By Leslie Dwight MENSAH Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited says it looks forward to deepening its engagement with clients in all sectors of the economy, after the bank posted another year of impressive growth in its balance sheet and profits. The bank’s assets were boosted by 35 percent to GH¢950million, while pre-tax earnings surged by 54 percent to GH¢40million, according to 2012 financial statements released today. The robust balance-sheet outturn was driven by customer deposits, which increased by 35 percent, the statements showed. “We have always remained focused on our chosen vision, which is to be a reference point in the provision of prompt, flawless and innovative banking services in Ghana,” said Daniel Asiedu, Managing Director/CEO. “This remarkable performance, which balances profitability with growth, is a strong vote of confidence in our vision by customers,” he added. Net interest income more than doubled to GH¢54.6million after interest income improved and interest expenses were lowered. Interest on loans gained by GH¢7.2million following a 63 percent expansion of the bank’s loan-book to GH¢326million -- despite which the non-performing loans ratio declined from 11.2 percent to 8.3 percent in the period. Interest on government securities also rose by GH¢6.94 million, reflecting the higher yields the Bank of Ghana (BoG) offered on Treasuries in a bid to shore up the cedi last year. The bank’s total operating income was also up by 42 percent to GH¢105million, and returns on assets and equity were 5 percent and 23 percent respectively. Mr. Asiedu attributed the fall in interest expenses -- from GH¢37million in 2011 to GH¢25million last year -- to the bank’s deposit mobilisation strategy, led by the current-accounts segment. He said the bank has a diversified loan portfolio as it is “open to mutually-beneficial transactions with customers and businesses from all industries”. In 2012 Zenith Bank continued its pursuit of innovation-driven banking, expanding its electronic-product offering to include Z-Web Acquiring (Verified by Visa) -- a highly-secure Visa electronic card that enables customers to purchase goods online and which was the first of its kind in Ghana. The bank, in its eighth year in the country, was also one of two in the industry to be mandated by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) last year to run the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Direct Debit/Credit Scheme -- an electronic platform for making recurring payments of a specified amount at specific dates through a customer’s instruction to his bankers. Subsequently, the bank entered into a partnership with Multichoice Ghana to allow DStv customers pay their subscriptions using the platform -- with Zenith Bank receiving the payments and paying into Multichoice’s account. Mr. Asiedu said the impact of Zenith Bank Ghana, which is a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc of Nigeria, on customers and the Ghanaian economy has been “phenomenal”. “We have brought a lot more options to the Ghanaian banking customer. As a trailblazer in product innovation, we have offered customers products they could only dream of not too long before.” On the outlook, he said the bank is very confident about the prospects for the economy in 2013, as economic growth is expected to be strong and the forecasts point to an uptick in the output and prices of the country’s main commodities. “We see a lot of opportunities in these. And already we have built the organisational structure, the technological platform, the managerial experience and the financial strength that position us to capture and process these opportunities for the benefit of our stakeholders.”

By Ekow Essabra-Mensah President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ghana Statistical Service to produce quarterly labour surveys to inform policy and planning formulations in the country. The survey is expected to create an accurate database of the unemployed among all categories of the nation’s society. This will ensure that new jobs are accurately recorded and tracked while making it possible to coordinate the various job-creation and employment initiatives. President Mahama made this known at his first State of the Nation Address to law-makers, under the theme “Advancing the Better Ghana: Opportunities for Growth”. This directive has come at a period when the Ghana Statistical Service has announced it is to publish figures on the rate of unemployment in the country, calculated from data collected during the 2010 population census. Head of economic statistics at the Service, Magnus Ebo Duncan, said the official statistics agency will also provide data on the distribution of jobs in the economy. “The tables have been generated, and very soon we will publish the analysis that we have done from the census in a book. In the full analysis that we will bring, you will see the unemployment rate there,” he said. “The move will give policymakers some insight into the extent of unemployment in the country, but more detailed characteristics of the problem will be presented after the Service has completed a labour force survey it plans to undertake this year. “The preparatory work has been done, so now we have to do the training of the interviewers and then we will go to the field,” Mr. Duncan said. Chronic joblessness is the biggest weakness of Ghana’s fast-growing economy. What compounds the problem is that there are no updated data on the jobless rate and the characteristics of the unemployed in the country. One gets a notion of the problem’s pervasiveness from the huge numbers of youth that line the streets “selling things nobody will buy”. Unemployment is also rife among university graduates, with more than half of the graduates who leave the country’s universities not finding a job two years after their national service --and one-fifth are without a job for a third year.

