B&FT Editorial: Digitising the Registrar-General's Department will reduce cases of inducement

While the country is doing its utmost to ease the cost and time of doing business in the country, a survey conducted by Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) finds that the majority of Ghanaians pay bribes to avoid delays while registering their business.

Clara Kasar-Tee, the lead Consultant of the Survey, has expressed that if the situation is not reversed the country will lose significant revenue to corruption. According to a survey, the country lost about GHC12billion to corruption at the Registrar-General's Department and other relevant regulatory agencies of the country in 2018.

Naturally, bribes are not accounted for or recorded - which means the state loses out big time under such circumstances while the individuals working in such institutions personally benefit. Therefore, tax returns are not made. However, the undue delays are tantamount to the business losing revenue; and this culture is unfortunately becoming a huge cost to the nation, yet we expect the investor community to make Ghana a destination of choice.

If the country is able to cure this sub-culture, the state will realise much more revenue since it will mean more taxable income to benefit from. This is precisely why Vice President Dr. Bawumia is pushing the digitisation agenda so heavily, since it eliminates the human interface in many respects and the opportunity to demand and receive bribes is almost non-existent.

Administrative corruption tends to increase the cost of doing business in the country, and this must be tackled effectively if the country is serious about easing the cost and time of doing business in the country.

If it requires digitising all aspects of the economy to achieve optimal results, then so be it. Since the processes at the country's port have largely been digitised, their revenue mobilisation has been on the ascendancy.