Gulkpe-Naa Alhaji Alhassan Abdulai, Paramount Chief of Tamale, has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana (SEC) to decentralise its operations to promote and protect investments.

According to Gulkpe-Naa Alhaji Alhassan, the capital market revenue mobilisation drive requires more stakeholder collaboration to build a peaceful and prosperous nation.

The Paramount Chief urged SEC to put in place regulatory mechanisms to address fraud as well as ensure fairness, transparency and efficiency in the capital market. He further explained that decentralization of SEC would also help minimise systemic risks and ensure orderly growth.

According to Gulkpe-Naa, the capital market is of utmost significance to growing economies since such economies need new forms of financial intermediation to finance investments that are either long term or too risky for commercial banks to venture into. “Such long-term financing makes the capital market an important driver for spurring economic growth and innovation,” he stated.

Gulkpe-Naa Alhaji Alhassan noted that the Northern part of Ghana encompasses various opportunities that need to be harnessed and leveraged to unearth massive benefits to the country.

In response to the call, Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, the Director-General of SEC, noted that access to the capital market is not the preserve of some few selected people and advised local investors to take advantage of various emerging opportunities in the sector.

Sanitizing the Securities Industry

The Director-General of SEC, meanwhile, urged market operators and investors to support the regulator to sanitise the securities industry. He indicated that the importance of savings and investments for individuals and the economy as a whole is enormous and it was, therefore, necessary to sanitise the sector for it to thrive.

The Director-General also advised all market operators to live up to their fiduciary role with professionalism.

Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, however, asked the public to ensure that they are well-informed about investment opportunities before committing to them. This, he said, would help safeguard their investments.

“It is important for the investing public to understand their responsibility. When it comes to investment; at the minimum, you must seek to understand the product.”
Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh

Mr Robert Dowuona Owoo, Chief Operations Officer of the Ghana Commodity Exchange, expressed a need for more partnerships to provide opportunities and access to wider market.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ghana has taken its investor education programme to the Northern part of the country. An initiative dubbed, ‘Time with the SEC’ is a flagship initiative of the SEC which forms part of the SEC’s strategic thrust of educating members of the investing public and other key stakeholders about the SEC, the Ghanaian Capital Market and other important investment topics. It is also to update stakeholders on the implementation of the government’s IMF programme.