Improve private sector competitiveness — World Bank
Improving the competitiveness of the private sector should be one of the key priorities of the government, the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Mr G. R. Kerali, has stated.
Advertisement
That, he said, required a holistic approach to economic diversification that involved sound macroeconomic policies.
He said the country’s development strategies should also aim at good management, the creation of a good business environment, efficient trade processes, among other policies.
Private sector growth
Speaking at the maiden bi-monthly business meeting of the Institute of Directors-Ghana in Accra Wednesday, Mr Kerali said despite a focus on private sector development in Ghana’s national development strategy, international, as well as national, surveys indicated significant challenges to private sector growth.
He said the World Bank Doing Business Report and the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index told of Ghana’s deteriorating business environment over the past decade.
He explained that although Ghana was one of the leaders in West Africa in overall Doing Business rankings, its inability to sustain reforms severely affected its global competitiveness.
The meeting was on the theme: “Stimulating public/private dialogue: “The role of key stakeholders in leadership and corporate governance in the socioeconomic development of Ghana."
Dialogue
Mr Kerali said the complex challenges faced by the private sector in Ghana were exacerbated by the lack of an effective dialogue between the private and the public sectors on how best to prioritise constraints, identify practical solutions and monitor the progress of reforms.
“This can be greatly facilitated by a dynamic and efficient public-private dialogue (PPD) mechanism. A robust PPD mechanism is essential to create a strong business enabling environment,” he emphasised.
Corporate governance
The Country Director said the World Bank Group (WBG), for its part, had, since 2015, through the IFC’s ‘Africa Corporate Governance Project’, provided support to improve the performance of firms and facilitate financing by raising awareness of corporate governance practices.
He said the group had also supported the development of the regulatory environment and helped build the capacity of industry regulators, such as the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He said the group was also supporting the introduction of corporate governance improvement in selected state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
“The five SOEs are the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Tema Development Corporation (TDC),” he said.
“Good corporate governance policies and practices help businesses lower their capital costs and become competitive, profitable and attractive for investors,” he added.
He reiterated the group’s commitment to support the private sector to move Ghana to the next level of growth and prosperity.
Judgement debt
The Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who also addressed the meeting, said the recent judgement debt crisis that hit the economy had highlighted the importance of sound corporate governance and best practices in promoting economic stability.
He said since good corporate governance could not operate in a vacuum but within a sound macro environment, the need for collaboration between the institute and the government could not be overemphasised.