President: Felix Addo
GARIA is an association of professionals with interest in restructuring and insolvency, is established to play a leadership role in corporate restructuring, business recovery and insolvency advisory in Ghana.
GARIA was incorporated on 8th August 2006 as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies’ Act 1963 (Act 179).
GARIA’s goals are:
- To encourage restructuring of distressed entities including state- owned enterprises and other business establishments;
- To promote and offer thought leadership in relation to business turnarounds and insolvencies;
- To promote law reform to support business recovery and insolvency;
- To provide a forum for practitioners engaged in business recovery and insolvency practice; and
- To promote international cooperation with respect to insolvency, business recovery and related cross border matters.
Since its inception, GARIA has made its mark in several areas including business law reform in Ghana. On August 2, 2019, the President of the Republic of Ghana assented to the New Companies Act (Act 992) which replaced the Companies Act of 1963. In the following year, the Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency Act (CIRA) was passed by Parliament. Both Acts of parliament were vigorously championed by GARIA.
Since the passage of these two pieces of legislation, GARIA has undertaken a series of sensitization and training exercises for practitioners and other professionals, company representatives and the public.
CIRA mandates GARIA to assist the Office of the Registrar to license Insolvency Practitioners. The Act also mandates the Attorney-General to ensure that GARIA is established under an Act of Parliament within 2 years of the law coming into force. Accordingly, a legislative Bill, the Chartered Institute of Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners Bill has been drafted and is presently at the preliminary stage of parliamentary scrutiny.
The Bill seeks to transform GARIA into a statutory organisation focused on developing, guiding, directing, and monitoring the practice of insolvency, as well as, to support the Insolvency Services Division of the Office of the Registrar of Companies perform its regulatory function over the insolvency industry.
On 1 March 2023, GARIA inducted the second cohort of 154 individuals licensed by the Office of the Registrar of Companies to practice insolvency in Ghana. The event ended the grandfathering mechanism employed by Ghana to usher the IP industry into the new regulatory environment defined by CIRA. Henceforth individuals may only be granted a licence upon successful examination and proven practical experience.
Contact details:
T: +233 501 583 771
T: +233 501 583 770
T: +233 501 583 772
T: +233 322 491 219
E: [email protected]
[email protected]