Friday, 11th February, 2022
Page 8The Minister of HealthKwaku Agyemang-Manusays, although 1,426people have died asa result of Covid-19,government’s management ofthe pandemic has been a successstory.The Health Minister says,although millions of lives werelost globally due to the pandemic,the government managed toHealthcontain the situation, making itone of two countries that bettermanaged the pandemic.Giving updates on theCOVID-19 situation, Mr.Agyemang-Manu indicated thatthe country now has an activecase count of 527 cases. Fivepeople are in critical conditionand 1, 426 persons have so farsuccumbed to the virus.He was speaking at a pressDAILY ANALYST Friday, 11th February, 2022– Health Ministerconference in Accra on Wednesday,February 9, 2022.“We couldn’t stop COVID-19impacting negatively on thenation. First of all, government’sfinances did not budget forCOVID-19. We didn’t have anymoney as emergency funds tocater for the pandemic, but therehave been successes.”The Health Minister furtheradded that, the country was doingwell in the area of COVID-19vaccinations, stating that 6,000vaccination teams have beendeployed across the country tomake sure that this is achieved.“We will vaccinate as manyas we can within a very shorttime. So, we have started withthe vaccine day to make surethat, people get vaccinated. Inthe process, we have set up about6,000 teams across the countryvaccinating people. So far, Ghanahas received 27.4 million dosesof vaccines and we have administered11.8 million doses out ofwhich 8.3 does are one shot.”The government declaredDecember 2021 as the monthof vaccinations, amid growingconcerns of vaccine hesitancyamong Ghana’s population.This has been accompaniedby vaccine mandates like thedirective to all persons to be vaccinatedon arrival at the KotokaInternational Airport beforethey can be permitted to enterthe country.This has coincided with theemergence of groups kickingagainst vaccine mandates, citingthe potential of fatal adversereactions.Korle Bu successfullyconducts corneatransplants for six patients'Abandoned ' La General Hospitalsproject to commence this year- Minister assuresThe Health Minister,Kwaku AgyemangManu, has givenassurances that theconstruction of the LaGeneral Hospital will commencethis year.The hospital was closeddown in March 2020 to paveway for its redevelopment dueto the dilapidated nature of thestructures.Two years on, work at theproject site is yet to see anysignificant progress.But speaking at a mediaengagement in Accra, theHealth Minister said the workhad been delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and otherdocumentation issues in China.He however said most of thehurdles have been cleared andthe contractor is currently onsiteto begin work.“We had cause to pull downthe hospital because it wascracking and we were scaredthat there could be a disaster.After that, we awarded thecontract, we went throughregulatory processes but wefaced challenges with COVIDand some insurance challengesin China that stopped us fromworking. Now they [contractors]are back on site and the last timethey were looking for a road thatwill help them pull their heavyequipment to the site.”Kwaku Agyemang Manusaid the contractor is howeverundertaking other projectsin Shama and at the Korle-BuTeaching Hospital which arealso ongoing.Many residents havecomplained about the slow paceof work at the site over a yearafter President Akufo-Addo cutsod for the construction.The Member of Parliamentfor the La DadekotoponConstituency, Rita OdoleySowah, also recently expresseddisappointment that work hadnot begun on the redevelopmentof the La General Hospital sincethe old structure was pulleddown.The project is being financedby a credit facility from StandardChartered Bank of the UnitedKingdom, with an export creditguarantee from Sinosure of thePeople’s Republic of China, tothe tune of €68 million with aninsurance cover of €3,860,349.18.The project will beundertaken by a Chinesecompany, Poly Changda.Upon completion, it willbe transformed into a 160-bedfacility and will be fitted withan outpatient department;inpatient wards; maternity andneonatal services; surgical unitwith four theatres; accident andemergency department; publichealth department; pharmacyunit; laboratory; administration;imaging area, with CT Scan,X-ray room, ultrasound,fluoroscopy, mammographyunits; physiotherapy unit; and amortuary.The facility, which wasformerly known as the LaPolyclinic, was established inthe early 1960s.It mainly served residentsof La, Osu, Teshie, Nungua, andits surrounding areas with theirhealthcare needs.Ghana’s premierTeaching Hospital,Korle Bu hassuccessfullyconducted a corneatransplant for six patients.Announcing what has nowbecome a third successfulsession in a series of corneatransplant surgeries, Korle Busaid the recent surgery was thefirst to be funded by partners ofthe teaching hospital.