Be Frank With Government - Kufuor

The President, Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor has told members of the Ghana Investors' Advisory Council (GIAC) not to mince words when criticizing policies of his government.

Speaking at the third meeting of the Council in Accra on Friday, Mr. J.A. Kufuor said being "brutally frank" in their comments and recommendations helps the government to face reality.

"I believe that is the way to make this enterprise a success. Time is not on the side of government and we cannot afford the luxury of trying to refine the language of our discourse," he said.

Members of the Diplomatic Corps, some Ministers of State and officials of the World Bank, IMF and the Private Enterprise Foundation attended the meeting. The thirty-member Advisory Council identifies priority areas for change or improvement and suggests solutions to the government.

President Kufuor, who is the Chairman of the Council, said a three-member Committee has been established to overlook the implementation of the GIAC's recommendations and to report directly to him. Members of the Committee are the Minister for Private Sector Development, Mr. Kwamena Bartels, the Managing Director of Standard Chartered Band and a member of GIAC, Mr. Ebenezer Essoka and the Head of Policy Co-ordination, Monitoring and Evaluation at the seat of government, Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu.

He said the government has chalked remarkable success in the areas of law and order as well as dispute resolution adding that there has been much improvement and a greater sense of security and stability in the country when one looks at the eighteen per cent drop in crime rates.

He disclosed that significant practical measures are being taken towards establishing land banks and explained that lands that were acquired by the state for organisations such as the erstwhile Workers' Brigade and the State Farms have being identified. He said the lands are being evaluated and compensation would be paid to those due it adding that the move is to encourage landowners and Stools to offer land to the government for prospective investors.

The President observed that with the Fast Track Courts now in place, commercial disputes are being disposed of quickly and most people are realising the use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum.

President Kufuor said the Inspection and Price Verification regimen at the ports is being done by four different companies to promote competition as a result of which he noted that the average number of days to conduct price verification has been reduced from ten to four days and this he said is expected to go down further.

He said cabinet has tabled the Labour Bill and this would soon be presented to Parliament for approval.

He also announced that a long-term credit line of US$40 million has been secured from the HSBC Exim Bank of the USA to support the private sector adding also that the ECOWAS Bank of Investment and Development (EBID) is to provide credit guarantee for projects in the government's priority areas like salt production and agro-processing.

By the end of July this year, the concept of one-stop-shop for investors would be operational at the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) he added.

He said the rise in inflation and pressure on the cedi as a result of the increase in the prices of petroleum products is only temporal.