The weak currency is an issue, which Ghana is struggling with, and of interest to investors.

Opening the Ghana-Morocco Economic Meeting, organised by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce, the Minister Designate said the Act would be put together after the presentation and approval of the budget in the first quarter of 2017. “Hopefully by the year’s end, we should get those in place,” he said.

Mr Ofori-Attah decried Ghana’s current ranking on the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, which had moved up to 114, saying the figure was “not flattering”, and was due to challenges with ease of doing business in the country. “We are already in discussions with the British Government on certain things we must remove to facilitate that.”

He said the project, headed by Dr Tony Oteng Gyasi, Former President of the Association of Ghana Industries, was well underway and expressed commitment to ensure its completion. He reiterated government’s intention to eliminate some taxes, some of which, he noted would be contained in the first budget of the new government, especially in light of the need to attract investment.

He stated however, “with the type of deficit we have, we will clearly have to be cautious about it”. He also pledged to promote south-south cooperation with Morocco. Mrs Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun, President of Confédération Générale des Enterprises du Maroc and leader of the Moroccan Business delegation, said the forum, which preceded the visit of King Mohammed V1 of Morocco later this week, was very important as the potential opportunities between the two countries remained largely untapped.

She said the 67 million dollars of trade between Ghana and Morocco was unflattering. “As business leaders and entrepreneurs, we see potential for more added value and job creation. Private sector is the sector that creates most sustainable jobs. Mrs Bensalah-Chaqroun said most of the businesses represented in the more than 38-member Moroccan delegation already had operations in at least two African countries and were key players in the various sectors which they represent.

“It is a good start and I wish the forum will highlight opportunities between Ghana and Morocco,” adding that the partnership would open up the 320 million consumer base in West Africa to Morocco. Sectors covered by the Moroccan side include Banking, Insurance, Agriculture, Oil and Gas, Energy, Transport and Logistics, among others.

Mrs Mawuena Trebarh, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council said the key drivers of Ghana’s economy included the services, industry and agriculture and urged the delegation to explore opportunities in priority sectors including agriculture and agri-business, manufacturing, tourism, transport and property development.