AmCham Luncheon Meeting With Chief Justice On Enhancing Ease Of Doing Business

AmCham in collaboration with GARIA on Thursday November 2, 2017 hosted the Chief Justice of  Ghana, Her Ladyship Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo,  the US Ambassador to Ghana, dignitaries from the  multinational business fraternity and some top industry lawyers at the Kempinski hotel in Accra to discuss reforming the Judiciary to enhance ease of  doing business.

The event was organized to bring the custodians of the country’s laws and the business community  under one roof to dialogue and find mutual grounds where law will aid business and vice versa. Ambassador Robert P. Jackson in his  remarks said American businesses are attracted to invest in the Ghana because of stability and the success of the  nation’s  democracy; but  there are some challenges bedevilling the efforts of these businesses.

According to Ambassador Jackson, “Intellectual property rights are not protected, public procurement processes lack
transparency, disputes arising over land ownership, contractual agreements are not honored, greater local content  is ill defined and law meant to protect interests are weakly enforced, if at all.”

He went on to say that of particular concern has been endemic corruption and lack of government transparency that undermine progress.

 

According to Ambassador Jackson, American businesses and investors have long been at the forefront of deepening  ties between our two countries. He went on to state that this partnership has great potential because great things  have already been accomplished. “Yet while we celebrate and recognise Ghana’s achievements, we must commit  ourselves to set the bar of standards even higher in order to strive for and attain Ghana’s full potentials.”

“Not doing so risks setting Ghana back on its journey and on the promise of a brighter future that youth are rightfully entitled to expert.” He added.

The Ambassador also stated that the United States is committed to contributing to economic growth beyond aid with a focus on promoting greater U.S. investment.

Touching on these issues, Her Ladyship Justice Sophia Akuffo said the respect for property rights and contract  enforcement as well as the predictability in the framework of rules are important requirements for business growth  and needed to be promoted. She said “The confidence business men and women have that their contracts and  property rights will be determined by an independent and impartial judiciary is vital to the facilitation of business.”

She went on to say inefficiency in justice delivery has been identified as a deterrent to investor confidence in  the nation. She said Judicial reforms were part of a  national development policy captured in documents covering the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy 1. “It is this national policy framework that under girded the Judicial Service  reform in its development.” She added.

The Chief Justice also stated some strategies mapped out to the reform vision. These included a fundamental review of commercial law reform initiatives. Improving access to justice for businesses and enhancing the use of  Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms within the Judicial Sector Reform Programme and developing cost effective solutions for enhancing access to justice.

According to Justice Akuffo, new and extensive rules have been incorporated on proceedings relating to intellectual property and other rights in responds to market needs. She further said special rules of court have been formulated for the commercial courts to support businesses with effective justice delivery.

She said a specialised court for the speedy adjudication of land and property rights dispute has been set up. She added that the court has jurisdiction in land litigation and empowered to apply the provision in the rules to determine preliminary boundary issues to dispose matters at its early stage without going through full trail.

Implementation of the reform initiatives she said were fine-tuned to rest on a stronger focus on training and capability building for the judiciary staff of the service, institutionalising court-annexed ADR. Institutional strengthening and infrastructural development, review of the Law and Rules and Procedure in the court. Policy development and implementation. Image building and improving access to justice.

On the “elephant in the room”, Justice Akuffo said a weak justice system is bound to promote corruption and assured business people of an efficient and effective system of justice will deal with corrupt transactions and said that the propensity in business transaction will be licensed.

To ensure certainty and reduce abuse of the administrative machinery, she said the Rules of Court have directed every law suit  filed in the Commercial Division be subjected to pre-trail  settlement conference.

From a distance, it seems the government is dedicated to curbing corruption and undergo crucial reforms to  enhance ease of doing business; this Ambassador Jackson acknowledged and applauded some of the reforms which have
already been instituted. But he wants to see more actions taken. “We look to the government to hold people  accountable when laws are broken.”

Ambassador Jackson also urged America businesses to abide by four golden principles; hire and train Ghanaians,  share first class technology with Ghanaians, engage in corporate responsibility programs in communities in which  they operate and under penalty and enforcement of U.S. laws. never engage in corruption.

Ghana ranked 108 out of 190 countries in overall ease of doing business in 2017 and in enforcing contracts, the country ranked 54. The indicator on enforcing contracts measures the time and cost of resolving disputes through local courts.

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AmCham Holds 2017 Thanksgiving and Charity Ball

Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta reiterated the 2018 budget and explained some key components at the 2017 AmCham Ghana Thanksgiving dinner and charity ball held at the banquet hall of the state house in Accra, on 17th November 2017.

