Kumasi, Feb. 20, GNA - Mr Andy Schmit, Service Director of Halisburg Ghana Limited, dealers in spare parts, has attributed the slow pace of investment in the country to "red-tapeism".

He also mentioned corruption and the difficulty encountered in the acquisition of operational documents as other contributory factors. Mr Schmit said although a lot of investors had developed the interest in establishing in the country as a result of the peaceful and investor-friendly atmosphere, the cumbersome bureaucracy coupled with other difficulties they encounter when they started the initial process scared them.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency after a meeting with a section of the business community and officials of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, he pointed out that President Kufuor's visit to Germany and other European countries to woo investors into the country had yielded fruitful results as some members of the German Chamber of Commerce had expressed their enthusiasm to do business in Ghana.

He said, however, that they were reluctant to come because of the frustrations they would encounter in the acquisition of documents with which to operate.

Mr Schmit admitted though that numerous business opportunities existed in the country to attract a lot of investment to improve the economy but said the huge cost involved in processing and obtaining documents undermined government's efforts at promoting foreign investment.

He said investors who agreed to pay bribes had their documents processed quickly while those who refused to pay bribes had their documents delayed between five to eight months.