Minister of Trade and Industry Haruna Iddrisu has bemoaned the loss in investment Ghana has incurred over the past eight months as a result of the legal tussle over results of the 2012 Presidential Elections.

He said there has been a drop in foreign direct investment given figures in 2011/2012 and that recorded so far this year.

“The last eight months, which witnessed a major electoral decision following the aftermath of the December 2012 elections, investment was held hostage by the pending action in the Supreme Court because investors need certainty and security to invest and they were not too sure of how Ghana as a country will respond to the outcome of the ruling of the Supreme Court,” Mr Iddrisu said on Thursday, September 12, 2013 in an interview with TV3’s Catherine Frimpomaa.

“If you compare foreign direct investment in 2011/2012 to 2013 within the same period, we probably had lost between $1 billion and $2 billion in terms of investment that would have come in if there was no hesitation and if there was certainty.”

He assured that government will take to “more aggressive” approaches in driving back investment.

He continued that judicious use will be made of revised laws of the Ghana Investment Promotions Center (GIPC) and the Free Zones Board (FZB) in order to attract foreign direct investment “and to stimulate domestic investment”.

He mentioned that already investors from countries such as Japan have expressed interest in boosting the agricultural sector, especially in the north “as part of their contribution to bridge the development gap between the north and the south”.

“Political stability and peace and security of our country is a major investment driver,” he noted.