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Higher levels of discipline is the requirement for
development - Kufuor
Accra, Oct. 9, Ghanadot/GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor
on Tuesday asked the entire Ghanaian society to be committed
to higher levels of discipline, increased productivity and
the pursuit of excellence to break new grounds to push the
national economy forward.
The Government on its part, he said, was determined to
ensure sustained and realistic balance of enhanced incentive
system and continued good governance.
Additionally, it would see to it that the needed supervisory
and national regulatory mechanisms were firmly in place.
President Kufuor was speaking at an Economic Roundtable
Discussion held at the M. Plaza Hotel in Accra.
The event, organised by the Economist Conferences, a
division of the Economist Intelligence Unit, brought
together key Economic Ministers, the Governor of the Bank of
Ghana, foreign investors and local business leaders to
exchange ideas on the development of the private sector.
It provided a platform for the participants to closely
examine the main challenges and opportunities for business
and the most promising investment sectors and provided
answers to some of the key questions.
President Kufuor, whose address was on the theme; " Fifty
years of Independence: Where to now?" stated that, the
country has now achieved reasonable measure of
macro-economic stability and economic growth.
Inflation and banks' lending rates continue to drop from
very high levels of over 40 per cent and over 50 per cent
respectively in 2001 to current inflation level of around 10
per cent and lending rate of 19 per cent.
"With this new confidence, the country is taking some bold
and measured steps into the international capital market
with issuance of bonds to raise funds for investments in
infrastructure development and for the development of the
energy sector."
President Kufuor said this should remove the structural
bottlenecks within the economy and put it on a trajectory of
accelerated growth.
The success of this measure should help to wean Ghana from
its dependence on donor aid to self-sufficiency.
He mentioned the establishment of the International
Financial Services Centre in partnership with the Barclays
Bank, as another significant step taken, and expressed
optimism that with time, this would make the nation a major
international financial hub of the Sub-Region.
He said the Government was making sustained efforts to grow
the private sector to become the main generator of jobs and
this was reflected in policy measures to facilitate the
establishment of businesses, training for operatives of the
sector as well as provision of financial support for micro,
small and medium-sized companies.
There were also other public/private sector initiatives such
as increasing developments in the Free Ports (Export
Processing Zones), policy of value addition, attraction of
investors on win-win basis and the Presidential Special
Initiatives (PSIs) on oil palm and garment villages, among
others.
"Ghana is looking into the future with confidence,
determined to stay on the democratic course in order to
sustain the breakthrough which has been long in coming."
Responding to concerns about the growing Chinese presence in
Africa, President Kufuor said, "We have come of age and
should be able to negotiate our way into partnership."
GNA/REA
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