An 11-member Advisory Board for the Finance Ministry (MoF) has been inaugurated at a ceremony held at the Conference Room of the Ministry. The Board was established in accordance with Section 39 of the Civil Service Act, 1993, (PNDC Law 327), which states, that all Ministries are mandated to establish Ministerial Advisory Boards. According to the Act, the purpose of the Advisory Board is to promote constant interaction between the Ministry and its stakeholders and provide advice on policies and operational strategies. The Board is chaired by the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta and includes Charles Adu Boahen, Kwaku Kwarteng, Abena Osei-Asare and Patrick Nomo. Other members are Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Mr. Kwasi Agyei, Madam Kosi Yankey, Rev. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi and Prof. Stephen Adei. Speaking during the inauguration, Mr Ofori-Atta said the Ministry is responsible for economic policy management for the achievement of Macroeconomic Stability and sustainable growth, through sound fiscal policy and the deployment of an efficient Public Financial Management System. He added that by virtue of this responsibility to promote economic growth, the Ministry of Finance has an interest in all major Government interventions because most of these have fiscal implications and impact economic development. He, therefore, urged members of the Board to respond to this call to serve and be committed to ensure that the policies and programmes of the Ministry deliver the expected outcomes. He welcomed the opportunity to work with the board members who represent some of the Ministry’s key stakeholders, to enrich decision making whilst strengthening their working relationship. Mr Ofori-Atta outlined the performance and achievements of the Ministry for the year 2017, without leaving out the challenges that still remained to be tackled. “I am proud to say that provisional data shows that we were able to achieve our 2017 targets for the key macroeconomic indicators and thus pave the way for a much brighter future for our people”. For the year 2018, he indicated that the Ministry intends to consolidate the gains made in the previous year and outlined the following ambitious targets, namely, overall Real GDP growth of 6.8%; overall fiscal deficit of 4.5% of GDP; a debt to debt ratio > 70% of GDP; gross foreign assets to cover 3.5 months of imports; a primary balance of 1.6% of GDP and end year inflation of 9.8%. He said the above, in addition to policy measures in the 2018 budget, will go a long way to support Government’s efforts to bolster investment in the real sector, enhance private sector competitiveness, create jobs and provide equal opportunities for all Ghanaians. “This is in line with governments transformation agenda ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ espoused by the president in his independence day Speech” he stressed. On behalf of the other board members, Prof. Adei expressed his gratitude for the honour to serve the country and pledged their full support to the work ahead. In attendance were Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, Director, Economic Research and Forecasting Division (ERFD); Sampson Akligoh, Acting Director, Financial Sector Division (FSD); Felicia Gyamfi Ashley, Technical Advisor, all of the Ministry, among others.