The Ministry of Finance has assured Ghanaians of its readiness to assist in any way possible towards the full implementation and realization of a successful Public Private Partnership Program in Ghana.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Mona Quartey made the remark at a PPP sensitization forum for Civil Society Organizations on Wednesday.
According to her, government is ready to support any project that will bring result under a Public Private Partnership program.
The forum which formed part of series of sensitization fora and workshops being held across the country for stakeholders was organized by the Ministry of Finance through its Public Investment Division.
It was aimed at creating awareness, improve knowledge and understanding on PPPs and attract advocacy for PPPs at the national level.
Mrs. Mona Quartey said, “The Ministry of Finance is ready to provide all the assistance that will be needed to participate in the PPP process and clear any doubts that may be lingering in people’s minds”.
Referring to the PPP phenomena as a new area of development, Mrs. Quartey hinted it will require more attention from all stakeholders in order to make it a reality.
Mrs. Mona Quartey pledges governments’ unrelenting support to build capacity of all stakeholders involved to ensure a clear understanding of the PPP concept. Some of these capacity building exercises, she said, include study tours, workshops, and seminars, both within and outside the country.
The sensitization forum was on the theme: “leveraging PPP for accelerated national development; the role of the Civil Society Organizations”. About forty-one (41) participants drawn from selected Civil Society Organizations working in the areas of economy and development partook in the forum.
The PPP program is expected to serve as solution to Ghana’s infrastructure gap with the aim of achieving accelerated national development.
Addressing the infrastructure deficit currently faced by Ghana will require a minimum of 170,000 housing units to be built annually spreading over a 10-year period as indicated by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing in its report.
The 2010 African Infrastructure Country Diagnostic report also specified that addressing Ghana’s infrastructure gap will warrant a sustained spending of at least US$1.5 billion per annum over the next decade.
However given the limited budgetary resources at governments ‘disposal, the country’s deficit in infrastructure cannot be met by the public sector alone through the budget allocations.
It is therefore governments’ policy to encourage the use of Public-Private Partnership as a means of leveraging public resources and expertise in order to close the infrastructure gap and deliver efficient public infrastructure and services.
In this vein government through the Ministry of Finance is championing the implementation of the PPP.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Mona Quartey, said the PPP programme offers the opportunity to attract funding and expertise from the private sector to develop infrastructure and provide services on behalf of the government.
Source: myjoyonline