Ghana Under Blacklist Threats Over Beneficial Ownership Brouhaha

President John Dramani Mahama

Ghana is likely to be sanctioned by the G8 group of countries later this year if government refuses to include Beneficial Ownership clauses in its laws.

The president, John Dramani Mahama will join his colleague presidents of Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania in London on 15^th May, 2016 to peer-review their performance on the fight against corruption.

The UK government on May 15 2016 will organise an anti-corruption summit and the five African countries are expected to review themselves in terms of their performance in the fight against corruption.

Ghana is likely to be sanctioned by the G8 countries if it is found out that it has failed to fight strongly against corruption. The sanctions will include refusal of Visas in mass numbers to G8 countries. Besides, ATMs and other Visa cards held by Ghanaians will not be allowed to function in European Union, The United States, Australia and Japan as well as Canada and other wealthy international countries.

Aside that Financial support and grants to Ghana will delay according to Dr. Steve Manteau, member of Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.

Key Principles of the impending G8 summit is that companies and organizations should be required to obtain and hold their beneficial ownership and other basic information. These firms are also required to ensure that the documentation of the information they provide is accurate.

Ghana has had the opportunity to include beneficial ownership disclosure clauses in its Oil Exploration and Production bill, as well as the amended Companies code but refused. Drafters of the two laws included Beneficiary Ownership Disclosure clauses in the laws but some powers managed to remove it for unexplained reasons.

Dr. Steve Manteau notes that the only option left now is for Ghana to withdraw the company code from parliament and include the Beneficial Ownership disclosure clause before re-sending it for deliberation and approval. This he said will save the President from embarrassment. He stated that should the President participate in the summit and brag about Ghana’s efforts and achievement in fighting corruption and be made aware of the deliberate act by his members in government to remove the Beneficial Ownership clause from the Exploration and Production bill and the company code, he would be greatly embarrassed.

The Member of Parliament for Damongo Alhaji Mutala Wakila, also vice chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy says government is working on the issue and efforts are being made to include it in the Company’s code.” I it is my hope that it will be included . Beneficial ownership is not a threat to our laws. There must be an amendment to the company law to affect all the laws in the country . I support the beneficial ownership clause to be put in the law to lift the veil on secret owners of oil firms” he stated

Even though Ghana’s Public Procurement Authority supports the adoption of the Beneficial Ownership disclosure, it wants it to be restricted to only international competitive bidding. This has been rejected by stakeholders who think it should affect both local and international competitive bidding.

Since 2010, G8 countries have been refusing Ghanaians entry Visa because of Ghana government’s refusal to adhere to the principles of the Financial Action Task Force which calls for the inclusion of Beneficial Ownership disclosure clauses in our laws.

They have blacklisted Ghana and are bent on extending it If government doesn’t comply,