Lord Mayor of London calls on Veep

The Lord Mayor of London, Mr Alan Yarrow, has stated that the long historical ties existing between Ghana and the United Kingdom should be a compelling reason for the two countries to consider each other a priority in their respective businesses.

 With London having a 44 per cent share of the world’s financial resources, Mr Yarrow said it was prudent for Ghana to consider London, which he described as the international financial centre of the world, as the best business destination.

Mr Yarrow made the case for a stronger business partnership when he paid a courtesy call on the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, last Friday at the Flagstaff House.

He was accompanied by the British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Jon Benjamin, and other officials from the High Commission.

Mr Yarrow said having travelled to 25 countries in the last nine months, he had been espousing  the need for countries to have investor confidence occasioned by the rule of law and efficient laws of contract and a long-term view of investments.

Describing Ghana as a business hub in Africa, the Lord Mayor said his visit to the country was the first in West Africa which he intended to use to canvass closer partnerships between Ghana and Britain.

According to him a well-developed capital market, coupled with a good property investment, was key to business success and that Ghana could improve some areas of the economy with support from the United Kingdom.

The position of the Lord Mayor was established in 1189, making it one of the world's oldest elected civic offices.

 Lord Mayor

The office of the Lord Mayor of London differs from that of the Mayor of London. While the Lord Mayor is the governing officer solely for the city of London, the Mayor of London has responsibility over the whole of Greater London, a very much larger area.

Within the City of London, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the Sovereign and retains various traditional powers, rights and privileges.

 Economy

Responding, Mr Amissah-Arthur told the delegation that the government was working hard to put the economy back on a sound footing by restoring microeconomic stability to further boost investor confidence.

He explained that efforts were in place to clean up Ghana’s payroll system and also to refinance the budget to deal with the domestic debt with the ultimate objective to reduce the deficit.

Writer’s email: sebastian.syme4@gmail.com