Accra, Jan. 4, GNA – President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday threw a challenge to the business community to develop feasible projects that could attract Government’s assistance to meet the unlimited opportunities available in the private sector.
He said opportunities for diversifying and strengthening the private sector were unlimited and the challenged entrepreneurs to come up with feasible projects that could enjoy Government’s assistance. President Kufuor, who was delivering the State of the Nation
Address to Parliament in Accra, said the Public Sector was by far the biggest employer in the economy but it was common knowledge that the Sector was not strong on productivity.
He said it had been realised worldwide that in terms of generating wealth and employment, the Private Sector was the most effective engine of growth hence his Governments decision to rehabilitate the Sector.
“To emphasise the importance of the Sector, the Government established the Ministry of Private Sector Development,” the President, said and added that the Ministry was to facilitate the co-operation between the Public and Private Sectors in the performance of their respective functions for the development of the economy.
“Government, therefore, accepts its responsibility to help to build the Private Sector through facilitation of access to credit, joint ventures between Ghanaian enterprises and their foreign counterparts, provision of advisory services to the Sector, improvement of the investment atmosphere and the promotion of small and medium scale enterprises.”
President Kufuor said the President’s Special Initiatives (PSIs) had a vital role to play in the revival of the Private Sector in helping to diversify the economy and show where opportunities existed in both the agriculture and industry.
The PSIs were also to help organise resources, management and technical support for the Private Sector. President Kufuor emphasised that ownership of the PSIs remained with the Private Sector.
President Kufuor said on the industrial front, the Government was supporting privately owned industries such as the salt industry and the PSI on garment and textiles.
On the Ghana Stock Exchange, he said the Government would continue to support the bourse as a major source of funding for the Private Sector.
Source: GhanaWeb
