Vodafone Ghana's 101-year-old customer receives wonderful Vodafone package to connect with great-grandchild! Pg
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Monday 13 February 2023 Issue No. 13
A NEW THINKING
BoG defends financing of gov’t expenditure for last year By Benson Afful
Engen, Vivo Energy merge their Africa businesses
By Benson Afful
The combined group will have over 3,900 service stations and more than two billion litres of storage capacity across 27 African countries. Engen is the clear market leader in South Africa with about 1,300 service stations across seven African countries while Vivo Energy on the other hand is a major pan-African retailer and distributor of fuels and lubricants to retail and commercial customers, with over 2,600 service stations across 23 African countries using the Engen and Shell brands. further noted that “PETRONAS will sell its 74 per cent shareholding in Engen to Vivo Energy at completion. The Phembani Group, PETRONAS’ long-standing partner in Africa and Engen’s B-BBEE shareholder, is continuing its strong association with Engen and will remain invested as a 21 per cent shareholder in the South African business.” The transaction is expected to further benefit employees of Engen through a newly implemented five per cent employee share ownership programme, resulting in Engen South Africa being 26 per cent owned by pre2
The central bank says the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported the bank’s financing of the government in 2022 as a crisis management tool to help keep government machinery running and the economy together. BoG said while the IMF and the central bank saw the lending to be “suboptimal,” “it was agreed that this temporary arrangement was needed.” 2
The central bank was responding to public commentary on BoG’s financing of the government in 2022 that it was inaccurate that the IMF came and uncovered the extent of the deficit financing. The central bank has come under pressure in recent times over its decision to support the governCFAO ment’s budget in 2022, with some describing the decision as reckless. On a net basis, the BoG last year
Burkina Shippers Council opens office in Ghana to boost transit trade The Burkina Faso Shippers Council has opened an ultramodern office complex at the Tema Port enclave to facilitate transit trade between Ghana and Burkina Faso. Al Hassane Sienou, the Board Chairman, Burkina Shippers
Council, said the office was built as part of a vast infrastructural programme embarked on by the governing body of the Council through its strategic development plan. Mr Roland Somda, the Minister of Transport, Burkina Faso, said the
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There is more inflation complexity ahead By Mohamed A. El-Erian Nearly two years into the current bout of inflation, the concept of “transitory inflation” is making a comeback as the 3
COVID-related supply shocks dissipate. This comes at a time when it is critically important to keep an
PAC commends GIFEC for its prudence and strong liquidity position 2
Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), an Implementing Agency of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation responsible for programmes to close the Digital Divide, has been commended for its strong operational and financial position by a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament –Isaac Yaw Opoku – Member of Parliament for Offinso South Constituency, who led the review of GIFEC's statement of operations and financial position by the PAC, on 3rd February, 2023. He observed that GIFEC posted an impressive
CFAO expands Mercedes-Benz distribution network in Africa CFAO expands Mercedes-Benz distribution network in Africa CFAO is expanding distribution for luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz in four more African countries: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal. These four markets add to the existing CFAO Mobility network of Mercedes-Benz dealerships, established over the course of a 23-year partnership with the German brand, which is cementing its position as a leading manufacturer with a pivotal role to play in shaping future mobility solutions. Distribution network growth in these four African countries dou3
bles CFAO Mobility’s coverage and confirms its drive to continue developing this key partnership at the premium end of the market. Back in 1999, CFAO Mobility acquired a number of Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Kenya and Tanzania, then extended the
network to Mauritius and Madagascar in 2016. Mercedes-Benz vehicles are now sold in eight countries. They include a fully customizable range of sedans, SUVs and vans featuring iconic models like the C-Class, the GLE and the S-Class. CFAO Mobil-