A senior fellow at the Institute of Economic affairs (IEA), Mr. Kwadwo Tutu has argued that the popularly-held belief that the private sector is the engine of economic growth will always remain a mirage, if proper policies are not put in place to capacitate it. He said the private sector is not being given the necessary push in an environment that would enable productive ventures to be created, especially since the government is not doing a good job of creating employment.

Mr. Tutu was speaking at a forum organized by the IEA in collaboration with the Center for Private Center Enterprise (CIPE) in Accra.

The forum provided a platform for discussions on what would kick-start a policy framework geared towards private sector development in Ghana ...

Mr. Michael Agyekum Addo, CEO of Kama industries who delivered a paper on "Consistency in Government Policy for the Private Sector" said some of the challenges bedeviling the sector include marketing, machinery, money, materials and manpower.

These challenges, according to him, can be combated when Ghanaians are educated to turn wayside businesses and street vendors into small scale industries, with the necessary governmental support.

Ghana's annual GDP is largely fuelled by the forces of a thriving private sector, but with most companies cutting down on their spending due to minimum or less support from the appropriate statutory sectors, they've been left home and dry.

The calls at the forum are coming at a time when the Ghanaian private sector is exhibiting ominous signs of recession.