Publication: Legislative Alerts

The persistence of high interest rates in Ghana is the collective responsibility of banks, the fiscal authorities, and the monetary authorities. High bank lending rates and large spreads are of particular concern; not only can they not be justified in terms of the costs and risks in the industry, they also reflect industry ineffieiencies, low…

This Legislative Alert argues that the current system of levying taxes through fuel prices to pay the Tema Oil Refinery Debt is seriously flawed. Not only is the process cumbersome and inefficient, but it also puts an unnecessary burden on consumers. The paper suggests that a tidier, more pragmatic, and more effective way Of liquidating…

This Legislative Alert argues that neo-liberal “Washington Consensus (WC)” policies prescribed by the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) to African countries receiving their financial assistance that favor free markets and private enterprise over systems characterized by economic controls and “statism” come with costs and do not always deliver maximum economic and social welfare. For these reasons,…

The global financial crisis that emanated from the United States is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This crisis started in late 2007 and intensified throughout 2008. From early 2008 onwards, the value of shares in major markets around the world dropped significantly compared to previous years’ levels. Overall, the…

The otherwise serene existence of Sub-Metropolitan District Councils (SMDCs) as the first levels of the metropolitan structures of the Metropolitan Assemblies has been thrown into confusion as a result of the enactment of four pieces of subsidiary legislation which sought to reconfigure their structure, composition and functions. The core argument of this paper is that…

The State-owned airline, Ghana Airways, was created in 1958 soon after the country gained independence. It was the first national airline in Sub-Saharan Africa when it began its operations, but for a number of years it has been on a downward spiral. Several African nations now have superior airlines, including Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa.…

Public auditing is one of the cornerstones of public sector financial accountability. Auditing involves the examination of public revenue and expenditure with the aim of ensuring that revenues collected are spent in accordance with the legal mandate of the agencies concerned, In Ghana, the public institution mandated by law to perform this task is the…

This paper seeks to ascertain whether Houses of Chiefs and Traditional Councils have submitted up-to-date accounts of revenue collection and expenditure in order to ensure internal control over expenditure has been exercised. It begins by reviewing how diligent Traditional Authorities (TAs) are in preparing and submitting annual accounts and yearly estimates for validation. It also…

After diligent and excellent preparatory work by Professor L. C. B. Gower, comprising a detailed explanatory report and draft legislation, the President and the National Assembly enacted the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179). Since 1963, the Code has been in force without undergoing any major amendment. Most of the amendments that have been made have…