be in,

01:52:06 "or maybe architecture will not be in full gear.

01:52:08 "Always negative."

01:52:11 And this one also says, from the same person,

01:52:15 "The USA is owing China, yet they don't complain,

01:52:18 "as the so-called professor wants to tell some of us."

01:52:21 But Ernesto Usuwansa, unless you are also

01:52:23 being very dishonest with yourself,

01:52:25 the US has faced its own debt ceiling problems

01:52:28 with the Democrats having to literally beg the Republicans

01:52:32 for that debt ceiling to be pushed up.

01:52:34 So you cannot pick and choose,

01:52:35 especially when the US has its own breathing space

01:52:39 when it comes to the economy.

01:52:40 Trillions of dollars, that economy is worth.

01:52:42 What is our economy worth?

01:52:43 So sometimes when you're sending in messages,

01:52:45 whatever your political coloration or whatever,

01:52:48 let's think through those issues as well.

01:52:49 But I'm putting that to you, Prof.

01:52:51 This is what some of our listeners are saying.

01:52:54 How do you react to that vis-a-vis our own position

01:52:57 with our debt to GDP?

01:52:59 - I respect their opinion.

01:53:05 They are entitled to it.

01:53:07 The point that I'm making is that if the economy improves,

01:53:12 it should reflect in the pocket of ordinary Daniel.

01:53:17 The World Bank just showed us over 800,000 people

01:53:23 have fallen into poverty.

01:53:26 Inequality is widening.

01:53:29 So whatever recovery, whatever corner we have came,

01:53:35 we must respond to this development outcome.

01:53:38 It must be inclusive.

01:53:41 It must be broad-based.

01:53:44 It must address the core issues that matter

01:53:50 to every Daniel broadly.

01:53:53 We are not denying that some relative stability is present.

01:54:02 It is also a fact that sustaining that

01:54:07 is also contingent on the reform,

01:54:12 the measures we put in place.

01:54:15 It's very important.

01:54:17 We are not denying the fact that COVID-19 affected Ghana.

01:54:22 Just as it affected Cote d'Ivoire and other countries.

01:54:26 We are also putting the narrative

01:54:29 that the impact of the pandemic across countries

01:54:34 is not the same.

01:54:38 And the difference has to do with the level of resilience

01:54:43 of every country before and during the pandemic

01:54:49 and the marginality you can see from this.

01:54:53 So if you think that,

01:54:57 or look, when you read the media review,

01:55:00 the government itself is saying that the COVID-19,

01:55:05 in essence, essentially revealed a local vulnerability,

01:55:08 that there were pre-existing fiscal vulnerabilities.

01:55:13 Pre-existing fiscal vulnerabilities.

01:55:17 So in Ghana's case, we can talk about a global pandemic

01:55:26 revealing local reality.

01:55:29 We could have done politics all along

01:55:32 about how well the economy is doing,

01:55:34 but it takes pandemics of this nature

01:55:37 to reveal the reality from the narrative.

01:55:41 So for instance, planting for food and jobs,

01:55:46 if they had been done efficiently,

01:55:51 we would have built resilience.

01:55:52 We would have seen the effects in our food inflation.

01:55:55 So even in good times,

01:56:00 when government has taken all the credits,

01:56:07 we have also seen how global factors have aided that.

01:56:10 We can show, maybe we can, enough of the politics, right?

01:56:15 But look at the data.

01:56:16 We have been consistent in saying that,

01:56:19 look, I'm just telling you that,

01:56:22 do you think the governors at Bank of Ghana are happy

01:56:25 with the annual report they published?

01:56:27 I think we think, are we happy

01:56:30 that the central bank have been reduced to this level

01:56:34 because of it over exposure to government?

01:56:38 Are we happy?

01:56:41 Are we happy seeing our pensioners picketing

01:56:44 the first time in our history,

01:56:46 Ghana has had to restructure its domestic debt

01:56:48 to this level?

01:56:52 - Just hold for me, Prof.

01:56:53 Let me also bring in Dr. Thierry Champong,

01:56:55 an economist and political risk analyst.

01:56:58 There are some who are sharing messages and saying,

01:57:01 talk is always cheap.

01:57:02 Our learned professor is always preaching negativity.

01:57:05 Later, I'll come back to you, Prof.

01:57:07 And so you react to that.

01:57:08 But Rita Voss says,

01:57:10 Professor Bokbun always makes economic

01:57:11 and financial analysis so easy, even for the lay person.

01:57:15 He said recovery would be slow and painful

01:57:17 and Ghanaians should take him seriously

01:57:19 and reduce our expenses.

01:57:21 So it's a two pronged affair.

01:57:24 Dr. Thierry Champong, if you look at,

01:57:26 and I think earlier, I may have used the global figure

01:57:29 for our Ghanaian figure, 3.4 to 2.8% in terms of GDP growth.

01:57:34 So in Ghana, it is 2.8% now revised to 1.5%.

01:57:40 I'd like to find out from you,

01:57:45 from what you heard yesterday,

01:57:47 does it reflect that we are turning,

01:57:50 we're rounding that corner,

01:57:52 turning that vent in terms of our economy?

01:57:55 And what are the pointers to that, if you see that?

01:57:59 Dr. Champong.

01:58:01 - Good morning, and I hope you can hear me.

01:58:04 And I'm following-- - I can hear you loud

01:58:05 and clear, go ahead.

01:58:06 - The conversation.

01:58:07 I mean, look, when we speak about these issues,

01:58:11 we speak from the basis of the evidence and the fact.

01:58:15 So I struggle to see how people will say,

01:58:18 Prof and others are being negative.

01:58:21 It's driven by the data and the objective analysis

01:58:26 that we're making, 'cause many a time,

01:58:28 we had indicated that these economic challenges was,

01:58:33 or the economy was gonna crash at some point.

01:58:36 We were not listening to,

01:58:38 we'd been talking about the debt issues and all of that.

01:58:41 So I struggle to see those who argue

01:58:44 that we're being negative and all of that.

01:58:47 It is the data that is leading to us

01:58:50 to make those conclusions in that regard.

01:58:53 And back to your main point,

01:58:56 are we turning around the corner?

01:58:57 It's still a long corner that we are turning.

01:59:00 So there's some relative stability,

01:59:04 but, and you can see that in some of the GDP numbers,

01:59:09 in the inflation numbers, and also even in exchange rates.

01:59:13 So for ordinary Ghanaian,

01:59:14 two key things are important for them.

01:59:17 Inflation being low, exchange rates being stable.

01:59:22 Since we got the domestic exchange and then the IMF program,

01:59:27 those two key indicators have been relatively stable.

01:59:31 But remember, they are still very, very high, right?

01:59:34 Compared to the levels that they came down from.

01:59:37 If you take inflation, we're talking in excess of 40%.

01:59:42 The last reading was 42.5 or so percent.

01:59:47 The central bank's own target for the year

01:59:51 was originally inflation to be within 6 and 10%.

01:59:56 So by that measure, we are far off from that target.

02:00:01 If you look at exchange rate, a similar thing.

02:00:05 So yes, we've had some relative stability,

02:00:08 but from a point where things have actually deteriorated

02:00:12 and we're now having to put in much more effort

02:00:16 to ensure that we're able to sustain those gains, right,

02:00:21 going forward.

02:00:22 And if you look at the budget,

02:00:24 the media budget that was announced,

02:00:28 at least there are no new sort of taxes per se,

02:00:33 mainly ordinary Ghanaians.

02:00:36 And then number two,

02:00:37 you also see the government making an adjustment

02:00:41 to its revenue, which has come down,

02:00:44 but you see a corresponding adjustment

02:00:47 to expenditure as well, which for me is commendable

02:00:52 and indicates that there is some effort being made

02:00:57 on the fiscal consolidation front.

02:01:00 But then the trade off with that,

02:01:01 which Prof. Hernandez would talk or allude to,

02:01:05 is that then you're not going to get the growth

02:01:08 that you expect.

02:01:09 So originally we were talking 2.8 or so percent.

02:01:13 Now we're talking almost 1.5%.

02:01:17 But those are the trade offs and the balances

02:01:20 that we've got to make.

02:01:21 In addition, you see some expenditure controls

02:01:26 being sort of introduced in this media budget.

02:01:32 They talk about sanctions regime

02:01:34 and having the same contracting format for public contracts.

02:01:41 And if you're going to be issuing a contract now

02:01:43 going forward without a payment order

02:01:47 being issued to the GIFME system,

02:01:51 you wouldn't be able or the contract would not be valid.

02:01:54 I think these are little things there

02:01:57 that are positive that we can acknowledge,

02:02:00 but by no means are we out of the woods yet.

