Ghana determined to meet salt requirement of Nigeria.

Hon. Kwamina Bartels (MP) Minister for Private Sector Development has said that Ghana is determined to meet the entire salt requirements of Nigeria, which is currently estimated at $1.5b a year.

He therefore called on the investor community to take advantage of the conducive environment and special incentive package offered by the Government to invest massively in salt and other sectors and to tap into the vast West African market.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the West African Business Association, (WABA) held at the Chancery of the Ghana High Commission in London, Mr Kwamina Bartels underscored the Government’s commitment to the development of a private sector driven economy by improving prospects for investors through the stabilisation of the macro-economic environment and enhanced access to markets both in the sub-region and abroad.

The West Africa Business Association (WABA) is a 150-strong group of companies and entrepreneurs having business interests in or with West and Central Africa with the objective of assisting its members to transact business successfully in the sub-region, to the benefit of both the members and the countries in which they are active.

Present at the meeting were HE Mr Isaac Osei, Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Mr Kwabena Baah-Duodu, Deputy High Commissioner, Brigadier J.A. McGregor, Director-General of WABA, Mr Osei Yeboah of UNIDO, officials of the High Commission and members of the Association.

In pursuit of its agenda to revamp the agricultural sector with particular emphasis on cocoa and the Oil Palm industry, Hon. Kwamina Bartel announced that Government has made available over 300,000 hectares of land for cultivation by prospective investors.

Hon. Kwamina Bartel said attractive benefits also exist for investors in value added industries especially agro-based projects like cocoa and timber processing plants and generally for those who locate in designated free zone enclaves.

He reminded his audience about the existence of bilateral agreements with many countries including Britain for the protection of investments and urged investors to take advantage of the attractive tax relief to invest in infrastructure development under the Government’s build, operate and transfer (BOT) programme.

His Excellency Mr Isaac Osei pointed out that the present Government of Ghana has offered an accountable, transparent and incorruptible leadership, which he described as an essential ingredient in creating the necessary environmental framework for the private sector to flourish.

He said the Government’s policy of zero tolerance for corruption was targeted at rooting out corruption in every facet of the society and to build on the confidence shown by investors in the Ghanaian economy.

High Commissioner Osei appealed to members of the Association who were already doing business in Ghana to consider increasing the level of their investments in order to tap into the vast ECOWAS sub-regional market and added that the Government would continue to provide the necessary support and encouragement.

He commended WABA for showing keen interest in Ghana and added that the Mission would welcome businessmen who aspire to invest in Ghana.

Mr Osei Yeboah called for assistance in developing the capacity of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, which has so far registered over a thousand projects in Ghana, to aggressively market investment opportunities in support of Government’s poverty reduction strategy.