2

-p rofessor Nanna JaneOpoku Agyeman, theMinister of Education, has

expressed worry over the lack ofrespect for norms and standardspertaining to academic work bysome tertiary institutions in thecouutrv,

She- said the Ministry wasworking with the NationalAccreditation Board (NAB) andNational Council for Tertiaryl.ducation (NCTE) to ensure thatthe images of good institutions inthe country were not damagedsince qualifications fromuniversities in Ghana wererespected for their quality.

The Minister said this in anaddress read on her behalf at the47th Congregation of theUniversity of Cape Coast duringwhich ~,029 students wereawarded degrees from the CentreI,ll' Continuing Education (CCE)during the 20 12/20 13.

The programmes includeDiploma in Basic Education,Diploma ill Psychology andl-oundation of Education, Diplomaill Ed uc a ti o n , Diploma inmanagement studies, Diploma inCommerce, Bachelor inPsychology and foundation ofeducation, Bachelor in commerce,Bachelor Management studies andBachelor ill marketing.

Prof. Opoku-Agyeman said shewas pleased to note .that UCC wasnot only concerned about the sameissue but had actually taken steps in

-,

the recent past to protect its imageboth on the main campus and ·inallthe institutions its mentors.

Shecttlimehded the University'for providing alternative means ofincreasing acc~ss to universityeducation Ihmugh distancelearning mode anil\irged them notto relent on the core values ofensuring quality.

She lauded plans by theUniversity to expand the distancelearning programme by upgradillirthe CCE to a college status toenable it take responsibility, offerits own planning and raise distanceeducation delivery to a higherlevel.

The Minster said the expansionwould improve the mode ofdelivery to includeteleconferencing, radio broadcast,eLearning and that improvedinternet facilities would enable thecollege beam live lectures from theuniversity to all study centres toenable sludents receiveinstructions directly from the-college.

Prof Opoku-Agyemancommended the University for thejudicious use of its internallygenerated income which she saidwas used to finance and implementthe intended expansion andchanges.

The Executive Secretary ofNCTE; Prof. Mahama Duweija,commended members of UTAGfor their approach towards issuesregarding. the Book and Research

Wednesday 4th June, 2014

Allowance and assured them of thecouncil's efforts in ensuring thattheir concerns were addressed.

Pro Duweija dispelled claimsthat students of distance educationwere inferior to the regularstudents adding that the distanceeducation had given opportunity tomany workers who by the demandof their jobs or distance could. nothave furthered their education.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof.'Dornwinl D. Kuupole, said an E-learning platform for the deliveryof academic programmes WRS

almost completed exccept with thcsetting up of electronic servers andequipment and that hopefully bythe end of 20 14, when installationis completed, delivery of postgraduate undergraduate courseswould be facilitated through the E·learning platform.

He said UCC in collaborationwith the Distance EducationStudents Association of Ghana(DESAG) was planning to procuretablet computers for all distanceeducation students on credit toassist students to launch a new eraof learning with InformationCommunication Technology (ICT)as weil as facilitate academicwork.

Prof Kuupole said the plan,expected to be executed by. thecommencement of the nextacademic year, would coincide'with the commissioning of the e-Learning platform and that therewere plans to review and digitize

SNIT goes Biometric

learning modules so that distanceeducation students would nolonger be required to travelaround study centres with largevolumes of modules but just asmall iPad.

He-said the university was inthe process of integrating data ondistance students 01\10 the mainuniversity database and by thisfeat, it was expected that studenlson distance learning will soonaccess their academic materialssuch as ·their modules,

Mr. Fsctus Darko-Pr eko,the Ilranch Managerof the Social Security

National Insurauce Trust(SSNlT) in Ilawku, has called -011the puhlic to cooperate withSSNlT in the ongoing biometricregistration exercise.

He said this at a day'sscnsitization forum organized bythe Trust at Bawku to introducethe new SSNIT biometricregistration to stakeholders andeducate the general public on howit would work.

Mr. Darko-Preko with thebiometric registration all SSNITcontributors' bio-data would bccaptured for the processing ofpension claims since it hadbecome a challenge for mostpensioner s to access their claimsill time after retirement.. . employers and SSNIT members

lie said all SSNIT contributors would have to contact theirand pensioners wo~ld undergo the employers for a scheduled datebiometric regl~trallon and wo.uld for the registration.require captunng offin\ler pnnts, He said the registration wouldphotographs and theIr. Signatures be organized in four phases inafter which a biometric smart card which phase one will requirewill be Issued to them. members who are 54 years and

Mr. Darko-Preko stated that above and all pensioners, phasethe Trust would arrange a two would require members withbiometric registration date with 50 to 53 years and above while

phase three would requiremembers who are 50 years andbelow and the final phase will befor students and all others.