02:02:04 We've got to be very clear about that.

02:02:07 We are still turning the corner

02:02:09 and we have not fully turned as yet.

02:02:13 There's a whole set of issues that we can talk about

02:02:16 when it comes to the central bank, Bank of Ghana,

02:02:20 and the deficit financing and other issues related to that.

02:02:25 But those would be my preliminary comments.

02:02:27 - Just hold for me, Doc.

02:02:28 So for those of you who are sending in messages,

02:02:31 for the few who have sent in messages and said,

02:02:33 oh, we are sounding negative,

02:02:35 the professors are sounding negative.

02:02:37 They are saying they are using the data,

02:02:40 basically the numbers,

02:02:41 and you cannot run away from the numbers.

02:02:43 The same numbers that the finance minister played with

02:02:45 are the same ones we are playing with here.

02:02:48 But let me bring in the GUTA president, Joseph Obeng,

02:02:53 before the budget reading

02:02:55 or the media budget review, I should say.

02:02:58 We sat here in the studio and you told me

02:03:00 that you were looking forward to no taxes being added,

02:03:03 maybe even some taxes being shaved off.

02:03:07 And you had certain expectations as the business community.

02:03:11 Tell me, having listened to Ken Ofuriata yesterday,

02:03:15 were you satisfied with what he told us?

02:03:17 And do you think we are indeed turning the corner

02:03:22 in terms of our economy?

02:03:23 - Nothing really changed

02:03:29 because our concerns are still not factored.

02:03:34 And so we can say that the cost of doing business

02:03:38 still remains and that...

02:03:41 Hello?

02:03:43 - Yes, I'm listening to you, Joseph Obeng.

02:03:45 - And that inflation has not improved.

02:03:49 At 42, we started inflation with 13.5

02:03:53 in first quarter of 2022.

02:03:56 And so if inflation is 42,

02:03:58 then what has got business strikes on these pillars,

02:04:01 inflation, the interest rate, and then the exchange rate.

02:04:06 The exchange rate has improved,

02:04:08 but we need a sustained stability

02:04:13 and then trying to run.

02:04:15 And that's what we have to be able to do for a longer time

02:04:20 so that the actual benefits will be felt.

02:04:24 And now the gains of the stability

02:04:27 is not being felt because the cost of doing business,

02:04:32 the excessive tasks that have been imposed on us

02:04:34 are taking away the gains that we would have gotten.

02:04:39 And so that's why we keep on saying

02:04:43 that we should do everything to prune down

02:04:47 the cost of doing business

02:04:49 and then revise some of these taxes

02:04:51 that have been imposed on us

02:04:54 so that businesses can have the space to grow.

02:04:57 The finance minister was talking about growth and all that.

02:05:02 How do we grow when the environment is not ripe for growth?

02:05:07 That we know that excessive taxation

02:05:09 impedes the growth of businesses.

02:05:12 That we know that nuisance taxes

02:05:14 impede the growth of businesses.

02:05:16 A tax like COVID levy is definitely nuisance.

02:05:20 The special import levy is definitely nuisance

02:05:23 and all of this should be taken out of the table

02:05:27 and so that it will give a respite for businesses.

02:05:31 The way we are treating inflation is also not helping.

02:05:35 But the inflation that we are experiencing

02:05:36 is a cost-push one.

02:05:38 And then what we have to do

02:05:39 is not to increase the monetary policy rate

02:05:43 as a way of mopping up excess liquidity.

02:05:47 What we have to do in that is to reduce expenditure.

02:05:52 When you're able to pull down expenditure

02:05:55 to the bare minimum,

02:05:59 then of course we are saving the inflation

02:06:02 and also reducing the inflation

02:06:05 to transfer the benefits to the consuming public,

02:06:09 the business community

02:06:11 and to salvage the economy at large.

02:06:15 And so all of these things are not shown.

02:06:19 And so we cannot say that we are turning...

02:06:23 We have a lot more to do

02:06:28 and that's why we are going to still engage

02:06:30 with the finance minister as he has promised

02:06:34 that our concerns will be fattered

02:06:37 in the November budget reading

02:06:40 and we'll pursue that.

02:06:43 - So for you, we haven't turned the corner,

02:06:45 but please explain

02:06:46 because at least no more taxes have been added.

02:06:50 That was something you were hoping for.

02:06:52 That is a positive at least, isn't it?

02:06:54 - No, taxes couldn't have been added on this

02:06:58 because we are already suffocating.

02:07:02 - We didn't come through with a supplementary budget.

02:07:03 We could have done that.

02:07:05 - No, whatever it is,

02:07:08 we are not expecting additional layer of taxes on business.

02:07:13 Otherwise it will be suicidal for the economy

02:07:16 because we are seriously suffocating

02:07:19 and nobody will even think about increasing taxes now.

02:07:24 We can expand the tax net.

02:07:28 That's why we don't have any problem with that.

02:07:30 We can bring innovative ways to bring taxes around

02:07:34 but not to lump it up on the already stressed businesses.

02:07:39 Though, otherwise those who have the capacity to even go,

02:07:43 the taxes are just being piled up on just a few.

02:07:46 And that is what we have been talking about.

02:07:49 The VAT as it is,

02:07:52 it's also a major contributing factor

02:07:54 even to the inflation that we are suffering.

02:07:59 Before the VAT of 22%, the inflation was very low

02:08:04 because we're paying in flat rate of 3%.

02:08:07 Just after the migration from the flat rate of 3%,

02:08:13 where the standard rate is 22%,

02:08:15 prices of goods and services shut up

02:08:18 just after they introduced them.

02:08:20 So the VAT as it is,

02:08:22 and even when it has so been increased,

02:08:25 the final minister admitted

02:08:26 that it's not bringing the needed resources.

02:08:29 But when we are paying a flat rate of 3%,

02:08:33 government see that it's target in the VAT as a tax.

02:08:40 And so we have to revise and restructure the VAT itself.

02:08:45 Well, of course it's not productive.

02:08:48 It's counterproductive to businesses.

02:08:50 It's not business friendly.

02:08:52 And then it does not ensure parity.

02:08:55 It does not ensure fairness.

02:08:57 And then it's a problem.

02:08:58 It has been complex because even in the same tax system,

02:09:03 that runs three different systems concurrently.

02:09:07 Those who are paying the standard rate of 32%,

02:09:12 those who are paying the flat rate of 4%,

02:09:15 and those who do not pay at all

02:09:17 because of the threshold of 200,000,

02:09:20 all working in the same,

02:09:22 and this is a consumption tax.

02:09:24 - Right.

02:09:25 - It's a consumption tax

02:09:26 that the consumers are not paying.

02:09:30 And so the business persons have to use their own resources

02:09:35 to go and pay this taxes.

02:09:37 It's not acceptable.

02:09:38 So the VAT should be restructured

02:09:41 and then we will push it to the next budget.

02:09:45 - Okay, a quick one.

02:09:46 I want a quick reflection on this for me so we can move on.

02:09:49 It is projected that in the coming months,

02:09:51 we should see some slide in inflation.

02:09:54 That would be good for the business community.

02:09:57 But then on the other hand,

02:09:59 we know that as far as credit is concerned,

02:10:02 it's being ramped up in terms of the cost of credit.

02:10:05 In fact, the Monetary Policy Committee

02:10:08 of the Bank of Ghana, the central bank,

02:10:10 recently hiked that up, the policy rate,

02:10:12 by 50 basis points, bringing it to about 30%.

02:10:17 What has that done to you, the business community?

02:10:20 - It is only compounding the cost of doing business.

02:10:23 It's as simple as that.

02:10:25 One have to contend with about 35% of cost of capital,

02:10:30 cost of borrowing.

02:10:34 It's too much.

02:10:36 And then it does not make us competitive

02:10:38 even in the sub-region.

02:10:40 And the business that we do,

02:10:42 we are not doing it as a solution.

02:10:44 We do it in competition with our neighboring countries

02:10:48 and we are losing out.

02:10:50 And so the methodology that Bank of Ghana is using

02:10:54 is wrong.

02:10:56 To fight inflation, I think the best way

02:10:58 is to reduce expenditure.

02:11:01 If we're able to reduce expenditure drastically,

02:11:03 then of course it is a way of mopping up

02:11:06 the essence liquidity that the Bank of Ghana seek to have.

02:11:11 But this inflation is as a result of accumulation of cost

02:11:19 of doing business, including the taxes that we pay.

02:11:24 So, and then the interest rate that is also added upon this.

02:11:30 And so it's accumulation of all these factors,

02:11:33 the utility bills that we pay.

