Full benefits of HIPC would be realised in 2002 - Kufuor

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday said the full benefits of the government's decision to join the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative would be realised from next year.

He said the HIPC initiative, though not a panacea for all the country's economic problems, was, however, designed to minimise the pressure on the cedi and eliminate debt, which was an impediment to economic development and growth.

President Kufuor in an address read for him by Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance at the opening of the two-day fifth National Banking Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Ghana) in Accra, said HIPC enabled governments, which participated in it, to concentrate on the difficult policies and reforms to achieve sustainable development.

The theme for the Conference is: "Golden Age of Business and Wealth Creation--Myth or Reality--the Role of the Banking Industry".

Dr Jean Nelson Aka, Managing Director of ECOBANK (Ghana) and President of the Institute, said the theme of the conference was chosen to bring to the fore the need for the banks to assist the private sector in their operations.

He said they would examine some of the policies, programmes and strategies being implemented by the government and problems associated with the export of non-traditional commodities.

Dr Paul A. Acquah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), who chaired the function, called on the banks to take advantage of the macro economic activities being put in place by the government to make wealth creation a reality.