Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has suggested the formulation of laws that will ensure foreign companies seeking to operate in Ghana have local content participation of their business.

According to him, Ghana since the pre-independence era has chalked little gains in the area of businesses owned by foreign companies due to the little or no say in the ownership regime.

But the former president believes the State must hold deliberations and develop legislation that will see an upward adjustment among local businesses and equity holdings of locals working in foreign-owned firms.

“We’ve come to a point where we should accelerate the partnership concept, so it will be a win-win for us and the partnership that will come from outside”

“We are moving into times when, through well-considered legislation, a State Act, we may adjust the equity holding so that the local content will increase. But if it is a new company coming in right now, then Ghana should make the laws that will ensure that no foreign company comes in to take for instance our gold, our oil, and so on without due partnership of the locals. We have the sovereign authority to do this.”

The former president made the comments in an excerpt of a yet-to-be-aired interview on CitiTV monitored by GhanaWeb.