Mr. Darko-Preko said as partof the new business process, allemployers would be issued withnew registration numbers andthese would be used in alltransactions with SSNIT.

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electronically.Prof. Kuupole said starting

from the 2014/20 I5 academicyear, the university will open 12new study centres at Axim,Enchi, Kasoa, Nandom, Lawra,Asankragwa, Bimbilla, Bawku,Dodowa, Nav r o n g o andAkosombo to make access tolearning centres readily close toteachers and public sectorworkers who wish to further theirstudies but still stay close to theirplaces of work.

Ill'en'tdiscardold 'NHIS cardsThe puhllc have been

advised against throwingaway their old National

Health Insurance (NHIS) cardsas it would run alongside thenewly Introduced biometrlccard. -

Mr. Alexander Odoi Nartey,Deputy Chief Executive in-charge

. of Finance and Investment,National Health InsuranceAuthority (NHIA) said the oldcards were still valid anaacceptable by any service provideruntil the five-year tenure expires.

The NHIA is currentlyregistering clients for thebiometric health Insurance cardsin the Greater·Accra, Central andEastern Regions and' hope. toextend the exercise to the rest ofthe regions by December 20 14.

Mr. Nartey made (his known atRegional Staff' durbar at

Takoradi in the Western region andurged staff of the organisation toeducate clients on the process toavoid a mad rush at registrationpoints.

The Ilead of Finance andInvestment said the Authority wasalso scaling up the capitation of thescheme and to improve thee le c tr o n ic-c la ims to ensureefficiency.

Mr. Nartcy askcd variousmanagers of the scheme topopularize the call centrcs toensure effective public

. engagement.Mr. Winfred Agbeibor,

Director, Corporate A ffairs of theScheme said the re-branding of theauthority called for a united effortin administering health careservices to clients.

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36 Opinion • I

Rights and dutiesof the employer

By Charlotte Hanson dismissal, redundancy, among others.These particulars also serve as a

guide to regulating the employmentrelationship and will become thereference document inthe event of anindustrial dispute either in the court orat an adjudicating forum such as theNational Labour Commission (NLC).

In implementing the Labour Act2003, (Act 651)and after 10 years of itspromulgation to enhance industrialrelations practice in Ghana, thequestion that many complainants orpetitioners have posed to the Public

Affairs Unit ofthe NLCiswhether or notthe employer isapprised of itsobligations? Andif indeed theemployer is well-equipped withhis or her dutiesas contained inthe law,howcome theycontinue tobreachagreementsreached betweenthe parties or

offered at the time of the employmentthat governs the relationship?

First and foremost, it is importantto emphasise that the employment·relationship commences the momentan offer of employment is made and anacceptance is given. In other cases, acontract of employment can be verbalorwritten. But whether the contract iswritten on verbal, once there is aworking relationship, there is anagreement, and this agreement shouldbe respected by the parties.

THE employer who hiresthe services of a worker ismandated under theLabour Act, 2003 (Act 651)to fulfil some rights andobligations within the

employment relationship in order toensure that both parties co-exist in apeaceful and harmonious workingenvironment.

while section Eight outlines therights of theemployer, as amongothers, to employ aworker, discipline,transfer, promoteand terminate theemployment of theworker, SectionNine imposes someduties orobligations on theemployer such as toprovide work andappropriate rawmaterials,machinery,equipment andtools, pay agreedremuneration per the contract ofemployment, take all practical steps toensure the worker is free from risk andinjury, develop the human resourcesthrough capacity building, furnish theworker with a copy of the contract ofemployment and also to protect theinterest of the workers.

In Section U&13, the law furtherelaborates on the contract ofemployment and written particulars ofemployment which the employershould furnish the worker within twomonths of commencement of work.

These particulars are eithercontained in a Staff Handbook,Conditions of Service or CollectiveAgreement or any other relateddocument as the case may be.

Disrespectforlabourcontract

Evidence,however, beforethe NLC showsthat in manyinstances,someemployers _disrespect the .employment contract thereby leadingto industrial disputes.. Forexample,

Consequent to theadvanced argument, it isimportant to reiteratethat the negligence ofthe law is no excuse.

