An Economist Dr. Appiah Kubi says various policies to address the challenges of Ghana’s informal sector have failed. He noted that though a number of policies and programmes can be found in Poverty Reduction Strategy documents, the problems of the informal sector still exist. Dr. Kubi cited the ongoing decongestion exercise by the metropolitan authorities, improper definition of the informal sector and the lack of a holistic policy to tackle the challenges facing the sector as some reasons why policy initiatives have so far failed. He said Ghana could draw lessons from Durban in South Africa and cities in India to address concerns facing the informal sector. Dr. Kubi also suggested that the vision for the informal sector should be included in the planning of cities as well as the national economy. He said in the post apartheid era, South Africa had problems such as the AMA and other cities face currently, dealing with the management of informal trade. He said the city of Durban “developed a comprehensive policy to guide the management and support of workers in the informal economy. “The existence of a policy implementation team; they created a whole department with a planning and policy division. They provided resources to pilot the project, it also provided support services for small traders...” Dr Appiah Kubi who is the head of the Economic Division of the Institute of Statistical Social and Economist Research ‘ISSER’ was speaking at the Institute’s series of lectures on the economy and the informal sector. The lectures, supported by Merchant bank are a regular forum to discuss issues of interest to the country’s growth. The informal sector, to many economists, is the heart of Ghana’s economy.