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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, left Ghana on Monday, March 7, 2022, to lead Ghana’s delegation at the Dubai Expo 2020.
The Expo aims to forge new partnerships and inspire ground-breaking solutions across key industries worldwide. The Expo provides several possibilities for networking and the promotion of international connections.
Delivering his speech at the expo, President Akufo Addo says Ghana is, today, the safest country in West Africa, the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and is ranked 3rd in the Ease of Doing Business Index in West Africa.
The claim has been published on CitiTube on the 1 minute :29 seconds -1minute:41 seconds and other news portals including myjoyonline.com and presidency.gov.gh. The president made the statement as part of efforts to bring in investors into the country. DUBAWA set out to find out if these claims are true.
Claim 1: Ghana is ranked 3rd in the Ease of Doing Business Index in West Africa.
Data from World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) index confirms that Ghana is graded 3rd in the Ease of Doing Business Index in West Africa.
The Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) index is a ranking system established by the World Bank Group. It ranks economies from 1 to 190, with first place being the best. According to the World Bank, a high ranking (a low numerical rank) means that the regulatory environment is conducive to business operation.
The most recent Ease of Doing Business index from the World Bank was published in 2019. In the index, Mauritius is the highest-ranking Sub-Saharan African economy that is conducive to do business followed by Rwanda with the second position. This is confirmed in a fact sheet report from the World Bank.
But in West Africa which has 16 countries, Ghana is positioned as the 3rd country with 118. Togo is first with 97 and Côte d’Ivoire is second with 110.
We further did our research and we found other data from Statista, a global sourcing hub. Their latest data on West African countries that is conducive to do business is also in 2019. The ranking is between 1-100. Where 100 is the best possible performance in doing business.
In their data, Ghana is capped first with a score of 59.22. Ghana ranked highest compared to other West African nations. Côte d’Ivoire and Cape Verde followed with scores of 58 and 55.95, respectively. Guinea Bissau achieved 42.85 score points, representing the lowest in comparison to the other West African countries.
Conclusion: With the available data, with emphasis on the one from the World Bank, DUBAWA can confirm that President Akufo Addo’s claim that Ghana is ranked 3rd in the Ease of Doing Business Index in West Africa is true.
Claim 2: Is Ghana the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in West Africa?
Ghana is not the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment. Nigeria is the largest with $ 2.4billion inflows with Ghana following with $1.9 billion inflows.
The World Investment Report (WIR) by the World Bank provides leading-edge data, research and policy analysis on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and investment for development.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), defines FDI as a “cross-border investment” in which an investor that is “resident in one economy has control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy.”
According to the most recent data available at the World Investment Report on page 41, Ghana registered a 52 per cent decline in FDI in 2020, leaving inflows at $1.9 billion, from $3.9 billion in 2019.
However, inflows to Nigeria also increased slightly, from $2.3 billion in 2019 to $2.4 billion in 2020. As such, Ghana is not the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in West Africa.
Conclusion: President Akufo Addo’s claim that Ghana is the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in West Africa is false.
Claim 3: Ghana is the safest country in West Africa.
Global Peace Index puts Ghana 1st in West Africa and 2nd in Saharan Africa.
Global Peace Index is a report produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace which measures the relative position of nations’ and regions’ peacefulness and safety.
According to page 20 of the 2021 Global Peace Index (GPI), which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness and safety, Ghana is ranked 38th globally, 2nd in Africa and the 1st most peaceful country in West Africa.
Conclusion: President Akufo Addo’s claim that Ghana is the safest country in West Africa is true.
