President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged Maltese companies to take advantage of the new impetus given to Ghana-Maltese relations and invest in Ghana.

Addressing a Ghana-Malta Business Forum yesterday at Valletta, Malta, President Akufo-Addo stated that “Ghana is ready for business, and I am happy that Maltese companies have already made investments to the tune of some $19 million in our country.”

He told the gathering that there were several projects in Ghana, in the areas of water, housing, transport, industry, manufacturing, agriculture, petroleum and gas, the exploitation of our mineral wealth of bauxite, iron ore and gold, amongst others, which were being structured to attract private sector investment and financing.

Touting the achievement of his government over the last two years, President Akufo-Addo noted that his administration spent the last two years putting in place measures to improve the fundamentals of Ghana’s economy, which, in recent years, had been in considerable disarray, necessitating recourse to an IMF bailout programme.

“We have been moderately successful in trying to grow the Ghanaian economy, ensuring that our economy grew from 3.6 per cent in 2016, the lowest in two decades, to 8.5 per cent in 2017, our first year in office, to six per cent last year, and is projected to grow by 7.9 per cent in 2019, making it one of the fastest growing economies in Africa,” he said.

The President continued, “We have also now successfully completed and exited the IMF programme, and have decided that, with disciplined management of our public finances, we will not have recourse, again, to a bailout programme.”

Additionally, government, he said had implemented measures which were leading Ghana and its economy into the new digital age, formalising the Ghanaian economy, reducing the cost of doing business, and facilitating interaction between businesses and their clients, particularly in a technology-driven era, where connectivity through digital services was an important element in achieving competitiveness.

“Growing investor confidence has meant that global vehicle manufacturing companies such as Volkswagen, Sinotruck, Nissan, Renault and Suzuki; major oil companies such as Aker Energy of Norway, and ExxonMobil of the United States of America; and Tech giant Google, are working towards establishing bases in Ghana,” President Akufo-Addo noted.

To Maltese companies present at the meeting, the President indicated that they could choose to invest in Ghana through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre or set up as a Free Zones enterprise.

Regardless of where the investment is, President Akufo-Addo explained that government had instituted a number of incentives for the investor, depending on the nature of the activity, or the location of the investment, all intended to help investments succeed.

The President assured that “Ghana is a country governed by the rule of law, where the separation of powers is real. We have an independent judiciary, which ensures accountable governance, and you can be assured that your investments will be protected and secure.”

He was hopeful that the business forum has provided Maltese investors with the necessary environment for business networking, which will help advance economic relations between Ghana and Malta.