Registration
of
Business
Name
Act,
1962
(Act
151)
which
seeks
to
regulate
sole
proprietorships
in
Ghana
was
outdated
and
out
of
touch
with
the
emerging
business
environment.
6.18.2
Financial
Institutions
Some
bank
and
non-‐bank
financial
institutions
are
making
some
in-‐roads
into
the
private
sector.
The
Social
Security
and
National
Insurance
Trust
(SSNIT)
has
intensified
its
educational
campaigns
among
the
large
informal
sector
operators
who
account
for
only
1%
of
the
over
1
million
Ghanaian
workers
under
the
SSNIT
scheme.
The
Trust
has
instituted
a
Retirement
Scheme
for
operators
in
the
informal
sector.
A
number
of
banks,
including
Barclays
Bank
have
instituted
programmes
(Aba
Pa)
aimed
at
reaching
out
to
the
informal
sector
operators.
6.18.3
Limited
Access
to
and
High
Cost
of
Credit
for
Private
Business
The
argument
has
already
been
made
that,
though
the
prime
rate
has
been
reducing,
the
banks
lending
rate
has
not
been
reducing
correspondingly.
Thus
the
cost
of
lending
remains
high
for
the
private
sector.
Base
rates
of
banks
moved
to
a
cluster
of
within
a
range
of
18
and
21.45%
in
July
2007
from
a
range
of
18.5
to
22.50%
in
January
2007
while
average
lending
rates
remain
unchanged
within
a
range
of
15.0%
and
33.5%.
However,
in
2007,
formal
financial
institutions’
lending
to
the
private
sector
has
increased
dramatically.
In
the
first
six
months
of
2007,
the
private
sector
accounted
for
78%
of
the
total
credit
flow.
Objective
3:
Strengthen
Policies,
Delivery
Mechanisms
and
Outcomes
in
Key
Social
Areas
Including
Education
and
Combating
HIV/AIDs
and
other
communicable
Diseases
The
Annual
Progress
Report
of
the
GPRS
II
and
a
survey
conducted
by
the
APRM
Monitoring
Group
showed
that,
significant
improvements
have
been
made
particularly
in
the
areas
of
basic
school
enrolment
and
access
to
quality
health
care.
138