Monday, 13th June, 2022

Page 10
The World Bank says
that additional policy
reforms in investment
and trade facilitation
can further enhance
The Institute of
Directors-Ghana (IoD-
Gh) has engaged the
Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Zenith Bank Ghana
Limited, Mr Henry Onwuzurigbo,
on the status of a draft Directors’
Charter Bill and the National
Corporate Governance Code
(NCGC).
Mr Rockson Kwame
Dogbegah, President of IoD-
Gh, who paid a courtesy call
on the CEO with a delegation
from the IoD-Gh, said to
further strengthen professional
directorship in Ghana, the
Institute had sent a status draft
of the Directors’ Charter Bill to
the Minister of Education for
due process.
The visit was to welcome the
CEO who had recently assumed
office and to discuss strategic
matters of mutual interest
regarding the practice of good
corporate governance and
professional directorship.
Mr Dogbegah stated that the
Directors’ Charter Bill, when
passed, would establish the
IoD-Gh as a statutory body to
set standards for the practice
of corporate governance in
Ghana and to provide for related
matters.
Also, he updated the Bank on
the key stakeholder engagement
the Institute had untaken
leading to the unanimous
agreement on the need to
develop a National Corporate
Governance Code (NCGC).
The NCGC project seeks to
harmonise the different industry
and sector specific governance
codes existing currently into a
national code that will provide
some ease of compliance and
reference to promote the culture
of good corporate governance for
public and private organizations.
Mr Dogbegah, also the
Chairman of the African
Corporate Governance Network
(ACGN), therefore, explained
that, when completed, the NCGC
would serve as a unified national
corporate governance reference
Business
Mr Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country
Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone
trade flows between Ghana and
the rest of the sub region.
In its Ghana Trade
Competitiveness Diagnostics
report, it urged the Government
DAILY ANALYST Monday, 13th June, 2022
to among other things, take
either administrative or
regulatory steps to reduce
port charges, revise outdated
transshipment regime,
reduce the number of police
checkpoints and resolve the VAT
charge on transit trade services.
“Several steps are required
to simplify and harmonise
import and export procedures,
and to overhaul the governance
framework of the Port of Tema,”
the report noted.
While commending Ghana’s
progress in the transport
and logistics services where
maritime cargo volume
increased by 7.6 per cent on
average per annum over the
period of 2010 to 2020, the Bank
has called for infrastructure
Zenith Bank CEO and IoD-Ghana Discusses
Directors’ Charter Bill, Corporate Governance Code
for good corporate governance
for all stakeholders in the
country.
Also, he indicated that the
NCGC would enhance Ghana’s
global appeal as an investment
destination, provide clarity,
inclusiveness, harmony and
synergy, and boost investor
interest and confidence as the
harmonised code was expected
to be in conformity with
international best practices.
Mr Dogbegah, thus called
on Zenith Bank and Corporate
Ghana to support the Institute’s
two major projects, the National
Corporate Governance Code and
the Director’s Charter Bill and
join the Institute as a Corporate
member.
The IoD-Gh President
pointed out some notable
inroads the Institute had made
in promoting the practice of
Corporate in Ghana, adding that
as a member of the ACGN, the
Institute had over the past two
decades engaged in training,
advocacy and publications
geared towards national
Ghana needs more policy reforms in
adherence to good corporate
governance.
Mr Henry Onwuzurigbo,
Managing Director and CEO of
Zenith Bank Ghana Ltd, who led
Zenith Bank delegation, assured
them of the Bank’s commitment
to continuously uphold the
tenets of good corporate
governance.
As MD and CEO, Mr
Onwuzurigbo said he would
continue in the steps of his
predecessors and continue to
foster a cordial rapport with
IoD-Gh.
He commended the Institute
of Directors-Ghana for the
exceptional leadership shown
in promoting good corporate
governance and director
professionalism.
Zenith Bank Ghana Ltd
emerged winner in the
Universal Banking Category as
the Best Corporate Governance
Compliant Organisation at
the Fourth IoD-Gh Corporate
Governance Excellence Awards
held in November 2021.
Henry Onwuzurigbo
investments that facilitate
shipping through containers.
The report titled,
“Strengthening Ghana’s Trade
Competitiveness in the Context
of AfCFTA” also revealed that
Ghana’s trade regime in goods
was restrictive as far levels of
tariff and non-tariff barriers
(NTB) were concerned.
In comparison with other
countries as at 2019, the report
showed that Ghana’s tradeweighted
Most Favored Nation
(MFN) tariff rate was 10.57
per cent, higher than most
comparators except for Kenya,
which has a trade-weighted MFN
of 13.35 per cent.
“The number of non-tariff
measures (NTMs) imposed by
Ghana are higher than in Nigeria
and Cote d’Ivoire but below
levels in Vietnam although
further analysis is required to
ascertain the extent NTMs are
enforced in a discriminatory
way,” the report highlighted.
Speaking at the launch of
the report in Accra, Mr Pierre
Laporte, World Bank Country
The Government of
Ghana will get US$1
billion from some
international banks
for budget purposes
and to boost the Central Bank
reserves as the country seeks to
cut its fiscal deficit and stabilise
the cedi.
Details of the loan is yet to be
laid before Parliament is actually
a US$2Billion syndicated loan
with the first billion now being
made available while the rest
comes later in the year.
According to a Bloomberg
report sighted by GhanaWeb,
Ghana raised $750 million
through syndicated loans with
the participation of about eight
African and European banks and
$250 million from multilateral
lenders.
Standard Bank Group Ltd.,
Standard Chartered Plc and
Rand Merchant Bank Ltd. led the
arrangements, the report added.
Director for Ghana, Liberia and
Sierra Leone, said that regional
integration, digital innovation,
and trade policy was key to
driving Ghana’s economic
transformation agenda.
The country, he added,
could strengthen its trade
competitiveness and optimise
benefits under the African
Continental Free Trade
Agreement (AfCFTA) and the
Global Value Chain (GVC)
through the elimination of NTBs,
implementing trade facilitation
reforms and enhancing
regulatory framework for
services.
Mr Herbert Krappa, Deputy
Minister of Trade and Industry,
said the findings of the
diagnostics report were a wake
up for government in pursuing it
transformation agenda.
“Government will continue
to intensify our best efforts at
enhancing our merchandise
trade competitiveness. We will
continue to invest in trade
related infrastructure including
ICT digital trade,” he said.
Government to get
US$1 billion from
foreign banks
Ghana cut its budget
shortfall to 7.4% of gross
domestic product in 2022, from
an estimated 12.1% of GDP and
will dedicate $750 million of the
syndicated loans to the budget,
for expenses and liability
management.
The rest will go to the Bank
of Ghana to beef up its resources
for swap deals.
"Ghana’s debt ratio rose to
78% of GDP at the end of March,
from 66.3% of GDP a year before.
The cedi lost 22% against the
dollar this year, compared with
1% appreciation for the same
period a year ago.
"The country will consider
the second tranche of $1 billion
in the latter part of the year,
after the mid-year review of the
budget and taking into account
the impact of the electronic
transactions levy, oil and food
prices, as well as geopolitics,"
the report stated further.