COMMISSION SOLICITS PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT (PAGE 54, APRIL 28, 2010)

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called for support from Parliament to enable it to operate the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) to mobilise more resources for national development.
According to the SEC, although the GSE was performing quite well, it still faced some major challenges that needed parliamentary support for better performance .
One of the major challenges the SEC cited was its placement under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, which empowers the sector minister to give operational instructions.
The Director-General of the SEC, Dr Nii Kwaku Sowa, made the appeal at a seminar organised by the SEC for members of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Finance at Koforidua.
Speakers at the forum were Mr Frank Adu, GSE Council chairman, Professor E.V.O Dankwa, SEC chairman, Dr Sam Mensa, GSE Council member, Mr K. S. Yamoah and Mr Ekow Afedzie, managing director and deputy managing director respectively of the GSE, as well as Dr Sowa, who took the MPs through some topics on the stock exchange system.
Topics treated included Capital Markets: A Strategic Partner in Ghana’s Development, Legislative issues and the development of the capital markets, The Securities and Exchange Commission-its Relevance and Operations, Developments on the stock market, Partnering for growth and divestiture and bond issuance, incentives and local content.
According to Dr Sowa, some sections of the country’s securities laws, such as section 140 of the PNDC Law 333, did not ensure SEC’s operational independence because it gave the Minister of Finance powers to operate it by placing it under the ministry.
He said such a directive which was not in consonance with the practices of the International Organisation of Securities Regulators (IOSCO), of which Ghana is a member, was also a disincentive for the growth of the GSE.
Dr Sowa who stated that the best international practice of the stock exchange, as contained in the IOSCO objectives, was to protect investors, ensure fair, efficient and transparent market and reduce risk, called for parliamentary support to deal with the issue.
“We need parliamentary support to strengthen the GSE because the securities market offers the best opportunity for Ghana to harness and utilise long-term resources for growth and development”, Dr Sowah stated.
The speakers also called for more public education on the activities of the GSE which, according to them, had been perceived as elitist.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Finance, Mr James Klutse Avedi, was grateful to the SEC for organising the seminar which would put the MPs in a better position to deal with the issue in Parliament.
Earlier, the GSE Chairman, Mr Frank Adu, in his welcome speech said his outfit would continue to organise similar seminars for the MPs, especially new members, every four years.
That, he said, had become necessary because as law makers, they needed to fully understand the stock exchange system to enable them deliberate on it and its related issues, for the well-being of the country.