The minister was the guest speaker at the event and he touched on the ‘One district, One factory’ policy of the new government. He said the government looks forward in partnering with organizations like AmCham and its Members in implementing this policy.

Hon. Ofori-Atta also stated some measures instituted by the new administration to stabilize the economy to create a business friendly environment. Some of these measures he said included the abolishment of 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on Financial Services, Excise duty on Petroleum and the replacement of 17.5 percent standard rate with a 3 percent flat VAT/NHIL rate for supplies by retailers and wholesalers.

“To ensure irreversibility of the stability we have achieved, we are implementing structural measures to tackle some of the long-term structural issues.” The minister added.

Prior to the minister’s speech, Ambassador Robert P. Jackson gave a much light toned speech. He started with a brief history on Thanksgiving. “I am sure most of us are familiar with the story we associate with the first Thanksgiving: back in the year 1621, the pilgrim settlers to America gathered with the Native Americans at Plymouth Plantation to celebrate their bountiful harvest.”

The Ambassador went on to share some fact about Thanksgiving. He began with the fact that even though Thanksgiving started in 1621, it didn’t become an annual, national holiday until the 1860s.  He also expressed Americans love for turkey and said their first diplomat, Benjamin Franklin, liked turkey even more than most Americans.

Ambassador Jackson’s speech wasn’t all about turkey; he talked about Thanksgiving also doubling as a period of reflection. “Tonight is a time of fellowship with each other, but it is also time to consider how we can give back to the community and make a positive difference in the lives of Ghanaian citizens.” He added.

He said he admire the work of American companies are doing in Ghana, and that their innovative, high quality goods and services that they provide are highly valued by the Ghanaian market. The Ambassador went on to say “it is interesting how, over time, American companies have evolved their philosophy about what it means to be a “good” business. It is much more than just an entity that makes profit.”

“I am proud to represent the United States and U.S. companies here in Ghana as your ambassador.” He added.

The events also doubled as the 20th anniversary since the Chamber was officially launched, and the first president of the Chamber was present.  Before presenting awards to some staff that have been with the Chamber since its insertion, he told a story of the launching of Chamber, an event which had the then President FLt Jerry John Rawlings as a special guest.

 

The current president of the chamber, Mr. Joe Mansah also shared a story on how the embassy helped him setup IBM in Ghana, and encouraged American business who a yet to join Chamber to do so. “Come be part of our organization and let’s drive the agenda together.” Mr. Mensah urged.

Some outstanding Menders were also awarded with certificates of appreciation for the various roles they have played in advancing the agendas of the Chamber. The president and the Ambassador honorably presented these awards to Ayesha Bedwei from PwC, Edward William Wiafe of Landsar Developer and Nii Amanor Dodoo of KPMG. Kimathi Partners were also presented a plaque of appreciation for being the headline sponsor of the Thanksgiving event.

It was a night of glitz, good music, good food, champagne and wine, but the less fortunate was not left out. There was an art auctioning and Delta Airlines ticket sales with proceeds going to support a local charity.  This year’s Thanksgiving event can be described as a success and the Chamber hopes to repeat it, and of course upon it with the help of its Members.

From the president, Mr. Joe Mensah, “The future is bright, we just have to do things right.”

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AmCham to Hold Advocacy Series on Intellectual Property Rights in Ghana

The American Chamber of Commerce and the IP Network in Ghana will hold series of advocacy activities on Intellectual Property rights in Ghana. This decision was taken at a roundtable discussion held at the U.S. Embassy on Monday November 27, 2017 by the I.P committee of the Chamber, members of an independent organization called the I.P Network of Ghana, representatives from the Copyright and Industrial Design Sections of the Registrar General’s Department and a senior officer from the Commercial Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

Chamber Members and other captains of industry also attended the meeting, which was to brain storm on ways to enhance the enforcement of I.P rights in the Country, following an earlier one held in April to mark World I.P Day. The meeting also concluded that the prevalence of I.P violations in the Country was high; leading to the closure of some companies, increase in money laundering activities and other commercial crimes.

The advocacy series will seek to educate the public through news briefs on the rights of I.P owners, the dangers especially the health and safety issues associated with dealing in counterfeit and pirated products, expose primary and secondary infringers and work with the law enforcement agencies to track the prosecution of I.P cases in the Country.

U.S. Senior Commercial Officer in Ghana, Tyrena Holley who hosted the meeting also said the U.S. has training programs for agents from the law enforcement agencies and requested that the agencies provide candidates to be enrolled in these program.