The Ghana National Gas Company has awarded the contract for Project Management Consulting Services for the implementation of the Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project to US-based AECOM Technology Corporation. The US$15.6million contract was signed last week with AECOM -- a global provider of professional technical and management support services. Under the terms of the agreement, AECOM will take over construction and engineering management from Ghana Gas, conduct Factory Acceptance Testing of all critical equipment, supervise integration of all systems, perform pre-commissioning and commissioning of the entire system, and manage transition from construction to operational start-up. AECOM will also develop the Project Management Directorate of Ghana Gas by providing training to Ghana Gas personnel in project management. â€œAECOM’s provision of professional technical management support is perfectly in line with Ghana Gas’ strategy to employ the most advanced technology and project management systems in delivering high quality, reliable gas processing and delivery infrastructure. “We believe that our strategic partnership with AECOM will help achieve greater efficiency in the Project’s implementation and also enable core Ghana Gas staff to focus on the commercial and other critical dimensions of our corporate strategy" said Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, Chairman of the Board, at the signing ceremony. Hitherto, the execution of the project has been supervised by personnel of Ghana Gas, as well as specialist staff seconded from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), the Energy Commission (EC), the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST). In addition, other independent consultants were engaged by Ghana Gas to provide Quality Assurance & Quality Control advisory Services. The project execution is now at the stage where additional complementary services of an industry-experienced and competent project management company to support Ghana Gas to enhance the project management, expedite construction completion, conduct factory acceptance testing and integration of facilities and systems, perform pre-commissioning and commissioning as well as manage transition to operational start-up, have become particularly critical. AECOM on its part has expressed its commitment to support the effective delivery of its services to meet, if not exceed, the expectations of Ghana Gas. The Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Project (WCGIP) Project includes the construction of a 45km offshore pipeline to link with the existing Deep-water Pipeline of the Jubilee Field, and an 111km onshore pipeline to the VRA Aboadze power plant enclave. The project also comprises the Gas Processing Plant at Atuabo complete with LPG storage tanks and a loading gantry for discharge of LPG and other condensates, Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) Export System comprising a pipeline, NGLs Tank Farm to be sited at Domunli, as well as an Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) Buoy for handling sea-going vessels and an Operations and Controls Complex at the project site.

By Kizito CUDJOE, Kumasi The present regime of power supply in the country is badly affecting many businesses in Kumasi, worst of which is the cold-store business. The cold-store operations are heavily dependent on electricity to preserve stocks of fish and meat products. However, the frequent power outages nationwide which have come to be known as “dom so, dom so’’ have now forced operators to resort to the use of generators which are powered by fuel to keep refrigerators running. The situation unfortunately keeps worsening with each passing day, as operators are now compelled to buy unspecified quantities of fuel as a backup plan for power-generators due to the erratic power supply being experienced in the country.  The Manager of one of the leading cold-stores in Kumasi, who spoke to B&FT on condition of anonymity, disclosed they now have to buy about two barrels of diesel a day to fuel their generators at a cost of GH₵930. A barrel of diesel sold for GH₵390 some few days ago, but now sells at GH₵465 as a result of the recent fuel-price hikes. According to the Manager, the Company spends about GH₵3,000 every month on prepaid credit to run operations when there is regular power. Unfortunately, the present circumstances now force them to spend within weeks almost five times the amount of money usually spent on prepaid credit for fuel. He cited, for instance, that if power supply continues to remain unstable for half a month, about GH₵ 13,950 will have to be spent on fuel to power their generators. Despite the cost involved so far to run the cold-store business, the power fluctuations have also caused serious damage to equipment used to the run operations. This situation is observed to be drastically affecting every inch of the cold-store business, and is forcing a lot of people out of work.  â€œA lot of the cold store operators can hardly make any meaningful sales. Huge sums of money are already spent on power to preserve fish and meat stock. We used to sell about GH₵40,000 worth of fish and other products within a day; but as we speak, we can barely sell GH₵5, 000” he lamented.   The irony of the situation is that the stock of fish and meat products sold in most cold-stores in the country are imported, and attract a lot of import duties and other cost to transport it to the hinterlands. It therefore makes the situation very difficult, particularly because any attempt to increase the price of fish and meat to be able to recover some of their losses would overburden customers. Some cold-store operators who could not cope with the huge financial burden have threatened to strip incentives and other packages from their workers in order to mitigate the cost of operation. Job-cuts may however be the next resort if things remain the same for a long while. Workers employed in the cold-store business are regularly screened by authorities as a measure to prevent any contamination. In addition to this, some are placed on the health insurance scheme as part of measures to enable any worker seek immediate medical care in case of any eventuality. These and many other remunerative packages at the moment make it extremely expensive to run the cold-store business, and if no immediate steps are taken by authorities to address the sector’s challenges, most of the cold-store businesses will completely fold-up. Already, other operators of businesses which depend entirely on electricity for their operation in the region are threatening to down-size their staff strength to be able to sustain their business. As power suppliers remain in a deadlock on when this developing power crisis will be resolved, the critical question on many minds is: what short-term measures the suppliers can put in place to lessen the plight of Ghanaians?