02:11:35 The utility have gone over 50% and all are up.

02:11:39 So if we do not sit down to pull down on all these things

02:11:42 and think that we are going to have a magic wand

02:11:46 to bring the inflation down, then I'm afraid

02:11:49 we are not going to have a better result on that.

02:11:52 - Right.

02:11:53 Professor Mbweni, I want to come to you on this.

02:11:56 The finance minister says that the DDEP

02:11:58 has literally given government some breathing space.

02:12:02 If I may just quote him, I want to quote

02:12:06 from the words of the finance minister from his own mouth.

02:12:11 So I don't say anything.

02:12:13 He made mention of the fact that the DDEP

02:12:19 had actually brought them some relief.

02:12:23 I just want to use his specific words.

02:12:27 I'll get to that shortly to get his specific words.

02:12:32 Maybe I'll try to find it.

02:12:33 But he says the DDP has given them some sort of cushion.

02:12:37 But let's look at the other side of the DDEP.

02:12:40 And now we're talking about the dollar-denominated bonds

02:12:43 or bills among others, COCO bills among others

02:12:45 that in the next round are going to be affected.

02:12:48 But we do know that as of now,

02:12:50 government has given a 50% haircut

02:12:53 to non-marketable holdings

02:12:54 of the government of Ghana Instruments,

02:12:56 including long-term stocks and also a COVID-19 bond.

02:13:01 When you look at the two sides, the DDEP and the gains,

02:13:06 vis-a-vis the losses we are seeing in the system,

02:13:08 the business community,

02:13:10 the crumbling of the banking sector and credit,

02:13:13 is this not a pyrrhic victory where we are losing more

02:13:19 than what we are gaining, Prof?

02:13:21 - In response to your question,

02:13:29 the debt operations or the domestic debt exchange program

02:13:34 is about the physical flexibility of the government

02:13:39 to contain some liquidity issues.

02:13:43 But before I respond even to that,

02:13:45 in fact, our viewers have had challenges

02:13:48 with respect to the nomenclature,

02:13:51 turning, still turning,

02:13:54 I don't know which word we should use now.

02:13:58 But the right word should have been,

02:14:00 we are still turning the corner.

02:14:01 Then that would be the right approach to handle it.

02:14:05 Yeah.

02:14:06 I don't think every country will have an upward

02:14:11 100% indicator showing up.

02:14:15 Definitely some will take a nosedive,

02:14:18 and that's where we are.

02:14:19 So I'll come back to your question,

02:14:21 but let me respond to this.

02:14:23 We've had a high inflation, that is fine.

02:14:26 We've had a commercial banking lending rate.

02:14:29 I mean, the same mid-year, 2022,

02:14:31 the commercial bank lending rates was about 22.5%.

02:14:40 And now we are having 31.6.

02:14:45 In terms of the MPC, the monetary policy rates,

02:14:51 the same year, the same period was 19,

02:14:55 and now it's 30%.

02:14:58 There's a high cost of borrowing, which we must admit.

02:15:01 It means that our businesses, we're suffering,

02:15:07 and that is what we are seeing now.

02:15:09 Coming back to your question

02:15:11 on the domestic debt exchange program.

02:15:15 Yes, somewhere in the budget was indicated,

02:15:20 and on the 5th of December,

02:15:23 the government launched the DD,

02:15:26 the domestic debt exchange program,

02:15:28 in a transparent manner,

02:15:30 seeking to minimize the impact on bondholders.

02:15:34 And that was the main thing the government sought to do.

02:15:37 If we talk about the gains,

02:15:40 I think, to a larger extent,

02:15:45 that we've seen some impact on the debt restructuring.

02:15:49 In fact, the financial sector

02:15:51 comprising the commercial bank,

02:15:54 the specialized deposits,

02:15:56 taking institutions and insurance sectors, fund managers,

02:16:00 the effect on debt operations on financial sector,

02:16:04 in terms of liquidity and solvency rates

02:16:07 from impairment loss,

02:16:09 I think we've seen some minor,

02:16:11 might not be that major.

02:16:13 If you check the numbers that we have,

02:16:16 in fact, for the banks within this period,

02:16:21 the bank have reported an increase

02:16:23 in deposits and investment,

02:16:26 higher profitability and a return on equity.

02:16:30 I think it's over, if I'm not mistaken,

02:16:32 about 35% growth.

02:16:35 If you also look at the profit before tax,

02:16:38 in the same period,

02:16:41 it's gone up to about 47%.

02:16:44 And then profit after tax,

02:16:46 I think is hovering around 45.8%.

02:16:51 Then in terms of the return on assets,

02:16:55 or the entire period,

02:16:56 that's the mid-year,

02:16:58 I think it's around 5.5,

02:17:01 it's an increase of about 5.5.

02:17:03 They are all giving us some signal

02:17:06 that there were some excesses,

02:17:08 there were some challenges

02:17:10 with respect to the domestic debt exchange program.

02:17:14 But at least we are seeing some light,

02:17:16 it's coming back.

02:17:18 For the past three, four months now,

02:17:21 the financial sector, they've responded,

02:17:25 not to the quantum that we wish to have.

02:17:29 That's my reaction to your question.

02:17:33 - Thanks for that reaction.

02:17:36 Let me come to,

02:17:37 were you going to add anything?

02:17:39 - Oh, I was just trying to find out,

02:17:41 let's also bring it out that,

02:17:44 the government is also taking steps to care,

02:17:47 and what I've seen, the mid-year,

02:17:50 which also recommendable.

02:17:52 I mean, I make it commendable to care public debts,

02:17:56 getting out of hands,

02:17:57 which also is very important to mention.

02:18:00 And then we also seen that 1.5% to 0.5%.

02:18:05 There's also, government has also shown some willingness

02:18:09 to reduce our debt level.

02:18:12 That's what we should be clear here.

02:18:14 Then we have also seen that the budget

02:18:16 aggressively mobilizing domestic debt,

02:18:19 I mean, revenue.

02:18:21 And then we have also seen the government

02:18:23 trying to streamline or rationalize expenditure as well,

02:18:27 and both local productive capacity.

02:18:29 But what we also need to also realize,

02:18:31 is that the government must show,

02:18:34 I mean, signal a strict spending control,

02:18:38 which is, I said earlier on, very important.

02:18:40 We've seen some gains, yes, we've seen some improvement.

02:18:44 The government should also demonstrate how,

02:18:46 I mean, to show commitment in controlling expenditure,

02:18:48 I've said it already.

02:18:49 - Okay.

02:18:50 - Then, direct more government expenditure

02:18:52 into some productive sectors of the economy.

02:18:55 - Right.

02:18:56 - That is what-

02:18:57 - Let me move on now to Professor Bokbin.

02:18:59 Prof, now, government's flagship programs,

02:19:03 I mean, we hear the finance minister saying, for example,

02:19:06 that 1D1F, One District, One Factory,

02:19:08 has created 160,000 direct and indirect jobs, 160,000.

02:19:13 But looking at government's flagship programs or projects

02:19:21 in terms of their cost, the impact-

02:19:25 Prof, can you hear me?

02:19:27 Okay, so we'll try to get Professor Bokbin

02:19:35 back on the line.

02:19:36 It appears we don't have Professor Bokbin.

02:19:38 But when you look at, from where you sit,

02:19:40 Dr. Theo Echampong, I will just come to you on that bit.

02:19:45 I made mention of the fact that I'll come to you

02:19:49 with the DDEP as well.

02:19:51 From where you sit on the DDEP conversation,

02:19:55 the second round, prospectively, that we're going to have,

02:19:58 and the rhetoric of Finance Minister Kenofu Orieta,

02:20:02 that it is giving us some cash flexibility,

02:20:05 is this something we should be celebrating?

02:20:08 What are going to be the pros and cons of this?

02:20:11 - Okay, I mean, yeah, again, thank you, Eric.

02:20:15 - And maybe, Doc, my apologies, just to add to that,

02:20:20 the exposure, again, of the Bank of Ghana

02:20:23 in respect of the latest happenings

02:20:25 and what we've added to our debt portfolio,

02:20:27 and also the exposure of government

02:20:29 as far as Treasury bills are concerned.

02:20:31 Maybe you can lump all of them together.

02:20:34 - Yeah, so these are actually very big,

02:20:36 but important questions that need to be answered.

02:20:41 So on the DDEP, yeah, first round is done.

02:20:47 There's talk of a second round.

02:20:51 But then again, you see, my point is we need some candor

02:20:54 when it comes to this whole public policy debate

02:20:59 of our process.

02:21:01 To the extent that people's livelihoods

02:21:04 have actually been impacted in all of this process.

