Professor Atuguba identifies 400 errors in Ghana’s Companies Act

Professor Atuguba identifies 400 errors in Ghana’s Companies Act

Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Ghana (UG), Professor Raymond Atuguba, has revealed that there are over 400 mistakes in Ghana’s existing Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992).

He said the mistakes were discovered by a team of young researchers he commissioned.

Speaking at the 70th Anniversary Thought Leadership Conference of GCB Bank in Accra, Professor Atuguba questioned how these mistakes were passed into law.

Referring to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Derrick Adu-Gyamfi Vrs. Attorney-General, in which the Ghana apex court declared section 15 of the Act as unconstitutional, the Professor said he had drawn Parliament’s attention to the anomalies.

In his critique, Professor Atuguba lamented that the country’s legal framework often neglects ethical considerations, indicating that ethics must transcend the limits of existing laws.

The Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), which supplanted the Companies Act of 1960 (Act 179), was ratified by Parliament in 2019.

Meanwhile, addressing the media on the sidelines of the Conference, Dr. Toni Kwesi Aubyn, Chairman of ARB Apex Bank and former CEO of the Minerals Commission of Ghana, emphasized the imperative of reducing the cost of credit.

Additionally, Professor Ernest Ayittey, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, highlighted Ghana’s recurring challenge of identifying its problems but grappling with the adoption of effective solutions.

Echoing similar sentiments, Mr. Albert Essien, former MD of Ecobank, underscored issues plaguing the country’s financial services sector, including concerns surrounding proper credit delivery and the misuse of credit. He recalled Ghana’s recent banking sector cleanup, undertaken between 2017 and 2019, during which the licenses of nine local banks were revoked.