 

 

 

AmCham Holds 2017 Annual General Meeting

Ambassador Robert P. Jackson on Thursday, November 16th, 2017 hosted the American Chamber Commerce in Ghana and its Members at his residence for the 16th Annual General Meeting. Activities at the meeting included a brief welcome address by the Ambassador, President’s report, a presentation of the Chamber’s financial  statement under the year of review, approval of new and existing board Members and a question and answer session.

President of the Chamber, Mr. Joe Mensah gave a recap of the Chamber’s activities during the year under review,  and expressed his excitement on the attendance at these events. “I wish to thank all Members for their cooperation  and support over the past two years I have been President. Over 1,000 persons have attended the various events of the Chamber under the year in review.”

The President also took time to acknowledge the new companies who joined the Chamber.

Mr. Joe Mensah also commended the efforts of  Members and the Board in building a strong brand for the Chamber. He particularly singled  out Ambassador Jackson and his team at the U.S. Embassy for their contributions to Chamber.

“Special commendation goes to Ambassador Jackson, Tyrena Holley and Jimmy Mauldin of the U.S. mission for their tireless efforts in assisting the Chamber. American companies owe the Team at the U.S Embassy a lot of appreciation.”

Ambassador Jackson in his remark  reaffirmed America’s commitment to Africa and Ghana. This was after the he commended Ghana for once again demonstrating its political maturity in the recent election.

The Ambassador also referred to the visit by the Congressional delegation led by Senator Chris Coons from Delaware;he said,“Their presence here alone demonstrated their sincere interest in Ghana, and their desire to understand Africa and its potential.”

Talking on power, the Ambassador said United States continues to work toward making improvements in Ghana’s  power sector. He made mention of the U.S. Government initiatives like Power Africa, an initiative he said will help make Ghana’s “one district, one factory” vision a reality through the provision of reliable and affordable power.


“Our Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact continues to move forward. The compact will provide $498  million to improve Ghana’s power distribution” the Ambassador added. He also said through Power Africa,  they will work closely with American companies General Electric and Endeavor to bring the Early/Bridge Power project  to financial close by December. “Once completed, this project will bring 400 megawatts of affordable and reliable  gas power to Ghanaian homes and Businesses.” He added.

Ambassador Robert Jackson also expressed his excitement to see U.S. companies find success in Ghana. In a  commendation, the Ambassador applauded measures adopted by the new government led by  President Akuffo Addo to improve the business environment; he stated that “indeed the government has taken important steps to improve business processes, lower taxes, and reform customs clearance processes.”

On the issue of visa acquisition, the Ambassador assured that the Embassy is committed to facilitating  legitimate  travel to the United States. He said his consulate has been working hard to ensure the visa adjudication process  is lean and efficient. “I’m proud to tell you that over the last three months, the average wait time for a visa  appointment has fallen from more than three weeks to just a few days. We will  strive to keep our wait times  under  one week.” He added.

This year’s AGM also saw some outgoing board members honored for their service to the Chamber.Amos Amankwah of  Smice International and Rodrigue Bila of Equatorial Coca Cola were presented with a certificate ofappreciation by the president of the Chamber. “We trust you will continue to make your  services available to the Chamber.” Mr. Joe
Mensah added.

It was also announced at the meeting that the Chamber will organize the 1st U.S. Ghana trade and investment  exhibition in the coming year. The president also urged Members to continue to pay their  dues on time  to ensure  sustainability of the Chamber and its membership activities. He further encouraged Members to provide feed backs.
Mr. Felix Addo, vice president of the Chamber in his closing remark encouraged Members to take active part in  Chamber activities and assured them that, the board and the secretariat is ready to serve them.

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Enhancing The Ease Of Doing Business: Reforming The Company And Insolvency Laws Of Ghana

Accra, Ghana, 26 September 2017 – On behalf of the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Governing Council of the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors (GARIA), we express our profound gratitude to the Attorney-General & Minister of Justice Hon. Gloria Akuffo, the Panel (Prof. Bondzi-Simpson, Felix Ntrakwah, Tony Oteng Gyasi, Hon. Vicky Bright, Felix Addo, Justice V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe and Mavis Amoah), AMCHAM and GARIA Members and the General Public for honoring our invitation.

This event which focused on “Enhancing the Ease of Doing Business: Reforming the Company and Insolvency Laws of Ghana” unearthed thought provoking pieces aimed at reducing the premature insolvency of businesses in Ghana, promote corporate restructuring and update the Companies Act 1963 to reflect the modern trend in doing business.

The World Bank reports that in 2017, globally, in resolving Corporate Insolvency, Ghana stands at 155 in the ranking of 190 economies. In addition, resolving insolvency takes 1.9 years on the average and costs over 22.0% of the debtor’s estate, with the most likely outcome as the liquidation of the company. Nevertheless, even when a business goes into liquidation, current laws do not adequately protect creditors and shareholders’ interests as well as ensure a safe transition of the business.

Per the Government of Ghana Ease of Doing Business Initiative Concept Note (2017); “It is the vision of the government to transform the business climate environment with the political will to bring about the fundamental reforms to set the stage for robust growth, and position Ghana as a competitive, global business and services-based platform, with an open economy…,”  The realization of this vision is premised on effective business legislation that could streamline the activities of businesses to not only preserve jobs but create employment.

Previous Attorney-Generals have made efforts to have the revised Company and Insolvency Bills passed into law and the current Attorney-General, Hon. Gloria Akuffo is very optimistic about the passage of the two Bills and assured stakeholders that the Bills which are currently before Cabinet would be sent to Parliament for consideration in due course.

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Reconsider 3% VAT Flat Rate Scheme (“VFRS”)

Recommendations- by AMCHAM Ghana:

The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana is the representative arm of U.S businesses in Ghana and Ghanaian businesses with significant U.S connection or seeking to do business in the U.S. Our Members over the decades have made significant contribution to the economic development of this Country and in the process, created prosperity for our two nations.

At our meeting on 18th July to discuss the New 3% VAT flat rate, members commended the Government of Ghana for re-introducing VAT Flat Rate Scheme with the objective to expand the tax base and get most businesses in the SME sector to pay taxes. However, they observed that the introduction of this tax and expanding it to cover manufacturers who sell to end users or retailers, large wholesalers and retailers has resulted in unintended outcomes which is likely to affect businesses in a negative way.

The new VFRS does not allow businesses that have paid input VAT to be reimbursed as was done previously, forcing these businesses to either absorb the 3%, thereby reducing their margins or pass it on to final consumers, thereby increasing prices to consumers.

The new VFRS seems to also favour importers and distributors, than manufacturers who import intermediate goods for value addition and subsequently wholesale and retail.

AMCHAM Members recommended that Government should consider the following options:

  • Re-implementing the VFRS provision in the VAT Act, 2010 (Act 810) repealed, with slight modifications. Act 810 provided for thresholds which made it easier to administer. As such, the threshold should be reintroduced and this could be based on the presumptive tax threshold provided for in the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896).
  • Limiting the VFRS to only micro and small enterprises as it has proven to be a useful way to expanding the tax net.
  • For manufacturers whose businesses span more than one sector (i.e. wholesaling and retailing), for whom both 17.5% and 3% will apply, Government should put in place methods that allow such manufacturers to apportion supplies made and account for VAT separately under both VFRS and standard rate scheme. The dominant business line could also be considered in determining the VAT scheme such manufacturers should operate. To this end, the definition provided for a “wholesaler” and “retailer” should be updated to consider the status of such manufacturers who operate multiple business lines and the general deductible input tax in respect of the apportionment should be made public in a practice note.
  • There is a technical/legal gap in the GRA Practice Note with regards to treatment of the non-deductible 17.5% input VAT under the scheme. The Practice Note provides guidance to the
  • effect that the non-deductible 17.5% input VAT should be added to the cost of the product prior to computing the 3% output VAT.
  • The guidance may appear to contradict the VAT Act, 2013 (Act 870) in section 43(1a), where the value of a taxable supply is defined to exclude “the tax” (where “the tax” here refers to VAT). The extent of the contradiction in the Practice Note, is causing so much confusion between vendors and buyers in practice and this must be resolved immediately.
  • Businesses should be given the opportunity to choose whether to exclusively operate the standard rate scheme or the flat rate scheme to make accounting easier.

SIGNED
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Review taxes and duties on software to enhance fight against cybercrime and piracy.

The American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Ghana, on World Intellectual Property Day is calling on the Ministry of Finance and the Parliament of Ghana to remove the high taxes and duties on software imported into the country in conformity with the World Trade Organization Decision on Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment (WTO Decision 4.1).

World Trade Organization Decision on Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment provides guidance to custom authorities on the valuation of software which should be based the cost of the medium on which the software (data) is stored. For example software information stored on a CD-ROM, will be valued based on the cost of the CD-ROM, according to this WTO Decision.

However, this Decision is not being applied in Ghana. Ghana Customs valuation of software includes the intellectual property component and a number of taxes which sum up to about 42% of the cost of media increasing the price of software on the Ghanaian market.

The increase in taxes has contributed to the high cost of genuine software products available in Ghana, making many software users susceptible to pirated software products which usually come at a low cost. Some industry experts estimate that, at least 80% of all computers in Ghana are running on pirated software.

