Between April 2020 and October 2020, the following have been completed;

1. Software update has been completed for the collection of Beneficial Ownership (BO) information. This would enable the data to be collected and stored electronically.

2. 3 User Acceptance Tests have been undertaken and the final one took place at the end of July 2020.

3. Support from DFID in the development of draft Regulations and Guidance Notes for BO implementation.

4. A Trainer of Trainers workshop on BO will take place on 7th & 8th August, 2020 for selected Company Inspectors and Data Entry Clerks.

5. The Department in collaboration with the OECD (Global Forum) held a 2-day virtual training on the Implementation of the Beneficial Ownership Information Requirements of the Companies Act 2019 (Act 992).

6. A Press Conference held on August 24, 2020 to communicate the dates for companies to submit their BO data to be entered into the Central Register.

7. A General sensitization exercise will be carried on throughout the year.

8. A pilot for the collection of BO data into the electronic register will be done with the Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (GHEITI). This is to start from October 2020.

Updated: October 31, 2020

While missing the EITI deadline of publishing a public registry by January 2020, the government has made a substantial amount of progress on Beneficial Ownership Transparency. Keeping in mind the challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the register should be up and running by the end of 2020.

Updated: April 30, 2020

In spite of the delay in setting up the register, considerable progress has being made. The passing of the BO Disclosure clauses in the Amended Company Act 2016 and then Company (Amended) Act 2019. What is left is the setting up of the register

Updated: October 30, 2019

The legislation creates the Office of Registrar of Companies, an autonomous governmental body similar to the United Kingdom’s Companies House. The Registrar of Companies would operate separately from the Registrar Generals Department and will be solely responsible for the registration, regulation and winding up of corporate bodies in the country. The Central Register is available for general viewing of the public persons.

Peer reviewer: 1

Updated: October 30, 2019

Ghana has not made any significant progress beyond exploring funding to review the data collection system of the Registrar General. The development of the register is said to take about 6 months once started, the goal of the Registrar General to have the register running by the end of 2019. Data collection will start with the extractive sector before all other entity that will be registered in the country. The reason is that the extractive sector is already familiar with the process. The Companies Bill has also gone through a second reading at Parliament and being prepared for a third, and our hope is that it will pass before end of April.

Updated: May 30, 2019

No change

Updated: October 30, 2018

The BO clauses have been included in the Amended Company Act 2016, however, a regulation is yet to be passed for the operationalisation of the law. That notwithstanding, the Registrar General is engaging with civil society on how to implement BO Disclosure in Ghana. A DFID funding mechanism, Strengthening Transparency, Accountability Against Corruption (STAAC) is also engaging the Registrar General by way of supporting the setting of the register once the legal framework is complete.

Updated: June 30, 2018