Full benefits of HIPC would be realised in 2002 - Kufuor
Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry, on Monday repeated the government's commitment to creating jobs, especially for the youth to reduce the poverty level.
"Our government promised jobs for the youth during our electioneering campaign and we are morally obliged to make good our promise", Dr Apraku said at he launch of the Association of Ghana Industries' (AGI) maiden celebration of the National Industrial Week in Accra.
The celebration is on the theme: "Jobs Creation and Incomes Generation Through Accelerated Industrialisation." Dr Apraku said industrialisation was the key to socio-economic development as well as the creation of jobs and poverty reduction.
He, however, said growth rate in Ghana's industrial sector has been unimpressive, recording only 3.8 per cent in the year 2000 and 4.9 per cent in 1999. This is against the global average of eight per cent and 5.4 per cent for Sub-Sahara Africa for the same period.
"The poor showing of the industrial sector in Ghana was largely attributed to the poor performance of the manufacturing sub-sector which comprises 50 per cent of the whole industrial sector", the Minister said.
The manufacturing sub-sector recorded a growth rate of 3.8 per cent in 2000 and 3.13 per cent from 1990 to 1999.
Prince Kofi Kludjeson, President of the AGI, said there was a general notion that industry was the key to national prosperity, governments have not shown enough commitment to industry, particularly manufacturing, and this must change.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday said the full benefits of the government's decision to join the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative would be realised from next year.
He said the HIPC initiative, though not a panacea for all the country's economic problems, was, however, designed to minimise the pressure on the cedi and eliminate debt, which was an impediment to economic development and growth.
President Kufuor in an address read for him by Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance at the opening of the two-day fifth National Banking Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana) in Accra, said HIPC enabled governments, which participated in it, to concentrate on the difficult policies and reforms to achieve sustainable development.
The theme for the Conference is: "Golden Age of Business and Wealth Creation--Myth or Reality--the Role of the Banking Industry".
Dr Jean Nelson Aka, Managing Director of ECOBANK (Ghana) and President of the Institute, said the theme of the conference was chosen to bring to the fore the need for the banks to assist the private sector in their operations.
He said they would examine some of the policies, programmes and strategies being implemented by the government and problems associated with the export of non-traditional commodities.
Dr Paul A. Acquah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), who chaired the function, called on the banks to take advantage of the macro economic activities being put in place by the government to make wealth creation a reality.
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