He said although Ghana has achieved an impressive macro-economic stability in the last few years, its aspiration of becoming a middle-income country by the year 2012 would not materialise unless it experienced rapid economic growth in the next few years.

Mr. Bartels was speaking at the weekly "Meet-the-Press" in Accra yesterday. He said his Ministry is working hard to improve on the environment within which businesses operate in Ghana to stimulate private sector investment and transform Ghana's large informal sector.

Government, he said, has made significant and steady progress in implementing reform initiatives needed to improve the environment within which businesses operate. These initiatives include improving on the cost of and access to credit, reducing the number of days to register a business, increasing private sector participation in infrastructure development and ensuring effective commercial dispute resolution.

Mr. Bartels said apart from these initiatives, the government has carried out institutional reforms on 42 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) whose activities have direct bearing on the environment in which the private sector operates.

He said the World Development Report, in its just released year 2006 Cost of Doing Business Report, ranked Ghana 82nd out of 155 countries as a good place for doing business. "While this may be below our expectation", the Minister said, "it represents a definite improvement in the country's business environment".

Mr. Bartels however noted that firms in Ghana have not been able to fully exploit the opportunities created to drive the growth of the economy. He urged Ghanaian business people to invest in their businesses to expand production and to ensure that their products meet international standards.

The Minister advised Ghanaians not to deem government's efforts at developing the private sector as a waste of effort. "Our joint objective should be to contribute towards creating and nurturing an internationally competitive private sector and a supportive public sector", he said.

Mr Bartels disclosed that his Ministry is constructing a website to serve as a one-stop shop for information on all its activities. The site, which will provide a database of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country and facilities for the private sector, is expected to be operational by the first week of October 2005.