Ghana’s performance declined in the latest ease in doing business rankings by the World Bank.
Ghana was among 189 economies surveyed in the study. The country’s overall performance dipped by two points from 112 to 114.
Aside recording an improvement in dealing with construction permits and trading across borders, Ghana recorded negative growth in eight out of 10 areas identified by the study between 2015 and 2016.
The highest of the poor performances was in getting credit which showed a negative growth of 6. This was followed by starting a business and paying taxes which recorded negative 5 and 4 respectively.
Getting electricity, Registering Property and Protecting Minority Investors all recorded a negative growth of 2.
The country however scored a negative growth of 1 in enforcing contracts and resolving Insolvency.
Starting a business
Ghana’s performance on starting a business according to the report was unsatisfactory as it recorded negative growth of 5. The country’s position also dropped from 97 in 2015 to 102 in 2016.
The drop was primarily influenced by applying for business licenses at the Metropolitan Authority which required 7 days and came at a cost of GH¢270.
Obtaining a certificate from the Registrar-General’s department required 2 days in addition to the payment of 0.5% of the stated capital as commencement tax plus GH¢ 10 as registration fee with the GRA.
Also, acquiring a tax identification number required an average of two days but at no cost to businesses. Other registration procedures such as authentication from the commissioner of oaths took one day at a cost between GH¢5 and 10.
Meanwhile checking for availability of company name and submitting company documents, depositing paid-in capital in an account, inspection of work premises by the Metropolitan Authority as well as applying for social security all took an average of one day but at no cost to the business owner.
Source: citifmonline