First and foremost, it isimportant to emphasisethat the employmentrelationship commencesthe moment an offer ofemployment is madeand an acceptance isgiven.

Conditions of employmentBasically, the document is intended

to outline the conditions ofemployment which include the rightto agreed and or negotiated wages andsalaries, right to annual leave, right toreasonable notice of termination ofcontract,grounds for termination,

, Wotker~ have dccumenfs that outline the conditions of employmentvhlch include the light to agreed and or negotiated wages and salaries.

statistics reveal that some workersworked without any form of contractfrom between one year to 30 years. Insuch situations, when a dispute occurs,the employer denies any form ofemployment relationship since inmost situations, such workers are paid

on "table top' andnot through anyformal means.Unfortunately, suchworkers are alsodenied SSNITcontributions, thus,jeopardising theirretirement.

Furtherinvestigations

reveal that the demand for contract ofemployment may sometimes lead tovictimisation which is followed by

The writer is Public Relationsofficer, National Labour Commission

.I

termination of employment or evendenials with threat of termination ofemployment.

Consequent to the advancedargument, it is important to reiteratethat the negligence of the law is noexcuse. It is, therefore, incumbent onthe employers to strictly adhere to theLabour Law in schedule 1 of Act 651which enjoins aU employers bothdomestic and foreigners to providewritten contract of employment toworkers as failure to do so will be aviolation of the employers' duties andobligations under the employmentrelationship.

Who checks the formation of churches in Ghana?[T is a fact that Ghana's Constitutionguarantees freedom of worship. There is nodoubt about that so it is nobedy's concernwhether one worships Jesus, the Holy Ghost, aSaint, a tree or even air.

However, the pace at which spiritualchurches have been springing up here andthere in the country of late is something thatclearly calls for a second thought before one canwisely decide which church oneshould register

with.This has become important because most of

these churches are merely "wolves in lamb'sskin" seeking nothing but their own selfishends- this is not to say there are no genuinechurches among them.

Moreover, some of the leaders/pastors orpriests of these ever- increasing churches arenothing short of "desperate crooks" who bycomplicated dishonest dexterity, live in

Bible because the leader of the said church atthat time called himself "Jesus" and ··God" attimes, prompting the public to call on the thengovernment to close down the said church.

One question which remains unansweredand keeps on bugging my mind is whetherthere is no body or an institution which sees tothe formation of churches in the country.

mansions at the expense of their poor andinnocent followers. The Bible warns us againstthese false churches.

Though the Constitution allows freedom ofworship, this should not be a licence forspiritual leaders to cheat or mislead innocentfollowers. This is the reason why some yearsago during the presidency of Jerry JohnRawlings in the PNDC era, he banned a certainchurch at Dzorwulu in Accra for misquoting the

Dennis sokpoe,River Agbi Estate,

Tanyigbe-Atidzi,Volta Re8ion.

The cnrontcte Wednesday, June 4,2014 News

Retrenchment of workers, is not, the solution...mining-companies foldFrom MichaelBoateng, Sunyani

THE DEPUTY Minister ofLands and NaturalResources, Mr. Yaw Effah-Baafi, has advised miningcompanies in the country toconsider reducing costswhich do not go into actualmining, instead of theresorting to laying offworkers.

According to Mr. Effah-Baafi, though the mining

companies-are facing numer-ous challenges because of thedecline in gold price in theinternational market, there isthe fear that the on-goingretrenchment by them wouldpromote illegal mining activ-ities in the country,

Speaking at the signing ofthe Ahafo SocialResponsibility Forum(ASRF) Agreement betweenNewmont Ghana GoldLimited (NGGL) and the 10communities of the Ahafo

mine in Sunyani, the Detn-tj'Minister observed that someo(the local highly skilledmine workers already knewspecific areas where gold isdeposited, and might go backto mine it if they areretrenched,

The 53-member ASRF,made up of representatives ofNGGL, traditional councils,the District Assembly, com-munity groups and non-gov-ernmental organisations inthe 10 mine-take communi-ties was established in 2007,

It represents the people inthe mine's catchment areas,

in the planning and executionof the company's socialresponsibility programmes.

The Deputy Ministerobserved that the intention ofNGGL to lay-off 500 to 600workers in the comingmonths, in a bid to sustain itsviable operations, wouldhave dire consequences onthe affected workers andtheir dependents.

