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The Private Enterprise Foundation (PEP) has noted with concern the various comments and frustrations that different classes of consumers have expressed about the utility services in Ghana.     PEP recognized the seriousness of the developments and decided to undertake a very thorough review of the situation and to move on to finding the best steps to produce reliable remedies and results.

Agriculture is the main driving force behind Ghana's economy, accounting for approximately 42% of the country's GDP and employing 54% of its work force. Ghana is the world's largest cocoa producer after Cote d'Ivoire. Ghanaian cocoa is grown by small-holder farmers. cash crops are an agricultural crops which are grown for sale to return a profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family.

corporate governance is the set of arrangements through which organizations account to their stakeholders. Good corporate governance requires accountability to a broad stakeholder-group including shareholders, creditors, employees, customers, suppliers, and all categories of persons who come into contact with a company's day-to-day activities. This perspective on corporate governance is applicable to all kinds of firms irrespective of ownership structure,and requires organizations to balance interests of all stakeholders. Good corporate governance supports and sustains economic growth by promoting the efficient use of resources and by creating conditions   that attract both domestic and foreign investment.

The Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), under Component Two of the Ghana   Government

IUNDP Promoting Private Sector Development   Programme (PPSDP), organized a roundtable l e discussion   on Service) delivery by ECGIVRA to the Private Sector, on 4th  August 2003 at Novotel Hotel Accra.

In recent times the delivery of electricity, especially service to the private sector is observed to be fraught with major constraints leading to operational   difficulties for u se rs of e l ectricity. Pursuant to serving   the obligation   of PEF to service the needs of private   enterprises, PEF commissioned MAPO & Associates Ltd to conduct a study on the service d e li very of ECGIYRA to the private sector.  The study is expected to suggest recommendations for improving the quality of service.

The debate on privatizing state-run companies such as Ghana Water Company Limited, and making them more efficient has been going on for some time now. Until any concrete decision is taken, efforts have to be made to ensure efficient services delivery to tt1e private sector.

Water is one of the major inputs in industrial activities. Are the attitudes of the?

GWCL staff and the processes of service delivery supportive to the private sector in Ghana? If yes, how can we maintain the standards and work towards improvement? If no, what are the bottlenecks and the measures needed to make the firm's activities more supportive to the private sector than before?

Textile manufacturing in Ghana is an industry consisting of ginneries and textile mills producing batik, wax cloth, fancy printed cloth and Kente cloth. Firms have located in Ghana to serve local and regional markets with printed African patterned fabrics. The industry has shown signs of significant growth in recent years, promoting high-quality traditionally designed fabrics as "Made in Ghana" to niche markets, especially the US.
Ghanaian textile companies prefer to locate within designated industrial areas to take advantage of Ghana's free zone regime and stable operating environment.

PEF wishes to encourage small business units to come together to form larger business units, and so take advantage of the benefits of such units with respect to funding, management   expertise  and technology.The Ghanaian business scene is dominated by a large number of small "one-man" businesses that make quite a substantial contribution to the national economy.    However, such small businesses are highly constrained by limited access to funding, management expertise and efficient technology.Though the benefits of forming large business units with respect to funding, management expertise and technology are generally acknowledged, the local businesses still remain small and are unwilling to pool resources together to form larger business units.

Ghana with a population of over 20 million has only about 250,000 fixed telephone lines, mainly in Accra   and Kumasi. With the advent   of privatization in the   telecommunication sector, there are presently six operators providing voice telephony   and the number of telephone lines is said to have increased considerably. In spite of all these, the quality of reception is poor and a greater majority of people in the country are y et to have access to telephone services.  There   are also delays and difficulty in accessing   telephone liines by private businesses.  The problem of inadequate facilities and service delivery in the  sector  thus becomes pronounced.

Road transport is by far the dominant carrier of freight and passengers in Ghana’s land transport system. It carries over 95 percent of all passenger and freight traffic. Most communities, including the rural areas are accessible by road transport. The roads are classified under three categories: trunk roads, urban roads and feeder roads. The Ghana Highway Authority, established in 1974 has responsibility for developing and maintaining the country’s trunk road network totaling 13,367 km, which makes up 33 percent of Ghana’s total road network of 40,186 km. There are railway service connections in Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, and the major mining areas, to the sea ports.

Ghana's Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) seeks to influence "government policies and regulations in order to create an enabling environment for a private sector-led economic growth strategy and national development".   Associations are a group of people joined together for a shared purpose; in the case of business associations, the commonality is the business of members. Business Associations the world over have a potential to facilitate the development of a strong private sector by representing the interests of business and providing specific support to their members.  The recognition of this truism has informed the current drive of the Foundation to explore options available in strengthening business associations (used in this context to include trade associations). This is because the potential of business associations to contribute to a conducive policy environment would not be attained if the associations remain weak.

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