President John Dramani Mahama on Friday praised the private sector for its role in ensuring the accelerated growth and development in the country.

He said the bedrock of every country’s success is premised on the strength of its export sector and the extent to which it is diversified, adding that countries like Taiwan, Malaysia, India and China, among others, have transformed their economies through export.

President Mahama said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Public-Private Partnerships, at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority’s (GEPA) 23rd National Awards for Export Achievement.

The event was on the theme: “Providing sustainable motivation for export excellence”.

He said the economy of Ghana has over a period of more than two decades consistently witnessed a positive growth rate, adding that this back-to-back growth registered from 1986 culminated in the attainment of lower middle-income status in the year 2010.

The President said this positive performance was taken to a new level in the year 2011, when the country registered what is believed to be probably the highest growth rate in the world – a whopping 14.4 per cent growth rate in gross domestic product.

“Since then, our country has maintained its ranking among the top fastest growing economies in the world.

“Ghana improved from the 92nd position in 2009 to 63rd in 2012 on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index”.

“I am happy to say that the government’s partnership with the private sector has brought about this accelerated growth and development of the economy,” he said.

President Mahama said to support the private sector growth, the government has embarked on many targeted measures that would also make lives better for all Ghanaians.

He said an Overseas Development Institute report released in London this month, revealed that Ghana and Vietnam are the star performers in efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goal on cutting poverty and boosting health.

He said the Report stated that Ghana had reduced hunger by nearly three-quarters – from 34 per cent to nine per cent between 1990 and 2004 – an area in which it had outperformed all other countries around the world.

The President said the report also noted that Ghana is on course to be the first African country to achieve the Millennium goal of halving rates of poverty and hunger by 2015.

He said in our quest to maximize our oil exports, the government is putting up the necessary infrastructure such as a Deep Sea Port with a dedicated oil services facility and the rehabilitation of the Western railway corridor.

At the function, several companies and individuals who distinguished themselves in the export busy were honoured.

Mrs Juliana Opuni of Joekopan Enterprise was adjudged the best Woman Exporter of the year, her outfit deals in exporting vegetables.

Kasapreko Company Ltd, dealers in alcoholic beverage production was awarded the grand prize of Exporter of the year.

The company was able to retain over GH¢19 million profits from its product export in 2012.