Former president of the Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana has lost its credibility as a pride of the best place to do business in West Africa.
He said, several investors and CEO’s have shut their shops and moved their headquarters to neighbouring countries.
According to him, despite the poor investment climate that has been created by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, the recent tax imposed by the President Akuffo-Addo led NPP administration and the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to remove majority VAT and duty exceptions create a challenging environment for investors who have decided to remain in Ghana.
The flagbearer for the opposition, NATIONAL dEmocratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama said this at the 7th Ghana CEO summit under the theme” Economic sovereignty, sustainable corporate Governance, Digital Industrial Transformation”
“New paths for growth and prosperity. A private-Public Sector CEO dialogue & learning ” held at Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast Accra.
“The higher tax burden imposed recently and government agreement with the IMF to remove the majority of VAT and duty exceptions create a very challenging environment for investors that have decided to remain in Ghana despite the poor investment climate that has been created by this administration” Mr. Mahama said.
“Government agreement with the fund to increase the electricity and water tariffs quarterly, creates an additional burden. As captains in the industry, we know that Ghana has lost a pride of place as the best place to do business in West Africa. Many of your colleagues CEO’s have shut shops and left their shores and several others have moved their headquarters and stuff to neighbouring countries” he added.
Ghana ranked the most attractive market for trade and investment out of the 16 West African countries, according to the Fitch Solutions Operational Risk Index in June 2022.
With a Trade and Investment Risk score of 50.9 out of 100, Ghana outperforms the West Africa average of 36.4 and ranks at a competitive second position regionally, and 90th place out of 201 markets globally.
Key identified strengths of the country include policy consistency, openness to trade and foreign investment, stable institutions and a wealth of natural resources.
“Businesses operating in the country enjoy many incentives for key areas such as infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing. The new oil sector – with associated export and fiscal revenue – should reduce the risks of macroeconomic instability and provide a substantial boost to growth over the long-term,” the report said.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
