The Ghana Investment Promotion Center has expressed disquiet about the increasing rate at which foreign entities presenting forged documents to business regulators in Ghana.
According to stakeholders at the 2019 Economic Counsellors Dialogue organized by the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), if the situation is not addressed it can negatively impact Ghana’s image in the eyes of potential investors.
Speaking on the sidelines of the program the Chief Operating Officer at the GIPC Carl Nelson advised potential foreign businesses to deal directly with the regulatory agencies in their search for documentation instead of using middle men to avoid any problems.
“The most important thing for me is for the investing community to be aware that they can come directly to the GIPC, GRA or the Immigrations Service. They must limit the use of intermediaries. Because most of the problems come with the use of intermediaries. If you deal directly to the authority from which you need a service, you will get the service and if there are problems you will get direct feedback, unlike when you use an intermediary.”
After his presentation to the gathering, the Deputy Controller of Operations at the Ghana Immigrations service Lord Ofori-Afrifa, spoke on the impact of a proliferation of forged documents on the image of Ghana as a preferred destination for business and investment in Africa.
“The forging of documents undermines the integrity of our official documents, and that goes to the security of the state. And such experiences which almost leads to investors being duped ends up affecting the credibility of the country as destination for business.”
On his part the Hungarian Ambassador to Ghana Andras Szabo warned foreign businesses against cheating their way through the system
Meanwhile, Deputy Controller of Operations at the Ghana Lord Ofori-Afrifa from the Immigrations Service believes the electronic linking of the systems of the regulatory bodies will help in weeding out fake documents from the system.
“Now we want to have electronic linkages with the other regulatory bodies, so that whatever you bring us we will have access to same from the source. The way to go now is to link our databases, so that before you come to us we already have information on you.”
The 2019 Economic Counsellors Dialogue
The 2019 Economic Counsellors Dialogue which was on the theme “Improving the Ease of Doing Business in Ghana: Immigration Laws, Technology Transfer Agreements and Double Taxation Agreements” was organized by the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) to serve as an opportunity for members of the diplomatic corps to dialogue on improving the business and investment climate in the country.
The event which attracted multiple representatives from different countries including economic, commercials and trade counselors of the various diplomatic missions, was also used by the GIPC as a platform to obtain feedback from the diplomatic community in order to guide the centers activities to enhance investors experience in Ghana.
The event saw presentations and discussions on Initiatives being implemented by the Ghana Immigrations Service to ease Investor Immigration Process, Technology Transfer Agreements, their Importance, the Dynamics & Policy Implications as well as Double Taxation Agreements, their Importance, the Dynamics & Policy Implications.
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By: Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
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