Trade Ministry begins Business Regulatory Reforms to improve Investor Confidence – Deputy Minister

A Deputy Minister of Trade in charge of International Trade at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa, believes that, full implementation of ongoing reforms in the sector, in conjunction with some of the state agencies like the Ghana Investment Promotion Center and other related agencies, will further improve investor confidence in Ghana.

According to him, the Business Regulatory Reforms which are currently being undertaken by his Ministry are to guarantee transparency and stability in the investment climate of the country. “The evidence shows that such a climate is a sure way of attracting investment into an economy,” he stated.

Speaking on a sub-theme: “Emerging Stronger Together: The Role of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Maximizing Ghana’s Investment Potential” at  the 2021 Ghana Investment Promotion Center’s Annual Investment Summit in Accra on September 7, Herbert Krapa said, the focus of the Summit was in line with the President’s vision, on “Trade, Industrial and Private sector development, as the Trade Ministry is mandated to formulate and implemente policies for the promotion of domestic and international trade and industry”.

He said, “the sterling leadership of President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to commence work in his first term with a programme to clean up and strengthen Ghana’s financial sector, coupled with an aggressive industrial transformation agenda and the introduction of revolutionary social intervention measures, President was clearly seeing farther ahead than many of his peers”.

Herbert Krapa added that since 2017, the Ministry has embarked on a Ten-Point Industrial Transformation Agenda aimed at maximizing, amongst other things, including “National Industrial Revitalization Programme, the One District One Factory Programme, Strategic Anchor Industries, Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones, Development of Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises, Domestic Retail Infrastructure Enhancement, Industrial Sub-contracting Exchange, Improving Public-Private Sector Dialogue and Business Regulatory Reforms”.

The seven components of the Reform Programmes currently being implemented which the Deputy Minister has highlighted include:

1. Targeted Reform Initiatives or Ease of Doing Business: A coordinated national programme to improve Ghana’s performance in key indicators and annual ranking on World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.
2. E-Register of Business Regulations: An online inventory that provides businesses with an easily accessible, one-stop repository of up-to-date information on all business regulations (laws, directives, procedures, forms and fees) in force in Ghana.

iii. Public Consultation Portal: An interactive web portal for centralized public consultation with government institutions on government policies, legal and regulatory reforms.

1. Regulatory Impact Assessment: An Ex-Post assessment of the impacts of proposed or existing policies or regulations, and alternatives to achieve policy objectives.
2. Rolling Regulatory Review: An exercise designed to systematically carry out Rolling Reviews of regulations to eliminate, revise and simplify business regulations and reduce cost of compliance. It will contribute to the process of updating the e-Register on a continuous basis.
3. Targeted Regulatory Relief: for SMEs to gradually phase-in standard rules as firms begin to grow and promote subcontracting linkages between SMEs and large industries and,

vii. Public-Private Dialogue: A permanent mechanism for structured Public-Private Dialogue which involves regular consultations between Government and the Private Sector. In a few days the Ministry will be organising the maiden Presidential Business Summit within the framework of our Public – Private Dialogue concept.

By Edzorna Francis Mensah