The 2009 Global Competitiveness Index has revealed that Ghana has slipped down the competitiveness ladder, losing ground to countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Namibia, Algeria and even The Gambia. This means that foreign investors wishing to do business in West Africa or Africa are more likely to look elsewhere rather than Ghana. If even small Gambia is now more attractive to investors than Ghana, then our much-trumpeted "Gateway to West Africa" has become an empty slogan. The 2007 version ranked Ghana among the top eight best reformers in Africa, where investors were most likely to set up business. It is amazing how Ghana has so suddenly dropped in the competitiveness ranking in just two years. What accounts for the sudden drop in ranking? One incontrovertible fact is that anytime we have a competitive edge in anything, we go to sleep and continue to relish on our past until we are overtaken by events. Quite rightly, access to capital emerged tops on the list of concerns for present and potential investors. In fact year after year both local and foreign investors have been complaining about the cumbersome procedure in obtaining loans from bank. The huge collateral security aside, high interest rates charged by the banks makes investment in Ghana unattractive. The commercial banks operate with impunity and have all the rules in their favour due to the laxity of the Bank of Ghana. Why have interest suddenly gone over the roof and why are all the banks now investing massively in treasury bills instead of lending to the productive sector of the economy? Related to high interest rates is the high inflationary rate which at more than 18 percent is making prices unstable, besides causing the frequent depreciation of national currency, the Cedi. Following on the heels of expensive borrowing is inadequate supply of infrastructure. In fact, many Ghanaians, if not all agree that Ghana's infrastructures are among some of the poorest in Africa. The road network is not the best. Most of the infrastructure, especially water and electricity were constructed during the colonial era and have yet to be replaced, despite a rapidly expanding population. The net result is the erratic supply of water and electricity which are the lifeblood of investments. Until recently access to telephone facilities was a nightmare, rather than a necessity. At the moment, Ghana's harbours are unable to cope with the increasing imports from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso which depend on our ports for all their imports. On the burden of Customs procedures Ghana scored a disappointing 90 out of 100, 100 being the worse score. The Tema harbour for instance is badly congested due to the lack of space for the huge imports by the neighbouring countries. Tellingly, the report captured "inefficient government bureaucracy" as third obstacle to doing business in Ghana. In fact most of Ghana's public institutions are not delivering the kind of services that would improve the business climate and attract more investments. Not even the civil service reforms, and establishment of a public sector reform ministry has made the public service more proactive to the needs of investors. The net result is corruption, favouritism and nepotism and downright inefficiency. Little wonder that Ghana scored badly in the poor working ethics index, which came fourth on the list of concerns for investors. Absenteeism, lateness and loitering are characteristic of the average Ghanaian worker. In fact in this country, wages hardly match productivity from whatever angle one looks at the issue; and if we want to be taken seriously, we need to do something about our work ethics. Source: Public Agenda