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Need to review securities industry law
- Dr Sowa
Accra, Nov. 20, GNA - Dr Nii Kwaku Sowa, Acting Director
General of Securities and Exchange Commission, on Monday
said sections of the law that established the Commission,
especially the section mandating it to act on instructions
from the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, should
be expunged.
Section 140 of the Securities Industry Law (PNDC Law 333),
that established the Commission, states that "The Secretary
of (Finance) may give to the Commission directions of a
general or specific character as to the exercise of the
Commission's functions; and it shall be the duty of the
Commission to give effect to any such directives."
Speaking on the Topic: "Improving the Legal and Regulatory
Framework of the Financial Services Sector: A Case for an
Independent Financial Regulator," at the 11th National
Banking Conference, Dr Sowa said the review was not for
political expediency but to bring to bear international best
practices in regulation of the country's financial sector.
"This aspect of the law and other sections need to be
removed to bring the Commission's regulatory functions in
line with international best practices and also send the
right signals to the investor community that the country is
ripe for investment."
Dr Sowa said in view of the weak nature of the law, the
Securities Exchange Commission had been put in category 'B'
an indication that much more needed to be done to move it
into the same bracket with countries, which had history of
best practices.
He said the case for strong checks and balances had become
even more urgent now in view of the rapid innovations taking
place within the financial sector in order to ensure that
market participants played by the rules and also to prevent
such changes leading to market failure.
Dr Sowa called for a universal regulatory agency, which
would be a one-stop shop for dealing with matters of
financial regulation as the practice pertaining in most
parts of the world.
He said the fragmented system in place now, where different
agencies exercised regulatory authority over the financial
sector, did not augur well for the development of an
integrated financial sector.
Professor George Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister of Finance
and Economic Planning, said government's strategy was to
strengthen regulatory institutions to adapt to the dynamism
in both local and international financial markets, improve
corporate governance and develop the human resource base
required for a world class financial sector.
"We need to be able to effectively manage the transition of
our financial sector to achieve emerging market status," he
said, indicating that there would be continuous reforms in
the financial sector taking into account development and
challenges in the international market.
Mr Isaac Osei, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board,
asked banks in the country to address the low capital base
in order to expand to meet future demands of corporate
entities.
The Conference is under the theme: "Ghana@50: The
Achievements, Challenges and Vision of the Financial
Services Sector for the next 50 years."
GNA
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