2021 Fiscal Year: Here are the key sectors an economist wants government to prioritize

• Government has been admonished to focus on some key sectors of the economy for the remainder of the 2021 fiscal year

• Prof. Quartey believes agriculture, infrastructure and construction could propel growth in the economy

•Government is currently banking on the Ghana CARES programme to revive the economy

Government has been admonished to focus on some key sectors of the economy for the remainder of the 2021 fiscal year.

The sectors, according to an Economist at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Professor Peter Quartey, the major sectors include agriculture, infrastructure and construction.

Prof Quartey believes these key sectors when well prioritized will significantly propel growth and develop the Ghanaian economy.

“Despite COVID-19, we have still been able to reverse the recession that was recorded in the last quarter after COVID struck. We have seen the economy grow at 0.4 % in 2020 and we are told that we are seventh in Africa when it comes to the growth figures so I think the economy is recovering gradually from the recession,” he said.

“Focus should be on providing the enabling environment for these critical sectors to thrive including agriculture modernisation, agriculture credit, the value chain process in agriculture, access to credit, infrastructure and many other areas. The areas in which we see challenges have to do with construction, where there was a decline. But it is also picking up quite rapidly so I expect the government to focus more on providing infrastructure. So, I expect the government to focus more on providing infrastructure in terms of providing access roads and many others”.

Prof Quartey made this known in an interaction with Citi Business News monitored by GhanaWeb.

Government in its 2021 budget statement has set a growth target of five percent by the end of the year with its sight of reaching an end-point consumer inflation rate of eight percent, plus or minus two percent.

Meanwhile, government is banking on the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) programme to revive the economy from the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic.