Some of the country’s development partners have rejected suggestions that they have deliberately withheld funds earmarked for supporting private businesses.

The second phase of the country’s 5-year Private Sector Development Strategy has stalled because of donor funds which have since 2010 been held back. As part of measures to address the situation, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has begun holding meetings with some of the country’s development partners for assistance. 

Speaking with JOY BUSINESS after the maiden edition of the meetings, the sector minister Dr. Ekwow Spio Garbrah said the private sector could soon get the needed funding as soon as the areas of priority are agreed on.

“We hope to find a common ground on some of the programmes that we’re involved in which they could support and also we’ll learn of things that they are doing where the ministry could benefit.  We expect them to make commitments of specific amounts of money to help the Ministry of Trade and Industry to promote the private sector as the engine of growth for the economy.

"The Danish government has already indicated that they have a certain amount of money that they can help the ministry with, in the private sector development strategy II between now and December and it’s a matter with the Ministry coming out with the priorities that we believe they should support us with.

"The British government through the DFID – the Department for International Development also just announced their willingness to support us with certain funds for some of the programmes that we have, and as we go round the presentations and go round the room, we expect that the European Union, the USAID, the Japanese, the Swiss and others will also indicate the support they can give,” he said.

The Programmes Officer responsible for Private Sector Development at DANIDA with the Danish Embassy in Ghana Emmanuel Kojo Sackey said the funds have been disbursed to programmes that are operational.

“We support business advocacy, we support the skills development fund, we support agricultural value chain facilities, we support rural finance. DANIDA’s funds in support of private sector development were earmarked in 2010 and it’s been used to support different institutions and different components”.

Asked why they have locked funds aimed at supporting the PSDS, he added, “Our funds have not been locked in anyway, I should be frank with you and say that our budget for the the PSDS in 2010 was in excess of 20million dollars but because of non-implementation the funds have been reallocated to other components in the country that were working well and needed more funds such as the Skills Development  Fund, the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund – BUSAC, the Rural Finance Component and a lot more that we’re doing within the private sector space”