No red tape: Pres. Ali says Guyana/Ghana will make private investments easy

Private investors from Guyana and Ghana are being encouraged to pursue business opportunities in each other’s country and in doing so, President Dr. Irfaan Ali says that the ‘red tape’ that slows business will be removed.

The President said this while addressing a gathering of Ghanian officials and members of the private sectors from Ghana and Guyana, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Georgetown.

As the two countries strengthen their bilateral relations, President Ali emphasised that the private sectors are the “engine that will drive the process forward.”

And, that is why, he explained, government officials from both countries have been fervently engaging the private sectors over the past few months.

“… red tapes and bureaucracy will be removed from the process of reaching business opportunities,” the Head-of-State announced in the presence of the visiting Vice-President of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

There will be no interlocutors in this process, the President said also. Instead, he assured the gathering that government officials and the “systems of government” will be accessible to the private sector of both countries.

The issue of “red tape” has traditionally deterred private sector investments. This has been a concern, particularly in Guyana, leading to international companies complaining about procurement procedures, lengthy timelines for permits and uncertain approval processes.

Cognisant of this long standing challenge, during his inauguration speech in 2020, President Ali had announced that his government will create a single-window application system.

On Monday, while addressing a Harvard virtual workshop, he said this single-window system for construction permits was in its “final stages.”

Meanwhile, the Ghanian Vice-President said that there is much room for trade between the two countries to increase, given the countries’ similarities and synergies.

In fact, Dr. Bawumia said “…recent upsurge in both economies may allow respective private sectors to enhance commercial pursuits.”

On the Ghanian front, he pointed out that the African Continental Free Trade Area, the largest free trade area in the world, has its secretariat in Ghana.

And, he called on Guyanese businesses to leverage the opportunities for investment that present themselves in Ghana.

And in Guyana, he assured President Ali and his government that the West African nation is keen on sharing its developmental experiences with Guyana, to help the country achieve its goal of sustainable development.