President John Mahama has urged African countries to create an enabling business environment that will guarantee the security of foreign direct investments.
He contended that measures such as the availability of reliable data and the reduction of the cost of doing business are key ingredients to the success of foreign investments on the continent.
The President was speaking at the High Level Plenary Session on Private Sector Development at the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development [TICAD] Summit in Nairobi.
Addressing the conference, he urged the leaders present to “take measures to reduce the cost of doing business in Africa which will include restructuring the public sector and improving their working methods to ensure greater efficiency.”
“We must ensure the collection and dissemination of accurate and timely statistics and data, accurate information and local laws to investors to expedite investment decisions and processes,” President Mahama added.
He further called for the “acquisition of land and other local assets and joint ventures to encourage foreign investors, investing in the training of youth to make them employable by industry, and finally encouraging public private partnerships for capital intensive projects and to share costs and spread risks.”
This year’s TICAD Summit is the first to be held in Africa and it has involved bilateral political dialogue and discussions on boosting the private sector’s role in Africa’s growth agenda.
Heads of State are taking part in a special high level engagement with the continent’s private sector and their counterparts from Japan, and also discuss the promotion of structural economic transformation through economic diversification and industrialisation.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana