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Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, on Wednesday said government was embarking on structural reforms that would enhance the economy to withstand externally induced economic shocks. He said short-to medium-term measures which included enhancing revenue through improved tax policy and administration and the improvement of cash and expenditure management through the establishment of a Single Treasury Account, as well as improved budget management systems to contain the immediate impact of the global economic recession would be adopted. Dr Duffuor announced these in a speech read on his behalf, at a forum organised by the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare (MESW) in Accra. The forum was to offer stakeholders in labour an opportunity to deliberate on the relevant conclusions reached at the 98th Session of International Labour Organization (ILO) Conference held in Geneva in June this year. The issues included the global economic crisis and impact on jobs, new developments to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the workplace, gender and employment in Ghana and labour standards and fundamental principles and rights at work. Dr Duffuor said the global economic crisis that drove the Global Job Pact had some severe repercussions on Ghana�s economy, but the situation was showing significant improvement in stability and resilience as indicated in the recent Mid-Year Budget Review submitted to Parliament. He said government intended to introduce public sector reforms to contain the fiscal burden of the public sector payroll and further reduce the fiscal risk of state-owned enterprises in the energy sector through a comprehensive financial restructuring of the Volta River Authority, Electricity Company of Ghana and GRIDCO. The Finance Minister said government expected inflation to show significant moderation during the second half of the year as a result of the application of strong fiscal management and an anticipated good food harvests to enhance employment and build adequate social protection consistent with the Global Jobs Compact. Dr Duffuor said government had shown its commitment to the reinforcement and enhancement existing social protection systems. He mentioned the measures including a 50 per cent increase in the Capitation Grant from three Ghana cedis to four Ghana cedis 50 pesewas, making the textile industry the anchor of the implementation of the school uniform programme for basic schools in deprived areas and providing financial support for the youth indulged in the cultivation of food crops such as maize, rice, sorghum and soya beans. �On the labour front, government has successfully negotiated wage settlements with the public sector and is working towards the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2010,� The Minister said. Dr Duffuor explained that prior to the crisis, Ghana�s economy had already been exposed to external economic shocks and periods of relative stability and steady growth were often interrupted by severe external shocks. He said the impacts of these external shocks were sometimes compounded by poor domestic policies.