Kyeremanteng Appeals to Ghanaians Abroad to Invest in Ghana

Chicago, November 29 2006- The former Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the United States and the current Minister for Trade, Industry and Presidential Initiatives, Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng, appealed to Ghanaians living abroad to invest in their homeland.
Mr. Kyeremanteng informed the audience that attracting foreign based Ghanaians’ direct investment remains not only a key objective of Ghana's economic recovery program but an integral part of the ruling party’s economic policy.
Speaking to a partisan but poorly attended Town-Hall meeting at the Ramadan Inn at 4900 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, the minister reminded Ghanaians that investing in Ghana yields higher returns per dollar than in many developed countries. He further noted that Ghanaians should not leave the investment and development of their motherland to foreigners.
During question and answer time of the hurriedly arranged meeting, some in the audience decried and expressed their frustration in the overly bureaucratic and cumbersome business environment in Ghana despite the minister’s assurances to the contrary. They also expressed their fear and frustration at the recent increase of armed robbery and corruption that has engulfed the country; which only adds to demoralize investor confidence , be he or she a Ghanaian or not.
One disappointed investor narrated his frustration and eventual abortion of his investment plans in Ghana a few years ago. A local branch of an International Bank killed his business by releasing only 20 percent of his investment money to him. The remaining 80 percent of the capital he transferred for his business was held up by the bank without justification.
Under the 1994 (Act 478) Ghana Investment Promotion Center Act, investment in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy, other than mining, petroleum, free zones and portfolio investments, can be established without prior approval by Investment Promotion Center (GIPC). Mining and Petroleum sector projects have to be approved or licensed by the Minerals Commission and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, respectively. Industrial activities in the Export Processing Zone are administered by the Ghana Free Zones Board while portfolio investments are handled by the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The first step of investing in Ghana is to Incorporate a company at the Registrar General's Department. By law, the department has five (5) working days to complete formalities but there are many instances where many Ghanaians returning to invest in their country were frustrated by the Department. Valid documents that are in order for the 5 day registration turn out to be missing or the registration unjustifiably delayed for months or years because the potential investor is not willing to bribe officials of the ministry.
Though direct investment by Ghanaians living abroad has increased almost 10 percent in the past few years, not until the investment climate is radically reformed to weed out the unnecessary bottlenecks and bureaucracy, many Ghanaians living abroad with good investment potential and ideas will continue to evade the call and empty assurances to invest their capital in Ghana.