By Kizito CUDJOE, Kumasi A study conducted by the Centre for African Elections Media Monitoring Index (CAEMMI) has identified unemployment as the strongest trigger of conflict across the extractive communities in the country. The findings of the study were made public at a joint stakeholder forum organised by CAEMMI in Kumasi, with support from Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and the Centre for Media Analysis (CMA). The event was organised under the theme “Conflict Prevention and Peace Building in Mining Communities: An assessment of conflicts risks in extractive communities in Ghana”. The rising level of joblessness in the country gained a lot of attention during the post-election period, and still remains the most serious development challenge months after the 2012 elections. It was therefore no surprise when CAEMMI’s findings on the extractive communities in Ghana listed unemployment as the leading possible cause of conflict. According to Dr. Messan Mawugbe, Executive Director, CAEMMI, unemployment is also one of the key factors linked to galamsey operations and continues to trigger conflicts in all the mining areas. “In the Brong Ahafo Region, concerns of employment given by Newmont to mostly outsiders rather than indigenes of the community seem to be breeding tension. Although several demonstrations have gone on in the community, there are strong indications that unemployment issues could cause another conflict,’’ he said.   The project critically assessed and ascertained the possible communal conflict triggers in the Ghanaian mining sector; namely the Ashanti, Western, Northern, Brong Ahafo, Eastern and Upper West Regions. Among the six major mining areas that the study covered, it specifically identified Tinga and Kue in the Bole-Bamboi district in the northern region as two areas in the northern part of the country with strong conflict linked to illegal mining, as a result of invasion by foreigners from neighboring African countries. The foreigners are noted to have mainly come from Senegal, Burkina-Faso and Guinea, and are deeply involved in the illegal mining business. It also noted misunderstanding of who has the right to mine on mining concessions between the Azuma Resources (mining Company) and the youth of the region as a higher conflict trigger in Nadowli, Charikpong, Nanga, and Saang -- all in the Upper West Region. He indicated that the study to map and identify conflict in mining areas ran from October 1st to 31st with a focus on profiling possible causes, actors and dynamics of conflict in the mining areas.   The findings of the study also tracked a higher degree of likely conflicts linked to ‘galamsey’ operations in Kenyasi Ahafo in the Brong Ahafo Region, and Obuasi, Abompekrom, Dokiwa among other communities in the Ashanti Region. In the Mpohor Wassa environs of the Western Region, and Akyem and New Abirem in the Eastern Region, there was considerable evidence of conflicts linked to illegal mining -- but unlike the Northern regions, the ratings were not strongly present.

By Evans Boah-Mensah The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is advocating the export of skilled labour as a way of solving the unemployment and underemployment situation in the country. The proposal of the national teachers’ body, which has a membership of more than 200,000, forms part of its input into the 2013 budget statement and economic policy. According to GNAT, government must seriously consider an inter-governmental arrangement with other nations to make way for the export of the country’s skilled workforce in an attempt to address the burgeoning unemployment and underemployment rate in the country. “Government must be seen to be the lead agency in the sector by way of setting up at least one manufacturing plant in each region whose management should be based on public-private partnership. “Another means by which the Government can facilitate job-creation is by exporting skilled labour. “This can be done at government to government level to protect the labour rights of the potential beneficiaries. This strategy will create employment, generate revenue for the state, and also increase foreign remittances into the country,” GNAT said in its proposal to government for consideration into its economic policy statement for this year. The teachers’ proposal to address the unemployment situation is likely to be seen as controversial, as it may be tantamount to supporting the “brain-drain” phenomenon that has been blamed partly for the shortage of certain critical skills in the economy. Ghana’s unemployment problem is worsened by the fact that data on unemployment and underemployment are not regularly generated in the country. Last year, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reported that the unemployment rate in the week before census night on September 26, 2010 was 5.8%, which is distant from the estimates of authors from the Africa Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre and two United Nations organisations in the African Economic Outlook 2012. The report estimates the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 24 in Ghana at 25.6%; twice that of the 25-44 age group and three times that of the 45-64 age group. However, the Ghana Statistical Service has explained that though its unemployment figure as captured in the published census report may appear to underestimate the degree of the problem, the figure is consistent with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) definition of unemployment for a short reference period, which was used in the census questionnaire. “The figure may seem low, but to understand it you have to find out what question was asked during the census,” said Ebo Duncan, Head of Economic Statistics at the GSS. Unemployment, according to the ILO, is among the biggest threats to social stability in many countries including Ghana -- where the economy has been expanding very fast but creating very few jobs. Additionally, the African Development Bank has warned that while Ghana and most countries in Africa are right to be excited about their recent high growth rates, the paucity of jobs in their economies should temper the celebrations. “The continent is experiencing jobless growth. That is an unacceptable reality on a continent with such an impressive pool of youth, talent and creativity,” said Mthuli Ncube, the AfDB’s chief economist. “Creating productive employment for Africa’s rapidly-growing young population is an immense challenge, but also the key to future prosperity.”