President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said Ghana is the preferred place to do business in the West African region and urged the private sector in the United Arab Emirates to take advantage of the country’s business-friendly environment and do business.
Regardless of where to choose and invest in Ghana, President Akufo-Addo said the government has instituted several fiscal incentives for investors, depending on the nature of the activity or the location of the investment.
Despite the country’s present economic challenges, President Akufo-Addo maintains that “it is an exciting time to be in Ghana and do business in the country. So, I would urge the private sector in the UAE to take advantage of the business-friendly climate in the country to invest in Ghana.
Addressing the UAE-Ghana Business Forum held on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, President Akufo-Addo said before Ghana’s present economic challenges, his government since 2017, had put in place measures to reduce the cost of doing business and improved the business environment.
These measures, he said, made the economy the most business-friendly economy in Africa and the fastest-growing economy in the world between 2017 and 2020, averaging 7% GDP annual rates of growth.
President Akufo-Addo told the private sector players that due to the impact and severity of COVID-19 and the Russian/Ukraine war on the country’s public finances, the government had sought IMF intervention to repair the country’s public finances to restore the country onto the path of growth.
He said as part of the efforts, the Ghana/IMF collaboration would also give credibility to the country’s balance of payments, which had taken a severe hit in recent times as a result of these developments.
“I am confident that we will emerge from this with a stronger and more resilient economy and advance towards our goal of reaching a Ghana Beyond Aid.”
President Akufo-Addo said Ghana is also the preferred destination for a perfect blend of mineral resource potential, stable regulatory environment, favourable fiscal regime and socially responsive mining in Africa.
Describing mining as a key to Ghana’s economy, President Akufo-Addo said gold—which is both a commodity and a financial asset—is, by far, the most commercially exploited mineral in Ghana, accounting for more than 90% of the country’s mineral revenue.
“Indeed, in recent times until 2021, Ghana was the largest producer of gold in Africa and was 6th in the world. We are also major producers of bauxite and manganese and are, indeed, the 3rd largest producer of these two minerals in Africa,” he said.
The President indicated that “more recently, Ghana has been placed globally on the map of some few countries that have made significant discoveries of lithium, just as it has found also graphite and iron ore in significant quantities.
Ghana is also working towards the net zero emission target and collaborating with other relevant stakeholders in employing climate-friendly technologies and practices, to achieve the maximum developmental impact for the country,” he stated.
President Akufo-Addo explained that his government seek not just to exploit these minerals in their raw form but more importantly, to generate value-added benefits, along the full value chain of the minerals, and create linkages with other sectors of the economy.
“The potentials created offer considerable opportunities for UAE investors, who possess the capacity to generate the value-added benefits, especially through the government’s local value-addition and processing drive, to partner Ghanaian companies in converting their natural comparative advantage into an enhanced, more valuable, sustainable and competitive advantage,” the President added.
He assured that the standards for responsible environmental and social stewardship, maintained by Ghana’s minerals and mining sector, are comparable to any found in the best of mining jurisdictions, stressing that “the Minerals and Mining Act of 2006 (Act 703), supported by the Regulations passed in 2012, along with a few amendments and introductions that have been made, have stood the test of time.”
Ghana is considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, with a modern democratic system of governance, an independent Judiciary and a strong attachment to the rule of law.
In the same vein, President Akufo-Addo assured that his government is determined to make Ghana an example of rapid economic growth within the context of a well-developed market economy.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
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