Accra, Nov. 6, GNA - The Government has taken pragmatic steps in stabilizing the economy that is promoting the current trend of growth, Ms. Gifty Ohene-Konadu, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry, Presidential Special Initiative said on Tuesday.

This, she said had made Ghana the preferred sources of domestic financial resource for enterprises to achieve a diversified domestic financial sector within a competitive environment.

Speaking at the maiden Banking and Insurance fair in Accra, Miss Ohene-Konadu said the passage of the Insurance Bill, Foreign Exchange and the Credit Reporting Act signified the seriousness government attached to the growth of the financial sector.

The fair, organised by Media and Film Ghana limited in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, National theatre is aimed at inculcating in Ghanaians the culture of saving and patronizing insurance policies. It is also to give financial operators an insight into the kind of services they need to provide to meet the expectation of their customers.

Mrs. Ohene-Konadu observed that the lack of adequate and affordable

funding was still a major problem for the non-financial export sector. " It is in this regard that the role of financial institutions as a provider of financial resources for the development and promotion of export becomes very critical in our overall national development agenda".

Such institutions, she said, needed to package their products and send them to the doorsteps of the disadvantaged communities. Mr Samuel Ogyiri Sackey, Executive Director of Media and Film Ghana Limited said a street video research his outfit conducted revealed that over 70 percent of Ghanaians did not save with banks while 80 percent were also ignorant about insurance.

The Ghanaian society, he said, was one, which saw only the rich patronizing banking and insurance, but greater percentages of monies in circulation were in the pockets of those in the informal sector. "Many small and medium scale businesses need to understand the work of financial counterparts and also secure loans but do not know the procedure in accessing them and the fair would be a platform for such organisations and individuals," he said.

Mr Isaac Yaw Buabeng, Marketing Manager of the National Insurance Commission said with the research findings, the fair came in handy to create an insurance consciousness among Ghanaians. He appealed to the public to comply with the provision of the Insurance Act 2006 and insure themselves and their properties.