By Lydia Kukua Asamoah, GNA
Accra, Nov. 15, GNA – Government has worked
very hard to reverse the deteriorating macroeconomic environment it inherited,
Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, has said.
Presenting the 2020 Budget Statement and
Economic Policy to Parliament in Accra on Wednesday, the Minister said,
government has reduced inflation and interest rates, stabilised the exchange
rate, restored sanity in the financial sector and introduced large scale social
intervention programmes.
He said education and smallholder
agricultural initiatives such as planting and rearing for food and jobs, among
others were the prerequisites for private sector-led growth and job creation,
and these are were areas developed by the state.
He said in the effort to provide a private
sector credit delivery, it would from 2020, begin major interventions to boost
private sector credit to support all segments of the business community.
He said government would partner with
Fintech companies, local banks and mobile money operators to deliver micro
credit to Ghanaian businesses and individuals in the coming year.
“This intervention is expected to deliver
quick loans on favourable terms using technology driven platforms to do the
credit assessment.
“This initiative is in line with
government’s digitization agenda and offers an opportunity for MSMEs to apply
for loans on their mobile phones with minimal human intervention.
“The initiative will go live by 2020. The
benefits of this intervention include the provision of needed micro capital for
business expansion and capital expenditures.
“It will also support the working capital
needs of small Ghanaian businesses.
“Our market women will be able to access
credit using their mobile money wallets to stock up goods in order to sell more.
The initiative is expected to increase
productivity and profitability as well as contribute to job creation. This is
in direct response to our findings from the nationwide survey, the Minister
said.
He said as part of government’s support for
Long Term Institutional Investors and to encourage the establishment of Private
Equity, Venture Capital and Mutual Funds, which would improve the ecosystem for
start-ups, the current application of VAT on management fees for these funds
would be abolished; as this discouraged institutional and angel investors, both
local and foreign, from investing in such critical funds for private sector
growth.
“This will improve the accumulation of
long-term funds in the economy to support growth and jobs”, he said.
GNA