02:21:07 So the banks, of course, have to take a hefty loss

02:21:11 in all of that.

02:21:13 But at the moment, the second round is touching

02:21:16 or covering the COCO bills.

02:21:18 There is the US dollar-denominated bonds as well.

02:21:23 And then there's a third element of it,

02:21:25 which many a time is actually missing from the debate,

02:21:29 which is this attempt by government to restructure

02:21:33 the IPP debt in that regard.

02:21:38 And that's something that needs to be very carefully managed

02:21:42 because of the exposure that the government has got

02:21:47 to many of the energy producing companies.

02:21:52 But in any case, without this restructuring

02:21:56 and the debt that is ongoing and upcoming,

02:22:01 people are going to be losing money.

02:22:04 And the gain would be that the government saves

02:22:09 on either interest or principal

02:22:12 or a combination of the two.

02:22:14 So it creates a bit of fiscal room, as we say, for itself.

02:22:19 But the fundamental problem is even when we create that room,

02:22:24 often historically, you look at the data,

02:22:26 it doesn't take us too long to start over-leveraging

02:22:31 or over-borrowing again and finding ourselves

02:22:34 in the same thing that cost us or sent us

02:22:39 to the likes of the IMF.

02:22:41 Not long ago, we had the cash waterfall mechanism

02:22:46 under the Energy Sector Recovery Plan, 2019.

02:22:49 But at some point, we put all of those beautiful plans

02:22:53 aside and we ended up in a position

02:22:55 where the energy sector debt keeps going up

02:22:59 and keeps accruing and we're unable to pay

02:23:02 to the point that now you want to force the IPPs

02:23:04 to restructure that debt.

02:23:07 On the Bank of Ghana thing, again,

02:23:09 I think it's a very serious issue as well.

02:23:13 And the fundamental problem is the extent

02:23:16 to which fiscal policy dominates almost everything

02:23:21 in this country, including the monetary policy.

02:23:25 You look at the Bank of Ghana as quickly,

02:23:28 Act 612, and you look at the object of the Bank of Ghana,

02:23:32 and Section 3.1 says that the primary objective

02:23:37 of the Bank of Ghana is to maintain stability

02:23:41 in the general level of prices,

02:23:43 basically to keep inflation under control.

02:23:47 And then, No. 2 says that without prejudice

02:23:49 to subsection 1, the Bank shall support

02:23:52 the general economic policy of the government

02:23:55 to promote economic growth.

02:23:57 And it has a very important clause,

02:23:59 it says that independent of instructions

02:24:02 from the central government or any other authority.

02:24:07 If you subjected the Bank of Ghana

02:24:10 to these two key objects and principles,

02:24:15 they fail on that, on inflation

02:24:19 and then also even on the general price.

02:24:21 And the reason is that they've been pumping a lot of money

02:24:25 to support the government on account of the fact

02:24:29 that the government could not borrow

02:24:31 from the international commercial market.

02:24:35 The data shows that they pumped in in excess

02:24:37 of 55 billion last year, just to prop up the treasury.

02:24:42 And the problem is that all of those monies

02:24:46 would go in and further drive the inflation.

02:24:49 So in one sense, you're pushing or helping the government,

02:24:53 but in another sense, it's defeating

02:24:56 the core primary objective of the central bank,

02:24:59 which is to maintain price stability.

02:25:01 So you look at inflation targeting framework

02:25:03 and it's all over the place.

02:25:05 And we are on target of 6 to 10%.

02:25:09 Now we're talking 42%.

02:25:11 So the issues are very important, quickly to wrap up.

02:25:15 And we also need some additional checks and balances

02:25:20 on the Bank of Ghana's own operating expenses.

02:25:24 You look at the annual report on page 55

02:25:28 and you look at some of the line items there,

02:25:30 foreign and domestic travel.

02:25:32 It jumps from 28 million in 2021 to 97 million in 2022.

02:25:37 Banking supervision expenses,

02:25:40 jumped from 77 million to 358 million.

02:25:45 Motor vehicle maintenance and running costs,

02:25:48 it jumped from 62 million to 132 million.

02:25:52 So I think we need to interrogate them further

02:25:55 and we need further questions from the central bank

02:25:59 when it comes to how they're going to reduce

02:26:02 their operational expenses.

02:26:05 - All right, just a cap of the conversation, gentlemen,

02:26:08 30 seconds if you can.

02:26:10 I'll start with you, Dr. Thio Echampong.

02:26:12 I believe I have you together with Professor Bwedi

02:26:14 and then we can wrap the conversation.

02:26:16 For you, so what then is the way forward

02:26:19 beyond the mid-year budget review?

02:26:21 We've done this, the next one will be getting

02:26:23 to the close of 2023.

02:26:26 What are you looking forward to?

02:26:27 What can we expect?

02:26:28 - So for me, I think how we sustain the little progress

02:26:34 or gains that we're making.

02:26:36 We're still turning the corner, we're not there yet.

02:26:39 The key thing now is what happens

02:26:42 with the external debt restructuring.

02:26:46 That would give us much, much bigger fiscal space.

02:26:49 We need to keep improving on the revenue,

02:26:53 but importantly, those expenditure controls,

02:26:55 the new ones that are being introduced,

02:26:57 like having a payment order before a contract is issued,

02:27:01 we need to push through on that.

02:27:04 And then on the whole deficit financing argument,

02:27:08 we've seen some positive indicators

02:27:10 that the government is no longer borrowing

02:27:12 from the treasury or the central bank.

02:27:15 And we want to see that being sustained

02:27:17 going into the year.

02:27:20 But the November budget is really going to be the big one.

02:27:23 And I think that all these COVID levies

02:27:25 and COVID-19 levy, e-levy, things like that,

02:27:29 would either have to be reduced or scrapped

02:27:32 going into the main budget.

02:27:34 - Thank you so much, Dr. Thioe Champong.

02:27:37 Let me hear from you, Professor Abuedi,

02:27:39 and then we can wrap the conversation.

02:27:41 Hello, Prof.

02:27:45 - Yes, can you hear me, Ben?

02:27:46 - I can hear you now.

02:27:47 Please go ahead.

02:27:48 You have about 30 seconds.

02:27:49 - Yes, just to be brief.

02:27:52 It's important to understand,

02:27:54 have a better picture of what the government

02:27:56 painted yesterday.

02:27:58 Slower growth, high inflation.

02:28:00 We shouldn't forget.

02:28:02 We want the government to take practical steps

02:28:04 to arrest high inflation.

02:28:07 And high cost of borrowing, very important.

02:28:10 And then on setting exchange rates, among others.

02:28:13 I want to see some predictability

02:28:16 when it comes to the indicators.

02:28:19 A manufacturer's policymaker,

02:28:22 we can't predict the entire economy.

02:28:25 So we need some amount of study indicators

02:28:28 to be able to predict the direction of the economy.

02:28:32 Thank you very much.

02:28:33 - Thank you too, sir.

02:28:34 And that was Prof. Isaac Bwedi,

02:28:36 Dean Faculty of Accounting at the University

02:28:39 for Professional Studies Accra.

02:28:41 At a point, we're also joined by Prof. Godfrey Bokpin

02:28:45 of the University of Ghana Business School,

02:28:47 together with Dr. Theo Echampong,

02:28:49 an economist and political risk analyst.

02:28:52 We also have President of the Ghana Union

02:28:54 of Traders Association, Joseph Obeng,

02:28:57 joining the conversation.

02:28:59 This is just the aftermath of the budget,

02:29:03 the mid-year budget review.

02:29:04 There's going to be a lot more talk in subsequent bulletins,

02:29:07 in subsequent discussions on this show

02:29:10 about the real breakdown and what this means

02:29:13 for our country moving forward.

02:29:16 Stephen Abouadjie says,

02:29:17 "I don't know why government doesn't involve

02:29:19 these technocrats rather than these

02:29:21 something, something politicians."

02:29:23 Anyway, some would also say that once these technocrats

02:29:27 become politicians, then it's a different ballgame.

02:29:29 But this is how we sew up the conversation

02:29:31 for the first leg of the big stories.

02:29:35 Still to come, we have a lot more.

02:29:36 Again, we're also taking you to the West Hills Mall

02:29:40 this weekend, where we have our next clinic

02:29:44 of the Habitat Fair.

02:29:46 So when you think of building, do you think of comfort?

02:29:51 Do you think of affordability?

02:29:53 Or do you think of luxury?

02:29:55 Well, wherever you lie, we have you covered.

02:29:58 Those conversations coming up next on the AM Show.

02:30:01 Tuesday.