There are significant risks for government institutions, businesses, and individuals using non-genuine and pirated software. Pirated license does not benefit from online upgrades provided by genuine software companies from time to time to protect against malware and other security viruses. Also pirated software could easily open the door to cybercrime which has far reaching consequences for government institutions, and individuals including system crashes and hacking.

The American Chamber of Commerce is an affiliate of the U.S Chamber of Commerce in Washington DC and the representative arm of U.S businesses in the country. The Intellectual Property Hub (I.P Hub) of the Chamber seeks to advocate for enforcement of intellectual property rights in the country, and works with like minded organizations to raise awareness about I.P issues in the Country.

AMCHAM Ghana Meets U.S Deputy Trade Coordinator

The American Chamber of Commerce-Ghana (AMCHAM) has held a roundtable meeting with U.S Deputy Trade Africa Coordinator to discuss the role of American businesses in promoting foreign direct investment into the country. Eleven companies in the ICT, Agribusiness and infrastructure sectors of Ghana met with the Ms. Alicia Robinson-Morgan, the U.S Deputy Trade Africa Coordinator

Ms. Alicia Robinson-Morgan is in the country to appraise the status of implementation of the Trade Africa Expansion Initiative in Ghana. Trade Africa is an initiative of the US Government that targets key barriers to trade and investment; and promotes regional integration and trade competitiveness, specifically aiming to increase intra-regional African trade and exports to the US and reducing the time it takes to import or export from ports to land-locked interiors on the continent.

Discussions between AMCHAM members and the Deputy Coordinator bordered on challenges businesses faced
operating in the country which included the proper definition and application of local content laws; contracts and contracts enforcement in light of change of government; and transparency issues in public procurement. Other issues were: the number of regulatory agencies and requirements for operating in certain sectors and the attendant cost of obtaining the required licenses, currency issues and the increasing burden of taxes, fees and charges.

Executive Secretary of AMCHAM Simon Madjie stated that “our objective is to bring prosperity to our two nations through free enterprise and so, we welcome any discussion aimed at improving the business environment and making Ghana one of the easiest places in the world to do business”

About Trade Africa
Trade Africa is a US Government Initiative to strengthen the U.S. relationship with Africa in order to significantly expand U.S.–African private and public sector collaboration to increase trade with and within Africa. In Ghana Trade Africa is supporting the Government of Ghana and private sector stakeholders to implement and be compliant with the World Trade Organization’s Agreements on Facilitation; Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) Measures; and Technical Barrier to Trade; as well as to implement Policies and Programs to Facilitate Trade, Investment and Regional Integration.

About American Chamber of Commerce

The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana is the representative arm of U.S businesses in the Country and was formally established in 1997 to promote trade and investment between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana. Its main objective is to contribute to the economic development of the country through the creation of a vibrant private sector. The Chamber is also affiliated to the U.S Chamber of Commerce, which is the world’s largest trade association with over three million members and 117 affiliate chapters around the globe.

American Business In Ghana Explore Ways Of Engaging New Government

The American Chamber of Commerce Ghana held its first business meeting for 2017 on Tuesday, January 31, discussing how businesses can better engage with the government to help improve the business environment in the country.

On the theme “How Businesses can better engage with the new Administration”, the meeting was attended by about 112 business people, mostly members of the American Chamber of Commerce as well as representatives of the European Business Organization and officials of  U.S Embassy in Accra.

The guest speaker for the meeting, Mr. Kwame Pianim, the retired CEO of New World Renaissance Securities Ltd, who is also an economist/politician, indicated in his speech that “there seems to be a genuine call on Business for collaboration in a well articulated action plan in the 2016 election manifesto of the new government, there is the desire to get more people to start new businesses and encourage existing businesses to make new investments, to grow and expand”

In his opening remarks, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce Ghana, Mr. Joe Mensah said that “U.S businesses where ready to engage with the new government, to improve the business environment and facilitate more U.S investment in the country to create jobs and contribute to the economic development of Ghana”

Today’s meeting forms part of a series of monthly meetings to be held by the Chamber with support from the U.S. Government’s Trade Africa Initiative.  Trade Africa is a US Government Initiative to strengthen the U.S. relationship with Africa in order to significantly expand U.S.–African private and public sector collaboration to increase trade with and within Africa. The American Chamber of Commerce, Ghana is the representative arm of U.S businesses in the Country and was formally established in 1997 to promote trade and investment between the United States of America and the Republic of Ghana. Its main objective is to contribute to the economic development of the country through the creation of a vibrant private sector. The Chamber is also affiliated to the U.S Chamber of Commerce, which is the world’s largest trade association with over three million members and 117 affiliate chapters around the globe.