The government has hinted that it’s working assiduously to improve the business climate in the country with a target of making the list of the top five African countries and among the top-100 globally on the “Doing Business” ranking by the end of 2023.
According to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta the achievement of this will facilitate the attraction of more investments to generate decent jobs for the youth as part of the government’s strategy under Ghana CARES program.
“Through the Ghana Economic Transformation project, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, GIPC and other MDAs are accelerating on-going reforms to enhance the business environment. Our target is to improve Ghana’s “Doing Business” ranking to be in the top-100 globally and in the top 5 in Africa by end-2023”.
Ken Ofori-Atta
In line with this medium-term target, Hon. Ofori-Atta, assured Ghanaians that the government is doing more to unleash the spirit of entrepreneurship by easing the constraints in business regulatory processes this year.
Ghana currently ranks 118 out of 190 countries on the 2020 World Bank’s doing business rankings. This means that more needs to be done to improve the environment for businesses to thrive, hence the government’s resolve.
Major Government initiatives
Furthermore, the Finance Minister stated that government has developed a well-crafted set of institutions and reforms that anchors a new age of entrepreneurship, job creation and wealth building for the country’s post-COVID transformation.
“The prospects of business and entrepreneurship have been given the needed boost through this ecosystem. We are also enhancing the capacity of key institutions and improving coordination with the private sector for quality service delivery to facilitate business expansion and economic transformation”.
Ken Ofori-Atta
In addition to improving the business environment, the Finance Minister noted that to expand the processing capacity of businesses in the Pharmaceutical, Cassava, Garments and Textiles industries to increase exports and create additional jobs, the government continues to roll out several policies.
Specific interventions include support for the cassava value chain, provision of technical assistance to the Garment and Textiles as well as the Pharmaceutical industries.
Mr. Ofori-Atta revealed that key pharmaceutical manufacturing companies will be supported to upgrade their operations to reach Good Manufacturing Practice Standards.
Government support to textile firms
Additionally, the Finance Minister disclosed that government is supporting the textile and garment firms to establish an industrial park at the new Dawa Industrial Park, which will boost exports and create additional jobs under the Ghana CARES program.
A vibrant industry sector has been identified as the surest way of expanding the economy through creation of sustainable jobs and improving the income levels of Ghanaians. However, the sector is bedeviled with several challenges making it very difficult for businesses to thrive in the country.
The AGI Business Barometer 4th Quarter 2020 Report highlighted that aside the effect of COVID-19, major challenges facing businesses include access to credit, cost of credit, and high cost of utility; water and electricity. These factors, among others, make it difficult for businesses to flourish in the country.
Another major challenge that may impact on the ease of doing business in the country is the introduction of the new taxes which are already having a toll on business operations.
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