Improving Africa's investment climate

• Pages: 4

Page 4

Earlier this year, a joint initiative by IMF Managing Director Horst Köhler and World Bank President James Wolfensohn came to fruition with the inauguration of Investment Advisory Councils (IACs) in Ghana and Tanzania. These councils are intended to promote dialogue between the government and senior executives of local and international companies on ways to improve the investment climate.

Ghana's IAC was launched in May 2002 under the chairmanship of President John Kufuor, who was joined by Köhler and senior Ghanaian and foreign business executives. At its inaugural meeting, the council identified a number of priority areas for government action, including regulatory reforms related to land ownership and mining and labor laws; safety and security; infrastructure, especially for energy, telecommunications, and information technology; financial services infrastructure; public sector sensitivity to the private sector; restoration of competitiveness to the mining sector; the economy's dependence on aid and commodity exports; and the need for a partnership among government, private sector industries, and labor. The council will convene again in November to assess progress and update its recommendations.

These councils are intended to promote dialogue between...