The World Bank Country Director, Mr Mats Karlsson, has said the country is on course to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of its peers given the good macro-economic stability of the economy. He said achieving the MGD "is within range" adding that "we need to take all the opportunities and actions to ensure accelerated growth". Mr Karlsson stated that with the current situation regarding next year's polls, there was the need to take bold and decisive actions that would not derail the progress so far made. Mr Karlsson made these remarks at the World Bank's Development Dialogue Series held in Accra on Monday. The three-day dialogue series is on the theme "Meeting the Challenges of Accelerated and Shared Growth in Ghana". The dialogue was also to launch a comprehensive report on the Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) Dissemination. He expressed optimism that the country could be the first among its peers to achieve the MDGs if the country could sustain its momentum of growth. Mr Karlsson, however, said there were challenges that confronted the country such as the energy crisis and the large infrastructural gap that needed to be filled. He said reaching the international markets was a good step but pointed out that it came with challenges adding that "let’s focus on how we can accelerate growth by taking actions that make a real difference". The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, stated that infrastructural gaps, especially in energy, water and sanitation, needed to be addressed. He said "the energy crisis has threatened the viability of many businesses, especially the manufacturing sector, which shows how much more work we have on our hands". The minister said the government, with the assistance of the former United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, was in touch with the Norwegian government to draw on their expertise in addressing the emerging oil discovery, its regulatory issues and other relevant matters. "We need to overcome these constraints that remove us from our ultimate goals by continuing to improve on the overall policy environment in key areas", the minister stated. The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Paul Acquah, stated that the central bank was developing a strategic integrated framework for the development of the financial sector in the country. He said the framework would add the micro and small operators to the global financial system to ensure the development of the economy. Dr Acquah said evidence available indicated that all emerging economies had been able to achieve success with low inflation and that achieving a macro-economic stability was not sufficient to achieve growth and development. He said there was the need to address the infrastructural gaps, ensure good economic management as well as deepen macro economic stability. The Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), Dr Joe Abbey, stated that there was the need to extend the cocoa hi-tech programme to cover other agricultural products to make the country reap the benefits of high prices on the international market. Mr. Kwame Pianim, the Chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), said there was the need to adopt the CEM report and implement it to suit the Ghanaian situation. The World Bank Development Dialogue series which started following a meeting with President Kufuor in February 2006, was aimed at promoting vibrant policy discourse on the country's development agenda to engage stakeholders in the country's economic policies. Source: Daily Graphic/Boahene Asamoah