02:30:02 (dramatic music)

02:30:05 (dramatic music)

02:30:08 (dramatic music)

02:30:11 (dramatic music)

02:30:15 (dramatic music)

02:30:20 Hello there.

02:30:34 Thank you so much for staying here on the AM Show.

02:30:38 And that was quite a conversation

02:30:40 Benjamin had there with our panelists.

02:30:42 I don't know what you make of the entire budget,

02:30:45 media budget presentation yesterday,

02:30:48 but hopefully we'll have time to take your comments

02:30:49 on those.

02:30:50 Well, it's now time to let you in on our Habitat Fair,

02:30:55 Ecobank sponsored.

02:30:57 And this time we are taking you to the West Hills Mall.

02:31:02 This weekend, the first one was at the Etremata Mall.

02:31:06 Now we are coming West of the city.

02:31:08 And this morning I've been joined by Nicolas Soate.

02:31:11 He's a marketing executive at Global Light and Center.

02:31:15 And he's here to tell you what he has on offer for you

02:31:18 and why you shouldn't miss this year's

02:31:20 Ecobank Joint News Habitat Fair.

02:31:21 Hello, good morning.

02:31:22 - Good morning.

02:31:23 - Great to have you here.

02:31:24 - Thank you very much.

02:31:25 - All right.

02:31:26 So it's one of the things that beautifies homes.

02:31:32 But also quite recently there's been

02:31:36 the cost component conversation

02:31:39 because people are going in for energy saving lights.

02:31:44 People are going in for lights that, you know,

02:31:48 affect generally their wellbeing.

02:31:50 They're looking at health wise, energy wise,

02:31:53 saving some money and all that.

02:31:55 So lighting is a very big deal for many people

02:31:58 also because they want to beautify their homes

02:32:00 and have a chandelier or something in the dining hall,

02:32:04 whatever it is.

02:32:05 Tell us what Global Light and Center

02:32:06 has been doing over the years

02:32:08 and what you have on offer for our guests.

02:32:10 - Good morning to our listeners.

02:32:12 Global Light and Center is a lighting company

02:32:14 that has been in the industry for about 20 years.

02:32:16 Like you said earlier,

02:32:18 lighting play a major role in the life of a person.

02:32:20 Especially the beauty of a house depends on your lighting.

02:32:24 Only those days when you build a house,

02:32:26 all you see is this ordinary bulbs you see around.

02:32:28 And now, thanks to innovation,

02:32:31 there is LED lights around that we use on all buildings

02:32:34 that makes the house very beautiful.

02:32:37 Because of global lighting has been

02:32:38 in this lighting industry for decades

02:32:41 and we are specialized in quality.

02:32:45 What we do is we give a wide range of lights

02:32:47 and varieties of lighting that can beautify your homes.

02:32:50 And we make sure that whatever lights we give you,

02:32:52 we do after sale service as well.

02:32:54 We don't just sell a light to you.

02:32:55 When you come walk to any of our showroom,

02:32:57 we have well-trained customer service reps

02:33:00 that will listen to you.

02:33:01 They will look at what you want to use the light for.

02:33:03 Like you said earlier, lighting plays a role

02:33:06 in the life of a person health-wise.

02:33:08 Because if you don't apply the lights very well,

02:33:10 you end up having issues with your body,

02:33:12 especially in terms of health.

02:33:15 Because when the light is too much,

02:33:16 it goes along with to affect your eyes.

02:33:18 If you don't get the right light for a room,

02:33:20 you may stretch your eyes

02:33:22 and probably that one can give you another effect as well.

02:33:25 So we make sure we look at a space

02:33:27 where you are going to use the lights.

02:33:28 We look at where you are going to apply the lights,

02:33:30 then we give advice on it.

02:33:32 And we make sure that both of us are on the safer side.

02:33:35 We also give you quality lights

02:33:36 that can also save you money.

02:33:37 Because in as much as you are buying the lights,

02:33:40 we also make sure that you get the longevity

02:33:42 part of the lights.

02:33:43 The illumination must be on point,

02:33:45 must beautify your house.

02:33:47 Application of light is individual.

02:33:49 The way you want to apply your lights

02:33:51 will not be the same someone want to apply the lights.

02:33:53 That is why you see different varieties of lights

02:33:54 and different varieties of application in different homes

02:33:57 as to how the light has been done.

02:33:59 So what we do is global lighting,

02:34:01 we advise you,

02:34:02 make sure that you have the right light for your right place

02:34:05 so that everything will be on point for you.

02:34:07 So that anytime, even when a customer or a friend walks in

02:34:10 by the application of lights,

02:34:12 you can also give us referrals as well.

02:34:14 So that is what we are all about.

02:34:16 - Yeah.

02:34:17 And talking about this reminds me of,

02:34:20 when I was much younger, right,

02:34:21 you see people having different types of lights,

02:34:23 colors in their rooms.

02:34:25 There's blue, there's green, there's red.

02:34:27 Because you're talking about the impact to the eye,

02:34:29 I just, you know, thought about that.

02:34:32 But what makes you unique?

02:34:33 Because there are a lot of companies

02:34:35 that offer these products,

02:34:37 but what makes Global Lighting unique?

02:34:39 - Okay, before I go to the uniqueness,

02:34:41 can I just say a little bit about what you just said?

02:34:43 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, the colorful lights, yeah.

02:34:45 - That is what we call the Kelvin.

02:34:47 - Right.

02:34:47 - The Kelvin, it ranges from 2000

02:34:51 10,000, 20,000, I believe.

02:34:53 What happens is from 2000 to let's say 3000,

02:34:56 you have the warm, that looks like the yellow type.

02:34:58 You know, not bright, we call it warm.

02:35:01 It's more like in between, it's more like warm.

02:35:04 I don't know how to--

02:35:05 - Yeah, I get in between white and yellow, orange.

02:35:08 - It's not yellow, like this type of yellow,

02:35:10 that is warm, we call it warm.

02:35:11 Then from 4000 to let's say 4500, it's neutral.

02:35:15 It's between white and warm.

02:35:17 That is the ideal light for offices.

02:35:19 - 4500, what? - 4500 Kelvin.

02:35:21 - I thought you were talking about Kelvin.

02:35:23 Ah, okay, I thought you were talking about cash.

02:35:25 - That is K, that is what we call K.

02:35:27 Then we go from 6000 to 6500, you have the white.

02:35:31 That is the white.

02:35:32 So from 6000 going upwards to 7000,

02:35:35 that is where you have the blue, you have the red.

02:35:37 As it goes, as the Kelvin goes up, the color changes.

02:35:39 So from 7000 to 8, you get blue, 8000 to 9, you get yellow.

02:35:43 From 9000 to 10,000, you might get blue.

02:35:45 So that is how come you get the different types of colors

02:35:48 with the light, but if you don't apply them well,

02:35:50 you might set yourself.

02:35:51 So now let's go back to the question you asked,

02:35:53 what makes us unique from our competitors?

02:35:56 So our uniqueness has to do with the quality.

02:35:59 Global lighting, we get our lights from Europe,

02:36:03 we don't do China, excuse me to say.

02:36:05 So what we do is, before even you come on board

02:36:08 to work with us or to partner with us,

02:36:10 what we do is we test your light for one year.

02:36:12 We make sure we leave the lights on in our showroom.

02:36:14 We don't put it off, it's on 24/7

02:36:16 to make sure that the quality is on point

02:36:19 before we partner with you to supply us with light.

02:36:22 What we also do is our lights are unique.

02:36:25 When we sell to you, anywhere in our branches

02:36:28 we take our lights, it's unique.

02:36:30 You will not see them outside.

02:36:32 Any light we sell to you when you go outside,

02:36:34 you will not see them.

02:36:35 We are partnered with Led C4, it's a Spanish company.

02:36:40 That's one of the top lighting company in Spain.

02:36:44 We also have Brilliant, which is a German company.

02:36:46 We are also partnered with them.

02:36:48 We have GM, which is an Indian company.

02:36:50 And India, when you mention India,

02:36:51 because of China, because of the Asia continent,

02:36:54 they normally refer, they always partner them

02:36:56 with, let's say, inferior.

02:36:58 But India, they are very good when it comes to lighting,

02:37:01 electric house and other stuffs.

02:37:03 So we've also partnered with,

02:37:04 they are one of our newest partners, that is a GM light.

02:37:07 And what we also do is global lighting.

02:37:09 We don't just sell light to you.

02:37:10 Because we know the type of quality we give you,

02:37:13 we also give you warrants on it.

02:37:15 When you buy our light, you take it,

02:37:16 you have up to two years warrants on it.

