The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has urged Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to support domestic and foreign investors to create jobs and promote socio-economic growth.
Mr Edward Ashong-Lartey, Director, GIPC, said the MDAs had a responsibility to provide the needed services and facilitations for businesses to make Ghana Africa’s foremost investment destination.
“We urge MDAs to provide the necessary support to incumbents, the companies that risk their capital to come to Ghana to build industries,” he said.
Mr Ashong-Lartey said this at an investor forum for MDAs, investors and other key stakeholders on the theme: “The Contribution of MDAs towards making Ghana an Attractive Investment Location.”
The Forum was to deepen the collaborative efforts made over the years and deal with the bureaucratic bottlenecks that stalled activities and progress of businesses.
He said GIPC’s Aftercare division aimed at strengthening its relationship with the private sector and MDAs to demonstrate the positive impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Ghana’s economy.
“This can only be achieved with the support of our focal persons across various ministries, departments, and agencies. We will introduce reforms to streamline licensing, regulatory clearances, and advocate against anti-competitive policies across government,” Mr Ashong-Lartey said.
GIPC’s objectives had been anchored on the Government’s flagship initiative, Obaatan Pa (“Ghana CARES”) programme, which has an investment target of between US$ 3-4 billion annually from 2022 to 2025.
Mr Wisdom Abodakpi, Chief Country Officer, CycleFarms, whose investments are in the area of fishfeed, said there was an investor communication gap between investors and ministries, departments, and agencies on processes, documentations and other engagements.
“We sometimes feel we are alone, information accessibility is very difficult. It is tough for us in agribusiness when it comes to tax exemptions. We need to continue working to close the gaps,” he said.
Mr Andrea Ghia, a Member of the European Chamber of Commerce, said though Ghana’s digitisation drive had upscaled business, comprehensive data on sectors of businesses was difficult to come by, a bane that could discourage foreign investors.
“The collection of data is still a big issue in this country. This is a common problem in West Africa. I tell my people to come and stay for six months to understand how to do their business, ” he said.
Mr Ghia also said: “You do your business plan, you think you will be exempted from duty on import then they remove the exemption and your business plan doesn’t work. What makes the environment friendly for them is to have stability.”
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Yofi Grant, CEO of GIPC