Addressing the state of Ghana's investment climate and what will shape the discourse towards attracting FDI in Ghana

I would be remiss if I did not extend my gratitude towards His Excellency the President Nana Akudo-Addo (President of Ghana), His Royal Majesty Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II (16th occupant of the golden stool and sovereign ruler of the Asanteman -Ashanti Kindgom), H.E. John Agyekum-Kufuor, Former President of Ghana, my fellow members of the diplomatic corps, the management of Manhyia palace, UAMDC and more specifically Ms. Ana Manduley, Mr. Steven Ackah, Dr Francis, Mr. Eric, Eon3 Mr. Richard Attoh, GBSH Consult Group teams and the Ghanaian people as a whole.

MEDAASE.....

Spending time in Kumasi allowed me to revisit the rich history of our forebearers of African history and what better way to culminate it all than to be a keynote speaker at the very event that symbolises the 20th anniversary of the coronation of Asantehene Otumfuo OSei Tutu II.

Allow me to share a very brief excerpts of the speeches that I delivered in regards to Ghana being a promising investment destination in Africa.

Ghana has a proven track record in implementing political and economic reforms. In fact, Ghana was one of the first sub-Saharan African countries to carryout market-friendly economic reform programmes. Beginning with the implementation of the Economic Reform Programme (ERP) in 1983, the adoption of the Mining Code in 1986, the enactment of the Investment Code in 1994, and the Free Zone Act in 1995, Ghana has greatly improved the business environment for foreign (and domestic) investors (UNCTAD 2003). At the time Ghana implemented the Investment Code, the code was viewed as best practice in Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen, we must take a historical journey if only to appreciate the factors that animated Ghana to seek to regain self-independence. In the same breath, I will hopefully wish to indulge your intellectual universal consciousness around stepping away from mythifying the #GhanaBeyondAid and establish an intellectual foundation and in all honesty, political discourse so as not to remain in the domain of supposition.

Given the topic Ghana, it is not lost to me that you might hear some of the same ideas at somewhat greater length, so I seek apologies in advance but there will be a few additional thoughts as we go along.

The trick is to attract “quality FDI” that links foreign investors into the local host country economy. The term quality FDI has been left as a debate that is rather esoteric to the learned friends and only understood by a select few. So, what is “Quality FDI”?

Quality FDI is characterised as:

1. contributing to the creation of decent and value-adding jobs;

2. enhancing the skill base of host economies;

3. facilitating the transfer of technology, knowledge and know-how be it sandbox policies to test, incubate and accelerate ideas;

4. boosting competitiveness of domestic firms and enabling their access to markets; and

5. operating in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

To achieve this, host countries cannot just wait and see what international market forces may bring to them. Rather, they need tailored policies to overcome domestic imperfections that hinder the smooth integration of indigenous and foreign firms into world-wide supply-chain networks.

Ghana in 2011 became the fastest-growing economy in the world. GDP growth soared to 14% that year (8.2% excluding oil). Though growth slowed from its peak in 2011, Ghana has outperformed the West African and sub-Saharan African (SSA) regional growth rates since. With better performance of the mining and retail sectors following its peaceful elections, the country’s GDP growth improved to 4.5% in 2016 from 3.5% in 2015.5 Non-oil GDP growth rose from 4% in 2015 to 4.9% in 2016. In fact, Ghana was among the few African countries recording an uptick in economic activity in 2016 (4.5%).

The services sector recorded the highest growth rate, averaging 5.7% per year over 2015-16, followed by agriculture at 3%. With its share of GDP rising from 55% to 57% between 2015 and 2016, the services sector remains the largest sector in Ghana. Other key performers in the services sector include healthcare, education, mobile communication, and trade and repairs services.

Besides providing a predictable environment, located less than 10 hours by plane from Europe, South Africa, the US and the UAE, and holding two of West Africa’s major sea ports, Ghana is also well-positioned geographically for trade into the region. Ghana’s ports do not only handle over 80% of the country’s trade, but also serve as a traffic junction for exports and imports with landlocked countries in West Africa including Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Africa has 118 international airports and over 500 domestic airports. Ghana forms the West African growth belt being one of the 28 member states that has declared commitment to the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) flagship project of the AU Agenda 2063 which will create a single unified air transport market in Africa and provide liberalization of intra-African air transport in market access, free exercise of first-second-third-fourth-fifth freedom traffic rights for scheduled and freight air services.

So far from geographical wealth, Ghana needs to give a compelling narrative to the world.

In closing I can only be humbled to have been appointed by HRM Otumfuo Osei Tutu II as a Special Envoy and Ambassador of Special Projects to the Manhyia Palace.

MEDAASE.