28 – 11 – 2002: - Kufuor urges change in development assistance
28 – 11 – 2002: - Abeasi: GIPC needs full government commitment
27 – 11 – 2002: - Commonwealth investment forum kicks off
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 November 2002 - President John Kufuor on Wednesday asked Ghana's development
partners to take a look at the strict adherence to "rigidly exclusive
economic and banking rules" as basis for offering assistance to the
country describing it as "futile and counter productive".
President Kufuor was
opening the Commonwealth-Ghana Investment Conference in Accra under the theme:
"Promoting Trade and Investment in Ghana, Gateway to West Africa" in
Accra. He said it is important to draw attention to some of these serious
constraints the country, like others in the region, face in their efforts to
develop and modernize.
He said development
partners "have to accept that economics does not operate in a
vacuum". "The established democracies ... know very well that
economics can easily dislocate political stability even in the developed parts
of the world," President Kufuor said. "Many of the disturbances in
our sub-region and other troubled areas owe their genesis to economics,"
he added.
President Kufuor thus
moved for a reasonable balance between strict application of economic rules and
political stability as the best way forward, saying, "my government is
determined to lead Ghana out of the quagmire of poverty...." The three-day
conference is organized by the government of Ghana in association with the
Commonwealth Business Council and the Ghana Investment Centre (GIC).
The conference, which
precedes the annual meeting of Commonwealth Heads of States of Government, is
the fourth and last this year, having been held in Mozambique, Nigeria and
Malta.
It is bringing
together potential foreign investors, government ministers and Ghanaian
business leaders to explore opportunities in financial services, mining, and
infrastructure development, information technology and agro-industries.
President Kufuor described
the situation in Ghana now as "exciting times" in which those who
venture to operate in the country would have good returns on their investments.
The President said
Ghana is fast assuming the stature of a beacon of stability and peace in the
West African Sub-region and stands as the best place for investment. "The
atmosphere is charged and the general populace is gearing itself up for the
challenges of new investment."
President Kufuor urged
investors to support Ghana in the area of manpower development, especially in
the field of Information Communication Technology, saying that a skilled
workforce is being produced, positioning the country for the challenges of a
modern industrialized nation.
He said Ghana with a
high calibre and willing labour force, yearning to learn and achieve
competence, is ready to link up with investors to move the economy forward.
President Kufuor said government sees the forum as an opportunity to showcase
the vibrant Ghana that is ready to take advantage of the many opportunities
that exist in the global world today.
He said the government
has therefore, identified five priority areas - development of infrastructure,
rural development through modernised agriculture, enhanced social services with
emphasis on education and health, good governance and private sector
development." He said Ghana needs immediate relief for its infrastructure,
especially since investment normally follows where there is infrastructure
development.
The President said the
situation in Cote d'Ivoire has shown the large-scale inadequacies that Ghana
suffers in the availability of facilities at the ports and roads, taking into
cognisance the pressure landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger are bringing to bear now that they cannot use Ivorian facilities.
Dr Mohan Kaul,
Director General, Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), said the conference
would set out the case for Ghana as an attractive destination for investment in
its own right and as a stable and progressive entry point for regional markets.
He said the conference
is a part of the series of country specific conferences that CBC has undertaken
to mobilize investment into Commonwealth countries.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra)
28 November 2002 - The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) on Wednesday
said it needs "full government commitment" and strong budgetary
support to adequately play its role as a one-stop-centre for investment in the
country.
Kwesi Abeasi, Chief
Executive of the Centre, said countries that had so far succeeded in attracting
a fair share of Foreign Direct Investment are those who had used their
promotion agencies for maximum effect by turning them into well funded and
staffed one-stop-centres for investors.
"We at the GIPC
are trying to convert the Centre into a one-stop-centre as well but we require
the full commitment of the government and a clear understanding of the Centre's
role by those responsible for the budget process to ensure adequate funding for
success," he said.
Abeasi was speaking at
the opening of the three-day Commonwealth Business Council's Ghana Investment
Conference in Accra on the theme: "Positioning Ghana As The Business and
Commercial Hub of West Africa - Developing The Private Public
Partnership."
According to him Ghana
is aware of the great contribution that FDI could make to the country's
economic development as well as its integration into the world economy.
It was in this
connection that the country had made considerable efforts to improve the
investment climate by adopting an investment friendly code with generous
incentives to both foreign and domestic investors, he said.
Government, Abeasi
said, had also recognised that no amount of incentives could sway an investor
in the direction of a country if the macro-environment was not stable and had
therefore worked hard to improve the situation in view of its importance for
investment activities.
"We are striving
hard to upgrade and enhance infrastructure facilities so as to open up the
country, introduce fair competition and create an enabling environment for the
private sector," he added.
Abeasi debunked the
negative perception of Africa as a bad investment destination, saying the
negative image of the region certainly conceals the complex diversity of
economic performances and the existence of golden opportunities in individual
countries.
"We in Ghana are
unique in our efforts at economic reforms. We have increased the role of the
private sector, privatised most state-owned Enterprises, minimised governmental
intervention in business, restored and maintained economic stability," he
emphasised.
Over 300 delegates
from the United Kingdom, the broader Commonwealth, the European Union, United
States of America and the International Business Community are attending the
conference, which will discuss private public partnership in areas of energy,
transport and infrastructure.
Other areas include
Ghana's competitiveness in the region, financial services and capital market
opportunities, information and communication technology.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 November 2002 - All is set for the first Commonwealth-Ghana Investment Conference scheduled to take place at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra today (Wednesday).
The conference is on the theme, “Positioning Ghana as the Business and Commercial Hub of West Africa- Developing the Private the Private-Public Partnership for the Golden Age of Business.”
The three-day conference, which is being hosted by the Government of Ghana, is being held under the auspices of Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
The CBC draws private sector membership from some 150 major corporate bodies spread across 24 Commonwealth countries, all united in the goal of encouraging trade and investment within the Commonwealth.
Issues which will receive special focus on the conference will include Ghana’s competitiveness as a regional hub, public-private partnership in Ghana, with particular reference to the energy and water sectors, financial services and capital market opportunities, and the development of small and medium-scale enterprise.
The development of the extraction industries and information technology as well as corporate governance will equally take centre stage at the conference.
The conference, which is expected to bring together top international investors from member Commonwealth countries as well as representation from other European countries and America, is a bold attempt to revamp the investment culture and attract the necessary foreign direct investment to Ghana.
FDIs have registered a downward trend since 1998. The country attracted nearly $234m in FDIs in 1999 but this slipped to $132m in 2000. Most of the investments were made in the extractive industry, with very little being channelled to the manufacturing sector.
In 2001, inflows further fell to $97m, despite improved macro-economic fundamentals. Total foreign investment registered with GIPC during the first half of the year was just under $420m.
GRi…/
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