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GHANA

N/A

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Indicator Effective protection covering trade secrets
Lack of comprehensive regulatory framework covering trade secrets
Ghana does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. According to Section 5.1 of the Protection Against Unfair Competition Act of 2000, any act or practice in the course of industrial or commercial activities that results in the disclosure, acquisition or use by another person of secret information (Secret information is defined in Section 5.3) without the consent of the rightful owner of that information and in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices constitutes an act of unfair competition. In addition, pursuant to Section 5.4, any act or practice in the course of industrial or commercial activities is considered an act of unfair competition if it consists or results in unfair commercial use of the secret test or other data, the origin of which involves considerable effort and which has been submitted to a competent authority for the purposes of obtaining approval of the marketing of pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical products which utilise new chemical entities; or the disclosure of such data, except where it is necessary for the protection of the public; and steps are taken to ensure that the data are protected against unfair commercial use.
Coverage Horizontal

GHANA

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Passive infrastructure sharing obligation
Requirement of passive infrastructure sharing
It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Ghana to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GHANA

Reported in 2016, last reported in 2024

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Maximum foreign equity share for investment in the telecommunication sector
Reported restrictions on foreign equity in the telecommunications sector
Ghana reportedly imposes restrictions on foreign participation in the acquisition of 800 MHz spectrum licences for mobile telecommunications services, requiring engagement through a joint venture or consortium with a minimum of 25% Ghanaian ownership. In contrast, between 2016 and 2018, the minimum requirement for indigenous Ghanaian ownership was reported to be 35%.
Coverage Mobile telecommunications services

GHANA

Reported 2021, last reported in 2023

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Presence of shares owned by the government in telecom companies
Presence of shares owned by the government in the telecom sector
In April 2021, the government acquired full ownership of Airtel Tigo after Airtel and Millcom, Airtel Togo’s parent companies, announced an exit from the Ghanaian market. The government stated that it temporarily operates the communications company's assets, which served 5.1 million subscribers at the time of the sale. In addition, the government maintains a 30% stake in Vodafone in Ghana after Vodafone acquired the majority stake in the state-owned Ghana Telecom in July 2008.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GHANA

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Functional/accounting separation for operators with significant market power
Requirement of accounting and functional separation for dominant network operators
It is reported that Ghana mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GHANA

Since April 1997

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Signature of the WTO Telecom Reference Paper
WTO Telecom Reference Paper
Ghana has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GHANA

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Presence of an independent telecom authority
Presence of independent telecom authority
It is reported that the National Communication Authority (NCA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GHANA

Since September 2016

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Indicator Local storage requirement
Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930)
Section 79.3 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act (Act 930) provides that the accounting records of banks, specialised deposit-taking institutions or financial holding companies shall be kept at the head office in the country for a period of not less than ten years.
Coverage Financial sector

GHANA

Since February 1997

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Indicator Participation in the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Ghana is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
Coverage Horizontal

GHANA

Since June 2005

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Indicator Copyright law with clear exceptions
Ghana Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690)
Ghana has a copyright regime under the Copyright Act of 2005. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 19-21 list the exceptions, which include personal and teaching purposes, reproduction of a single copy of a computer program as a backup, and permitted use of copyright material by a library, among others.
Coverage Horizontal
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[{"post_id":"100173"},{"post_id":"100174"},{"post_id":"100175"}]
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'impact' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'GH')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'GH')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
ITA: [{"meta_value":"1.00"}]

GHANA

ITA signatory? I II

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Indicator Effective tariff rate on ICT goods (applied weighted average)
Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
11.46%
Coverage rate of zero-tariffs on ICT goods (%)
2.56%
Coverage: ICT goods

GHANA

N/A

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Indicator Participation in the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and 2015 expansion (ITA II)
Lack of participation in Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and in ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA II)
Ghana is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).
Coverage ICT goods

GHANA

Since December 2003, last amended in May 2016

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Exclusion from public procurement
Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act No. 663) as Amended by the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act No. 914)
According to Section 45.1 of the Ghana Procurement Act, international competitive tendering is required effective competition cannot be achieved in national competitive tendering without the participation of foreign firms. In addition, according to the Fifth Schedule of the Act, international competitive bidding must be used for the procurement of goods with a contract value threshold above GHS 10 million (approx 625,000 USD) and for technical services with a contract value threshold above GHS 5 million (approx. 300,000 USD). There are no value thresholds for other types of tendering methods, such as restricted and sole-source tendering, or for technical and consultancy services; however, their use is subject to approval by the Public Procurement Authority.
Coverage Horizontal

GHANA

Since December 2003, last amended in May 2016
Since December 2006

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act No. 663) as Amended by the Public Procurement (Amendment) Act, 2016 (Act No. 914)

Guidelines for Margins of Preference
The Public Procurement Act seeks to increase the competitiveness of domestic businesses by the application of a margin of preference. In accordance with Section 60.3, the Public Procurement Board is required to issue guidelines for implementing margins of preference for domestic contractors and suppliers of goods, works and services. The Guidelines that apply to current tenders open to international competitive bidding give a margin of price preference of 7.5% to 20% to domestic suppliers of goods and services.
Coverage Horizontal

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