By Jibril Abdul Mumuni, GNA
Accra, Aug. 26, GNA – Businesses seeking incentives under the Government’s 24-Hour Economy Programme will undergo performance assessments tied to jobs, investment and productivity, Mr Augustus Goosie Tanoh, the Presidential Advisor on the initiative, said on Wednesday.
He said firms would be required to meet agreed targets before continuing to enjoy incentives under the programme.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Business Outsourcing Services Association of Ghana (BOSAG) roundtable in Accra, Mr Tanoh noted that the proposed incentive framework would link government support to measurable outcomes rather than promises.
“We agree with businesses on what targets we as a country believe they will achieve based on their own submissions about the business and their business prospects,” he said.
He explained that employment creation would be one of the key indicators to assess firms seeking support under the programme.
Mr Tanoh said incentives would not be granted indefinitely, as each package would include a sunset clause, typically lasting four to five years, after which it would be reviewed or withdrawn.
“You can’t have incentives for the rest of the time. After four or five years, those incentives drop off so that support can be extended to other sectors and value chains,” he said.
The Government would also establish a public register of beneficiary firms to enhance transparency and public confidence in the incentive allocation process.
Under the proposed arrangement, companies benefiting from incentives would be publicly identified, while their annual reports would be used to assess whether they were meeting agreed targets.
“If a company receives incentives because it is investing significantly in the economy, that information will be on a public register and its annual reports will show whether it is meeting the requirements for which the incentives were granted,” Mr Tanoh stated.
The framework would create a transparent system that allowed for public oversight while reducing suspicion around the granting of incentives.
The objective was to ensure that incentives contributed to business expansion, productivity growth and employment creation, Mr Tanoh noted.
That, he said, would ultimately generate economic returns that outweighed the cost of the incentives.
He disclosed that details of some of the new incentive packages under the Programme were expected to be announced in the coming months.
The Presidential Advisor on the 24-Hour Economy also observed that many businesses were unaware of existing incentives available under Ghana’s investment regime despite qualifying for them.
“We have met businesses looking for incentives and when we open the statute books, we discover they already qualify for some of the incentives. In many cases, they simply do not know,” he added.
Mr Tanoh noted that the Secretariat’s workplace readiness programme was helping businesses to identify available incentives and understand how to access them.
The initiative targets enterprises preparing for expansion, investment or shift-based operations under the 24-Hour Economy framework.
The programme also supports firms to utilise available incentives to lower operating costs and improve competitiveness.
Mr Tanoh said the incentives remained an important policy tool because of the high cost of doing business in Ghana.
“At this point in time, incentives play an important role in reducing costs and increasing competitiveness. It is something we must take very seriously,” he said.
He added that existing legislation already allowed major investors to negotiate tailored incentive packages under specific conditions, particularly for investments exceeding US$50 million.
The issue of business incentives has long generated debate in Ghana and many developing economies.
While governments often use tax breaks, duty exemptions and other incentives to attract investment and create jobs, critics argue that some companies benefit from such concessions without delivering the expected economic returns.
Economists and policy analysts have frequently questioned whether incentives translate into increased employment, exports and productivity, especially where monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are weak.
Concerns have also been raised about the cost of incentives to the state, with some experts warning that excessive concessions can reduce government revenue needed for public services and infrastructure development.
Mr Tanoh expressed optimism that the performance-based incentive system would encourage responsible investment, strengthen investor confidence and support the broader goals of industrialisation, export growth and job creation under the 24-Hour Economy Programme.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Email: [email protected]