The Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen, has iterated the critical role of the private sector in the country’s economic recovery. As such, he highlighted that the government will continue to incentivize the sector to continue to support the government’s economic recovery and transformation plans.
The Trade Minister, therefore, reminded the various state institutions and government machinery that any support they provide to the private sector must not be construed as doing the private sector a favour. Rather, it’s a way of incentivizing them to risk their capital to create jobs and increase income levels of the population.
Similarly, Mr. Kyerematen urged the private sector to also support the government by honoring its tax obligations to the government.
“However, in the same vein, since there is a cost associated with incentivizing the private sector, government expects that the private sector will also fulfil their obligations by paying taxes and contributing their quota to national development”.
Mr. Kyerematen
Meanwhile, Mr. Kyerematen commended the private sector for the critical role it played and continues to play in the economic recovery, growth and transformation agenda of the country. This is more so, its critical support in driving the economic recovery efforts of the government during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Role of the private sector at the height of the pandemic
According to the Minster, the private sector has indeed proved to be the engine of the economy, not only in words, but in actions with its resilience and ingenuity.
“In Ghana, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and there were serious disruptions in global supply chains, it was the private sector that quickly marshalled its forces to cushion the impact of the pandemic, by producing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Hand Sanitizers, Personal Care, and pharmaceutical products.
“I make these remarks to establish the fact that the role of the private sector in national development can and should not be underestimated. With or without the incidence of natural disasters, it is a well-established fact in development history that the most powerful economies in the world are those that maintain a strong focus on private sector development”.
Mr. Kyerematen
Moreover, Mr. Kyerematen revealed that plans are far advanced by the private sector to produce the nation’s own vaccines within the short-to-medium-term. As such, he indicated that government is still committed to building a resilient and productive private sector to position Ghana as the leading Manufacturing Hub in Africa.
The Presidential Business Summit
Meanwhile, the government has recognized the private sector as a developmental partner. As a result, the government in a bid to strengthen this partnership continues to engage the private through its summits. One of such is the inaugural Presidential Business Summit through a collaboration with the Office of the President and several other Ministries. One of the aims of the Summit was to help improve the business environment in the country by developing actionable Business Compact, with clear commitments from both Government and private sector.
It can be recalled that the President said at the inaugural Presidential Business Summit that it would take the resilience and ingenuity of the private sector to guarantee economic growth and create sustainable jobs for the youth in the country. The recognition of the critical role of the private sector, the President said, will help strengthen the country’s position as an economic powerhouse in West Africa. By so doing, it will help create substantial job opportunities for the teeming youth, and sustain economic growth.
“We will continue to strengthen and deepen our engagement with the private sector towards realizing this goal”.
H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo
With this, the government needs to create the enabling business for businesses to thrive to aid the recovery. A reduction in the cost of borrowing and restructuring of taxes in some industries will be of tremendous benefit in this regard.
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