2024 Outlook
With many regulatory and policy reforms in the past year and the focus on digitalisation, it is expected that these developments would significantly improve the ease of doing business. The Government has acknowledged the need to strengthen its business-enabling environment to attract foreign direct investment. Since 2024 is an election year, public expenditure would likely increase due to potential Government expenditure on the election campaign and uncompleted projects.
Our outlook and projections for 2024 are as follows:
Foreign Direct Investment
The Government intends to amend the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Act, 2013 (Act 865) (“GIPC Act”) to make the country more competitive and to align with international best practices. The Government intends to attract more foreign direct investments by leveraging existing relationships and building new strategic relationships. The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (“Centre”) will offer sector-specific incentives and ensure an enabling regulatory environment, particularly in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, financial inclusion and health. When the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2023 becomes law in its current form, it will convert the Centre to the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority. It will also repeal section 27 of the GIPC Act which reserved certain activities for Ghanaians and Ghanaian enterprises. In addition, the minimum capital requirements non-citizens are currently required to meet to invest in non-trading enterprises in Ghana will be removed.
International Trade
The Government amended the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891) to adopt and implement the 2022 Economic Community of West African States Common External Tariff popularly known as the “Harmonised Code”. The amendment adds 431 tariff lines to the Custom Tariff and aligns the Value Added Tax and Excise Duty rates with the respective lines. The Customs Amendment Act, 2023 (Act 1106) also provides an import duty exemption on raw materials not available in Ghana for the manufacture of sanitary towels. The amendment became effective in December 2023.
The Government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry laid the Export and Import (Restrictions on Importation of Selected Strategic Products) Regulations, 2023 before Parliament in November 2023. The proposed regulations seek to establish a special import management regime for the commercial importation of certain goods, including rice, ceramic tiles, mineral water, motor cars and clothing. With the proposed law, the Government intends to streamline and rationalise the import bill of Ghana as well as to provide measures to conserve foreign exchange, safeguard critical imports and contribute to sustainable consumption. The proposed law would require importers of these selected strategic products to obtain an import permit from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. There was strong opposition from various stakeholder groups and in December 2023, the Government suspended the laying of the regulations before Parliament. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has indicated that the aim of this regulation is to protect local manufacturers from competition from subsidised imported products and create a market opportunity to support their growth and sustainability. In February 2024, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced the plan of the Government to lay the proposed regulations before Parliament in the future.
Increase in National Daily Minimum Wage
With effect from 1 January 2024, there will be an upward adjustment of the National Daily Minimum Wage from GHS 14.88 to GHS 18.15 following negotiations by the National Tripartite Committee. Additionally, after persistent demands for pay increase, the Minister of Finance in his presentation on the budget statement for 2024 announced that the minimum wage for public sector workers who earn the base pay on the Single Spine Salary Structure will have their monthly salaries increased by 23% from January to June and readjusted to 25% from July to December.
The Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations is likely to continue the consultative processes for the review of the Labour Act. It is expected that the stakeholders’ meeting of industry players will be held soon. After two decades of the Labour Act being in force, stakeholders have called for its review to conform with international best practices and the new work climate especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Proposed amendments to the Labour Act include the regulation of agency workers, an extension of maternity leave and an introduction of paternity leave, compassionate leave, employment of persons with disabilities and child labour practices. It is hoped that a new Labour Act will be passed before the end of the year to address its gaps and adopt new standards that fit emerging trends in the international space.
A bill to amend the Labour Act to extend maternity leave and introduce paternity leave was laid before Parliament by a private Member of Parliament in October 2023. The Labour Amendment Bill, 2023 proposes to extend the period of maternity leave from 3 months to 4 months with an additional 14 days in the case of caesarean, stillbirths or multiple deliveries. The bill also proposes to introduce paid paternity leave for a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of 4 weeks with the option of 2 additional weeks for caesarean, stillbirths or multiple deliveries. We will be monitoring developments to see if this bill will be passed in 2024 or if the recommendations in the bill will be adopted in the review of the Labour Act that is ongoing currently.
Review of Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651)
Intellectual Property
The Government recognises that innovation is important in a knowledge-based economy. Consequently, the country needs to modernise and strengthen its intellectual property system for industry and businesses as well as have a modern intellectual property office to meet the evolving needs of clients in that space. The Government has developed and sent the Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023 to Parliament. The bill when it becomes law will establish the Ghana Industrial Property Office to protect and promote intellectual property rights in the country and have oversight of industrial property rights such as patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications and plant varieties in Ghana.
Enforcement of licensing of private schools
The National Schools Inspectorate Authority (“NaSIA”) announced in October 2023 that it will begin to enforce penalties for non-compliance with licensing requirements of pre-tertiary private schools under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act, 2020 (Act 1023) (“ERB Act”) from January 2024. NaSIA explained that the grace period for operators of these schools to be licensed was over. The operators who have not acquired a licence to operate legally would face measures including legal action or closure of the school. Under the ERB Act, a pre-tertiary school must register with NaSIA within 6 months after the coming into force of the ERB Act. Schools established after the ERB Act must register with NaSIA within 6 months after the establishment of the school. NaSIA is mandated to inspect schools and enforce the highest quality standards and guidelines for quality education in private pre-tertiary education institutions.
Non-Profit Organisations Bill
A bill to regulate the licensing regime and operation of non-profit organisations (“NPOs”) is currently being drafted. This bill will consolidate legislation related to the non-profit sector. Previously, these rules were contained in the National Non-Profit Organisation Policy and the Directives for the Management of Non-Profit Organisations Operations in Ghana launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. The bill proposes to set up a Non-Profit Organisation Secretariat (“NPO Secretariat”) as the central authority responsible for the sector. The NPO Secretariat will be responsible for the registration, monitoring, evaluation and administration of non-profit organisations. The bill will also provide the nature and privileges of NPOs, conditions for the grant of benefits and tax waivers. We expect the bill to be laid before Parliament and passed into law in 2024.
Anti - LGBTQ+ Bill
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act, 2024 (Anti-LGBTQ Act) passed by parliament on 28 February, 2024, which is yet to receive presidential assent to enter into force has garnered widespread public attention and debate with growing concerns that it could negatively impact the economy through loss of foreign aid, much needed for the Government’s economic recovery programme. It is not clear whether the President will assent to it before the elections in December this year.