He, therefore, appealed tothe mining to, instead,retrench those who do littlework in the mine but collecthuge salaries

Mr. EfTah-Baafi appealed

to the Ghana Chamber ofMines to come out with sug-gestions on how the miningcompanies could help controlillegal mining by sponsoringprospective small scale min-ers, "just as the foreignersare doing for the illegal min-ers who invade their conces-sions and mining leases,"

According to the DeputyMinister, traditional rulersshould support the assem-blies to properly managemining activities in theirrespective areas.

The assemblies shouldalso establish their district

mining committees to over-seer mining activities in thejurisdictions.

Me Jeop Coenen, GenerrManager of the Ahafo Minenoted that the price of goldremained low, while production costs keep on soaring.

According to him, all miing companies arc embarkiron critical cost improvemenmeasures that are necessarybut have some challengingimpacts, and called for thesupport of stakeholders toput their business back on asustainable and profitablepath.

Ghana gets Frenchllecumentetion andlnlormntion CentreBy Bernice Bessey

THE GHANA LibraryAuthority has received aFrench Culture andInformation Desks from theFrance Embassy to encour-age Ghanaian children andadults who visit publiclibraries to discover andknow more about Frenchand Francophone world.

The project, which seeks topromote the teaching, learn-ing, speaking and applicationof the French language amongGhanaians as their daily per-sonal, official, business andsocial dialect, was tagged"Developing competencies in'French for enhanced RegionalIntegration." /

The Deputy Minister ofEducation, Alex Kyeremeh, atthe inauguration of the FrenchDocumentation andInfonnation Centre on Friday,in Accra, noted that the infor-mation desk would help pupilsand students to develop theirlinguistic skills,

He said, as part of the lan-,guage policy of Ministry ofEducation, Ghanaian children,in addition to their mothertongue and English, learn oneor two foreign languages,preferably French,

He attributed the inabilityof children to pursue theirinterest in French due tomarked absence of Frenchreading material in the educa-tion system and in the coun-try's libraries, stressing:"Apart from the departmentsof some French in some uni-versities and AllianceFrancoise where one can find

Societe General receives credit facilityrEAM S~Ir<JILD\NG

, \

'.....",

'some lilerature in French,there is hardly any place inGhana-where one can comeacross any meaningful materi-al in the French language."

Mr. Adjei Appenten, ActingExecutive Director of theGhana Library Authority, saidthe materials would fosterself-education, teaching,learning and knowledge inbasic French,

He said the authority, incollaboration with otherorganisations and agencies,had about €30,000 worth ofFrench' books, movies, equip-ment and games donated tolibraries across the countrylast August.

"This is to facilitate inter-cultural dialogue and encour-age socio-economic interac-tion," he stated,

The corner has so far pro-vided access to informationmaterials in French, and thefrancophone world, to over7,541 Ghanaian readers in amatter of IS months,

The essence of t'he libraryin communities is to promotelifelong learning by accessingrelevant information, encour- -age cultural diversity, preser-vation of literacy heritage, andfacilitation of the knowledgeof the people,

The Acting Director, ho'-v-ever, said libraries across 'hecountry were in pressing needof inadequate furniture andhad financial constraints, and,therefore, appealed to individ-uals, philanthropists, non-gov-ernmental organisatians, andcorporate entities to comple-ment the government's effortstowards a public library sys-tem.

Societe General Ghana hasreceived a 20-million Eurocredit facility from theEuropean !nvestmentBank (EIB) to supporfs~lall and medium-size"private sector companies.

Me Gilbert Hie,Managing Director ofSociete General Ghana, tolda press conference in Accraon Tuesday that the bank iscommitted to the growth ofsmall and medium sized pri-vate sector companies inGhana, through its partner-ship with internationalfinancial institutions.

He said the IO-year creditfacility would provide long-term financing for the bene-ficiaries at a cheaper rate,with focus on exports.

Me Hie commended EIBfor the significant contribu-

tions to development of theprivate sector in Ghana,\ndgave the assurance thatSociete General would con-tinue to assist with thedevelopment of the financialsector locally,

Mr. Christophe Lucet, a, representative of EIB, said

the credit facility was thefirst initiative within aplanned EUR 80 millionEuropean Investment Bank

, Iprogramme, expected toleverage at least EUR 16:million investments in thecountry.

"The European ,Investment Bank is ple= sodto work together withSociete General Ghana andbuild on the success of simi'-lar cooperation with otherbanks both in, Europe andAsia, and the new engage-

ment ~ill increase theinvestment by the privatesector essential for econom-ic development, and reduc-ing the poverty in Ghana,"he said,

Mr. Lucet said the E~ iscommitted to supporting thefinancial sector in Ghana,and stimulating private see-tor development acrossAfrica,

Me Ignacio Burrull,Head of Cooperation of theDe egation of the EuropeanUnion (EU), said the sup-port by EIB is fi.lly coherentwith the 'EU acition ill thecountry, and with .the agreedEU Joint Programming2013-2016 for Ghana,

"Moreover, this· supportbrings the opportunity tocomplement future EU-funded initiatives in the area

of creation of decentemployment, and supportmicro, small and mediumenterprises in the frame ofour bilateral external assis·tance with the governmentof Ghana for the period2014-202," he said,

The r.ew lending pro-gramme wi. I allow SocienGeneral Gha~a to provideloans in Eurc; and US dolars for up to 10 years,

Lending under thescheme will focus on higladded-value sectors, inching agriculture, manu facting, construction, transpoeducation and healthcarc.well as reinforcing crucirlong-term investment by,Ghanaian companies to spert growth and create jc-GNA

African Economic Research Consortium Workshop OpensThe 39th plenary session

of the African EconomicResearch Consortium's

(AERC) Biannual Researchworkshop to monitor theprogress and quality of variousresearch projects sponsored bythe Consortium has opened in I

Accra.

finance," he said.He said the role of

research meeting policy hasmanifested itself throughcollaborative study projects withmore immediate payoffs.

Prof Senbet said thesechallenges notwithstanding,according to a recent African

The five-day event is on Development Bank report, taxthe theme: "Public Finance: Tax revenue collection has improvedand Expenditure Reforms in in many African countries.Africa". "While tax revenue

Pro f e s s 0 r Le m m a collection has improved, thereSenbet, the Executive Director, are many leakages and "gaps" toAERC, speaking at the opening be plugged, leading to a moreof the event said the Consortium effective tax administration thathas been in business of capacity would contribute to improvingbuilding in advancement of revenues," he added.research and training to inform taxation, indicating that, there revenues from consenting Dr Hen r y K 0 f ieconomic policies in Sub- was the urgent need for more citizens in poor and increasingly Wampah, Governor, Bank ofSaharan Africa. revenues to enable poor states to open economies for the G h a na co m m en d ed the

He said many countries provide and maintain even the development of their economies. Consortium for theirin sub-Saharan Africa were most basic public services. "G 0 v ern in e n t sin contribution to the economicfaced with a myriad of Hesaidtheehallengefor African countries are therefore strives on the African continentchallenges with respect to taxation was to raise domestic facing hard choices about public through their workshops, GNA------------------

programmes on economicmanagement among others.

He said the theme for theworkshop could not have comeat an opportune time when mostof the economies in A frican wereexperiencing volatility as well asdomestic fiscal challenges.

In Ghana, the Governorsaid government responded tothe cedi depreciating with anumber of instruments and set ofregulations and conducts forforex bureau operators to ensuretransparency.

"Unfortunately, some ofthese measures weremisunderstood by externalinvestors to mean. theimposition of control, however,further explanations restore theinvestor confidence by theirparticipation in the current bondissues," he added.

Standard Chartered GhanaDelivers Exceptional 2013 Results

Standard Chartered Ghanahas announced its bestever financial results in

the past decade, indicatingsignificant growth in operatingprofi ts and income.

The Bank said theunderlying performance in 2013was a testament to the Bank'scommitment to delivering ontargets and deepening of itsclient-led strategy whilesensuring a strong balance sheet.

Commenting on theresult Mr Kweku Bedu-Addo,Chief Executive, StandardChartered Bank Ghana said"Our overall performances in2013 is an achievement we arevery proud of as a Bank becauseit demonstrates that we arebuilding a sustainable businesswith a healthy balance betweenthe pursuit of profits andensuring a robust riskmanagement and complianceculture".

He said theperformances showed an ever

StandardCharteredconsistent diversification ofincome growth with a strongfocus on the basics of bankingand a concerted effort atstrengthening its riskmanagement, controls andcompliance standards.

He said in spite of theadverse effect of the dollarliquidity squeeze in Ghana lastyear, the Bank's continuouscommitment to maximisingshareholder value remainedcentral to its strategy and was

prominent in improving itsrevenue streams.