“The Hospital hassuccessfully undertaken CorneaTransplant for Six Patients.The surgery, which was done inpartnership with the Universityof Standford, is the thirdprocedure to be done in Korle Buand the first to be funded by theHospital's partners,” a statementon the Facebook page of Korle BuTeaching Hospital said.The surgery according to thestatement was led by a seniordoctor from the University ofStanford in the United Kingdomand a female doctor from KorleBu.“The Hospital is gratefulto Geoffrey Tabin, a Professorof Ophthalmology and GlobalMedicine from the Universityof Standford and the team fromKorle Bu Eye Centre, led by Dr.Gladys Fordjour, for continuallymaking Korle Bu TeachingHospital a leader in advancedmedical care,” the statement byKorle Bu added.The cornea is a clear outerlayer at the front of the eyeballand acts as a window to the eye.A cornea transplant is asurgical procedure to remove allor part of a damaged cornea andreplace it with healthy donortissue.A cornea transplant is oftenreferred to as keratoplasty or acorneal graft.It can be used to improvesight, relieve pain and treatsevere infection or damage.One of the most commonreasons for a corneatransplant is a condition calledkeratoconus, which causes thecornea to change shape.
DAILY ANALYSTFriday, 11th February, 2022 Page 9OpinionOne of the mostsignificant drivingfactors whenchoosing betweena car that runs onpetrol or electricity is the cost.The cost has a multitude of variablesranging in scope, from fuelcharges to maintenance fees, tothe overall price of the vehicleitself.One of the biggest argumentsmade against electric cars is thatthey are too expensive upfront,and this is simply not true todayas more than forty differentmodels have come to marketwith many tax exemptions addedto them in other markets.In this post, we will be comparingthe charging cost of anElectric Vehicle vs filling a FuelVehicle.Electric vehicles have asignificant advantage regardingcost due to impressive federaland state EV incentives comparedto fuel vehicles. I stronglyrecommend looking into yourstate’s electric-car tax credits asthe tax incentives can drasticallylower the cost of electric cars.Buying an EV in the US seemslike the opposite of how bookinga room in a hotel works.Taxes are added to everyservice you request in the hotel,but tax credits are added to youbuying the EV from federal taxcredits of $2,500 to $7,500 toelectricity discounts and evendealership discounts since mostEV makers do not sell throughdealerships.What is the Cost to Chargean EV in kWh?“A conservative rule usedmostly is that an electric car gets3 to 4 miles per kWh,”. So, dividethe total miles you drive eachmonth by 3, to get the kWh youwould use monthly. Multiplythat number by your cost perkWh. The dollar or cedi amountyou get will most likely be lowerthan what you pay each monthto buy gasoline or petrol.To put this into perspective,let’s give an example. Let’s sayyou drive about 1,000 miles permonth. For an EV, you will use333 kWh in that timeframe.Using the U.S. household averagefrom May 2021 of 14 cents perkWh, it would cost $46.66/monthto charge an EV.The average cost per kWh forGhanaian households as of January2021 average from 32.6 Peswesper kWh for the 0-50 tariffcategory and 61.4 peswes for the51-300 tariff category. So, usingthe 51-300 tariff category becauseyour car might be chargingbetween that range per hour, itwould cost you Ghc 204.5/monthto charge an Electric vehicle for1,000 Miles or 1,609.34 kilometers.Just remember the tariffrates are different for residentialand non-residential.Do the Numbers Add Up?Again, to keep things digestible,let’s use a simple formula.Suppose you put 1,000 mileson your vehicle which is thesame as 1,609.34 kilometres eachmonth, for example, and pay 61.4pesewes in your area for