Professor Anthony addressing dignitaries
President of Knutsford University College, Professor Anthony Kwame Ahiawodzi has called on the government to leverage the private sector for more job creation.
Speaking at the inaugural lecture themed, “Assessing Efficiency of the Financial Sector in Ghana, and Implication of Growth; An Application of the Ahiawodzian Model” Professor Ahiawodzi was of the view that creating an enabling environment for the private sector brings benefits like job creation, stimulates economic growth, promotes competition leading to better quality service and generates the needed revenue for the government.
“The private sector must be empowered to be an engine of growth for the nation,” he said.
To attain this, Professor Anthony advised the government to invest in infrastructure development, offer tax subsidies streamline regulatory processes, and reduce the bureaucracy system in the country.
He asserted that using his model dubbed the “Ahiawodzian Model” to empirically assess the efficiency of Ghana’s financial sector between 1988 to 2023, it was revealed that the sector is not efficient because it is unable to mobilise enough financial resources, savings interest rates is very low as it has maintained it 7.63 % rate since 2021.
“Who will put his money in the bank with that modest interest rate, we have a corresponding interest rate which is highly negative. Average savings in Ghana is about 8.5% as compared to Singapore with about 20%. Lack of enough credit service for the private sector in Ghana is about 25% to 29% which is very low,” he said.
He added that the continuous depreciation of the local currency has contributed to the prevailing high inflation which is a threat to the progress of the financial sector, thereby advising the government to formulate policies to revert these challenges.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke