He said that in the capital market, Ghana has, however, managed to purchase issuance of USD 2 billion of a 10 year and 30 year Eurobond adding "we got lucky, we were able to do about 7.625 per cent for the 10 year and 8.627 per cent for the 30 year". He also said that for the first time in a decade, Ghana's ratings went up to a B stable from a B minus, an indication of confidence and a signal of Ghana's independence post International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Mr Ofori Attah said "the issue of corporate governance is at the center stage of all that we do". He said that government and the Ministry are therefore very much committed to how the  capital market can be made an integral part of Ghana's future. He said that Ghana has a lot of expertise than can boost the financial services of the region.

In 2017, long awaited policies by government, as part of its support according to Mr Ofori Attah, were initiated. They were aimed at strengthening and deepening the growth of the Capital Market as well as supplementing its role in our  development agenda. These initiatives included tax exemptions on returns on collective investment schemes and real estate investment trust so as to give additional stimulus to the mobilizations of domestic capital through savings and investments, the passage of the Income Tax Amendment ACT 2017, ACT 941 and so on .

Mr Ofori Attah said that government inherited a severely compromised financial system saying "the job losses, consolidation of banks and other bad governance practices by managers, directors and supervisors are things that must be looked at".

He again pointed out that about twenty months ago, Ghana's deficit was at 9.3 per cent and growth was at 3.7 per cent, the lowest in the country's history.  Inflation was  at about  15.4. With the IMF exit, he said, Ghana must self regulate in order not to go back to those figures.

"It has been said that we need about 7 billion  of infrastructure financing each year for the next 10 years. This is where the securities industry comes in" he noted. He said that it is through this industry that we can get the type of long term capital needed to tackle this.

Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that the importance of corporate governance in the capital market cannot be over emphasized especially due to corporate failures in recent times.

The corporate governance code he said, will, therefore, ensure board members are more conscious and live up to expectations. He urged corporate entities not to pay lip service to ensuring the practice of good corporate governance.

Rev. Ogbarmey Tetteh also urged investor education by market operators in order to boost investor confidence. He said that this is not limited to the commission alone and, therefore, encouraged the GSIA to compliment its effort.

He said the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ghana Securities Industry Association and the Central Securities Depository has set up the Ghana Investments and Securities Institute (GISI) to take over the running of courses being hosted by the GSE  as part of measures to deepen members' capacities and provide cutting edge skills in the industry.

He noted that the SEC has received the application by the GSIA for a self regulatory status in accordance with the provisions of the securities industry Act 2016  act 929 which he said is being processed.  He said that self regulation is necessary in both developed and developing economies and the SEC will strengthen their sanctions regime to ensure efficiency.

The SEC,  as part of measures to position itself in facilitating the transformation of the capital market, has also recently completed a human resource audit and will institute a capacity development program in addition to conducting a comprehensive review of its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and software with the goal of digitizing their operations.

President for the GSIA, Mr Emmanuel Alex Asiedu said poor corporate governance ranks high on the issues plaguing the capital market, however, corporate governance plays an important role in shaping the market.  "It will cost us more in cedi terms to clear up the rot in the banking sector than we borrowed from the IMF in a 3 year period" he stated.

Mr Asiedu added that investor assets under management have increased by 48 per cent per annum over the last 5 years creating GH40 billion juggernaut that could\ without adequate governance structures,create systemic chaos. He said that the capital market can be used as a vehicle for creating growth guided by the proper governance structures He said that the GSIA has applied for a self regulatory status from the SEC, a move that will help them curb some of its own excesses. He hoped the seminar will help to deepen the debate on governance and how it can fuel capital market growth.

The seminar was held at the Labadi Beach Hotel on 24th October on the theme "The Role Of Good Corporate Governance In The Transformation Of Ghana's Capital Market".