WORKSHOP ON PROMOTING BUSINESS ASSOCIATION ENDS (PAGE 22, NOV 12, 2010)

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has observed that for the private sector to be the engine of growth, intermediary organisations such as trade and business associations (TBS) should act as the voice of the sector.
   He stressed that private businesses have to organise themselves into strong associations and through advocacy, use them as platforms to articulate their concerns for the attention of policy-makers at the national, regional and district levels.
“They can advise government on the adoption of prudent economic policies that will create the appropriate environment for private sector growth and development. The TBAs should strengthen the capacity of the private sector and determine policy as well as the allocation of resources,’’ Mr Nyamekye-Marfo suggested.
 The Regional Minister made the observation in a speech read on his behalf at a workshop in Sunyani on “Promoting Business Associations in Ghana”, which was organised by the Private Enterprises Foundation (PEF).
Sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the workshop was aimed at improving the membership and capacity of trade and business associations.
   The workshop explored the current status of trade and business, inhibition factors in attaining optimal membership of trade and business associations and the potential roles of leadership and membership of trade and business associations, the state and other civil society organisations, among other objectives.
  According to Mr Nyamekye-Marfo, TBAs in Ghana were weak, poorly funded and lacked research and lobbying capacity.
He, however, expressed satisfaction that the workshop would strengthen the associations to enable them to have a strong and coherent voice to effectively play their role in the development process and also contribute towards the achievement of the government’s ‘‘Better Ghana’’ agenda.
 The Regional Minister stated that the government’s support for active trade associations was premised on the knowledge that TBAs the world over, had the potential to facilitate the development of a strong private sector by representing the interest of businesses and providing support for members.
  The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KAB Governance Consult, Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu, who presented a paper on ‘‘The case for strengthening business associations,’’ said the policy environment remained relatively weak for the private sector in spite of the government’s declared commitment to private sector development.
 He suggested that the leadership of business associations should strive for a strong voice in the determination of policy and the allocation of resources, adding that strengthening business associations was a shared responsibility.
  According to Mr Badu, Ghanaian business associations had the potential to become a force to reckon with in the national arena but noted that what was required were effective leadership and the need for PEF to rise to the challenge and offer the required leadership.
The acting Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mr Saeed Owusu-Brobbey, in a speech read on his behalf, said in the current competitive business world, it was almost impossible for any small scale entrepreneur to survive as an individual.
  He said the resources of an individual alone might not be enough to enable him or her to compete effectively with the larger business concerns which made use of modern and complex scientific methods in production.