The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, John Gyetuah, has raised concerns about the struggle by developing countries to put together policies and strategies aimed at correcting fiscal imbalances and other balance of payment problems that their economies have experienced. He regretted that many of these policies and strategies have not transformed these economies to the desired and envisaged levels of growth. Mr Gyetuah said this during the opening of a two-day stakeholders workshop aimed at enhancing the role of domestic financial resources in Africa’s Development held by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry at M-Plaza Hotel in Accra. According to the Deputy minister, increased foreign aid and other forms of external financial assistance were touted as being the panacea to correcting some of the imbalances, which he said led to most African countries resorting to programmes of external financial institutions as the only source of hope without widening the scope for mobilizing other forms of revenue internally. “The development agenda of Ghana and other countries of the African region require that government devises new ways of mobilizing the needed financial resources that will drive a growth agenda and achieve poverty alleviation” he said. He further stressed on need to increase infrastructural facilities like roads, rail, networks, schools and health facilities. These facilities, he explained, requires huge financial and capital outlays that cannot be provided by government alone hence his petition to the private sector to partner government in this direction and also help to device the right public-private partnerships in order to fashion out new ways of mobilizing sustainable domestic financial resources that would benefit both the private and public sectors. A representative of UNCTAD, Mr. Samuel Gayi, in his remark advised that public resources should be directed to the most pressing need of the population and the most productive investments to enhance growth, development and also reduce poverty. He added that the tendency to allocate resources solely based on political objectives should give way to economic efficiency consideration. The two day workshop has representations from the municipal and district assemblies, the revenue agencies, the donor community, the civil society and the private sector. Story by Asempa FM/Ghana