A Deputy Governor at the Bank of Ghana says it is time policy makers reconsidered public policies and regulations which stifle the growth of small and medium scale enterprises. Millson Narh said it is important that policy makers ensure that small businesses are not disadvantaged by regulations in the business community. He said this in a speech read on his behalf by a chief manager at the central bank, Johnson Asiamah, at a workshop for SME clients of Eximguaranty, a financial institution, in Accra last week. “There is no doubt that there are market failures that create cost disadvantages for SMEs, restrict their access to markets , and inhibit the development of markets for a diverse range of services for small firms,” he said. “There is therefore the need to address transactional efficiency in financial, product, and input markets relevant to SMEs, by facilitating access to information and developing mechanisms to manage risk. It is also important to reconsider public policies and regulations that discriminate against small firms or produce fixed costs that create a competitive disadvantage for them. “…we need to invest in public goods that open market access and build enterprise competitiveness including infrastructure such as information, communications, power, water, and transport, as well as education and technology development.” Mr Narh said traditional measures used to strengthen SMEs must be supported with other policies that will make small businesses more competitive. “The emerging view is that the traditional measures used for promoting SME development such as direct and subsidized provision of credit to SMEs will have to be complemented with emphasis on creating an enabling environment for SME competitiveness and on developing markets for SME-relevant services. Moreover, the focus must be to broaden the coverage and impact of government programs by using the private sector to deliver services and to use scarce public resources to facilitate market transactions and invest in public goods,” he emphasized. The deputy BoG governor stressed that the bank would continue to ensure a more resilient economy awash with opportunities for growth. This, he hinted, would be executed in collaboration by continuing to pursue institutional, legal and regulatory reforms. He said the central bank’s policies have been aimed at ensuring that prices are stable and ensuring a more competitive banking sector. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana