Michael Oquaye Jnr appointed chief of Ghana Free Zones Authority

President Akufo-Addo has appointed Michael Oquaye Jnr as the new chief executive officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, the public service institution that promotes the processing and manufacture of goods by establishing export processing zones (EPZs), as well as encouraging the development of commercial and service activities in maritime port and airport areas.

Oquaye Jnr previously served as Ghana’s high commissioner to India. He will be replacing Michael Okyere Baafi, who has been elected as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for New Juaben South in the Eastern Region and doubles as a deputy minister of trade and industry.

Ghana Free Zones Authority

The Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) was established on 31 August 1995 by an act of Parliament, the Free Zones Act 1995 (Act 504), with a mandate to promote economic development, provide for the regulation of activities in free zones and to cater for related purposes in Ghana.

The vision of the Authority is to help transform Ghana into the “gateway” to West Africa by creating an attractive environment that is conducive to business by providing competitive incentives and operating an efficient “one-stop shop” which enhances domestic and foreign investment.

The Authority believes that, by striving to achieve its vision, it can facilitate a vibrant economy in Ghana, driven by a well-integrated business environment with world-class capacity for competition, technological innovation, business growth, economic diversification and development.

Profile 

Michael Aaron Oquaye Jnr is Ghana’s immediate past high commissioner to India. He held concurrent accreditation to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Dr Oquaye is a lawyer by profession, having qualified as a barrister. He is an international investment corporate practitioner with extensive experience of project finance, infrastructure, mergers and acquisitions, general contracts and commercial transactions.

His global experience is focused mainly on emerging businesses and markets. His past areas of operation include the UK, the US, the ECOWAS sub-region and South Africa.

Oquaye’s varied areas of legal practice include energy (oil and gas, biofuels and renewable energy), media and technology, telecommunications, commodities and agribusiness.

His experience spans many years in both the UK and Ghana. His last job in the UK was at 9 King’s Bench Walk, Chancery Lane, London, where he worked with the renowned barrister AI Mustakim.

In Ghana, he is currently a legal practitioner at Exusia Law Consult with renowned lawyers such as Dr Yeboa Amoa (the first managing director of the Ghana Stock Exchange) and Essie F Cobbina (Ghana Cocoa Board).

He was called to the Bar of England and Wales at the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and then to the Bar in Ghana. He holds a BL from BPP Law School in Holborn, London, and an LLB from Oxford Brookes University.

He is also pursuing an LLM in oil and gas at Dundee University in Scotland. He is married to Maureen Oquaye and they are blessed with three children.

Wilberforce Asare

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