CHAPTER 4 Categories of business 27. Businesses in Ghana fall into the following categories: limited and unlimited liability companies, branches of external companies, partnerships, joint ventures, and sole proprietorships. The CSAR reports that there are currently 112 422 limited companies, 13 000 companies limited by guarantee, 14 000 partnerships, 300 000 business names and 928 external companies. Most publicly listed companies in Ghana are multinational corporations and basic manufacturing conglomerates. SOEs 28. In 1988, an SOE reform programme was launched as part of Ghana's overall ERP. One of the techniques adopted by the government with regard to the divestiture of SOEs was to list as many companies as possible on the GSE. However, because of poor performance and non-profitability, many SOEs did not meet the listing requirements of the GSE. As a result, the important technique of public listing as an option for privatisation has been restricted to only a few companies, mostly those with some original private sector participation. As of 31 December 2004, 343 SOEs (or parts of SOEs) were registered as divested. Despite the privatisation programme, Ghana still has several SOEs, including the Electricity Company of Ghana, Ghana Water Company Limited, Ghana Post, Ghana Telecom, Ghana Railway Company Limited, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, and the State Transport Company Limited. 29. The Ghanaian Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) itself has also been the object of public criticism for a lack of transparency in its operations. An aspect that is criticised is the non-involvement of the private sector in its membership, thus allowing dominance of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), a government organisation to the exclusion of the private sector. Other aspects are some perceived inefficiencies in the operations secretariat, and increasing the rate of unemployment through its divestiture activities. 30. Part of the problem with the issue of transparency is that the law itself does not prescribe procedures for ensuring transparency, but leaves it up to the DIC to “develop criteria for the selection of enterprises to be divested and assume such responsibility as the Committee may deem fit over bodies earmarked for divestiture in order to prepare such enterprises for divestiture”6 and “ensure consistency in procedures for divestiture, in particular with regard to valuation, invitation for bids, negotiation of sales and 92