Standard Chartered..Bank income rose 49 per cent toGH¢420 million while profitbefore tax increased by 60 percent to GH¢273 million.

Wholesale Bankingincome grew by 59 per cent toGH¢267 million with anoperating profit before tax by 60per cent to GH¢203 million.

Consumer Banking income

grew by 34 per cent to GH¢ 153million with a profit before taxGH¢70 million, up by 63 percent with Earnings per share(EPS) growing by 52 per cent toGHC¢I.77 with Return on

Equity (ROE) at43 per cent.

Mr Bedu-Addo said the Bank'spriorities in 2014 were to deliverbusiness performance,consolidate organisationrestructuring, improve operatingefficiency, to raise the bar onconduct and develop the nextgeneration of leaders in thebank.

He said the Bank remainedfocused on delivering strong

profits and returns to investorsdespite the CUITentheadwinds inthe economy.

"We have experienced aslowdown in business activityand there are more crnarket andliquidity issues to deal with. Ourpursuit of growth under toughmarket condition needs to bebalanced by equal emergingrisks and threats to our businessfor effective management andmitigation," Mr Bedu-Addosaid.

He said the Bank wouldalso focus on the re-organisationto improve operating efficiencyby removing duplication ofcertain key functions andinvesting in scalable technology.

"We will digitise wherepossible while we simplystreamline or align some localprocesses better with the rest oralign some local processes betterwith the rest of the StandardChartered Group,"Bedu-Addosaid.

Shareholders approveda final dividend of GH¢ 1.15pcrshare compared to GHC¢0.47paid out in 20 12.

GNA

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Searchlight BusineSS with Wilfred OTOO

NIB Takes Over FirstGhana Savings And Loans

The National InvestmentBank (NIB) willrecapitalize the First

Ghana Savings and Loans Limited(FGSL) with about GH¢12m toenable the company to meet itsminimum capital requirement setby the Bank of Ghana.The process will see the bankreleasing GH¢5 million each in Juneand August this year to FSGL, whilethe remaining amount of about GH¢2million will be released in Decemberthis year.With a resolution to that effectpassed by the shareholders, NIB isset to own more than 90 per cent ofthe company, thereby making it themajority shareholder.At the Extraordinary Annual GeneralMeeting of FGSL in Accra onWednesday, the Board Chairman ofFirst Ghana Savings and Loans, MrEmest Mawuli Agbesi, said the movewas intended to allow the companyto meet the December 31 deadline setby the industry regulator or facecomplete shutdown."We hope the recapitalization willput FSGL on its rightful position inthe financial industry to enable usappreciate the wealth of ourinvestment the next time we meethere", he told a handful ofshareholders of the company inAccra.The financially distressed anddormant company, then First GhanaBuilding Society, has been recordingheavy losses for more than fiveyears; a situation which nearly forcedit into liquidation.

Strategic PlanIn its quest to ensure that the fresh·capital is not wasted, Mr Agbesi,who is also the Chief ExecutiveOfficer of NIB said, "a strategicplan has been put in place toincrease the scope of operations ofFGSL to include small andmedium-scale enterprises (SMEs)and other business loans inaddition to its tradition ofmortgage lending."The extraordinary general meeting,therefore, authorised the directorsof FGSL to carry out therecapitalisation and also selladditional shares to interestedmembers from June to December,2014.The board chairman used theopportunity to apologise to theshareholders for the inability of thecompany to pay dividends toshareholders since 2009 andpledged the commitment ofmanagement to ensure that newcapital injection would help themto turn the company around."With these new funds, we will beable to take up big tickettransactions to place us in a betterposition to compete in the market,"he explained.FGSL FinancialsTotal income ofFGSL fell fromGH¢2.8 million in 2012 toGH¢2.5Im in 2013; representing anegative variance of 10 per cent.However, deposits rose by 12 percent from GH¢ I 0.41 million in2012 to GH¢H.6 million in 2013.

i i II Sociele G~~erale Takes lis Turn: . AI FOCI$;!Behind The Figu~es

Report by Wilfred OTOO

The Managing Director ofSociete Generale Ghana,Mr Gilbert Hie, has

stressed ·the need for thegovernment to initiate moves tofix the economic imbalances inorder to restore confidence inthe Ghanaian economy.With particular emphasis onrising inflation and the decline ofthe local currency, cedi, againstmajor foreign currencies, he saidgovernment needs to need to berealistic because as long as thosemacroeconomic parameters willnot be rebalanced properly, it will

