Accra, Nov. 18, GNA - Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Wednesday stressed the need to develop incentive packages into the private sector to revamp it as an engine of growth for Ghana's economy.

He said it was imperative for Ghana to make headway in addressing some key growth challenges including equity and sustainability for the Government to continue creating an enabling environment for investment. The challenges include necessary policy programmes, appropriate legal, social and regulatory framework for private sector investment. Dr Duffuor announc ed this when presenting the 2010 Budget to Parliament in Accra.

He said the Government's strategies to develop the private sector included promoting public-private partnerships to accelerate the development and implementation of policies as well as the necessary legal and technical standards to support widespread implementation of e-commerce.

Other strategies are creating a diversified, innovative and fully integrated industrial sector with active participation of the private sector; reducing the economic and non-economic cost of doing business to enable the private sector to flourish; and enhancing the quality of dialogue with the private sector on macro-economic policy.

The Finance Minister said the Government would develop and implement training programmes for key decision makers and policy formulators on the role of private sector in the country.

He explained that the training would enhance the capacity of the public sector to make effective pro-private sector and pro-market decisions to support private sector development.

Dr Duffuor stressed that the Government would continue to undertake initiatives to enhance competence and capacity at the firm level, which would include the provision of business support and training, the extension of micro-credit, venture capital and export credit facilities to businesses. "Government would in 2010 complete and launch an Industrial Policy which would focus on the development of small, medium and micro-enterprises to ensure Ghanaian entrepreneurs perform to the best of their abilities," he said.