26th Gitmo 2 Judgment day

Gitmo 2 judgment day

Tomorrow morning, the Apex court of the land, the Supreme Court (SC) will deliver judgment on the famous two ex-Guantanamo detainees popularly called “Gitmo 2”.

The case which has been dragging for some time will be determined for Ghanaians who wished to know what actually transpired during the agreement to be relieved.

Justice William Atuguba, finally slated Wednesday, April 26, 2017, as the judgment to to dispose off the matter during its hearing on February 8, 2017.

The two ex-Guantanamo detainees or Gitmo 2, are Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, who are all originally Yeminis were given asylum by the immediate past administration led by President John Dramani Mahama.

Although the agreement did not go down well with majority of Ghanaians knowing the history of the two as ex-terrorists, they are currently living in Ghana after their release from the Guantanomo Bay Detention Camp in Cuba.

This hullabaloo over their living in Ghana eventually ended up in a suit which was filed in February 2016, by two Ghanaians, Mrs. Margaret Banful, a retired staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and Mr. Henry Nana Boakye from Buokrom Estates, Kumasi, against the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and the Ministry of the Interior for accepting Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby (all Yeminis) in Ghana.

The plaintiffs in their suit avers that, that the circumstances that led to the incarceration of the “Gitmo 2” for 14 years without trial in Cuba as terrorists, had the tendency of threatening national security and should, therefore, be taken back to where they came from.

The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, they (plaintiffs) before the court argued that, that the then President, John Dramani Mahama acted unconstitutionally when he entered into the agreement with the former U.S. President, Barack Obama without recourse to Parliament

During proceedings it was eventually uncovered the President of the day, Mr. Mahama went into the agreement in what is known in the diplomatic circles as “Note Verbales” (Verbal agreement) with the former U.S. President, Barack Obama without recourse to Parliament and not any documented agreement.

The Plaintiffs through their lawyer pleaded with the Supreme Court to order the Attorney-General to produce the said agreement (Note Verbales) before it to ascertain its authenticity.

This was due to the the assertion by the Acting Solicitor-General, Mrs. Helen Awo Ziwu, that the document was “confidential” and that its open disclosure in the court room violated section one (1) of the State Secretes Act, 1962 (Act 101).

The seven-member Supreme Court Justices, presided by Justice William Atuguba, upheld the submission by plaintiffs and ordered that the document be produced before the court.

The contents of the agreement were however studied in-camera, and this was done when the former Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine complied with the instruction as issued.

The apex court subsequently established that there was no security risk with regard to the document and that the trial would take its normal proceedings.

The two Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, are seeking refuge based on the diplomatic agreement between the government of Ghana led by Mr. Mahama and the government of the United States of America led by Mr. Obama both ex presidents of their respective countries.

By Maame Agyeiwaa Agyei

Kempinski Hotel not for the rich-CEO

                             The Chairman of Management Board and CEO, Kempinski Hotels,  Mr. Markus Semer

Kempinski Hotels, owners of the luxury  5-star Kempinski Gold Coast City, Accra has debunked the errors perception that the hotel is for the rich. It is rather meant for ordinary people in Ghana who go there to even buy a drink and have a leisure.

The Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, Kempinski Hotels,  Mr. Markus Semer, made this known in an interview with the Chronicle at the just-ended Africa CEO Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland.

He stressed that, "the rich always go to bigger place and for that matter they do not hold any special view for such places but when it serves as a memorable place for new couples and those who go there to buy water and feel the ambience and it stays with them forever that is what Kempinski is meant to be".

When asked whether Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel has local partners, he answered in the affirmative but declined to reveal them. Mr Semer, however discredited the impulse that one political giant has share in the luxurious hotel.

He said before Kempinski hotels operates in a country it looks out for stability, the health of the economy but they believe that Africa has underwent a great positive change and it will continue to do so.

Mr Semer, indicated that their investment in Africa is going to be selective growth because it will not be a temporary one but something that has come to stay.

According to him, the chain hotel has a long time view for Africa and hopes for the continent notwithstanding the believes are they cannot move quickly since it is a long term growth and would not want to make compromises because their products standards are very high.

