Piecemeal approach cannot break poverty cycle - Baah-Wiredu

Accra, June 8, GNA - Ghana on Thursday asked her development partners to change their piecemeal approach to the country's development agenda if the country were to break the persistent poverty cycle in which it found itself.

A new approach, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said was required in order to create an impetus to accelerate the change programme defined in the nation's poverty reduction strategy plan.

The Finance Minister made these remarks when Mr Richard Meddings, Group Director for Africa of Standard Chartered Bank, who is on a tour of Standchart offices in Africa, called on him.

Mr Baah-Wiredu explained that it was unfair that Ghana, like other countries in Africa, was unable to attract huge funding for infrastructure development, while their counterparts in Asia and Eastern Europe continuously got all the attraction and funding for their development.

He said resources that were coming into the country were not predictable as most of them were in small and piecemeal tranches.

"What this creates is that the country is unable to embark on a major infrastructure development agenda banking its hope on a certain source of money."

Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Road Sector required 1.5 billion dollars; Ports, Harbours and Railways would need two billion dollars while the Energy Sector, notably the generation, transmission and distribution of power, required another two billion dollars to meet the level of change needed to move the country into the next stage of development.

"Moreover, the Water Sector needs two billion dollars injection while the telecommunication, housing and reforestation need one billion dollars and three billion dollars, respectively."

Mr Baah-Wiredu said in 1980, the Government required three billion dollars to revamp the mining industry alone. "Therefore, there is nothing extraordinary about our claim for about six billion dollars to effect our change agenda."

The Finance Minister said a lot of effort was being made on the local front to increase revenue for development naming the Internal Revenue Service, VAT Service, Registrar General's Department and other institutions as major players backing the country's dream towards middle-income status.

"We are doing our best internally and we have a number of local institutions and strategies in place to further our position," he said. The Finance Minister urged commercial banks to reduce interest rates to make capital more accessible to businesses following the steep decline of the Prime Rate by the Bank of Ghana.

Mr Meddings said the Bank was well versed in capital market development; SME and credit bureau development and would support the country to achieve its objective of creating a sustainable system. He said in this direction, the Bank had put together a group of 25 talented youths who are to be trained across the world.

Among those present at the meeting were Mr Ebenezer Ezzoka, Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana; Nana Juaben Boateng-Siriboe, Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and officials of the Ministry.