Ministry of Finance launches first basic PPP course

Government has adopted Private Partnership Programme (PPP) as an option to leverage private sector funding for infrastructure development, Mrs Magdalene Apenteng, Director of the Public Investment Division of the Ministry of Finance, has said.

This, she said, is being done with a consistent and well organizsd focus in developing a pipeline of bankable projects, an interactive and continuous capacity building framework and a comprehensive communication plan.

Mrs Apenteng was speaking at the launch of the first PPP basic course in Accra, which brought together staff of some selected ministries and the private sector.

The Ministry has been implementing the PPP over the last three years after the development and launching of the in 2011.

Mrs Apenteng said the PPP Programme is central to government's development agenda as it would help to accelerate development and the provision of critical infrastructure.

“It also serves as a vehicle to promote the indigenous Ghanaian private sector as well as deepen its involvement in the overall development of the country.”

She said the launch of the course is part of government's continuing efforts to promote the understanding of the PPP concept and to galvanise support to provide better public infrastructure and services.

PPP is also expected to improve, timely provision of infrastructure and services to assist in the overall development of the country.

The Director added that there is always the need to create an appropriate environment for growth of PPPs through effective consultations with various stakeholders involved in to promote a common understanding of the concept in national development.

Mrs Dora Dei-Tumi, Principal of the Civil Service Training Centre (CSTC), said as a public service training institution, which operates as a citadel of Knowledge for adult learning, “we have focused on developing the functional effectiveness and efficiency of personnel in the Civil and Public services through the delivery of leading edge courses.”

She said this is to ensure that patrons of the courses remain informed and relevant to their organisations.

She said it is against this backdrop that CSTC entered into collaboration with the Public Investment Division (PID) of the Ministry to develop the course, which has been endorsed by the government.

Mrs Dei-Tumi said the PPP is relatively a new experience in most developing countries of the world, especially Africa and that the course therefore meant to be the first step in building the capacity of various stakeholders.

Nana K Agyekum Dwamena, Head of Civil Service, said his outfit would continue to liaise with the Finance Ministry to provide civil servants with technical support to partner meaningful private sector organisations for productive economic growth.

This he said will be beneficial to the entire civil servants in discharging their duties to promote economic and infrastructural development in the country and also create an enabling opportunity for them to learn more about PPP.