Golden age of
business is task for all - Mensah
Elmina (Greater
Accra) 09 December 2002 - The Senior Minister, Joseph Henry Mensah, on Sunday
said the attainment of the "Golden Age of Business" was not a task for
the government alone, but a national development programme, which needed the
collaboration of experts from both the public and private sectors for accelerated
development.
He said the nation
had talents, which could be tapped for the resolution of problems, such as
those confronting the energy, agricultural, industrial, financial services,
information technology and the construction sectors.
The Senior Minister
was speaking to the GNA, at the end of a four-day workshop on "Stimulating
new types of private investments and revitalising the financial sector to
provide necessary funding to feed investments," at Elmina.
The workshop attended
by about 80 experts from both the private and public sectors, including bankers,
businessmen, industrialists, information and communication technologists and
some foreign investors, was on the theme "Investments and Finance in the
Golden Age of Business".
Mensah, who is also
Head of the Government Economic Management Team, said the private sector, for
instance, had to be consulted about the method, financial and technical
resources needed, while Parliament had to play its role in the creation of the
necessary institutions to eliminate factors hindering private sector growth.
The whole machinery
of state would have to be progressively re-orientated, he declared, stressing that,
the growth of the private sector, was imperative for an improvement in the
country's GDP, which was the basis of the government's development strategy.
The Senior Minister
described the workshop as fruitful and hinted that its recommendations would be
an input for a national development plan, being evolved by the government.
The workshop was
organised by the office of the Senior Minister and the Economic Management
Team, to find an antidote to stimulate investment in the country, which was not
growing at the pace expected by the Government for accelerated private sector
growth.
Issues deliberated on
included "private investment challenges, role of traditional development
banks," "communication and information technology," "building
infrastructure and growth opportunities" and "mobilising domestic long
term finances for new investment challenges".
GRi…/
Send your comments to
viewpoint@ghanareview.com