Plans are underway to decouple the office of the Registrar of Companies from the Registrar-General’s Department, the Registrar General, Jemima Oware, has said.

According to her, this is in fulfilment of the Companies’ Act (2019), Act 992, which was passed on May 2, 2019, and received Presidential assent on August 2, 2019.

Speaking during the stakeholders’ engagement of the 4^th Directors’ Week Celebration organised by the Institute of Directors Ghana (IoD-Ghana), she explained that this new office shall be a financially autonomous body solely concerned with businesses.

“An 11 member board together with the Registrar of Companies who would be different from the Registrar-General is also to be constituted to oversee this new office,” she said.

“All plans are underway to ensure that administratively, this is ensured until such a time as a physical decoupling is completed to fulfil the Act in totality,” she added.

According to Jemima Oware, with the establishment of the Office of the Registrar of Companies, there would also be the establishment of an Insolvency Services Division to regulate insolvency practice under the Act.

“This includes but is not limited to having the oversight of the administration, restructuring and insolvency proceedings of companies and receiving reports from insolvency practitioners on their administration of insolvencies, a Compliance Unit and a more empowered Company inspectorate Division to enhance supervision and ensure stricter compliance by Companies in meeting their regulatory obligations,” she stated.

Describing Act 992 as a very forward-looking piece of legislation, she said it would introduce more robust laws on Corporate Governance, Beneficial Ownership and will promote the ease of doing business.

“The Act features various new sanctions and seeks to promote compliance to enhance corporate governance,” she stated.

The annual Directors’ Week Celebration is an event that brings directors and members of the Institute together to build their capacity, network, and share ideas on promoting directorship and professionalism in their respective spheres of influence.

The theme for this year’s event is ‘Good corporate governance and ethical leadership; an essential requirement for an organisational turnaround’.

The ongoing 4^th edition of the Directors’ Week Celebration will be celebrated virtually from November 16 to 19.