1st LED Roundtable
The “Local Economic Development” Event
The first in the series of the roundtable discussions was organized on November 9, 2016 at Cleaver House, Accra. The discussion was led by professional and experienced development experts (appendix I). Participants were from selected stakeholder institutions of the public and private sectors, civil society, traditional leaders, NGOs and donor partners (appendix II).
Participation at the event was very impressive with nearly all key stakeholders participating. The discussions were conducted in plenary and thematic group sessions (appendix III).
The roundtable discussion was to provide a semi-formal opportunity for brainstorming and contributing ideas towards addressing the existing gaps in LED policy and implementation in Ghana.
In an introductory statement, the CEO of SPV, Adwoa Buahema Christian said though Ghana has an LED policy in place more needs to be done about its implementation, adding that with so many changes happening worldwide, the 21 century provides a good opportunity for countries like Ghana to work towards advancing LED. She expressed satisfaction with the participation of representatives from the NDPC as a critical stakeholder in providing the broad framework for LED policy formulation.
She reminded participants that soon countries of the developed world may be “shutting their doors to developing countries”, reiterating “we must learn to do things for ourselves so that our children do not have to go knocking on doors to get the basic comforts of life.” She urged participants to be guided by what has already been done in LED, interrogate what more needs to be done to get private sector fully engaged, and work together to promote the private sector to lead and drive the process of development.
Event Gallery
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank our sponsors – The Ghana Free Zones Board and the Rural Enterprises Programme – whose forward thinking posture provided, not only funding, but also relevant information and made it possible for us to roll out this important process; also the National Board for Small Scale Industries for partnering the event, particularly Board members who participated in the discussions.
I extend gratitude to all speakers: Dr. J.K. Mensah, Mr. Edem Senanu, and David Ofosu-Dorte Esq.; our resource persons Mr. Fiifi Baidoo and Ms. Jeannette Quarcoopome; to Mrs. Mangowa Ghanney who challenged me with critical questions to help crystalize this idea into a process; and to my team member Shirley Ama Quist-Thompson for exceptional technical management and support. And finally, ‘ayekoo’ goes to all the participants whose invaluable insights and contributions have helped in no small way to define the way forward on how private sector’s participation in LED may be leveraged to hone the effectiveness of the policy in Ghana.
Ewradwoa Buahema Christian
CEO, Shear Power Ventures
2016