Time to invest in Ghana — GFZB boss

The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB), Mr Michael Okyere Baafi, has said that this is the right time to invest in Ghana, citing the execution of the government's economic transformational agenda as one of the baits for investors to tap into and create enormous opportunities for their businesses.

"My confidence is grounded in the government's vision of revitalising Ghana's industrial sector pivoted on value addition to our primary produce such as gold, cocoa, shea nuts, among others," he stated.

He was speaking at the Czech-Ghana Business Forum held in Prague, in the Czech Republic last Tuesday for 17 Ghanaian companies and their Czech counterparts at the maiden investment promotion mission organised by GFZB.

The call comes at a time when the government is enjoying a lot of international and local goodwill because of its policies meant to revive the private sector and create more employment opportunities for the people. The government’s policies are also meant to create wealth for local and foreign businesses as part of measures to make the country’s economy the most attractive on the African continent.

Forum

The forum afforded the Ghanaian business executives and their Czech counterparts the opportunity to have B2B meetings and interact in other networking sessions to discuss business deals and other partnership arrangements.

Mr Baafi said the priority sectors for investments were agro food processing, textiles and garment manufacturing, light industry and assembling plant, metal fabrications, information and communication.

Participants at the forum

He said there were also opportunities for businesses in the manufacturing and enclave development under the free zones programme.

"For example, there are a lot of 480 hectares of land banks in the Tema export processing zone for prospective investors. The Shama export processing zone is another of the GFZB's land banks, including that of the Sekondi export processing zone and many others in the north," he added.

Incentives

The Deputy Executive Secretary of the board, Mrs Kate Abbeo, told the gathering that the monetary incentives that were offered to investors under the free zones programme included 100 per cent exemption from payment of direct and indirect duties and levies on all imports for production and exports.

"The companies are allowed total exemption from payment of withholding taxes from dividends arising out of free zones investments, and 100 per cent exemption from payment of income tax on profits for 10 years, which will not exceed 15 per cent thereafter," she mentioned.

She said the GFZB ensured that all companies operating under the free zones programme were given the necessary assistance by way of acquiring work permits for their expatriate staff, all the relevant licences and the regulatory and compliance requirements.

Mrs Abbeo indicated that at least 70 per cent of annual production of goods and services of free zone enterprises must be exported, and consequently up to 30 per cent of free zone enterprises authorised for sale in the local market.

She said free zones investments were also guaranteed against nationalisation and expropriation.