eachkilowatt-hour of electricity. Inthat case, this pegs your at-homeEV recharging bill at Ghc 204.5per month (based on the calculationof 3 to 4 driving milesequaling one kilowatt-hour).Even if you increase your electricrate to 94 pesewes per/kWh, yourEV recharging cost will be Ghc313.33.So, the formula would be forcost of charging would be = (Distancein miles / 3) * Cost per Kwhin your locationHow Does the RechargeCost of Electric Vehicles vs FuelVehicle Compare?Let’s use the 2019 HondaCR-V AWD 1.5 L, 4 cyl, Automatic(variable gear ratios), Turbo,Regular Gasoline which has 30MPG combined city/highwayconsumption.The average cost per gallon is$4.088 (Ghc 24.53) in Ghana and$3.18 per gallon in the US as ofthis writing.So, let’s say your regularmonthly travel is 1000 miles or1,609 kilometers and you usethe 2019 Honda CR-V AWD 1.5L which consumes 1 gallon perevery 30 miles or 48.3 kilometers.You will need to fill the carwith 33.3 gallons of fuel overthe month or period involvedto cover the 1000 miles or 1,609kilometers.So, 33.3 gallons * $4.088 (Ghc24.53) = $136.27 (Ghc 817.67).Using the Honda CRV willcost you Ghc 817 for the wholemonth compared to Ghc 204.5 orGhc 313 if we decide to use thehighest tariff charge of 94 peswesper kWh in Ghana for theelectric vehicle. This means youwill be saving between Ghc 7,358to Ghc 6,056 every year using theEV compared to the Honda CRVin Ghana.Remember this is only anestimate since fuel prices andmileage are so variable though.But considering few cars andSUVs come anywhere close todelivering a 30-mpg combinedaverage, my conservative estimatein this scenario makes itclear that recharging will costless than keeping a car refueled.The financial gap narrows witha more fuel-efficient car, but itremains.Electric Vehicles vs FuelVehicle charging stations: availabilityand costMost electric cars nowadayscan go about 200 to 350 mileson a single charge with 400miles + expected soon, and theavailability of public electric carcharging stations is growing.(Currently, there is 72,000 electricvehicle charging stationsin the US, compared to 136,400gas stations, CNBC has reportedmeanwhile China has 1,680,000charging stations. But in Ghana,there is none except at individualhomes. So, it (theoretically)should be rare to find yourselfrunning out of power with novehicle chargers nearby.Many EV owners buy theircharging stations for home use.The cost of installing one in yourhome varies, and if you live in ashared apartment getting oneput in may be tricky. For thecheapest model, which gives you5 miles of charge per hour a vehicleis plugged in costs between$300 and $2,300 for the unit andinstallation, according to Fixr.Unlike a typical 240-voltLevel 2 home recharging system,Level 3 chargers are prohibitivelyexpensive for a privateindividual to have installed.Tesla has its own dedicatedSupercharger network. The ratescan vary widely depending onregion, timing, the model of Teslabeing charged and not othersEVs can charge on their networkas of now, and even if you chooseTier 1 or Tier 2 recharge speeds(the latter being quick but moreexpensive).Maintenance Cost of AnElectric VehicleWe all know EVs have fewermoving parts than their engine-poweredcounterparts.There are no engines to maintain,no belts to check, no oilto change and the list goes on.As you might imagine, havingfewer mechanicals to check andmaintain makes running EVssignificantly cheaper, and theU.S. Office Of Energy Efficiencyand Renewable Energy has recentlygiven us insight into justhow much cheaper electrics canbe as part of a look at the government’sown vehicle fleet.Electric cars aren’t exactlymaintenance-free so let’s look atthe top five electric car maintenanceneeds and things thatcould lead to repair.- Tyre rotation.It’s common to all cars buton EVs, it remains important ifnot more so because they swapout their heavy transmission enginesfor a heavy battery puttinga lot of loads on tires.- Braking system on yourcar.Not the pads but the fluidthat puts pressure on the padsto the rotors. This is key becauseif they get stagnant, pollutedit doesn’t work right. These arealso changed in fuel vehicles aswell.- The coolant in yourelectric car.Though there’s no engine,there’s a cooling system thatkeeps everything under the hoodcool. You will still change thecoolant in your internal combustionengine car, and it mightbe changed more regularly thanthe EV.