Government, committed to closing infrastructural gap

Accra, Nov. 23, GNA - Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Tuesday said Government was committed to using the oil revenue to close the country’s infrastructural gap within the next 10 years.

He said a recent study by the World Bank, indicated that Ghana would need 2.5 billion dollars annually for the next five years for infrastructure development.

Dr Duffuor said these in a speech read on his behalf at the 15th National Banking Conference organized by the Charted Institute of Bankers (CIB) in Accra. It was on the theme: “Availability of Long-Term Funding for National Development: Opportunities and Challenges.”

Dr Duffuor expressed the hope that the bulk of funds needed for the infrastructural development would come from oil revenue and official development assistance.

He called on banks to use equity as an effective tool to give small firms access to financial options available to only larger companies. The Minister said players in the banking industry needed to form partnership with micro-finance institutions and capital markets to broaden development of the private sector.

Dr Duffuor noted that raising capital was the most difficult thing a prospective entrepreneur could encounter and that “a careful research on funding opportunities however will present different options that may be beneficial or suitable for the new business owner’s unique situation.”

Mr Anthony Oppong, Chief Executive Officer of CIB, said the conference was an annual event organized to discuss topical issues and to bring to the fore strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within the banking and finance sector.

He expressed the hope that participants, largely drawn from financial institutions, would discuss topics including The New Pension Scheme and the Emerging Bond Market in Ghana-Prospects and Challenges.