Government committed to improving macroeconomic stability to spur growth - Dr Mensah Bonsu

Government has reiterated its commitment to adopt prudent economic management policies to stem any slippages that could threaten and derail the country’s macroeconomic gains from 2017 to 2024.

Dr Mensah Bonsu, Policy Advisor with the Ministry of Planning who gave the assurance emphasised that it would continue to maintain fiscal discipline and pursue prudent macroeconomic policies to help preserve and improve on its sustained economic successes.

He was speaking at the Central Regional Dissemination Programme on the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (CPESDP) 2017-2024, held in Cape Coast on Wednesday.

The workshop was aimed at reaching out to all key stakeholders to get first-hand information on the details and the essence of the Plan not only to make informed decisions but take advantage of it for job creation.

"Government is bent on getting the macroeconomic fundamentals being the pillars of the economy right and would respond appropriately to economic shocks to spur development and job creation," he said.

The Policy Advisor further identified the need for consistent efforts to institute the best practice of public financial management systems to help with the implementation of better medium-term budget or expenditure frameworks.

In that regard, he hinted that plans were in the offing to establish Financial Stability Council (FSC) to assess vulnerabilities in the financial sector and support the Bank of Ghana (BOG) to review existing methodology for the determination of base rates across banks to reduce lending rates.

That was significant to effectively and efficiently respond appropriately to local and global economic challenges and capacity constraints to take advantage of the nation’s resource endowments.

"Under the policy, Ghana's foreign policy would entail working towards reducing Ghana's vulnerability to shocks and threats from the international system, defending its national interests, maintaining its sovereign independence while diversifying the economy to reduce commodity exports," he said.

To this end, Government will strengthen policy and legislative instrument to facilitate linkages between Ghana's Heads of missions, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to maximise investments and trade opportunities for local authorities.

He stated that the Government remained focused on infrastructure development to open up the country and to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) exclusively or through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in all the sectors.

On deepening Ghana's democratic credentials, national cohesion and political stability, he rallied support for the on-going national identification exercise as a means to improve human security, public safety to fight and win the battle against corruption and economic crimes and to maintain law and order.

Participants at the programme were given the opportunity to ask questions

that lingered on their minds and appropriately answered by sector Minister, Professor George Gyan-Baffour and his team of experts.

Questions on the disability funds, MASLOC and the economy were asked whilst a participant appealed that the Plans was translated into the various Ghanaian languages for easy understanding.

It was attended by scores of MMDCEs, traditional leaders, coordinating directors, civil society organisations (CSOs), private enterprise federation (PEF), Ghana Federation of disability organisation and the media.