The five day conference, which started on October 26, in Takoradi was themed, “Harnessing local opportunities, International Expertise and Resources to accelerate Ghana’s PPP Agenda”.
Mr Michael N. A. Cobblah, the Chief Executive Officer of C-NERGY Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of CGH said the conference was necessary because the PPP ensures that development should not be a responsibility of only the government but also that of Private entities.
He mentioned opportunities, knowledge and resource mobilization as the three key things that the conference would consider to contribute to the development of the country and beyond.
“We must work hard to make our country and region an investment friendly destination before others take advantage of our resources and opportunities”, he said.
Mr Cobblah said a team of resource persons and professionals have been assembled to deploy case studies and network opportunities to help set the development milestones the PPP has targeted.
He said the conference was the largest gathering of private individuals, institutions, governments and development partners.
He stressed that it seeks to connect the interest of public and private sectors in Sub Saharan Africa and the world at large by primarily steering the framework for implementation and attracting investors for PPP projects.
The CEO disclosed that the conference identified and would transform local opportunities into bankable PPP projects to promote economic growth and financial stability in the sub region and also harness those opportunities, as it taps the expertise of professionals across the globe, to attract both local and international capital.
Mr Cecil Okrah, a representative from the Ministry of Finance, who delivered a statement on behalf of the Minister said government’s across the sub-region seem to have a common focus of driving development through a strong PPP initiative that allows the public sector to tap into the financial and human capital of the private sector to promote development.
“While we push to do better, we recognize the competing demands on the national budget and continue to engineer new ways of meeting our infrastructure needs”. He said.
The Director said it is estimated that Ghana needs to spend at least $1.5 billion to close its infrastructure deficit, but the sector’s belief in PPP drove the nation to develop a national PPP Policy framework, which has been piloted with key infrastructure projects like the Boankra Inland Port.
He stressed that iconic infrastructure, including airports, ports and highways, delivered through PPP, are seen as models for development globally and the government does not intend to reinvent the wheel.
He noted that, it is the vision of the sector that the PPP arrangement will continue to offer government an additional tool to finance capital expenditure; grow the economy; increase employment opportunities; extend public services and reduce the burden on public finances.
The conference was sponsored by Tullow Ghana Limited and Ghana National Petroleum Commission and was attended by representatives from C-NERGY Ghana Limited, Ministry of Finance, Regional Ministers, Traditional Rulers, Private Sector Development and Industry experts across the sub-region.
GNA