- Break ServiceNow we are talking pads androtors. Same thing will be doneon your internal combustionengine vehicle.I can’t give you the numberof miles or number of monthsbefore you can get the brakesdone.- BatteryThe number one maintenanceside of your EV is themotive power battery. This isthe heart of your car’s range andtherefore its livability as well asyour car residual value whetheryou’re leasing or buying it. Well,you will have to change your carbattery in your internal combustionengine but that cost lessthan the EV.So technically, all maintenancecost associated with theEV is also associated with the internalcombustion engine exceptthey are much smaller and willnot be done regularly as in yourfuel driven car.Price of An Electric VehicleIt is obvious we don’t makeEVs in Ghana or Africa and inthe same way, we don’t have EVpolicies or tax credits here. ManyEVs are pricier, there are stateand federal tax credits totalingthousands of dollars and manyshoppers in the US look at thesetax credits as a sort of discounton the car itself.Let’s use the Chevrolet BoltEV which cost $31,995 (Ghc194,148). This can give you 259miles (416 kilometers) on a singlecharge. Remember there are“cool looking” EVs than this car.Using the current T-bill rateof 13% PA in Ghana, it would takealmost 12 years to recover thepurchase price of the car if thecost per kWh was 0.61 pesewesand almost 13 years if the costper Kwh was 0.94 pesewes.Cost Savings From Using AnEV compared to Fuel CarRemember this is only anestimate since cost per Kwh canchange at any time. But consideringwe used higher tariffs forthis estimate, my conservativeestimate might still hold whenthings change a bit. I would alsonot imagine you keeping yourcar for 12 to 13 years, but thisshows you have an opportunityto get your money back comparedto keeping an internallycombusting car that eats intoyour pocket rather. The cost savingson this car was comparedagainst the Honda CRV 2019 1.5Lmodel.Should You Buy an ElectricVehicleThe answer depends on yourcurrent financial situation, butmy advice is to buy it especiallyif you are in Africa becausegovernments have seen fuel asan easy step to taxation, but anEV is a simple way to reduce thatburden.Most countries like the USand UK offer Tax credits forEV buys which can help offsetthe high initial cost of the carwhich is currently unavailablein Ghana.The initial cost involved inbuying an EV will ultimatelybe higher than that of a combustingengine, but you mustremember it will pay off aftersome time. The technical supportand charging infrastructurewill also be a challenge for an EVuser in Ghana as of now but youcan defiantly charge at homeand use it as frequently as youuse your other cars.By: Raphael AmuriTheblackchinese.comBlackchinese18@gmail.com
- Page 2 and 3: Page 2US consumer prices riseat fas
- Page 4 and 5: Page 4DAILY ANALYST Friday, 11th Fe
- Page 6 and 7: Page 6DAILY ANALYST Friday, 11th Fe
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DAILY ANALYST
Friday, 11th February, 2022 Page 9
Opinion
One of the most
significant driving
factors when
choosing between
a car that runs on
petrol or electricity is the cost.
The cost has a multitude of variables
ranging in scope, from fuel
charges to maintenance fees, to
the overall price of the vehicle
itself.
One of the biggest arguments
made against electric cars is that
they are too expensive upfront,
and this is simply not true today
as more than forty different
models have come to market
with many tax exemptions added
to them in other markets.
In this post, we will be comparing
the charging cost of an
Electric Vehicle vs filling a Fuel
Vehicle.
Electric vehicles have a
significant advantage regarding
cost due to impressive federal
and state EV incentives compared
to fuel vehicles. I strongly
recommend looking into your
state’s electric-car tax credits as
the tax incentives can drastically
lower the cost of electric cars.
Buying an EV in the US seems
like the opposite of how booking
a room in a hotel works.
Taxes are added to every
service you request in the hotel,
but tax credits are added to you
buying the EV from federal tax
credits of $2,500 to $7,500 to
electricity discounts and even
dealership discounts since most
EV makers do not sell through
dealerships.
What is the Cost to Charge
an EV in kWh?
