Michael Okyere Baafi
The Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) says it has introduced tax incentives to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to create jobs for Ghanaians.
Speaking at a recent Africa Free Zone Organization (AFZO) workshop held in Accra, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), Michael Okyere Baafi, emphasised: “We are looking to create opportunities for knowledge and skills transfer.
“We are in competition with other African countries, which are also going to the same market to attract investment.
In Cote d’Ivoire for example, he said the normal exemption regime was being implemented, adding that the post exemption tax in Cote d’Ivoire for corporate bodies is 1 percent while in Ghana the post exemption tax is 15 percent.
“So we cannot even compare with them because they are doing a lot of things that we are not doing.
“They are even giving duty-free exemptions to even luxurious cars that come to Cote d’Ivoire but we don’t give. “So we have to be careful as we think about reviewing our incentive regime since we would all be going to the same market to attract investment. Fact is investors follow countries whose incentive rates look attractive.”
GFZA contribution
He said all the investment and tax exemptions of GFZA cannot match those of the extractive industries and the Minerals Commission put together.
“We are talking about billions of dollars.”
Currently, there are 156 active Free Zones companies. By the close of the 9th month we imported $311 million of machinery and raw materials.”
Mr. Okyere Baafi revealed that foreign companies in the Free Zones recorded between $220 million and $280 million from foreign companies, adding that in respect of local ones, between $80 million and $100 million, was realised towards the end of the third quarter this year.
Incomparable freebies
“If a Free Zones enterprise comes to set up a new business that doesn’t exist in our country, and there are able to present knowledge to Ghanaians, for them to acquire this knowledge forever, we cannot quantify the knowledge in monetary terms.”
He said “from the beginning of its production to the last but one stage, Barry Callebaut Chocolate is produced by Ghanaians.”
Fake news
He debunked allegations that some of the GFZA companies were diverting goods.
“We should be very strict and check. No Free Zones company will take advantage of government or try to cheat the system. We will not allow it that is why our compliance regime has been intensified.”
3 regimes
“For the first time in the history of GFZA, this is the time where we have three different regimes operating at the same time. We have normal compliance auditing, monitoring and we have also hired an external auditor. So it would be very different for companies to beat the system.
“However, if these companies decide to do that there are other state institutions which can arrest them.”
Since the introduction of the GFZ concept till now, it has employed 51,000 Ghanaians.
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Carlos Ahenkorah, who was special guest of honour, spoke about the ambition of government to set up one industrial park in all 10 regions to drive industrialization and boost the country’s economy.
Objective for training
The workshop was held to support members to promote good governance and deploy best practices in the development of African Economic Zones and Free Zones.
It covered relevant topics related to investment and industrial development in Africa.
By Samuel Boadi