Establishment of CIRA implies need for a new set of professionals – Prof. Justice Date-Bah
"Administrators and restructuring officers are going to take charge of running distressed companies on a temporal basis. Not all lawyers, accountants, or bankers can run a business,”
Retired Justice of Ghana’s Supreme Court, and international academic, Professor Justice Date-Bah says the coming into force of the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act, 2020 (Act 1015) or CIRA, for short, signifies the need for a new set of professionals.
Speaking at the first memorial lecture in honour of Kojo Bentsi-Enchill, he said: “It is important to stress that the establishment of this new framework in Ghana, for the rescue of distressed companies implies a need for a new set of professionals.
Administrators and restructuring officers are going to take charge of running distressed companies on a temporal basis. Not all lawyers, accountants, or bankers can run a business,” he explained.
He spoke on the topic, ‘Fashioning a Regulatory Regime for Distressed Companies.’
According to the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors (GARIA), CIRA is perhaps the least known and unheralded tool available to businesses in distress (which arguably could cover most businesses in Ghana, especially with the onset of the pandemic).
The Act repealed the Bodies Corporate and Official Liquidation Act 1963 (Act 180), and as stated by GARIA, it has features that could go a long way to assist businesses not only to survive the pandemic but also to recover.
“CIRA applies to all businesses registered under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) with a few exceptions; namely, banks, insurance, or any other business which is subject to special legislation, except instances where the special legislation does not provide a rescue provision such as the Security Industries Act,2016 (Act 929),” it said on its website.
Prof. Justice Date-Bah noted that the representation of a company was very different from turning around a distressed company.
“Accordingly the role of GARIA will be crucial to achieving the objectives of CIRA. A draft bill is being processed in the Office of the Attorney-General to transform GARIA into a chartered institute for insolvency and restructuring, to enable it perform its monitoring and standard-setting role,” he said.
