Press Release – 30th October, 2017

Ghana Wins Award for Company Ownership Transparency

Accra, October 30, 2017.

Ghana has won international recognition for its commitment to expanding the frontiers of transparency, including progress made towards lifting the veil off the actual beneficial owners of companies operating in the country.

The recognition came in the form of an award from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) International Board Chair, at the just ended international conference on Beneficial Ownership (BO) Disclosure held in Jakarta, Indonesia from the 23rd to the 24th October, 2017.

Historically elections in Ghana have not focused on the real issues affecting the country’s socio-economic fortunes, but rather on trivialities such as ethnicity and the health status of contestants. But this is likely to change as ‘bread and butter issues’ and corruption assumed centre stage of the country’s 2016 general elections. Indeed the outcome of these elections was determined by which party had a better message and a more convincing strategy for fighting corruption.

The utilisation of mineral revenues received by the Ellembelle District Assembly of the Western Region has raised concerns among traditional leaders and citizens of the area. In particular, indications by the District Assembly that it had utilised the funds on road projects and the assembly’s office complex did not go down well with some participants.

Accra, March 30, 2017 – The Deputy Minister designate for the Ministry of Finance, Hon. Abena Osei Asare (MP) has reiterated government’s commitment to fight corruption.  She noted that opaque company structures are being used to launder significant sums of money, which could be used to improve the lives of people which such ill-gotten gains were meant to serve.