The government on Tuesday stressed its commitment to stabilising the economy and ensuring that sustainable growth permeates all sectors of development.
According to a GNA report, Finance Minister Yaw Osafo- Maafo, in a brief outlook for 2002, said: "We intend to consolidate the gains made so far, that is the stability of the cedi, reduce inflation and interest rates and make the nation the preferred investment destination.
"We will also sustain the reduction of government expenditure and participation in a number of companies, such as Coca Cola, Ghana Telecom and Ghana Commercial Bank."
He said the strides made last year were after very hard thought-out procedures, despite their immediate impact on society, adding, "the ultimate is to get the country onto a better pedestal."
He referred to the adoption of the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, saying: " The benefits under the HIPC initiative will be more pronounced this year than before and I am sure that weak and vulnerable sectors of society will improve''.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the government's main focus would be to lift the image and performance of the agricultural sector since food formed a large part of the national budget.
"Another area will be to develop the agro-processing industry as a means of generating employment for the nation's youth." Food production experts say the millions of dollars spent on food imports each year could be reduced considerably if Ghana's potential in food production could be fully exploited.
Rice import, for instance, is put around 100 million dollars, the single highest bill in the sector. The Minister mentioned education and health as the other important areas that would be tackled vigorously.
