The Ghana Investors' Advisory Council (GIAC) has called for urgent structural reforms in five key areas to make the country an attractive investment destination.

The areas are Agribusiness, Land, Banking, Customs Procedure Reforms and Labour.

A release issued at the end of the one-day Second meeting of the Council in Accra said: "the rational for this call is not only to reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana but also to make the country an attractive investment destination and a more competitive environment for existing investors both local and foreign."

The meeting was attended by 26 business leaders including six international participants, Ministers of State, representatives from government, private sector, donor agencies and the diplomatic corp.

The release said the participants commended government for the work done so far on the 'Action Points' particularly on security and legal reforms, identified during the inaugural and first meeting of the Council on May 3, this year.

The Council was a small, high level and informal advisory group, which is chaired by President Kufuor and comprised top-level corporate executives, who would assist to increase understanding between government and companies driving investments.

The Council included a 26-member group of top-level executives of foreign and Ghanaian businesses such as CMS Energy Company, ECOBANK, Heineken, Ashanti Goldfields Company as well as individuals from the private sector.

President Kufuor informed the members during the opening session that since its last meeting, government had made some strides in tackling some of the areas that were identified as hindrances to Ghana being an attractive investment destination.

He said there had been improvement in the security situation in the country and morale in the police service had improved with the provision of vehicles and equipment. There was also a programme to increase their numbers.

President Kufuor said the legal reforms process was underway and with the resolution of the Fast Track Courts issue, commercial disputes could be settled quickly.

He said the Companies Code had been reviewed and the updated version was due to be published shortly. "The new Labour Bill is currently before Parliament, the draft Mining Law is before Cabinet, the much-debated Bank of Ghana Bill has been passed into law."

President Kufuor noted, however, that there were still some important issues to be resolved and cited that not much progress had been made on the proposals for the establishment of an offshore banking enclave.

He said land reform was engaging serious attention of government but there had not yet been a breakthrough adding that: "I await your recommendations on these and other outstanding matters."

In his opening address, President Kufuor appealed to the members not to allow any bureaucratic encumbrances to hold up whatever ideas they have for the government to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

"The situation that we inherited was dire and we need to make a dramatic difference to lay a solid foundation for the economy in the shortest possible time," he said.

The Council is a small, high level and informal advisory group, which is chaired by President Kufuor.

It comprises top-level corporate executives, who would assist to increase understanding between government and companies driving investments. The Council includes a 26-member group of top-level executives of foreign and Ghanaian businesses such as CMS Energy Company, ECOBANK, Heineken, Ashanti Goldfields Company as well as individuals from the private sector.

It was inaugurated on May 3, this year and held its first meeting on the same day. President Kufuor informed the members that since its last meeting, government had made some strides in tackling some of the areas that were identified as hindrances to Ghana being an attractive investment destination.

He said there had been improvement in the security situation in the country and morale in the police service had improved with the provision of vehicles and equipment. There is also a programme to increase their numbers.

Kufuor said the legal reforms process was underway and with the resolution on the Fast Track Courts issue, commercial disputes could be settled quickly. He said the Companies Code had been reviewed and the updated version was due to be published shortly.

"The new Labour Bill is currently before Parliament, the draft Mining Law is before Cabinet, the much-debated Bank of Ghana Bill has been passed into law."

President Kufuor noted, however, that there were still some important issues to be resolved, saying, for example, not much progress had been made on the proposals for the establishment of an offshore banking enclave. He said land reform was engaging serious attention of government but there had not yet been a breakthrough.

"I await your recommendations on these and other outstanding matters." President Kufuor said now that a Secretariat for the Council had been established, the flow of information and the networking among members should be easier. "We need your input more regularly than the twice-yearly meetings that can be scheduled."

He suggested to the Council that an alternate Chairman should be appointed in order not to hold back work of the Council.