By Bright Ntramah.
President Akufo-Addo has opened the first-ever Presidential Business Summit aimed at providing the platform for frank and open interaction between government and the Private Sector.
This is in recognition of the critical role the Private Sector plays in guaranteeing economic growth, creating jobs, and placing Ghana as an economic power House in West Africa.
President Akufo-Addo assured the Private Sector of creating the enabling environment for their success.
The Presidential Business Summit would provide a platform for a structured dialogue between the government and the Private Sector on critical areas of interest to the Private Sector. It will focus on the role of the Private Sector in Ghana’s Post-COVID Economic Recovery.
The deliberations in the Plenary would focus on 5 cross-cutting thematic areas: Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Incentives to Support Production and Private Sector Development; Foreign Exchange Regulation and Currency Stability; Access to Finance and Cost of Capital; Energy Pricing, Availability, Access and Reliability; and Supporting Local Industries through Government Procurement and Local Content Regulation.
It would be followed by Breakout Sessions for a deep dive into 7 economic sectors: Agriculture and Agribusiness; Manufacturing; Construction and Mining; Financial Services; Information and Communication Technology; Tourism and Hospitality; and Transport and Logistics.
President Akufo-Addo said government has taken the bold step necessary to stem the risk of recession, mitigate the negative economic effect of the pandemic and reduce the burden on the populace. He said the strong rebound in growth, low inflation rate, stable currency and FDI flows are strong indications of the desire of Government to restore the Ghanaian economy on to the path of sustained stability and growth.
“Government will continue to strengthen the private sector to achieve its goals,’’ the President noted.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen said building a resilient and productive Private Sector to position Ghana as the leading Manufacturing Hub in Africa.
Deliberations at the Summit would feed into the government’s Policy Framework for Private Sector Development, including the Budget Statement and the Economic Policy for the Year 2022. The outcome would be a Ghana Business Compact, which would detail specific priority areas of government policy interventions in support of the Private Sector development.
