Captains of industry and policymakers will today converge in Accra to deliberate on to how to achieve a fully-functional economy on the back of strong local businesses.

The fourth edition of the Ghana Economic Forum (GEF), which is being organised by the Business and Financial Times (B&FT), is on the theme “Ghanaian-owned economy: setting the agenda for achieving it”.

The two-day event will be addressed by Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur; Mrs. Mona Quartey, a Deputy Minister of Finance; Dr. Kofi Amoah, CEO Progeny Ventures; Dolapo Ogundimu, MD Access Bank; Jamil Ampomah, Director of ACCA Markets for sub-Saharan Africa; and Alex Mould, acting CEO of GNPC.

Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur will deliver the keynote address and kick-start discussion as to whether the Ghanaian economy and current development framework allows citizens to fully own the economy and development process through effective participation in the economic decision-making process.

The forum will be held for two days, with an opening discussion for day one followed by Focus Group discussions on the second day touching on specific elements of the economy including Energy, Infrastructure and Debt.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Business and Financial Times, Mrs. Edith Dankwa, expectations, recommendations and timelines from the forum will be presented to government in a communiqué to kick-start a five-year running theme that will annually assess the progress made by government and the private sector toward the agenda of a Ghanaian-owned economy.

Mrs. Dankwa added that discussions at this year’s forum will set the agenda that will inform the creation of effective and sustainable interventions that will put the country’s development into the hands of its people.

“It is the strength of public and private sector institutions and organisations within the country that reflects its economic well-being, and to a large extent its global competitiveness. GEF 2015 will seek to consider new ideas for solving age-old problems. Speakers and participants will consider both the small and significant improvements that can be adopted in pursuing the right strategy.

“This year, we will follow up the forum’s outcome to ensure that the recommendations are implemented. We don’t have all the solutions, but the little that we are able to come out with should be implemented,” she concluded.

Managing Director of Access Bank Dolapo Ogundimu, whose outfit is for the third year running leading the discussions, said the Forum falls in line with the bank’s strategy of being a catalyst for socio-economic development.

Highlighting Access Bank’s support, the Managing Director Mr. Dolapo Ogundimu said: “As a flag-bearer for responsible business, we’re continually creating viable platforms to promote national discourse for development. Our goal is to actively work with the public sector and other stakeholders in the private sector to create policies and programmes that will lead to economic prosperity”.

Mr. Ogundimu further noted the yearly deliberations have helped develop the economic forum into a platform for contemporary discussion and unrivalled networking. “We look forward to facilitating development in Ghana for many more years to come,” he concluded.

The Ghana Economic Forum has since its inception set the agenda for public discourse on key issues pertaining to the Ghanaian Economy. Stakeholders at this year’s forum will trade ideas on how Ghanaians can collectively take ownership of the economy and contribute to making it a success.