Beneficial ownership transparency in Ghana
Methodology and report structure
Ghana has demonstrated its commitment to BO disclosure on multiple international platforms as well as via local legislations and policies. Ghana participated in the London Anti-Corruption Summit in May 2016 and made concrete commitments to BO disclosure. Following this, the BO regime in Ghana has undergone critical reforms aimed at enhancing transparency and good governance; improving the business environment; and curbing corruption and illicit financial activities. Key to these reforms have been the enactment of a legislative framework (laws, definitions, thresholds and regulations); actual collection and processing of BO information; and the establishment and maintenance of a BO register for hosting and disclosure. Despite these reforms, there are still some significant gaps in the current processes and BO disclosure regime.
OO has developed nine principles for effective BO disclosure. The OO Principles provide a broad framework for countries to implement a robust BO regime aimed at improving and enhancing disclosures. Specifically, the OO Principles describe a range of policy, legal, systems, data and technology characteristics that support the publication of easy-to-use, accurate and interoperable BO data. The OO Principles were developed through OO’s work developing BODS and supporting almost 40 countries to advance BOT while enabling implementing countries to meet international disclosure standards, including the EITI Standard and the FATF Recommendations. The EITI Standard Requirement 2.5 on BO disclosure in the extractive sector provided an auxiliary basis for assessing the robustness of Ghana’s BO regime.
In preparing this scoping report, we conducted a comprehensive desk review of relevant laws and regulatory provisions on beneficial ownership in Ghana to gain a deeper understanding and insight into existing legislative provisions governing BO disclosures. Some of the documents reviewed include:
- The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana
- Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992)
- Petroleum Exploration and Production Act (2016), (Act 919)
- Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, (Act 703)
- Right to Information Act 2019, (Act 989)
- Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020, (Act 1044)
To complement the desktop research, the OE technical team consulted key stakeholders involved in advancing the BO regime in Ghana, including representatives from the OE programme’s National Steering Committee. The team also consulted with members of the GHEITI MSG and the MinCom to understand current disclosure reforms and gain insights into planned reforms aimed at enhancing Ghana’s BO disclosure regime and compliance with Requirement 2.5 of the EITI Standard.