Experts call for infrastructure incentives to spur private sector

The private sector needs to be supported with the right skills and infrastructure incentives to be able to deliver on the second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2), experts have said.Godfrey Kabera, the Director General for Planning at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, said more infrastructural incentives such as energy, transport facilities, and markets will improve the rate at which the private sector will deliver on the country’s economic agenda.“These skills will facilitate not only the growth of the private sector and the economy but also give them a chance to add value to products they produce,” Kabera said. He was speaking during an EDPRS2 public-private sector dialogue in Kigali recently.He urged the private sector to get involved with the curriculum design for technical education and vocational training (TVET) programmes so as to bridge the skills gaps he said threatens the progress of the private sector.“You need to get involved so as to be able to develop the right entrepreneurial skills needed in the market,” Kabera said.Benjamin Gasamagera, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) chairperson, said private investments should be higher than public investments for any economy to thrive.“To create these investments, we will have to think outside the box, and be innovative,” Gasamagera said.Business experts say rolling out electricity for rural small and medium enterprises while increasing productivity in the agriculture sector will fast-track economic development.Government seeks to work closely with the private sector as it gears to achieve targets in the five-year EPRDS2 agenda, which seeks to among others, create 200,000 jobs annually, as well as to raise GDP per capita from $644 to $1,200.

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Experts call for infrastructure incentives to spur private sector