The Government of Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to the use of Private-Public Partnerships (PPP).

The Government of Ghana has drafted a legal framework to govern the operations of PPP in Ghana, while an appropriate system for capacity building has also been designed by government, with the support of the World Bank, British Department for International Development (DfID) and several other development partners.

The framework comprises the objectives, scope, application, principles, institutional framework, project identification and preparation processes, solicitation, agreements, complaints, settlements of disputes and transitional procedures for PPPs in the country.

With the enactment of the law, later, this year, it is expected that a complementary set of documentation on regulations and guidelines as well as sector-specific entities would also be developed for the effective implementation of the law.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, made these known in an address delivered on his behalf at a Stakeholder Consultation Forum on the Draft PPP Law in Accra, last week.

The Stakeholder Consultation Forum was organised by the Public Investment Division (PID) of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

Mr Terkper noted US1 billion was required annually over the next decade if Ghana was to make up for the country's infrastructural deficit. He said this amount of money could not be met from budgetary resources alone.

In addition, Ms Appenteng (Director of the Public Investment Division) said the establishment of the Project Implementation Fund was also underway while standardized agreements and processes were also being put in place to facilitate the effective implementation of the law, when passed.

The Government of Ghana has marked down five priority areas for Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to accelerate achievement of developmental goals. The areas are energy, utilities, infrastructural development (particularly road networks, railroads and ports), housing and agribusiness.Sources: Government of Ghana I & II