Government has been challenged to institute urgent measures to save the private sector from imminent collapse.

The Chief Executive Officer of KAMA Industries, Dr Michael Agyekum Addo, who made the call, noted that the current economic environment in the country is not conducive for the development of private sector. "The private sector is faced with numerous problems which do not give room for growth and expansion."

Dr. Agyekum Addo was speaking at a roundtable organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs(IEA) on the topic Towards a National Agenda to ensure Consistency in Government Policy for the Private Sector, in Accra, last week. The event organized in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) was on the theme Developing a Framework/Policy for the Private Sector in Ghana:

Manpower, raw-material, finance access, machinery and limited market are some of the problems of the private sector.

He noted that money to finance businesses in Ghana has been of major concern to entrepreneurs as they have limited access to credit. "The banks charge exorbitant interest on loans and therefore businesses run into debts, instead of making profits". This, he said, has prevented many businesses from accessing loans from the banks, compelling them to rely on their limited internally generated funds.

Dr. Agyekum Addo, pointed out that in the aftermath of the global crisis, the US has waved off interest on loans to allow the private sector to grow. UK and other European banks have also reduced interest rates to about one percent, but nothing of that sort has happened in Ghana, where the private sector is more distressed.

He also complained that most industries in the country are not able to access the Global Fund because of the stringent conditions attached to it. According to him, presently only World Health Organisation (WHO) certified companies can access the fund, limiting it to only few companies in Africa. To him, the Food and Drugs Board's certification should be the criterion for companies that want to access the Fund.

"The Global Fund is rather collapsing the local industries instead of helping them to grow. The Fund rather gives money to foreign companies which manufacture and bring cheap products to compete local industries, who borrow at very high interest rates to produce." For the sector to grow, problems relating to labour must be addressed, he added.

He also had a word for labour, "The attitude of employees is very important in business environment, and therefore, workers would have to change their attitude towards work. In Ghana the attitude of employees towards their work is not encouraging and that behaviour must change," he said.

He observed that since the skills of employees are very necessary for the success of every business and its expansion there is the need to build capacity of employees to help them function properly.

"The knowledge which we currently spend so much money and many years in school to acquire is not much. Most of it is not relevant to the jobs we do. So there is the need to restructure the curriculum of schools to suit the job market," the KAMA CEO observed.

On the material needs of the private business, he said land acquisition is a problem and many investors have been duped in their attempt to acquire lands. "Utilities and infrastructure are major problems for the businessmen. High electricity tariffs as well as unreliability of power, shortage of water supply, unreliable telephones, internet among others, all these according to him, cumulatively add up to high cost of running business.

He said poor infrastructure is another major hindrance in business operations, road networks are very poor and the worst is the railways "they do not even exist."

Citing his experience, he said the Kama Industry was trying to export some of its products to Togo, a neighbouring country, by sea but was told that after loading the ship, it has to sail to France before it comes back to Togo. "The cumbersome nature prevented us from entering into that venture," he explained.

Dr. Agyekum Addo stressed the need to focus on human resource development, streamline tax mechanism, improved access to electricity, water, road network and telephone must be of priority to the government.

"It is the duty of government to provide enabling environment for the private sector to grow the economy by expanding and creating employment, thereby reducing poverty in the country. About 80% of working population is in the private while only 20% are in the public sector and policy formulation".

He also called on the authorities to, as a matter of urgency, tailor the country's educational system to meet the needs of industries, direct efforts to promote made in Ghana goods and tasked government to ensure that commercial attach's to all embassies in the country help in the promotion of the private sector.