GHANA manufacturing, building/construction and tourism) and strongly favors enterprises that will produce for export using predominantly local raw materials. For foreign investors, the minimum equity is $60,000 (joint venture) or $100,000 (wholly-owned); the latter must be a net earner of hard currency. Expatriate quotas are in force and the special tax on expatriates was raised in 1988 to 500,000 cedis ($1,450). Exceptions are granted for government contract employees and persons working on projects financed by international organizations or bilateral donors. Under the 1985 investment code, the government guarantees free transferability of dividends, loan repayments, licensing fees and repatriation of capital; provides guarantees against expropriation or forced sale; and delineates dispute arbitration processes. Development and transfer of technology are criteria for investment approval, and Ghana Investment Center (GIC) registers and may regulate such transfers. Foreign investors are not subject to differential treatment on taxes, prices or access to foreign exchange, imports and credit. For the most part, official policies do not restrict U.S. exports or direct investment, although some economic activities are closed to foreign investment (see section 4 on service barriers). Land ownership by non-citizens is prohibited although expatriate companies may own property constructed on leased lands (long term leases are standard in such circumstances). The investment code specifies that prospective investors must be screened in accordance with their capacity to contribute to any of nine objectives listed in the code (for example, development and transfer of technology). The GIC may stipulate: amount and source of capital, nationality and number of shareholders, project size, training of Ghanaians, time for implementation, utilization of local raw materials and other criteria. While the government has exhibited flexibility and pragmatism in applying them, such performance requirements are likely to remain an integral part of its economic strategy. Separate legislation containing specific incentives for mining and petroleum exploration sectors appears equally available to foreign and Ghanaian private investors. Government procurement practices: Government purchases of equipment and supplies are usually handled by Ghana Supply Commission, the official purchasing agency, through international bidding and, at times, through direct negotiations. The Central Bank, which monitors export receipts, officially does not encourage countertrade because of adverse past experience of over- and under-invoicing. However, the government transacts countertrade deals with a number of Eastern European countries, in which Ghanaian cocoa beans are exchanged for imports of pharmaceuticals, educational materials, road-building expertise, and other goods and services. Except for aid-tied imports, Ghana does not discriminate against any country in its international trade, with two exceptions: imports from South Africa and Iraq are prohibited. Parastatal entities continue to import some commodities, such as sugar, wheat, rice and edible oil, though most former government monopolies have been abolished. The parastatals are no longer supposed to receive government subventions to GHANA finance imports. Provided they can raise the required cash, private sector importers are permitted to bring in almost any commodity, except for wheat (though flour is permitted) and the five items remaining on the prohibited imports list (beer and stout, cigarettes, cement pipes, roofing sheets, and asbestos and fibers). 6. Export Subsidies Policies The government does not offer direct export subsidies. Ghanaian exporters are entitled to 85 percent drawback of the duty paid on imported inputs. Exporters of non-traditional commodities (other than cocoa, coffee, timber/logs and non-fuel minerals) are allowed to retain 20-35 percent of their export receipts (depending upon the item exported) in hard currency accounts to finance imports of spare parts and inputs. They are also permitted to repatriate such funds if held abroad for sale through the foreign exchange bureaus. Ghana is not a member of the GATT Subsidies Code. 1. Protection of U.S. Intellectual Property Ghana is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the English-speaking African Regional Intellectual Property Organization and party to the Universal Copyright Convention and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Ghana also offers protection to the intellectual property rights holders of member countries under the terms of the conventions to which it belongs. Prior to independence in 1957 from the U.K., Ghana had offered protection to intellectual property under U.K. laws. It still does so for patents, requiring the registration of patents in the U.K. and thereafter in Ghana within three months of the U.K. registration. In the early years of independence, Ghana instituted separate legislation for copyright and trademark protection (1961 and 1965). The government is reportedly drafting legislation for patent protection but for the present, Ghana continues