STANBIC UNVEILS MONEYWALLET MULTI-CURRENCY CARD

Report by Bell AWI/fetey LARYEA

Stanbic Bank Ghana hasintroduced the Stanbic MoneyWallet Multi Currency Card at

a ceremony in Accra.The card which is the first of its kind inthe country comes with a safer and aconvenient alternative to foreigncurrency notes and further allowscustomers and non-customers of thebank to load and have access to up tofour foreign currencies on a single card.Besides, travelers can avoid forex andcurrency fluctuation costs whenoperating on their business transactions,between the USA, United Kingdom,Europe and South Africa.The card, a product of Stanbic is inpartnership with Master Card and comeswith numerous reloading options andcan be used for e-cornrnerce businessactivities as well as point of salesservices and ATM cash withdrawals at

over 36.9 million locations in over210 countries across the world.Interestingly, the value of foreignexchange is locked in upon purchasewhich however protects the holderagainst foreign exchange rate swingsand attendant losses.At a media launch, Head, Personal andBusiness Banking of the Bank, NanaDwemoh Benneh said state of the artsolutions will be provided to its valuedcustomers.The card forms part of the innovativemeasures put I place to enhance tirere~tionship between the bank and itscustomers."Customers have been relieved fromcarrying a lot of cash during travels asaccess to their money is also withintheir reach," said Nana DwemohBenneh.Nii Odartey Lamptey, ManagerTransactions Products said customersand non-customers can have access to

the bank branch and explained thatusers must use the cards a lot more andless cash."The card is a precursor to a corporatetravel card solution and other cards tobe rolled by the end of20 14," said NiiOda rtey Lamprey.Speaking to the Daily Searchlightshortly after the launch, the ManagingDirector of Stanbic Bank, Mr. AlhassanAndani said the card is one of theinnovative products in the travel andbusiness environment which the bankhave rolled out to the convenient ofclients.HIt makes the traveler cash free in hisbusiness engagements and easy to carrythe card from one end to the other,"said Alhassan Andani.Stanbie Money Wallet is issued andactive instantly upon purchase and has afive year life span and there are notransitional fees when used for POSpayment and e-commerce,

be difficult to attract investors.According to him doingbusiness under suchunfavourable conditions is notthe best, adding that "any kindof business with 15 per centinflation and more than 20 percent depreciation of thecurrency is very difficult."Proposing what should be doneto salvage the ailing economy,he said "what is very importantto restore Ghana's confidence,especially vis a vis foreigninvestors, is to quickly restorethe balances and reduce thefiscal deficit."Inflation, which measures theaverage change in the price ofgoods and services acquired forthe purpose of consumption, hasbeen on a rising trend, with theApril 2014 rate pegged at 14.7per cent.Despite measures put in placeby the Bank of Ghana to halt thedecline of the cedi, it has stillrecorded some free fall which,according to Bank of Ghanafigures, stands at aboiit 23. I percent since the beginning of theyear.This has made the localcurrency one of the weakestcurrencies on the continent.Today, US$I is beingexchanged for almost GH¢3.00,something Mr Hie described asa sad spectacle for the economy."Although it is not popular atall, I think it is absolutelynecessary to reduce theimports," he said.

In 2013,Ihc economy recorded afiscal deficit of lO.8 per cent ofGross Domestic Product (GDP)and in 2012, it stood at 11.8 percent.This was as a result of thegovernment's expenditure beingmore than its revenue, resulting inthe imbalance.Total revenue and grants for 2013was GH¢ 19.2 billion, against abudget target of GH¢22.S billion.Of this, domestic revenueamounted loGH¢18.7 billion,below thc target ofGH¢21.3billion.Total tax revenues amounted toGH¢ 14.3 billion, lower than thetarget ofGH¢17.1 billion.Total expenditures, includingpayments for the clearance ofarrears and outstandingcommitments, amounted toGH¢28.6 billion, lower than thebudgct targct of GH¢30.S billion.All these have created seriousimbalances in the economy, as wellas eroded confidence in theeconomy, the reason manyeconomic analysts are calling forurgent restoration of themacroeconomic indices.According to Mr Hie, although ithas been a difficult period in 2014,the bank will position itself toensure that it remains profitable."I believe that 2014 will be moredifficult, it doesn't mean that ourperformance will be declining, itmeans that IVC will need to manageit in a different way," he said.