 “Our hotels are very large investments", he stated.

He said, Kempinski hotels would like to go to Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, back to Tazania and the partner investor in Accra is very visionary because he understands that, it is not just a hotel, “Its like a lightening house", according to him.

“You remember Dubai, fifteen years ago nobody knew about Dubai, it was just sands and they built the Blue Sky Hotel and all of a sudden everybody spoke about it.” Our investments is a bit in going to be like that, it gives you vision not only in Ghana but Africa as a whole".

Speaking on how Ghanaians are benefiting in terms of employment, Mr. Semer, said, over 90 percent of their employees are from Ghana unlike other outfits (about 368).

 “That’s our way of giving back to the society because we are there to stay.”

Mr. Semer however declined to comment on whether or not Kempinski Gold Coast was making profit because according to him, his establishment is a non-list company but assured that he has no regrets in coming to Ghana regardless of all the challenges.

He was quick to indicate the investments in Africa were going to be a selective growth but they were going to make sure it fits into country and Kempinski.

Although the Kempinski brand is European, there is not so much in common among German and Switzerland and France, so it is very much driven by the local culture and so they try as much to imbibed the local culture wherever they go, Mr Semer said.

Advice

When asked as a business person what would he do to attract more investors in Africa?

He answered: “What can be done, obviously it is a global world and it is very competitive but Africa has all the unique landscape and there is not much continent that can offer such unique panorama".

There are unique culture and landscape that can be very much exploit to its full potential, saying business does not like to make unfruitful(stupid) investments so if a number of investors are willing to come to Africa it means there are a lot of potentials there.

Africa CEO Forum

Mr. Semer, said his company is interested in expanding its presence in the region through selective growth based on strong local partnerships.

“At Kempinski we take a ‘small is beautiful’ approach and the Africa CEO Forum offers a unique, intimate space to connect directly with decision-makers for potential opportunities in Africa, with an emphasis on building strong relationships for the future.” He noted

He added that, attending the Africa CEO Forum was the best thing to do, due the fact that, they have a growth plan for Africa and it was an opportunity to meet decision makers on one platform “If I want to do that in Africa it will obviously take m about two months to meet them and in most cases I would never get access to such high powered business and government decision makers because of protocols here I wash my hands next to ministers, I have had lunch next to investors.”

He added that, he would continue to attend Africa CEO Forum because of the privileges and was hopeful that it would be held in one of their hotels in Africa one day.

Instructively, Kempinski Hotels is Europe’s oldest independent luxury hotel group, created in 1897 (this year celebrating 120 years as a luxury hotelier)with global presence and a portfolio of 75 hotels and residences under operation.

In 2017, Kempinski Hotels will expand its territories by opening five new luxury properties in destinations, Cuba, Latvia, China, Dubai and Oman

Kempinski is committed a long-term value growth strategy to remain an independent European luxury hotel operator

By MaameAgyeiwaaAgyei

Shareholders applaud UBA for impressive results

PIC CAPTION: Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka and Group Chairman, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, at the 55th AGM of UBA Plc, held in Lagos on Friday

The shareholders of the pan-African financial institution, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc applauded the Board, Management and Staff at the 55^th Annual General Meeting of the Bank, held in Lagos on Friday April, 7, 2017.

 UBA shareholders approved the payment of N19.9 billion as final dividend for the financial year ended 31^st December 2016, in addition to N7.3 billion interim dividend paid after the audit of its 2016 Half Year Results.

The shareholders, who unanimously approved the N0.55/share final dividend on every ordinary share of N0.50 each were particularly impressed by the new Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, who delivered unprecedented results to shareholders at his inaugural AGM. UBA had earlier paid an interim dividend of N0.20/share to shareholders, bringing the total dividend for the 2016 financial year to N0.75kobo, an impressive 25% growth over the total dividend of N0.60/share paid for the 2015 financial year. Furthermore, the total dividend of N0.75/share translates to an unparalleled  yield of 14.3% when put in the perspective of UBA’s share price of N5.26 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, as at the close of market on Friday, April 07, 2017.

