The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has honoured the Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia for his role in championing private sector development.

During its third Chamber Business Awards at the weekend, the GNCCI conferred an Honorary Membership on the Vice President in acknowledgement of his work in promoting the private sector.

Dr Bawumia was presented with a citation and decorated with a sash for his immense contribution towards the digitization of Ghana’s economy, GNA reports.

President of the Chamber, Nana Appiagyei Dankwawoso I said the conferment of the Honorary Membership was to encourage the Vice President to do more for the private sector.

This year’s event was held under the theme: “Digitising the Ghanaian Economy for Competitive Edge in Globalised Markets,” which attracted captains of industry, members of the Council of State, ministers of State, members of Parliament, development partners and the Diplomatic Community.

The Chamber Business Awards is designed to acknowledge and celebrate businesses and personalities who have demonstrated innovation and excellence in business practice as well as contributed towards the overall development of the Ghanaian economy.

Dr Bawumia said the theme for the celebration was apt since it was in tandem with the government’s vision of digitising the Ghanaian economy and make it globally competitive.

He said data was the “new oil” in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which enabled government and businesses to take the right decision.

In that regard, he said, the Akufo-Addo-led administration on assuming the reins of government undertook some initiatives such as the biometric national identity (Ghana Card), digital property address system and mobile money interoperability system, to digitise the Ghanaian economy.

President of the Chamber, Nana Appiagyei Dankwawoso I

Those initiatives, he said, were intended to promote the delivery of quality social services, enhance the ease of doing business, financial inclusion and reduce human contacts in business transactions that often breeds corruption.

The Vice President explained that those programmes were rolled out through public-private partnerships and lauded the Ghanaian private sector players for playing a pivotal role in implementing those programmes.

In January next year, Dr Bawumia said government would launch Ghana.gov, an online portal, which would enable businesses and individuals to access all government services electronically.

Vice President Bawumia commended the Chamber for protecting and promoting the commercial and industrial interests of businesses and expressed government’s commitment to pursue the right policy mix that would enhance growth and prosperity for the private sector.

Nana Dankawoso, the President of the Chamber, said for Ghanaian businesses to achieve global competitiveness, it required shared and collective responsibility of all stakeholders.

He, therefore, underlined the need to build the capacities of small-and-medium scale enterprises (SMEs) so that they would be innovative and responsive to the changing trends in the global marketplace.

“It is instructive that we encourage businesses to be more creative in the areas of marketing, packaging, branding, pricing, technology delivery and effective customer care,” he stated.

The President of GNCCI commended government for its digital initiatives and taking the bold step to host the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfFTA) Secretariat in Accra, which would inure to the benefit of Ghanaian businesses.