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SDGs financing gap: Pres urges private sector to help provide $450bn

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the private sector to help address the US$450 billion finance gap needed for the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said although the finance gap was a challenge to the nation, it presented an opportunity to the private sector to lead the country’s efforts towards achieving the SDGs. 

President Akufo-Addo said this when he launched the Ghana Financing Roadmap for the realisation of the SDGs at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday. 

The ceremony was attended by business executives from top firms in the country and several others from across the globe via the internet. 

President Akufo-Addo expressed the government’s commitment to achieving the SDGs because the goals were at the heart of the development challenges confronting the country. 

The SDG, he said, would be the driving factors in formulating development policies

On the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on efforts to achieve the SDGs, the President said the pandemic had created new challenges and exacerbated the financing gap in the implementation of the SDGs.

To achieve the SDGs successfully, the President said the key considerations would be the scope, scale and quality of partnerships between the government and the private sector and the smart and innovative means of mobilising funds to support the implementation of the SDGs. 

President Akufo-Addo described Ghana as a good destination for doing business, adding, “We are ranked as the most stable political environment in West Africa, and the best place to do business in the region.” 

He highlighted the country’s democratic credentials and the commitment of the government to ensuring good governance and the rule of law and invited the investors to take advantage of the favourable conditions in the country. 

“We are blessed to have an entrepreneurial and dynamic youth population, who are very savvy with technology and innovation,” he said.

The President of the World Economic Forum, Borge Brende, who moderated the event via the internet, said although the global SDGs were geared towards eradicating poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic had rather increased the number of poor people living in the world. 

He stressed the need for the world to recover from the health, social and economic challenges created by the pandemic and work towards achieving the goals. 

BY YAW KYEI

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