The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, has underscored the importance of improving Ghana’s business environment to attract increased American investment and support local enterprises.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s “The Point of View,” Ambassador Palmer praised President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to business climate reform.
“Improvement to the business climate in general helps Ghanaian exporters, Ghanaian companies that are here and help encourage US investment in Ghana,” she said.
Ambassador Palmer noted that the President’s emphasis on business climate improvement in his inaugural address is a step in the right direction.
“I think [President Mahama] talked [about it] in his inaugural address about improving the business climate as being essential to Ghana’s economic recovery,” she said.
However, Ambassador Palmer highlighted several areas that require attention to make Ghana’s business environment more attractive to investors. These include reforms at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), improved access to credit, contract enforcement, and clearing of government arrears.
“So there are some things that can happen with the GRA, with access to credit, with a number of things like contracts signed and payment of government arrears,” Ambassador Palmer explained.
“It will help make this much more attractive to invest for American companies and Ghanaian companies, and I will also say that if Ghanaian small companies are paid on time, they will strive, and if they are not paid on time, they won’t survive,” she added.
By addressing these challenges, Ambassador Palmer believes Ghana can create a more favorable business environment that will attract increased investment and support the growth of local enterprises.