Jon Benjamin in a chart with the Minister of Trade
The Minister of Trade and Industry Ekow Spio-Garbah has stated that his ministry is helpless in tackling the high cost of doing business in Ghana.
According to him, most of the concerns about high cost of doing business and time in the country cannot be addressed by the Trade Ministry alone.
Mr Spio-Garbah, who was speaking at a Business Day Breakfast Meeting at the World Trade Centre (WTC) Accra, called for collaboration with other ministries to address the problem.
He said, “Issues relating to land acquisition, registration of businesses and payment of tax, among others, fall under various ministries, and agencies including traditional authorities. In such situations, the ministry appears helpless.
The minister, however, said his ministry was putting measures in place to collaborate with various stakeholders to address the issue, adding that efforts were being made by government to protect a number of local businesses.
Brexit
Jon Benjamin, British High Commissioner in Ghana, who spoke about the impact of UK’s vote to leave the European Union (EU) on Ghana-UK Trade, assured the Ghanaian business community that there will not be any significant changes in Britain’s international policy and relationship with its partners overseas.
He stressed that the UK would maintain all links with their partners across the world, adding that the UK government wants businesses to expand to become transnational.
“The UK wants a free trade policy with its partners where it will set its own agenda for the game,” Benjamin said.
CEO of Reroy, Mrs.Kate Quartey-Papafio, said current trends in business call for a united front to fight barriers and impediments.
Mrs. Quartey-Papafio further called on businesses to pool resources together to ensure development in the sub-region, explaining that in this way, they would make use of raw materials in the sub-region.
By Solomon Ofori