Ghana, credible country to invest in - British Minister

>From Beatrice Akua Asamani: GNA Special Correspondent, London

London, Oct. 17, GNA - Mr Chris Mullin, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister with responsibility for Africa, has endorsed Ghana as a peaceful and credible country to make investments in, saying the requisite assistance would be given to business people in the U.K. who wished to invest in the country.

Mr Mullin said Ghana is a beacon in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that he was impressed with its Leadership and the gains made toward democratic governance, the respect for the rule of law and the vision to make the private sector the engine of growth.

Speaking in an interview with the GNA after participating in the opening ceremony of Ghana Expo 2003, Mr Mullin stressed the need for Ghana to consolidate its political stability and strengthen its efforts to reduce corruption to attract investors.

Ghana Expo 2003, a major Exhibition and Investment Seminar, aimed at showcasing Ghanaian business and products to the UK, Ghana's largest trading partner, and to Europe, opened at the prestigious Alexandra Palace in London on Thursday. It is rated as the largest African trade fair in the UK.

Mr Mullin said Ghana had to market her potential as an investment destination through events like the Expo, the large Ghanaian community in the UK and other developed countries and through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

The Minster said, Ghana's voluntary membership of the Peer Review Mechanism group under NEPAD was a honourable move that reflected the determination of its Leadership to do the right thing, adding that it was a good testimony for the country.

In another interview, Dr Ericka Bennett, Vice President of the United States-based Africa Business Roundtable, told the GNA that it was important for Ghana to tell its own story to the world.

Dr Bennett, who has made Ghana her home, said, "Ghana has some of the most brilliant people in the world and is endowed with so much natural resources and the world must be told this through its own people".

She said efforts to attract foreign direct investments would not yield the needed results if the country relied on the Western media to sell Ghana, adding, "they are not interested in telling Ghana's story for her".

The Vice President of a large business entity in the world, said America's success as a world leader stems from the fact that, "it tells its own story and tells it well''.

She, therefore, urged the Ghanaian media to also market their country as a safe haven in Africa to the world to remove her from the generalised perception of Africa as a negative place.

Though Ghana has made great efforts to attract Foreign Direct Investments, its efforts, like most Africa countries, has yielded limited success, in spite of its stable political and economic environment.

There are enormous investment opportunities in agro-processing, textiles and garments, industrial sub-contracting, salt production, oil palm production, tourism and several minerals. It provides market access to the 250 million people in the West Africa Sub-Region.

Vice President Aliu Mahama opened the four-day event, being attended by Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives Minister, Mr Alan Kyeremanten, Private Sector Development Minster Kwamena Bartels, Mr Kwesi Abeasi, Chief Executive of Ghana Investment Promotion Council and four Regional Ministers and over 500 business people.