The first female Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office, Commissioner of Police Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah was honoured at the Black History Festival and Achievers Award in Columbus, Ohio USA.
COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah received a medal and citation for her significant role in law enforcement and investment protection in Africa and America.
The award was given to her by the Bureau for International Development Exchanges and Commerce-BIDEC in collaboration with the African Union Mission in the United States.
The three-day Black History Festival, which was held at the Renaissance Downtown Columbus Hotel was aimed at fostering ties between America and Africans in the diaspora, as well as in the areas of trade, investment and development in Africa.
Ambassador Hilda Suka Mafudze, Permanent Representative of the African Union to the United States of America, in her keynote address via Skype spoke on the need to strengthen the existing collaboration between the two continents towards achieving their developmental goals.
She further urged the business community to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the existence of Africa Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) to do business in Africa.
COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, in a panel discussion, assured American Investors not to be sceptical about doing business in Africa especially in Ghana as there are stringent laws to protect their investments in Ghana.
She entreated investors to conduct due diligence on their African partners before setting up any business in Ghana.
She added that many foreign businessmen have fallen prey to con men and scams in establishing businesses in Ghana.
According to her, most foreign businessmen try to circumvent the processes which may include security and background checks.
She assured the delegates that the Economic and Organised Crime Office is in the position to assess the credibility of would-be partners before they engage them in any business.
In the area of collaborating with International Law Enforcement Agencies, the Executive Director of EOCO noted that Our doors are widely opened for collaboration in the fight against Economic and Organised Crimes in Ghana and across the globe.โ
