About 80 companies licensed to operate as free zones companies are inactive and unfit to carry out business as beneficiaries of the Free Zones Act, the Ghana Free Zones Authority has said.

To this end, the Board of the Authority has approved various sanctions for such companies before the end of the year.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Authority, Michael Baafi, these companies have flouted the rules for the concept and will need to apply for a new license after the sanctions.

He spoke in an interview with JoyBusiness after a short media interaction to begin this year's investment week celebrations.

The theme for the celebration is ‘export oriented industrialization, key to Ghana's development.’

New companies

About 18 companies have been licensed to operate as free zone industries since the beginning of the year 2018.

According to Mr. Baafi the board is interested in attracting local investors into the programme to benefit from the numerous initiative of the concept.

“Meanwhile, the Authority has identified about 60 to 80 companies who were licensed to operate as free zone companies inactive and unfit to carry out business as beneficiaries of the Free Zones,” he said.

He explained that the affected companies will be made to apply to join the programme as new entities.

He also disclosed that the Authority is looking forward to fix a minimum capital requirement for potential companies who will apply to be on the programme.

“There is no fix amount so anybody could come to say I have $5,000 to invest in Free Zones and he gets the license. With the new act we want to put in a cap which we're still engaging stakeholders on the amount. Very soon we shall here from parliament on the various inputs and recommendations” he said.

The Investment week is an initiative by the authority to woe local investors into the programme

 The Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) was established in August, 1995 as the agency responsible for the implementation of the free zones programme.

Among the line-up of activities for this year's investment week includes a breakfast meeting with the CEO and tour of facilities in the Tema Freezones enclave.