President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the government is focused on getting the interest rates charged by banks and other financial institutions to drop to a single digit.
According to him, the interest rates in the country are still very high, despite the marginal reduction in the past few years.
In a meeting with officials from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) yesterday, the President said a single digit interest rate would be the “single most decisive breakthrough for the private sector”.
“The interest rates in Ghana are still relatively high. We are still in double digits interest rates in Ghana whereas what the Ghanaian private sector is looking at is single digit rates of interest,” he said.
The President sought the assistance of the IFC to help the government to address the problem which, according to him, would be a major boost for the private sector.
“The entrepreneurial capacity and capabilities of the Ghanaian is no longer an issue, it is well established, given the opportunity and the means. That capability is there.”
“But where does the entrepreneur turn to for the 50, 100, 200,000 dollar initial support? He goes to micro finance institutions who are taking not just an arm and a leg but both arms and legs in terms of interest rates” he said.
The President indicated that a single digit interest rate would help the agricultural and industrial sectors to expand and create more jobs for Ghanaians.
He expressed the government’s commitment to ensure fiscal rectitude and indicated that the legislation of the fiscal responsibility law would be strictly adhered to by his administration, no matter the constraints.
The Vice President of IFC, for the Middle East and Africa, Sergio Pimenta expressed the IFC’s commitment to help the government to reduce interest rates in the medium term to help grow the country’s economy.
He stressed the need for the country to ensure a more stable financial sector and expressed the corporation’s readiness to offer advisory and technical support for the government and the financial sector.
Mr Pimenta said the corporation was interested in supporting the development of the private sector to enable the sector lead the growth of the country’s economy.
“The main theme for us is how we can create more jobs and do it quickly,” he said and added that the IFC was interested in sectors such as agriculture and agribusiness.
He said the corporation was also interested in the manufacturing sector, energy, among others and commended the country’s investments in ICT.
BY YAW KYEI
