Doing Business in Ghana - Registrar of Business

I was in Ghana last year and went to clear some Machinery from the Port on a Monday, when I produced my Business Registration certificate on demand, I was told the Boss needed a copy of the newer version. (By the way if I had paid my way, the Certificate wouldn't have been needed)

So I went straight from Tema to the Registrar of Businesses Offices to renew it, and there I witnessed the Circus freak show that goes on at the Ministries. I got there about 2pm and to my astonishment, it looked like a market square. Everybody seems to be talking to somebody on a subject which does not relate to their work, confidential files were strewn all over the corridors anyhow.

I have sworn not to pay bribe whatsoever, so you could imagine my position. Nobody gave me attention or any decent response. Finally a foreigner told me to try upstairs; there I produced a cheque to pay for the arrears on the Licence; however the Lady refused on the basis that the Guy who deals with cheques is not around and I should come back tomorrow.

The next day (Tuesday) was a whole new story at the Ghana Commercial Bank, Circle Branch trying to withdraw some Cash. That day was wasted and I had to borrow cash to pay for the Licence the next day.

On Wednesday I was at the Ministries by 9:00am to join the queue for the payment, I got through that section at exactly 12noon, because there was only one Cashier, things are still done in Pen and Paper fashion, also it doesn't help when others were being served through the Backdoor.

I nearly thumped the Cashier because he wanted to keep a change of 2,000 and I became a marked man from that point.

I went back downstairs and after talking to a Gentleman who has travelled from Tamale I realised it was fruitless waiting any longer so I decided to come back early the next day. Apparently that Guy has been standing there from 9:00am.

On Thursday I was one of the first people to enter the building and waited for almost 2 hours without being served. Then I became a bit angry and started my own mini protest, ranting and raving at anybody in that Office.

A Lady in the Office decided I have suffered enough after waiting 2 hours or probably they didn't like the noise I was making and came to speak to me.

She said "you have to do something because your file is located in an adjacent Block and it will take sometime to get hold of it". Her price was 20,000; well I told her to sod off and refused to pay. Anyhow she took my papers gave it to a Guy whose job it is to get the file in the first place.

Around about 3 pm the Lady called me to her desk, and an interesting conversation took place. She made it clear that when the files are sent upstairs to be signed, they normally put money in it. The idea is that the Guy who assigns the Certificates gives priority to files with the biggest sum. She told me if I needed mine that day it is 50,000. If I pay 40,000 I could have it early next week etc. But if I decide not to pay at all then I am looking up to a month because there were a lot of files to be signed. To my astonishment she pointed to the Gentleman I had met the previous day (From Tamale) who she said did not pay and therefore has been hanging around since Monday.

I told her in plain Language (deliberately loud) that I was not going to pay a pesewa and that I have enough to report her. Well, she didn't seem bothered at all and as I stormed off I could hear the whole Office suddenly come alive.

I went to my Office told my Guys the whole story and they laughed their head off. The common advice they gave me was that "if you don't pay you don't get".

On Friday one of my Guys came to work late and to my astonishment he produced the signed Certificate. And I still don't know whether he paid the 40,000 or they hurriedly signed it for him because they were scared.

I am still baffled as to why we do not have a single computer at the Registrar of Business, why do we have confidential files on businesses scattered on corridor floors.

Common sense takes a fraction of the time to locate document filed systematically, but they prefer rummaging through unsorted files in a "try your luck "fashion.

In Europe this whole process would have taken me 2 Phone calls and a credit card.

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