“A conservative rule used
mostly is that an electric car gets
3 to 4 miles per kWh,”. So, divide
the total miles you drive each
month by 3, to get the kWh you
would use monthly. Multiply
that number by your cost per
kWh. The dollar or cedi amount
you get will most likely be lower
than what you pay each month
to buy gasoline or petrol.
To put this into perspective,
let’s give an example. Let’s say
you drive about 1,000 miles per
month. For an EV, you will use
333 kWh in that timeframe.
Using the U.S. household average
from May 2021 of 14 cents per
kWh, it would cost $46.66/month
to charge an EV.
The average cost per kWh for
Ghanaian households as of January
2021 average from 32.6 Peswes
per kWh for the 0-50 tariff
category and 61.4 peswes for the
51-300 tariff category. So, using
the 51-300 tariff category because
your car might be charging
between that range per hour, it
would cost you Ghc 204.5/month
to charge an Electric vehicle for
1,000 Miles or 1,609.34 kilometers.
Just remember the tariff
rates are different for residential
and non-residential.
Do the Numbers Add Up?
Again, to keep things digestible,
let’s use a simple formula.
Suppose you put 1,000 miles
on your vehicle which is the
same as 1,609.34 kilometres each
month, for example, and pay 61.4
pesewes in your area for each
kilowatt-hour of electricity. In
that case, this pegs your at-home
EV recharging bill at Ghc 204.5
per month (based on the calculation
of 3 to 4 driving miles
equaling one kilowatt-hour).
Even if you increase your electric
rate to 94 pesewes per/kWh, your
EV recharging cost will be Ghc
313.33.
So, the formula would be for
cost of charging would be = (Distance
in miles / 3) * Cost per Kwh
in your location
How Does the Recharge
Cost of Electric Vehicles vs Fuel
Vehicle Compare?
Let’s use the 2019 Honda
CR-V AWD 1.5 L, 4 cyl, Automatic
(variable gear ratios), Turbo,
Regular Gasoline which has 30
MPG combined city/highway
consumption.
The average cost per gallon is
$4.088 (Ghc 24.53) in Ghana and
$3.18 per gallon in the US as of
this writing.
So, let’s say your regular
monthly travel is 1000 miles or
1,609 kilometers and you use
the 2019 Honda CR-V AWD 1.5
L which consumes 1 gallon per
every 30 miles or 48.3 kilometers.
You will need to fill the car
with 33.3 gallons of fuel over
the month or period involved
to cover the 1000 miles or 1,609
kilometers.
So, 33.3 gallons * $4.088 (Ghc
24.53) = $136.27 (Ghc 817.67).
Using the Honda CRV will
cost you Ghc 817 for the whole
month compared to Ghc 204.5 or
Ghc 313 if we decide to use the
highest tariff charge of 94 peswes
per kWh in Ghana for the
electric vehicle. This means you
will be saving between Ghc 7,358
to Ghc 6,056 every year using the
EV compared to the Honda CRV
in Ghana.
Remember this is only an
estimate since fuel prices and
mileage are so variable though.
But considering few cars and
SUVs come anywhere close to
delivering a 30-mpg combined
average, my conservative estimate
in this scenario makes it
clear that recharging will cost
less than keeping a car refueled.
The financial gap narrows with
a more fuel-efficient car, but it
remains.
Electric Vehicles vs Fuel
Vehicle charging stations: availability
and cost
Most electric cars nowadays
can go about 200 to 350 miles
on a single charge with 400
miles + expected soon, and the
availability of public electric car
charging stations is growing.
(Currently, there is 72,000 electric
vehicle charging stations
in the US, compared to 136,400
gas stations, CNBC has reported
meanwhile China has 1,680,000
charging stations. But in Ghana,
there is none except at individual
homes. So, it (theoretically)
should be rare to find yourself
running out of power with no
vehicle chargers nearby.
Many EV owners buy their
charging stations for home use.
The cost of installing one in your
home varies, and if you live in a
shared apartment getting one
put in may be tricky. For the
cheapest model, which gives you
5 miles of charge per hour a vehicle
is plugged in costs between
$300 and $2,300 for the unit and
installation, according to Fixr.
