The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, has said the government will make a conscious effort to correct the many forms of inefficiency in the management of public institutions in the country.
He said the public sector could also draw useful lessons from the private sector where management systems were effective and efficient to improve on its performance.
Addressing participants at the Ghana Economic Forum (GEF) 2013 in Accra, the minister highlighted the changing structure of the economy and growth in the gross domestic product (GDP)?as the key planks that could propel the country forward.
The forum, which was on the theme, “The role of leadership in driving national economic prosperity”, seeks to create a platform to bring together corporate executives, civil society leaders and heads of institutions to deliberate on economic development issues in a non-partisan manner.
Mr Terkper observed that the 2013 budget was to ensure an improvement in the services and industrial sectors.
He said, the government’s focus now was to diversify the economy in order to avoid contracting the Dutch disease. He added that it was time the government assessed the Petroleum Revenue Management Act to evaluate its benefits and that “value addition and diversification is going to be key to the government”.
He proposed the creation of an infrastructure fund, using oil revenue, to accelerate development and said the government would develop a new medium-term plan designed to realise its developmental objectives.
Commenting on the growth in GDP, Mr Terkper said the country, with its current middle-income status, had more access to capital and expressed the government’s resolve to partner the private sector to create a congenial atmosphere for businesses to thrive.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the UT Group, Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng; the CEO of Stratcom Africa, Ms Esther Cobbah, and the Executive Chairman of the Global Media Alliance, Mr Edward Boateng, were unanimous in their call on Ghanaians to adopt a paradigm shift by imbibing a sense of discipline in their lives.
Mr Amoabeng said reducing corruption by 30 per cent would mark a turning point in the country’s development agenda. He said there was the need for the right systems to be put in place in order that people could be rewarded based on their hard work.
“We need, as a country, to build systems, institutions and processes that must judge who gets what,” he stated.
Source: Graphic Business
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
