Enhancing Private Sector Development in Ghana: Policies, Challenges, and the Role of the Private Sector in the Development of Ghana.

This paper aims to bring to light policies that have been geared towards the private sector in Ghana over the years and to highlight the contributions of the private sector to Ghana’s development as well as the challenges that stifle the growth of the sector. It also highlights the evolution of the development discourse on private sector development. Documentary research method and secondary data from the Ghana Statistical Service were employed. The paper reveals that the private sector accounts for about 87.7% of jobs in Ghana’s industry and close to 85 % of jobs in the private sector are on permanent basis as against 15% in the public sector. Also, average earnings in the private sector are relatively higher compared to the public sector. Lastly, in as much as policies have been instituted to propel the growth of the private sector, there are still several bottlenecks that impede the growth of the private sector in Ghana. Hence, policy makers must continue to create a business-friendly environment for the private sector to flourish. Also, policy interventions geared at the private sector must take into consideration the size, location, and business sector of enterprises. The paper is relevant for policy makers as it draws attention to both what has been done and what still needs to be done to make the private sector in Ghana viable.