Veep lauds Government economic record

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Wednesday exposed delegates at the Second African World Business Congress of the African Business Roundtable (ABR), in Accra to efforts by Ghana to promote macro-economic management.

"Our strategy of fostering an enabling environment through disciplined, macro-economic management, backed by good governance, have paid off well," he said.

Vice President Mahama said ind ications were that African private sector had not been as proactive as expected.

The ABR is dedicated to achieving an African private sector led regional economic integration and sustainable economic development based on good corporate governance and competitive open market system. The three-day congress is on the theme: "The Private Sector As The Engine of Growth and Wealth Creation."

The Vice President expressed dissatisfaction that public agency in regulatory and licensing regimes tended to be confrontational instead of facilitating, adding that private corporate governance was found wanting, when it came to even the most minimal of compliance requirements.

Turning to the delegates he said: " As accomplished business people with international exposure, you can serve not only to guide governments in the packaging of investment policy but also in mentoring fledgling businesses.

"You have worthy partners in Africans and African-Americans in the Diaspora. These people, by virtue of having worked extensively in competitive developed economies, have a wealth of experience and resources."

He said the meeting was timely because of the confluence of the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, NEPAD and commitment to good governance through the African Peer Review Mechanism that had presented new opportunities that ought to move African businesses and partnerships beyond country specific investments, to cross boundary regional efforts. Vice President Mahama called for South-South cooperation and advocated fairer relations between the North and South.

"Above all, we must be seen to be putting our house in order, working together as the public and private sector, in tandem with our historical brethren in the Diaspora, to mobilise and renew the resolve of our people in the battle against poverty."

He said these efforts were feasible against the backdrop of debt relief promised by Gleneagles, adding that resources from debt relief might result in massive redirection of public investment into infrastructure and social services in line with the Millennium Development Goals. The ABR is a one stop for investors, who are new to Africa, with congress sections devoted to practical information on how to do business in Africa.