An Adviser to the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), Baroness Lynda Chalker has described Ghana as the best investment destination following government’s renewed commitment to good governance and development of the private sector. Ghana, according to her is also the most stable, peaceful, secure and most reliable place to do business in Africa today.

"These factors make Ghana the best investment destination one can imagine at this moment. It is the best candidate," Baroness Chalker told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.

Baroness Chalker was commenting on Ghana(quote)s potential as a competitor in attracting foreign direct investment and her ability to sustain foreign inflows at the end of the Commonwealth-Ghana Investment Conference in Accra.

The conference was organized by the government of Ghana in association with the CBC and Ghana Investment Promotion Centre. Baroness Chalker expressed optimism that the government would sustain its strict fiscal and monetary policies aimed at transforming the economy. She said Ghana has shown that she has what it takes to attract the needed investment to make the economy and lives of millions of Ghanaians worthwhile.

The conference, attended by over 350 participants from Europe, Africa and Ghana, is the fourth to be held this year by CBC, after Mozambique, Tanzania and Nigeria.

"Let the people hear the sound of construction on the roads and at the ports, let them see factories going up, let the people hear the purring of tractors, and the sound of food processing and packaging equipment. Let the young people get off the streets into skill training courses and into productive work. Let the people see classrooms rehabilitated and equipped."

President Mr J. A. Kufuor addressing the second in a series of workshops for Ministers of State at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra, on Friday, April 19, 2002.

Our business people have the responsibility to lead the economic transformation of our country. The challenge that faces them is to recognize the implications of the global economy and the fact that a nation's prosperity depends on its business being competitive. My resolution is to launch a golden age of business and enterprise in our country that will transform the lives of our people within the next decade."

Inaugural speech by President John Agyekum Kufuor, Fourth President of the Republic of Ghana at Independence Square Accra January 7th 2001

Promotion of private investment

The Government of Ghana has, over the past decade, instituted a number of reforms under the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) to create an enabling environment for investment activity.

The Government recognizes private investment to be the leading stimulus for economic growth. Accordingly, the legal framework regulating activities in the sector has been revised, so that the granting of benefits and incentives is largely automatic. Initial interest has been rekindled with the aid of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) Act, 1994 (Act 478), and the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 1994 (Act 475), which appear to have relieved investors of the unintended obstacles imposed by previous legislation.

Private investors are benefiting from the macroeconomic and sectoral reforms introduced under the ERP-most notably the rehabilitation of economic and social infrastructure, the liberalization of imports and foreign exchange, as well as easy remittance of dividends, profits and fees abroad as provided under the GIPC Act, 1994. In addition, trade regimes devoid of public intervention and reforms that have reduced company taxes in the manufacturing sector have helped to make the business climate more conducive to investment.

Ghana is a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) of the World Bank, which provides international insurance coverage for investors in developing countries to reduce non-commercial risks. The Government has entered into bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements with a number of States to give further protection to their nationals wishing to invest in Ghana, and it is hoped that similar agreements will be negotiated in the future.

Furthermore, in order to sustain efforts at improving the investment environment, the Government, through GIPC, has instituted an In-country Investors' Outreach Programme which holds periodic consultations with specific country investor groups in order to discuss possible solutions to problems facing foreign investors. In addition, a number of investment promotion seminars, conferen- ces and forums are regularly held both locally and abroad to promote investment opportunities in the country, focusing on the prevailing stable macro-economic framework and the attractive and enabling investment environment.

Advantages for locating in Ghana

Ghana offers the following unique blend of advantages to potential investors:

• A stable, multi-party democratic environment

• A demonstrated commitment to the philosophy and practice of market liberalization policies as evidenced by the ongoing success of the ERP

• An ongoing divestiture programme which also underscores Ghana's commitment to private sector initiative

• Investor confidence in the country's economy as evidenced by major successful investments in most sectors of the economy, particularly the mining sector

• The promulgation of a new transparent investment law-the Ghana Investment Promotion Center Act, 1994 (Act 478)

• Availability of low-cost labour and a good supply of trained and trainable labour

• Availability of a stock exchange and other emerging financial markets

• Progressive institutional development as evidenced by the process of establishing export free zones and factory-specific export processing zones for existing firms, as well as emerging bank and non-bank financial institutions such as Exim Guaranty Co. Ltd., Venture Fund Management Company and Ghana Leasing Company

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• Ongoing donor and government support for infrastructure development- electricity and water supplies, transport and communications

• Quota-free access to United States of America and European Union markets

• Strong private sector advocacy groups such as the Private Enterprise Foundation and the Private Sector Advisory Group

• A strategic location for communication facilities in terms of international commerce

• Warm and friendly people and a high degree of personal safety

(Copied from United Nations Development Program's "Investors Guide to Ghana" Website)