Accra — Ghana's Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu has been given the Top Reforming African Country Award by the World Bank in London.

The award, in the form of a glass shield is given to the best reforming economic system in Africa. He shares this year's honor jointly with the finance ministers of Kenya, Mr. Amos Kimunya and Mauritius, Mr. Ali Mansoor all of whom were present at the Unilever headquarters in London to receive the awards.

The ceremony which formed part of a day's seminar of "Doing Business 2008", was organised by The World Bank, the U.K. Department of International Development (DFID), Business Action for Africa with the support of Unilever was attended by leading World Bank officials, over 100 chief executives of transnational corporations and the U.K. media.

Addresses were delivered by The Rt.Hon. Baroness Shriti Vadera, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of DFID, William J. Mills, Chairman and Chief Executive, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Citi Markets. The Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development of the Bank , Michael U. Klein praised the three ministers for steering their economies and business environments from rough roads to greater reform and growth.

Responding, Mr. Baah-Wiredu, with his award in his right hand and the flag of Ghana in the left, said, the reforms in Ghana had not only led to strategic legislations in the financial and procurement areas but also to general checks and balances in the overall administration. It accounted partly for the growth in the economy but there was still much to be done even with over 60 percent of targeted reforms carried out.

"It is not a one day business" he said, and thanked the World Bank and other development partners as well as those who have worked on reforms in Ghana for their dedication.

"The Doing Business" reviews upon which the awards are given and for which Ghana previously placed 9th as the best country to do business, looks at 10 areas of everyday business measurements: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.

The indicators are used to analyze reforms and business regulation, identifying which countries are improving their business environment the most and which ones slip. They are also used to check economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.

The New York Times has described the process as "a fascinating ranking of how easy it is to do business in 155 countries of the world" and The Economist as "a helpful exercise in quantifying business regulations and their costs."

Participants at the day's seminar who wanted to find out more about what went into the reforms in the three countries had more than enough explanation when the well known British journalist, Jon Snow of Channel 4 moderated a panel discussion: Scaling Up Partnerships for Development.

Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Akwasi Osei Adjei, High Commissioner Annan Cato, Head of Public Affairs at the Commission, Ivor Agyeman-Duah and The Treasury Head, Alex Frimpong accompanied the Finance Minister.

SOURCE: GHC, LONDON