Private sector forms central cog of Ghana Beyond Aid agenda

The Finance Ministry has noted that the private sector of the Ghanaian economy forms the central part of the Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda by the Government of Ghana, the Finance Ministry has said.

The Ministry said this in the third State Ownership Report.

This Report, whiles fulfilling a regulatory requirement of this Ministry, is demonstrative of our enduring commitment to protecting the public purse. Not only does it enhance our understanding of SOEs and OSEs dynamism, it would strengthen partnership mechanisms between the state and the private sector and shape key decisions.

“Elsewhere, this Government, led by President Akufo-Addo, has articulated the vision of Ghana Beyond Aid. A central cog of this vision is the deliberate liberation of the energies of the private sector to serve as the engine of transformation. Our choice and pursuit of this path required of us a dedication to optimizing Government’s interest in all entities in a manner that protects and promotes the public purse.

“To achieve this, we have revamped the regulatory and legislative environment with a raft of reforms as typified by the recent institutionalization of SIGA. These have been undertaken in the anticipation that existing and future public investments and assets would flourish in a congenial eco-system,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“However,” it added : “as this report illustrates, financial and governance performance of surveyed entities remain far from desirable. It is important to highlight the fact that these results, though somewhat disheartening, are not entirely unexpected. Indeed, the sheer scope and scale of the reforms being undertaken suggest that the pace of progress would be slow. But, we will succeed, if only we have the courage to persist.

“We must not be daunted. These mixed results must serve as the board from which our eternal resolve for improving public investments and asset management would spring.

The recent tremendous policy and regulatory advances in the Public Financial Management System in Ghana should remain our chief companion and complementing framework. We must be energized to aggressively pursue the agreed reforms that would enhance the processes, systems, practices and procedures by which entities are governed and managed.

“We must harness digital technology to augment human capacity. Together, these would naturally translate into improved SOE performance and contribution to economic growth.

“Ultimately, Government recognizes that it must confront the challenge of mobilizing more resources for socio-economic transformation. We are cognizant that doing this draws us closer to accomplishing the economic, cultural and social rights enshrined as fundamental rights in the 1992 Constitution.

“We are determined to take these rights away from the notional and abstract realm and make them real. I am clear in my mind that these aspirations are in line to profit from the understanding revealed by the third State Ownership Report. May God grant us the courage of our conviction in this pursuit of reforming SOEs.”