The high cost of doing business in Ghana is emerging as a major concern for the current government.
The country in the latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business Ranking, dropped twelve points from the 108th position in 2016 to the 120th position in 2017.
Some media reports currently suggest that a number of businesses are looking at moving to other countries due to the high cost of doing business in Ghana.
The CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Center, Yofi Grant, however, explains to Citi Business News, that government is taking steps to introduce reforms to ease the processes of doing business in Ghana.
“The important thing is to make Ghana more attractive to business and create a great business environment where investors can come, both indigenous and foreign. Try setting up a business in Ghana. If you are a private investor in Ghana, you will have an uphill task. We need to remove the barriers and make the private sector efficient and vibrant first of all. As we continue with the reforms, we may come out with a reform program and you might see a lot of inflows of investors”.
Mr. Grant went on to highlight the urgency with which government wants to address the many challenges of businesses in the country stating that government is also engaging these investors.
“From my desk I see a lot of interest but when businesses come in they get discouraged by the hurdles they face. So the question for us is how we can help businesses overcome these challenges not only for foreign direct investment but for Ghanaians who want to go into business.”
The GIPC CEO mentioned that his outfit was constantly in talks with all the other agencies to make sure Ghana becomes a well-balanced business environment that is able to grow the tax net and also provide jobs.
Citinewsroom
