Accra April 25, GNA - The Registrar General's Department is collaborating with the Ghana Post Company Limited to act as a point where businesses can register and acquire renewal forms, Mr Ayikio Otoo, Minister of Justice, said on Tuesday.

"By this collaboration, the Department is virtually going to the doorstep of the business community to enable them to fulfil these legal requirements."

Taking his turn at the Meet the Press Series in Accra, Mr Otoo, who is also the Attorney-General, said the collaboration would reduce cost and time of doing business with the Department, which was expected to operate on-line services to the public in order enhance its service delivery by 2009.

He said the Department through the assistance of the World Bank and DANIDA had now captured about 80 per cent of information on to computers.

The Attorney-General noted that most people refused to renew and register their business because they had to travel to the city but was hopeful that "all those constraints would be a thing of the past." He said as at September 2005, the Department had collected 26.8 billion cedis as revenue adding; "Cabinet has given approval for the Department to retain 15 per cent of internally generated funds to enhance its work".

Mr Otoo said the front office building of the Head Office, which started about six years ago, was now 70 per cent completed, adding; "we are hoping that it would be completed by the end of the year". He said the Department had opened two more offices in Takoradi and Kumasi but said "only the Takoradi Office is functional. The Department is in the process of recruiting staff for the Kumasi Office". The Minister said though the Department was ready to operate an office at Tamale, it was constrained by accommodation. The Registrar-General's Department mainly registers businesses. The Registrar-General registers patents, trademarks and textile designs. He or she also acts as Administrator-General for Ghana as well as the official liquidator for the State.