President Nana Akufo-Addo has highlighted the importance of corruption-free institutions toward enhancing the survival of businesses and also boosting investment.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo at the CEOs Summit in Accra on Monday, May 22, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “Corruption heightens the cost of doing business and the resulting transaction cost discourages businesses and investment.”
He observed that the time to curtail corrupt practices was now as it was the cause of the collapse of numerous business ventures.
“The scale and level of corruption, especially in the Fourth Republic, needs to be arrested immediately,” he emphasised.
He stated that individuals, both local and foreign, who have capital to invest to boost the economy, are “discouraged from doing so because of corruption” and rather choose to do so elsewhere.
Mr Akufo-Addo noted that government was focused on tackling the canker “for no country in the world can achieve economic development in an atmosphere characterised by corruption, nepotism, incompetence, disinvestment in agriculture, distorted aid programmes, high politics and national fragmentation”.
Meanwhile, the president has pointed out that Ghana must move to an era of good governance as bedrock for businesses to thrive.
With an emphasis on proper administrative structures, Mr Maafo said: “Businesses must not succeed because we have connections to high places, because we have connections to custom officials, because we have connections to all sorts of places. Businesses must succeed because we have good governance prevailing in our country.”
He emphasised that business must thrive with a “level playing field for all”.
For him, Ghana’s economy will develop and “we will be moving in the right direction when business flourishes along these lines”.
“We should not put emphasis on connections to succeed, because when the connections are no more there what happens? Then you are likely to falter and fail,” he added.
He said the connections come only as an addition when one is able to be productive and efficient through hard work.