Ghanaian private sector to assist local PSC in oil and gas, other areas

Ghana’s private sector has expressed an interest in assisting Guyana’s local private sector in several areas including infrastructure, oil and gas, tourism and agriculture.

Chairman of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre Governing Board, Alex Dadey made this disclosure during a networking session between the private sectors of the two countries at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Dadey said Guyana would be the perfect destination for his country’s investment interests.

“Ghana is an oil producing country. We want to share our experiences with Guyana especially on the legal side, legal framework in drafting some of the oil agreements, also training of local technicians and local content laws,” the chairman said.

“So those are areas that we are looking at. We are also looking at infrastructure. There is a huge infrastructure deficit here as it is in Ghana. So, we want to share our experiences here and also bring in investors to help,” he further added.

Dadey said that Guyana is taking all the right steps in an effort to attract the investors they are seeking.

“We can see huge opportunities. They are at a stage where we have probably gone past. The future looks very bright for Guyana. It all depends on which options they go but I think they are making very good choices now by engaging countries who have been through this phase,” he stated.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Dr. Peter Ramsaroop said the investment opportunities between the two countries are tremendous. Dr. Ramsaroop said the exercise presents an opportunity for the local private sector to learn a lot from what the private sector is doing in Ghana.

“They bring knowledge transfer to our private sector, and our private sector are looking for larger partners. We are moving from cottage industry to large-scale plantation farming and manufacturing, as we bring energy cost down. So, for our businesses to flourish, partnership is needed and this is a mechanism to look and see where we can facilitate those partnerships,” he stated.

Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Paul Cheong also had similar sentiments. He said the local private sector should use the opportunity to address areas of weakness.

“We need to build capacity. One of the easiest ways to build capacity is to join with other people and companies who know and has the experience, and today’s exercise is to help do that,” Cheong said.

At the event, local businesses had a host of products. There, they interacted with various Ghanaian investors on possible future investments. After that, there were several breakout sessions where focus was placed on specific areas of interest.

Senior Minster in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr. Ashni Singh was also present at the exercise.

The networking session formed part of an official three-day visit to Guyana by Vice President 0f the Republic of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.