02:37:18 It depends on the type of light you do.

02:37:20 So we give you warrants on it.

02:37:23 Anytime you have an issue, when your light goes off,

02:37:25 you bring it back to us, we look at it.

02:37:27 Then if it's from the light,

02:37:29 or probably the warrants is still intact,

02:37:32 we change it for you.

02:37:33 And if it's something that can be repaired,

02:37:35 we can just repair it for you at no cost,

02:37:36 then we give it back to you.

02:37:38 And try it.

02:37:38 And our light has, we have customers who have testified

02:37:41 that our light has lasted for 20 years, 15 years,

02:37:44 and it's still, so for the quality,

02:37:45 you can't, we can't compromise on it.

02:37:47 - Interesting.

02:37:48 So what kind or types of lighting services do you offer?

02:37:53 - We do a wide range of lighting.

02:37:54 We do from chandeliers, we do spotlights,

02:37:57 we do wall light, we do both inside and outside.

02:38:00 We do street lights, we do emergency lights,

02:38:04 anything lighting, let's close eyes and imagine lighting.

02:38:06 (laughing)

02:38:06 Let's say from, we do industrial lighting, so.

02:38:09 - Okay.

02:38:10 - We do commercial, we are into commercial,

02:38:12 so we do industrial, we do residence lights as well.

02:38:17 So we do almost everything lighting,

02:38:19 including bulbs as well.

02:38:21 - Okay.

02:38:22 - And now we've added some part of electrical

02:38:25 styles to our lighting, talk of the conduit boxes,

02:38:28 cut of the PVC pipes, cut off of the fans,

02:38:31 and meter board and other electrical components.

02:38:35 - Okay, so we can get everything there.

02:38:39 We don't need to buy the lights

02:38:40 and go around looking for other stuff.

02:38:42 - Yes, so from the scratch of your building,

02:38:43 just when you leave that foundation,

02:38:44 you put stuff at the building,

02:38:45 we are there to help you out

02:38:47 so you get to the lighting stage.

02:38:49 - That's nice.

02:38:50 So let's talk about the second clinic,

02:38:52 which comes from the 4th to the 6th of August

02:38:55 at the West Hills Mall.

02:38:57 What should patrons expect when they walk to your stand?

02:39:00 - Just like we always do, Habitat Fair,

02:39:02 that we recommend has been great.

02:39:04 We've benefited a lot from the Habitat Fair.

02:39:06 That is why every year we aim to join the Habitat Fair

02:39:10 because it exposes us to the general public.

02:39:14 We get customers who got to know us

02:39:16 through the Habitat Fair.

02:39:18 So this year, what we are doing is just like always,

02:39:20 we are bringing something unique.

02:39:24 Let's say the rechargeable lamp

02:39:26 that maybe when you are using it,

02:39:28 when there's lights out,

02:39:30 it can be on for, let's say, three to five hours.

02:39:35 It will still work for you

02:39:36 while there's no light in your house.

02:39:37 You will still have lights at your houses.

02:39:39 We're also looking at a huge discount this time around,

02:39:43 better than the previous offers we've been doing.

02:39:44 And God willing, we might also do freebies as well.

02:39:47 - Okey-dokey.

02:39:48 So you look--

02:39:49 - Like some that will--

02:39:49 - Yeah, those giveaways.

02:39:51 So when you go to the West Hills Mall

02:39:52 from the 4th to the 6th of August,

02:39:54 look for the stand of Global Lighting Center.

02:39:57 Nicholas says they have some freebies.

02:40:00 When you go, mention his name

02:40:01 and say you watched him on the AM show.

02:40:03 And they've also got wonderful discounts for you as well.

02:40:06 But on the rechargeable lights,

02:40:08 are you talking about lights that are connected or lamps?

02:40:11 - Lights that are connected.

02:40:12 - Okay.

02:40:13 - So how it works is,

02:40:15 when there's lights, it's charging itself, it's self-charging.

02:40:19 So as long as the light goes off, then it comes on.

02:40:22 So it can last for, let's say, three to five hours

02:40:24 before it goes off again.

02:40:25 - Right, interesting.

02:40:27 So beyond the fair, where can people find you?

02:40:32 Are you only located in Accra

02:40:34 or we can find you across the country?

02:40:37 - We, in Accra, we are located in Accra and Kumasi.

02:40:41 So in Accra, we have two branches in Accra.

02:40:44 We have two branches in Accra.

02:40:46 We have the main head office at the Spring Test,

02:40:49 just before, we are on the Victory Junction,

02:40:51 on the same building with Malcolm, the mini Malcolm.

02:40:54 Then at Oprah, we are directly opposite the Oprah Square.

02:40:57 And we also have one branch at Kumasi,

02:41:00 which is around the Santa Siro and about,

02:41:02 we are directly opposite the Palace Shopping Mall at Kumasi.

02:41:06 - Any numbers to call?

02:41:08 - Yes, our number is 027-999-6699.

02:41:13 So 027-999-6699.

02:41:18 It's on WhatsApp as well, so you can just WhatsApp us

02:41:21 for any information or any help,

02:41:23 then our customer service rep is just willing to.

02:41:28 So depending on where you are, if it's in Kumasi,

02:41:30 then we'll forward the message to Kumasi

02:41:33 or we just link them up to Kumasi if it's in Accra.

02:41:34 So you just spotlight for all the branches.

02:41:36 - And you do deliveries, lighting is delegated.

02:41:39 - We do delivery as well.

02:41:41 We do delivery.

02:41:42 Within Accra, we do free delivery.

02:41:43 Then all branches, we do free delivery as well,

02:41:48 but it comes with condition.

02:41:50 That is, if the items are ready,

02:41:51 we want to deliver it to you, fine.

02:41:53 But sometimes, it depends on the customer.

02:41:55 If there's delays, then probably we have to tighten our schedule

02:42:00 to make sure we deliver it.

02:42:01 I want to look at it as well.

02:42:03 - Right, and do you offer retail services for other people?

02:42:08 Because you're just located in Accra and Kumasi,

02:42:10 I understand that you want to cater for the South

02:42:12 and Middle to the Northern Belt,

02:42:15 but if somebody says, "Well, I want to partner,

02:42:19 globalise to retail," do people come and buy in bulk?

02:42:23 - Yeah, we do.

02:42:24 With the new electrical items that we just brought in,

02:42:27 we started with a retail, wholesale, right?

02:42:31 I think wholesale.

02:42:31 - Wholesale, yes, sorry.

02:42:33 - We started with a wholesale.

02:42:34 So we have people coming in for the conduit boxes,

02:42:37 the PVC pipe, the ceiling fans,

02:42:39 both the short and the long bridge,

02:42:41 and some of our spotlights and other lights that we have.

02:42:45 We give it out to them at a reduced price.

02:42:47 We just make sure that their prices will not be more

02:42:49 than what we are selling in the showroom.

02:42:51 So we also have control over the prices out there.

02:42:54 So it doesn't, because if our prices vary

02:42:56 from what we are selling in the showroom,

02:42:58 you know, Accra is small, though Accra is big,

02:43:00 someone might see the products in Accra,

02:43:01 and they might want to go to our showroom.

02:43:03 Their price variance will not.

02:43:04 So we just reduce it to the wholesalers,

02:43:06 those who come for wholesale.

02:43:07 So that way they are selling it out there.

02:43:10 Yes, they can retail it at our price.

02:43:12 - Interesting.

02:43:13 This morning I've been speaking to Nicola Soa-Tay,

02:43:15 she's a marketing executive at Global Lighting Center,

02:43:18 one of our sponsors and exhibitors

02:43:22 at the Draw News EcoBank Habitat Fair.

02:43:26 The second clinic is coming off this weekend

02:43:29 from the fourth to the sixth, starts on Friday.

02:43:32 Friday is a holiday, so you may just want to pass

02:43:35 through the West Hills Mall.

02:43:37 And when you get there, just look for Nicola

02:43:42 and the team from Global Lighting.

02:43:44 And they've got a wonderful package for you

02:43:46 and they will cater for you beautifully.

02:43:48 We'll be having more conversations

02:43:50 on our EcoBank Draw News Habitat Fair,

02:43:52 but that'll be it for my conversation with Nicola.

02:43:54 Thank you so much for joining us

02:43:56 and thank you for being a part of the Habitat Fair.

02:43:59 Now, the Colleges of Education Teachers Association

02:44:02 of Ghana, CTAG, has declared an indefinite strike.

02:44:06 The group is asking government to redeem its promise

02:44:10 to implement negotiated conditions of service.

02:44:14 According to the association, government has failed

02:44:18 to implement the National Labor Commission's

02:44:20 arbitral award of settling its seven-month arrears

02:44:23 and other service conditions.

