Dark clouds hang over Investment Fund

The projected 100bn cedis Ghana Investment Fund to rescue distressed local companies is in danger. This is because nearly a year on, the government has not been able to source any funds for its take-off.

Investigations conducted by the “Times Business” revealed that not a single cedis has been lodged in the fund, which the distressed companies can source for.

Highly placed sources connected to the Ministry of Trade and Industry-the fund’s facilitators explained that the Ministry of Finance inability to provide the needed capital was because there were limited funds.

“We hope something good happens this year. Thankfully, the nation’s budget is not et out,” they said. The delay in the take off has exacerbated the ready bad situation of some distressed local companies which are on the brink of collapse.

The fund was set up for distressed which produce for local market a in the Export Development Fund (EDIF) which supports export-oriented companies. The GIF is supposed to be managed by an independent and professional body to ensure that the funds are managed and disbursed professionally.

With regard to EDIF, it has been operational since last year an amount of 56.141bn cedis loans have been granted to 23 corporate exporters and producers of export goods. These two funds are among various steps towards the achievement of the government’s vision of Golden Age of Business.