World bank and IMF assist Ghana to form investors council

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have selected Ghana, among three countries in Sub-Sahara Africa to set up Investment Advisory Council.

Senegal and Tanzania are the other countries, which would set up separate councils to advise their governments on how to attract more investments into their countries.

The council will also advise on how to create jobs and improve on their economies, Mr Peter Harrold, World Bank Country Director in Ghana announced this when he and Mr Enrique de la Piedra, IMF Resident Representative in Ghana paid a courtesy call on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu on Tuesday.Membership of the council will include leading Ghanaian businessmen and entrepreneurs who are well vested in the Ghanaian economy, multi-national companies and institutions which have made investments in Ghana and representatives of major International Companies and institutions that are well endowed but have not made any investments in Ghana to offer good advice and suggestions on what should be done to enable them invest in Ghana.

Mr Harrold said the establishment of the council was decided at a meeting the institutions held in Mali last year, which President Kufuor attended and his presentations enabled them to select Ghana as a beneficiary country because of the government's policy to promote Golden Age of Business.

He said Ghana had major potentials to attract foreign and domestic investments in terms of her stability and openness to business, which were necessary to attract investors.

Mr Harrold said the establishment of the council would be their contribution towards the realisation of the objectives of the government's policy on Golden Age of Business.

He commended the government for the gains made within the past year and said he was hopeful that this year would be much better for the government to build on the foundation established.President Kufuor said the government was encouraged by the assurances that the vision of the Golden Age of Business would be assisted to succeed.He said the establishment of the council in some African countries bore testimony of breaking new grounds for both foreign and domestic investments in Africa.