For Ghana to forge forward in its development agenda, the private sector has to truly become the engine growth of Ghana.
This can be possible if the government is able to create a congenial environment for businesses to thrive as well as businesses producing competitive products that meet international standards.
A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay made the remark at the Ghana Rising conference organised by Citi FM/TV on Thursday.
He said “we need to ensure that as we go forward, we change the very structure of our economy where the government’s role is to provide the environment and incentives and the private sector becomes the true engine of growth, because the reality is that the model we are following is not unique to Ghana.”
He added that if the country can develop further, value must be added to raw materials instead of just exporting them in their raw forms.
He stated that, “If you look at the nature of our economy, we’re still designed to sell raw materials to the north, east, and west, and import back again finished products. That is just not a model that is going to work for us.”
Citi FM/TV’s Ghana Rising Conference is underway at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra.
The conference which is currently ongoing is geared towards helping Ghanaian local producers to strategically compete favourably on the global stage.
The event will feature panel discussions on four thematic areas namely: Finance, Oil & Gas, Agriculture & Agribusiness and Green Economy.