Parliament passes Enterprise Agency Bill

Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, on Tuesday described the passage of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) Bill, 2020 by Parliament as “momentous.”

“We want to extend huge gratitude to both sides of the House for passing the Ghana Enterprises Agency Bill, 2020. It is a momentous day that this Bill has been passed by Parliament,” he said.

“This Bill positions the GEA to carry out its full mandate as the Agency of government, charged with promoting and supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).”

The Bill seeks to establish the Ghana Enterprises Agency to oversee, coordinate, promote and develop MSMEs.

It is intended to replace the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) Act, 1981, (Act 434), which has become obsolete as the focus of operations of the NBSSI has changed from small scale industries to micro, small and medium enterprises.

This represents the entire continuum of enterprises that are not largescale firms.

The Bill would also provide an appropriate institutional and legal framework for coordination of programmes and projects for the development of those enterprises in Ghana.

Mr Ahomka-Lindsay said though MSMEs were the largest segment of the economy, creating employment for many, they were usually ignored because they tended to be small and quite informal.

He said the Ghana Enterprises Agency would be charged to execute the MSMEs strategy to ensure they were properly supported to play their full role in Ghana’s economy.

Mr Ahomka-Lindsay said the new Agency would have the ability to raise funds to financially assist stakeholders as an encouragement to grow into large businesses, with those having the capacity to venture into the petrochemical and automobile industries to do so.