Unlike a typical 240-volt
Level 2 home recharging system,
Level 3 chargers are prohibitively
expensive for a private
individual to have installed.
Tesla has its own dedicated
Supercharger network. The rates
can vary widely depending on
region, timing, the model of Tesla
being charged and not others
EVs can charge on their network
as of now, and even if you choose
Tier 1 or Tier 2 recharge speeds
(the latter being quick but more
expensive).
Maintenance Cost of An
Electric Vehicle
We all know EVs have fewer
moving parts than their engine-powered
counterparts.
There are no engines to maintain,
no belts to check, no oil
to change and the list goes on.
As you might imagine, having
fewer mechanicals to check and
maintain makes running EVs
significantly cheaper, and the
U.S. Office Of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy has recently
given us insight into just
how much cheaper electrics can
be as part of a look at the government’s
own vehicle fleet.
Electric cars aren’t exactly
maintenance-free so let’s look at
the top five electric car maintenance
needs and things that
could lead to repair.
- Tyre rotation.
It’s common to all cars but
on EVs, it remains important if
not more so because they swap
out their heavy transmission engines
for a heavy battery putting
a lot of loads on tires.
- Braking system on your
car.
Not the pads but the fluid
that puts pressure on the pads
to the rotors. This is key because
if they get stagnant, polluted
it doesn’t work right. These are
also changed in fuel vehicles as
well.
- The coolant in your
electric car.
Though there’s no engine,
there’s a cooling system that
keeps everything under the hood
cool. You will still change the
coolant in your internal combustion
engine car, and it might
be changed more regularly than
the EV.
- Break Service
Now we are talking pads and
rotors. Same thing will be done
on your internal combustion
engine vehicle.
I can’t give you the number
of miles or number of months
before you can get the brakes
done.
- Battery
The number one maintenance
side of your EV is the
motive power battery. This is
the heart of your car’s range and
therefore its livability as well as
your car residual value whether
you’re leasing or buying it. Well,
you will have to change your car
battery in your internal combustion
engine but that cost less
than the EV.
So technically, all maintenance
cost associated with the
EV is also associated with the internal
combustion engine except
they are much smaller and will
not be done regularly as in your
fuel driven car.
Price of An Electric Vehicle
It is obvious we don’t make
EVs in Ghana or Africa and in
the same way, we don’t have EV
policies or tax credits here. Many
EVs are pricier, there are state
and federal tax credits totaling
thousands of dollars and many
shoppers in the US look at these
tax credits as a sort of discount
on the car itself.
Let’s use the Chevrolet Bolt
EV which cost $31,995 (Ghc
194,148). This can give you 259
miles (416 kilometers) on a single
charge. Remember there are
“cool looking” EVs than this car.
Using the current T-bill rate
of 13% PA in Ghana, it would take
almost 12 years to recover the
purchase price of the car if the
cost per kWh was 0.61 pesewes
and almost 13 years if the cost
per Kwh was 0.94 pesewes.
Cost Savings From Using An
EV compared to Fuel Car
Remember this is only an
estimate since cost per Kwh can
change at any time. But considering
we used higher tariffs for
this estimate, my conservative
estimate might still hold when
things change a bit. I would also
not imagine you keeping your
car for 12 to 13 years, but this
shows you have an opportunity
to get your money back compared
to keeping an internally
combusting car that eats into
your pocket rather. The cost savings
on this car was compared
against the Honda CRV 2019 1.5L
model.
Should You Buy an Electric
Vehicle
The answer depends on your
current financial situation, but
my advice is to buy it especially
if you are in Africa because
governments have seen fuel as
an easy step to taxation, but an
EV is a simple way to reduce that
burden.
Most countries like the US
and UK offer Tax credits for
EV buys which can help offset
the high initial cost of the car
which is currently unavailable
in Ghana.
The initial cost involved in
buying an EV will ultimately
be higher than that of a combusting
engine, but you must
remember it will pay off after
some time. The technical support
and charging infrastructure
will also be a challenge for an EV
user in Ghana as of now but you
can defiantly charge at home
and use it as frequently as you
use your other cars.
By: Raphael Amuri
Theblackchinese.com
Blackchinese18@gmail.com
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