PRESIDENT’S MONTHLY INSIGHT – SEPTEMBER 2018

October 1, 2018 / Comments (0)

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The Day of German Unity (German: Tag der Deutschen Einheit), the national day of Germany, celebrated on the 3rd of October, commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990 when the goal of a united Germany, that originated in the middle of the 19th century, was fulfilled again. On this day the former GDR (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany to begin a new journey of statehood together. The public celebrations this year around the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate, where around one million visitors are expected, is headlined by the motto “Nur Mit Euch” (Only with You). This year’s celebration places emphasis on democracy that encourages participation and intervention.

The celebration of German Unity affords us the opportunity to take a kaleidoscopic look at the prospects for harnessing and increasing the relationship between private sector operators in Ghana and Germany. Germany has been of great support to the African continent and Ghana for instance has benefited immensely from their continued bilateral development cooperation with the long-standing development support being the new bilateral “Investment and Reform Partnership”, which was launched in December 2017 and brings additional 100 million Euros of German development funds to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in Ghana, and to foster private investment into renewable energy as well as vocational training in the energy sector. The Reform and Investment Partnership supports Germany’s commitments under the G-20 Compact with Africa Initiative launched in June 2017 in Berlin under Germany´s G-20 presidency. Ghana is one of 10 African countries to conclude the “Compact with Africa” partnership within the G-20 “Partnership with Africa” Initiative.

The G-20 Compact with Africa supports a new dynamic focused on the private sector. It relies on close interaction of the public and private sectors to open space for private investment. Compact countries are to pursue sound macroeconomic policies and invest in state capacity and good governance. They are to invest in deeper diagnostics of private sector constraints including through a systematic, sustained, and open dialogue with domestic and foreign private actors to pinpoint additional reforms that further reduce country risks and remove specific sector bottlenecks. G-20 governments encourage close engagement of G-20 private sector actors with Compact countries to help transform risk perceptions and identify new investment opportunities. Under the compact, International financial institutions, such as the International Finance Corporation, and other development finance institutions will support new investments with their instruments where risks remain too elevated.

The true implementation of the G-20 Compact with Africa should unleash more foreign direct investments into Ghana not just from our German friends but also from the rest of the G-20 countries. The GGEA implores Ghana to continue with this course.

 

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