The Office of the Registrar of Companies says its administrative role in salvaging companies in financial distress is actively being rolled out for the protection of local businesses.

Under the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act 2020, the Registrar of Companies is empowered to have registered insolvency practitioners to aid in the administration of companies on the brink of collapse.

Acting Registrar of Companies, Maame Samma Peprah, says the office is working towards protecting investments as part of efforts to grow the local economy.

“The office of the Registrar of Companies is able to administer the company so we have registered insolvency practitioners who are able to come and see whether they can sustain the company for some time”, she said during a courtesy call on the Ashanti regional minister.

The Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act is aimed at sustaining businesses to protect investments.

Mostly, the companies facing liquidation are offered restructuring and other administrative options over immediate liquidation.

The Insolvency Services Division of the Office of the Registrar of Companies oversees the practices of registered insolvency practitioners in the process.

“We are able to support and ensure companies run things smoothly unless it is beyond redemption. That is when we proceed to liquidation,” said the Acting Registrar.

Maame Samma Peprah noted processes to digitalize registration operations are advanced to ease difficulty in business registration and other processes.

This will also help deal with the activities of middlemen.

“Two years ago, we started the procurement of an app which will allow people to register their businesses from their homes. It is being tested, it will be piloted and soon make registration of businesses smooth,” Maame Samma said during her familiarization visit to the Ashanti Region.

The Registrar of Companies has also announced plans to ensure compliance procedures which include renewal of permits and filing of annual returns.

The office has commenced a field exercise aimed at enforcing the regulations.

In response, Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene, commended the ORC’s efforts and underscored the importance of these initiatives in enhancing the business environment in the region.

He expressed optimism that the introduction of the new app and compliance measures would complement existing efforts to streamline business operations.

“Your visit and the initiatives you’ve outlined are timely and will undoubtedly contribute to making things right in our business landscape,” Dr. Amoakohene remarked.

He said, “I have been receiving a lot of business people in my office for some time now; they purposely come for government support but one thing I have noticed is that a number of them have not registered their businesses so they don’t have business certificate to be able to seek for the support they are looking for. I have been directing them to go and register their business,” he disclosed.