to operate under the patent law of the U.K. There are no official statistics on infringement cases, but reportedly, there were less than 30 court cases over the past four years. Aggrieved IPR holders have access to courts for redress locally. Information on counterfeiting is not readily available from official sources in Ghana. There is no problem in gaining or maintaining patent registration. Fees for registration by local applicants are 15,000 cedis (about $43) and $90 for foreign applicants. There are no serious cases of book piracy and the few that have been recorded were all resolved by arbitration at the Ghanaian copyrights registry. Likewise, a minor number of cases of other forms of copyright infringement have been resolved through arbitration. The most serious problem of copyright infringement relates to videotapes. The government is considering new measures to curb illegal reproduction and commercial screening of pirated tapes. As of 1990, the Ghana GHANA Frequency Board will not issue a permit for a commercial videotape rental establishment to put up a satellite dish to receive foreign television programming. Copyright violations in Ghana may be treated as both criminal and civil court cases but the efficiency of legal machinery available remains untested. Copyright violations in the form of pirated videotapes and/or cassette tapes probably account for the most serious losses to U.S. firms in the form of sales and royalties foregone. 8. Worker Rights * a. Right of Association Trade unions and their activities are governed by the Industrial Relations Act (IRA) of 1958, subsequently amended in 1965 and 1972. The Trade Union Congress (TUC), established in 1945, represents organized labor in Ghana. The TUC maintains formal relations with the PNDC government, but has had a difficult time promoting improved conditions for labor under the austere structural adjustment program. The right to strike is recognized in law and in practice although the government has on occasion taken strong action to end strikes, especially those which threaten interests it perceives as vital. The Industrial Relations Act provides for a system under which the government seeks first to conciliate, then arbitrate, disputes. Civil servants are prohibited by law from joining or organizing a trade union. b. Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively The IRA provides a framework for collective bargaining and some protections against antiunion discrimination as well. Ghana's trade unions engage in collective bargaining for wages and benefits with both private and state-owned enterprises, although the threat of detention (a common practice in the early 1980s) hangs over union leaders to force agreement on issues. At the end of 1990, no union leaders were under detention for union-related activities. no functioning export processing zones in Ghana. C. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor There are Ghanaian law prohibits forced labor, and it is not known to be practiced. d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children Labor legislation sets a minimum employment age of 15 and prohibits night work and certain types of hazardous labor for those under 18. In practice, child labor is prevalent, and school age children often perform menial tasks in the daytime. Observance of minimum age laws is eroded by local custom and economic circumstances which encourage children to work to help their families. Violators of regulations prohibiting heavy labor and night work for children are occasionally punished. GHANA e. Acceptable Conditions of Work Minimum standards for wages and working conditions are established through a tripartite committee of representatives of government, labor and employees. It establishes a minimum wage, and other salaries are adjusted accordingly. Effective January 1990, the minimum wage was increased 28 percent to $0.70 per working day. The basic workweek is 40 hours. Occupational safety and health regulations are in effect, and sanctions are occasionally applied to violators. f. Rights in Sectors with U.S. Investment U.S. investment in Ghana is dominated by an operation in the primary and fabricated metals sector. However, there is also significant U.S. investment in the petroleum, chemicals and related products, and wholesale trade sectors. U.S. firms in Ghana must comply with Ghanaian labor laws and no instances of noncompliance are known. (D)-Suppressed to avoid disclosing data of individual companies Source: U.S. Department of Commerce (unpublished) * Section 8 is an abridged version of Section 6 of the Ghana country report included in the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1990, submitted to the Congress January 31, 1991. For a comprehensive discussion of worker rights, please refer to that report. 1/ Estimates obtained from Kenya's Ministry of Planning and Central Bank of Kenya. 2/ The Kenyan government does not publish unemployment figures but due to the large numbers of school leavers and graduates (over 400,000 in 1989) entering the labor market annually, unemployment and underemployment is estimated at over 20 percent. |