The Shareholders were excited at the sterling performance of the Group, an impressive 22% year-on-year growth in gross earnings and an outstanding 32% year-on-year growth in profit to N91 billion, in what analysts described as an attestation to UBA’s resilience and enhanced productivity.

Worthy of note to the shareholders is the contribution from the Group’s African subsidiaries, emphasizing its earnings diversification, across geographies which reduces the Group’s vulnerability to macroeconomic pressures in any single market. The Group’s ex-Nigeria subsidiaries contributed 32% of the Group’s profit in 2016, compared to a quarter of profit contribution in the 2015 financial year.

Notwithstanding the challenging operating environment, the Group recorded an impressive 22%  growth in gross earnings to N384 billion in 2016, from N315 billion in the 2015 financial year, illustrating the Bank’s resilience and tenacity to generate earnings even in periods of economic slowdown.

The Group further achieved a significant 32 percent growth in profit before tax to N91 billion, compared to N68 billion profit recorded over the same period of 2015.  UBA’s profit after tax grew by 22 percent to N72 billion, from N60 billion recorded the previous year.

President of the Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Alhaji Farouk Umar, said at the AGM, “It is obvious from the faces of shareholders that all of us are happy with the performance of the bank. We did not expect anything less because we know that that our chairman is an achiever not only locally but also internationally. We have seen the African expansion and its contribution to our earnings and I believe this is also commendable.”

The Group Chairman, UBA Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, gave credit to the chairpersons of UBA subsidiary Boards across Africa saying ‘these hard working men and women, who chair the Boards across our businesses in Africa, have helped contribute a third of the overall profit of the Group. I believe they deserve commendation. They are strengthening UBA brand across Africa, in line with our aspiration.” He was particularly pleased with the Bank’s new CEO, Kennedy Uzoka. ‘At the Board level, we are extremely pleased by the financial performance that Kennedy and his team delivered in 2016. Kennedy and his team prioritize the Customer and they are diligently executing the Customer First project, which the Board believes will sustainably enhance the performance of the Group’ said Elumelu.

“Our results show the tenacity and enterprise of our Management team and Staff. More importantly is our ability to proactively meet customers’ need. I am pleased that UBA maintains some of the best prudential ratios in the industry, as our capital adequacy ratio of 20% and 39% liquidity ratio are well above the 15% and 30% regulatory requirement respectively. We will be prudent in lending to critical growth sectors of the African economies, as we remain upbeat on the huge banking opportunities in Africa’, he added.

He also used the occasion to commend the Federal Government of Nigeria andCentral Bank of Nigeria on their concerted policy actions aimed at reflating the Nigerian economy. ‘I will like to encourage them to continue along this path,which I believe will stimulate the country’s economy in the shortest possible time’.

The Group CEO, Kennedy Uzoka assured the shareholders of a better 2017. “As we further our Customer First Philosophy, we are approaching 2017 with stronger optimism, especially as the outlook remains positive in most of our markets. We are not unaware of the macro economic challenges, competition and constantly changing customer preferences. Rather, we believe we are well equipped to win in the market. We will further sweat our unique Pan- African platform to improve productivity, extract efficiency gains and grow our share of customers’ wallet across all business lines and markets. We will continue to build on our strong governance culture, zero-tolerance for infractions and transparency in furthering our frontiers of leadership in the African market.

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is a leading pan-African financial services group with presence in 19 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France.

UBA was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company after taking over the assets of the British and French Bank Limited who had been operating in Nigeria since 1949. The United Bank for Africa merged with Standard Trust Bank in 2005 and from a single country operation founded in 1949 in Nigeria - Africa's largest economy - UBA has become one of the top providers of banking and other financial services on the African continent. The bank provides services to about 14 million customers globally, through one of the most diverse service channels in sub-Saharan Africa with over 1,000 branches and customer touch points and a robust online and mobile banking platform.

UBA was the first Nigerian bank to make an Initial Public Offering (IPO), following its listing on the NSE in1970. It was also the first Nigerian bank to issue Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). The shares of UBA are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the bank has a well-diversified shareholder base which includes foreign and local institutional investors, as well as individual shareholders.

By Maame Agyeiwaa Agyei