02:44:25 Emmanuel Bradquirk, who was at the association's

02:44:27 National Delegates Conference held in Kumasi,

02:44:30 does more on this report.

02:44:32 (chanting)

02:44:36 - The industrial action will not be the first this year.

02:44:45 In January, 2023, teachers at the 46 colleges of education

02:44:50 embarked on an indefinite strike following

02:44:53 protracted negotiations between them

02:44:55 and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission

02:44:59 for new service conditions.

02:45:01 This strike was eventually called off

02:45:04 after an intervention by the National Labor Commission,

02:45:07 which subsequently saw the introduction

02:45:10 of a compulsory NLC arbitrary order award.

02:45:15 But three months down the line, the group says

02:45:19 this particular order is yet to be implemented.

02:45:23 Here is Prince Hema Obeng,

02:45:25 who is the president of the association.

02:45:28 - Now, following several efforts by leadership of SETAC

02:45:32 to impress on our employer to comply

02:45:35 with the arbitral award orders issued

02:45:37 by the National Labor Commission,

02:45:39 effective Tuesday, 1st August, 2023,

02:45:43 all tutors, all tutors, with emphasis,

02:45:47 all tutors of the 46 public colleges of education in Ghana

02:45:51 are to withdraw teaching and related services

02:45:55 until our employer has complied

02:45:58 with all the orders of the NLC.

02:46:01 One, full payment of seven months arrears of allowances

02:46:06 accruing from the approved conditions of service

02:46:10 owed members per NLC's arbitral award order.

02:46:15 Two, payment of one month's salary to each member of SETAC.

02:46:22 As compensation for additional duty performed

02:46:25 in the year 2022 as ordered by the NLC.

02:46:29 Three, publication of the report of the staff audit

02:46:35 and subsequent extension of public universities

02:46:38 rate of allowances to the seven members of SETAC

02:46:41 per the NLC's arbitral award order.

02:46:44 - The group says it shall from the beginning

02:46:47 of the 2023-2024 academic year not continue

02:46:52 with its all year round academic calendar,

02:46:54 describing it as scalar.

02:46:56 - Four, immediate release of leave roster

02:47:01 by each college of education to enable each tutor

02:47:06 take 15 working days leave for the year 2022

02:47:10 as ordered by the NLC.

02:47:13 And then five, unconditional cancellation

02:47:17 of the killer all year round academic calendar,

02:47:21 effective 2023-2024 academic year.

02:47:26 It is expected that every branch association

02:47:32 shall act on this resolution with a dispatch

02:47:35 and comply accordingly.

02:47:37 Enough is enough.

02:47:39 We have gone through this suffering for far too long

02:47:42 and we believe that the college teacher deserves better.

02:47:46 And we have said, we are not retreating.

02:47:48 Not until all the items talked over here

02:47:52 have been complied with.

02:47:54 Not until all of them have been delivered,

02:47:56 we wouldn't budge.

02:47:57 - The colleges of education teachers association

02:48:00 therefore says until the government meets their demands,

02:48:04 they are not resisting or rescinding their decision.

02:48:09 (chanting)

02:48:11 - For the Joy News, my name is Emmanuel Wright speaking.

02:48:16 (upbeat music)

02:48:20 (upbeat music)

02:48:23 - Thank you so much for staying here on the EM show.

02:48:46 Earlier we brought you that story from Kumasi

02:48:48 where CETA announced a strike effective today.

02:48:52 We've been joined by president of the association,

02:48:55 Prince Obengima.

02:48:56 Good morning to you sir.

02:48:57 Thank you so much for joining us.

02:48:59 I understand there was supposed to be a meeting

02:49:01 between your association and the labor commission.

02:49:04 Did that happen?

02:49:06 - For the opportunity.

02:49:10 I must say we have received the letter

02:49:14 that the National Labor Commission

02:49:16 wants to meet with us tomorrow.

02:49:19 And I am looking at the practicality

02:49:22 of we having to be in that meeting

02:49:25 because our Congress that we had in Kumasi

02:49:29 ended early hours of today.

02:49:32 And as we speak now,

02:49:34 all the national executives are on their way

02:49:36 to their respective stations

02:49:38 with somebody having to move to Pushiga,

02:49:42 somebody having to move to Hohoi,

02:49:44 somebody having to move from, I mean to Takra,

02:49:46 they're all from Kumasi.

02:49:47 As we speak now, all of us are in transit.

02:49:51 So the possibility of getting to our places

02:49:53 and then returning to Accra for this meeting tomorrow,

02:49:57 I'm not sure it's there.

02:49:58 - Mr. Obengima, I ask this question

02:50:01 because if there was a letter indicating

02:50:05 the readiness of the labor commission

02:50:08 or the labor commission inviting you

02:50:10 for a meeting over this matter,

02:50:12 one would assume that you would have had that meeting

02:50:16 before declaring the strike.

02:50:18 But your declaration of the strike, I beg your pardon,

02:50:22 presupposes that meeting has happened

02:50:24 and probably ended in a stalemate.

02:50:27 So if the meeting hasn't happened,

02:50:29 why didn't the association hold on

02:50:31 until that interaction with the labor commission?

02:50:35 - Yeah, in the first place, I just want to put it out there

02:50:41 that the labor commission came out with orders

02:50:45 to be complied with.

02:50:46 That is on the 2nd of May this year.

02:50:50 And when the commission comes out with its orders

02:50:53 and one party is not complying,

02:50:55 it is up to the commission to ask its way

02:50:58 that goes to court for superior orders

02:51:02 to ensure enforceability.

02:51:04 So all those things, the labor commission can do

02:51:07 without SITAC coming in.

02:51:08 In any case, SITAC never,

02:51:11 within the period that we sent the letter

02:51:13 to the labor commission and we came out with the presser,

02:51:16 indicating that we wanted to meet,

02:51:18 labor commission never, for the record,

02:51:21 invited us for any meeting.

02:51:22 So I'm surprised that the impression is being created

02:51:26 like we've been impatient

02:51:27 and that we should have waited for any meeting

02:51:31 that was supposed to have happened

02:51:32 before declaring our action.

02:51:35 There wasn't anything like that on the table.

02:51:38 - So at this point, you've referenced

02:51:41 an earlier incident in May, right?

02:51:44 Where the labor commission intervened.

02:51:46 And you're saying that the other party,

02:51:49 which is government, didn't comply

02:51:52 or didn't implement, rather,

02:51:55 the agreement between the labor commission,

02:51:59 yourself and government.

02:52:01 Since that time, has there been any meeting,

02:52:05 any explanation given as to why

02:52:08 the implementation didn't happen?

02:52:10 - In fact, we have written several letters

02:52:16 to the National Labor Commission,

02:52:18 separate letters to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission,

02:52:24 to the finance ministry,

02:52:26 all in our attempts to let them know

02:52:28 that they have a responsibility towards us.

02:52:31 They have a responsibility towards complying

02:52:33 with the orders which have economic implications

02:52:36 on our lives.

02:52:37 And all along, that has not been done.

02:52:40 And it must be said that in the orders

02:52:43 that were given by the labor commission,

02:52:45 the government and its assigns

02:52:48 were supposed to have implemented,

02:52:51 and so to speak, to have paid what was outlined in there.

02:52:55 So they weren't ordered to,

02:52:57 as it were, come up with explanations.

02:52:59 For us, the only definition of compliance

02:53:03 to the orders would be paying what they have to pay,

02:53:06 but not to come up with letters to explain,

02:53:08 we have done A, B, C, and D.

02:53:10 Because all those things do not translate into,

02:53:13 I mean, money, push or solve bread and butter issues.

02:53:16 - Mr. Abiyahumaa, is it right to conclude

02:53:20 based on your responses to my question now

02:53:23 that you are not ready to engage

02:53:25 with the National Labor Commission

02:53:26 until, in your words, it asks government

02:53:31 or government and its assigns to do what they have to do?

02:53:35 - If I get you right, that we were not ready

02:53:40 to engage with the National Labor Commission.

02:53:43 - I'm only asking, based on your responses

02:53:46 to me this morning, do I get the sense

02:53:49 that you are not willing to engage

02:53:51 the National Labor Commission

02:53:52 because you want the National Labor Commission

02:53:55 rather to ask government to comply

02:53:58 with its earlier directives?

02:54:00 - I believe that is what the law says.

02:54:01 If order is given and one party is not complying,

02:54:04 the Labor Commission goes to the superior court

02:54:08 to get order, to get the party that is not complying

02:54:11 to comply, and here, the noncompliance

02:54:14 is coming from government and they are assigned.

