Ghana launches Investment Monitoring Platform
Mr P.V. Obeng, Chairman of National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Wednesday called on investment promotion agencies to train their staff to meet international standards in their service delivery.
He tasked them to operate like marketers with the flexibility, flair and professional skills needed to efficiently meet demands in the investment sector.
Mr Obeng made the call at the launch of Investment Monitoring Platform (IMP) in Accra.
The IMP survey project is designed to provide a means for participating countries to assess their own needs for improving investment climate and design the required interventions.
In addition, it provides a tool for introducing empirical analyses that enable African intermediary organisations to improve their advocacy function as well as their performance in stimulating investment into productive sectors.
The survey project is designed in response to needs assessments conducted over a seven year period, since the inception of United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO)’s African Investment Promotion Agency Network Programme, and also takes into consideration the assessments conducted by other international organisations.
The IMP is useful in enabling cross-country comparisons on the operating performance of enterprises.
It also provides data which enable the Monitoring Platform to be a common base upon, which collaborative decisions between companies and other stakeholders can be made as well as giving participating institutions the platform to assess new changes in regional trade conditions, influence investment patterns and to identify regional opportunities and growth areas.
Mr Obeng expressed worry that very little had been done to target investment promotion, stressing that there was the need for strategic targeting, especially of companies who by themselves were looking for opportunities to expand.
Nana Owusu Afari, President of Association of Ghanaian Industries (AGI) challenged local companies to build their capacities to assume the “commanding heights of the economy.”
Nana Osei-Bonsu, Director General of Private Enterprise Foundation announced that his outfit was in the process of developing an internet-based empirical research tool to provide assistance to players in the sector.
He expressed disquiet that technical skills and financial resources constraint made it challenging for the private sector to compete with overseas competitors.
Mr Stefan Kratzsch, Investment Development Officer of Investment and Technology Unit of UNIDO, Vienna Austria, expressed confidence that IMP could assist in assessing how Foreign Direct Investment could be used as a catalyst for industrial growth.
Source: GNA