02:54:16 So I would be surprised there will be

02:54:18 any action against SETAC.

02:54:20 Rather, it should be the finance ministry

02:54:23 and the other people who are supposed to pay.

02:54:25 That should be compared to, I mean, do the needful.

02:54:29 - Hmm.

02:54:30 Now, you've just told us that you ended your program

02:54:35 in the early hours of today, and your reps

02:54:38 are all traveling to different parts of the country,

02:54:40 and so it will be difficult to meet

02:54:42 the National Labor Commission tomorrow,

02:54:43 but are you willing to do so at any time

02:54:46 in the week or the coming days?

02:54:48 - Oh, sure.

02:54:49 Labor Commission remains a legal place,

02:54:51 and for all of us workers, employees, and employees,

02:54:54 and SETAC, we've always been law-abiding,

02:54:56 except that meetings of that nature,

02:54:59 inconveniences and the fact that locations,

02:55:02 all those things have to be factored in,

02:55:04 and we come to agreement.

02:55:05 So at the end of the day,

02:55:07 there should be some form of engagement,

02:55:08 but rushing us into a meeting where you give us a letter

02:55:13 and then within a day, we have to be there,

02:55:16 it's something.

02:55:17 And let's look at the drama surrounding the whole thing.

02:55:21 We went on, I mean, we came out to the press

02:55:24 a couple of weeks ago.

02:55:26 We have a document to prove

02:55:28 that National Labor Commission indeed

02:55:29 have been rude to the Finnish Ministry of Finance

02:55:32 to furnish it with what steps they were taking

02:55:36 towards responding to all compliance with the things.

02:55:41 They didn't do, they sat there yesterday,

02:55:43 the defense, once the defense declared the strike,

02:55:46 then the Ministry of Education

02:55:47 will quickly come out with explanations.

02:55:49 Run to the National Labor Commission.

02:55:51 We have done A, B, C, and D.

02:55:53 So on the strength on that,

02:55:54 to compel the people to,

02:55:56 as a to a restraint from embarking on their strike action.

02:55:59 Labor Commission writes well,

02:56:01 that if done A, B, C, and D, my sister,

02:56:04 we live in a country where compliance,

02:56:07 where compliance should be something we all have to do.

02:56:11 Whether you are a government,

02:56:12 whether you are employer or employee,

02:56:14 you should be seen as setting the pace of compliance

02:56:18 with others, so as others would also see.

02:56:20 So we are surprised that yesterday, magically,

02:56:23 the Ministry of Education came out with those explanations.

02:56:26 And then whether by coincidence or whatever,

02:56:28 the same yesterday,

02:56:30 the National Labor Commission wrote to SITAC.

02:56:33 That is interesting, that's interesting.

02:56:36 - The lack of implementation of these negotiated conditions

02:56:40 is not only your concern,

02:56:42 you also have a concern with the burden on tutors

02:56:46 in colleges of education

02:56:47 because of the kind of system you run.

02:56:50 Is that also a reason for the strike?

02:56:52 Or that is a separate issue that you would want

02:56:56 the Ministry of Education to address?

02:56:59 - This is a perfect opportunity for us to raise that issue.

02:57:03 That's why we've added this into it.

02:57:05 But we know that money isn't all.

02:57:08 Even the work we did in 2022,

02:57:11 the compensation, when we're asking for two months,

02:57:14 in the wisdom of the commission,

02:57:15 they say which we paid one month, that has not been paid.

02:57:18 We continue to do that all year round.

02:57:20 Our people are saying that,

02:57:22 look, let's get to a point

02:57:24 where we'll have all the students on campus,

02:57:26 like what is done in all such institutions.

02:57:28 Well, there's no law that says that

02:57:31 when you are in a such institution,

02:57:32 all of you should be more than nine.

02:57:34 Let us students go and rest accommodation

02:57:36 and those that can be accommodated, so be it.

02:57:39 So at the end of the day,

02:57:41 within every academic year,

02:57:42 there will be two mandatory inter-semester breaks.

02:57:45 All of us will be on campus,

02:57:47 we will start and then finish.

02:57:49 We should adopt the in-out-out-in system.

02:57:53 So all the folk will be on campus.

02:57:55 If we have this opportunity and we don't drum home that,

02:57:58 and we wait till we start academic year

02:58:00 before we are bringing that thing up,

02:58:02 then we've done deserve it, the system.

02:58:04 That's why we're bringing that one up.

02:58:07 - Finally, sir,

02:58:08 how long are you willing to embark on this strike?

02:58:12 Is there any point of compromise for you?

02:58:16 - The dictates of the national delegate conference

02:58:21 that came out with a 10 for us to implement,

02:58:27 not until we have seen total compliance of the orders,

02:58:31 which include all the itemized things

02:58:34 we have in our documentation,

02:58:35 we are not going to bow.

02:58:37 - I appreciate your time here this morning.

02:58:40 That's Prince Obingima,

02:58:41 he's president of the Colleges of Education.

02:58:44 - Very grateful to you.

02:58:45 - Of Ghana, and they have just declared a strike.

02:58:48 They are demanding a couple of things.

02:58:50 They want their arrears paid.

02:58:53 You may recall that in January this year,

02:58:54 they embarked on a strike,

02:58:56 and there was a meeting

02:58:58 between the National Labor Commission,

02:59:00 and there were some points to implement,

02:59:05 or some orders to be complied with

02:59:08 by government and its assigns,

02:59:10 but it hasn't happened,

02:59:12 and CETEC has in fact on another strike.

02:59:15 We'll be following up on this closely for you,

02:59:18 and let you in.

02:59:19 Shortly though, we will be taking your comments.

02:59:22 It's time to get interactive with you.

02:59:23 Do stay, I'll be back in a moment.

02:59:25 (dramatic music)

02:59:29 (dramatic music)

02:59:32 Thank you so much for staying,

02:59:54 and Benjamin has joined me.

02:59:56 Before we say goodbye to you though,

02:59:57 let me just read a few of your comments

02:59:59 as we get interactive on that conversation

03:00:02 Benjamin had with some of our analysts

03:00:04 on the Mid-Year Budget Review,

03:00:06 and this is from Rita.

03:00:07 She says, "Professor Bopping always makes

03:00:10 "economic and financial analysis so easy

03:00:13 "for even the layperson.

03:00:14 "He said recovery will be slow and painful,

03:00:16 "and Ghana should take him seriously,

03:00:18 "and we need to reduce our expenses."

03:00:20 That's from Rita,

03:00:21 and our other says, "Talk is always cheap.

03:00:24 "I'll learn it, rather.

03:00:26 "Prof is always preaching negativity."

03:00:28 I don't know which of the profs he's referring to,

03:00:30 'cause there were two of them, right?

03:00:32 Prof Isaac and--

03:00:34 - At that point, when that message came,

03:00:36 the person was referencing Professor Bopping.

03:00:38 - Bopping, okay.

03:00:38 I wasn't sure, so I just had to be careful.

03:00:42 And Abu Kassim Kabori says,

03:00:44 "Aren't we tired of these theory economists?"

03:00:47 I'm wondering why he's referring to them as theory economists.

03:00:50 - They share their financial academics.

03:00:55 - Another person says, "Let's be practical as well."

03:00:58 And let me just take this last one.

03:01:00 This one says, "Professor Isaac Bwedi

03:01:01 "is doing very well with his submissions."

03:01:04 And Stephen, I think you read this one.

03:01:07 And I don't know why government

03:01:08 doesn't involve these technocrats.

03:01:10 But the big question is--

03:01:12 - Sometimes the technocrats sit with them,

03:01:14 but government doesn't listen.

03:01:16 (speaking in foreign language)

03:01:18 - So sometimes that's a challenge, yeah.

03:01:21 - That's the problem.

03:01:22 Well, this is how Far and Wide has brought us,

03:01:24 and we're wrapping up on The AM Show.

03:01:26 It's been an insightful day.

03:01:27 - Yes, yes, yes, yes.

03:01:28 - And as for the talk on the budget, it will continue.

03:01:31 - Definitely.

03:01:32 - Tomorrow, the day after that, a few days.

03:01:36 But this is how we saw it up on The AM Show this morning

03:01:38 with Bernice and Benjamin.

03:01:41 So much for joining us for today.

03:01:44 Joy News Desk is up next.

03:01:46 It's a very familiar face.

03:01:47 We'll see you shortly.

03:01:49 - Take care.

03:01:51 (dramatic music)

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03:02:23 (upbeat music)

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AM Show || Ghana's economic recovery will be slow and painful - Prof. Bokpin

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