Some of the Participants
President Akufo-Addo says the era of begging for aid for Ghana is over.
He said his administration was determined to build a prosperous economy that could stand the test of time, hence the policies introduced by his team to ensure a resilient and robust economy beyond aid.
President Akufo-Addo made this known when he delivered the keynote address at the National Governors Association 2018 Winter Meeting, in Washington DC, United States of America, on Sunday.
He said he would transform the Ghanaian economy to create jobs for the teeming youth.
Transformation plan
He said government’s programme of economic transformation is hinged on restructuring the institutions of governance, modernising the country’s agriculture to enhance productivity.
“It is a clear industrial policy and rationalising the financial sector supports growth in agriculture and growth in manufacturing and industry.
“To this end, over the past 13 months, we have begun to work on the fundamentals of the economy, because we believe that an improved macro-economy is a basic requirement for stimulating the investments we need for the rapid expansion and growth of the Ghanaian economy, and the generation of wealth and jobs,” he said to an applause from the governors.
Growth targets
Explaining his vision for pushing the country onto a path of prosperity, he said Ghana’s growth rate of 3.6% in 2016 rose to 7.9% in 2017, while the local currency has now stabilised.
He also highlighted the drop in inflation from 15.6% at the end of 2016 to its current level of 10.3%; and a revival of Ghana’s industry from a growth rate of -0.5% in 2016 to 17.7% in 2017.
Also, he touched on reduction in interest rates, and the fiscal deficit from 9.3% to 5.6% of GDP, as well as the abolition of nuisance taxes with the aim of shifting the economy from a tax-dependent one to one which is hinged on production.
“We are also putting in place strong measures to increase revenue mobilisation by plugging leaks and reforming the existing tax exemption regime,” he added.
US cash
“There is a lot of opportunity for American capital, technology and enterprises in Ghana, and indeed in Africa, and we welcome companies from all your states to participate in the exceptional opportunities that exist in our country and on the continent.”
Commenting on the country’s oil and gas industry, the President noted: “We are making systematic efforts to develop our new oil and gas industry into which ExxonMobil has just appeared, signing on 18thJanuary, this year, a major offshore oil and gas exploration and production agreement with Ghana. We are determined also to establish the relevant petrochemical industries to take advantage of the growth of our oil and gas industry.”
PPP project
He told the governors that Ghana was embarking on an aggressive public-private-partnership programme to attract investment in the development of both road and railway infrastructure.
“We are hopeful that with solid private sector participation, we can develop a modern railway network with strong production centre linkages, and with the potential to connect us to our neighbours to the north, i.e. Burkina Faso, the west, i.e. Cote d’Ivoire and to the east, Togo,” he said.
Strategic industries
The President indicated that the time has come for Ghana to develop strategic industries out of its abundant natural resources of bauxite and iron ore.
To this end, “We shall shortly establish an Integrated Bauxite/Aluminium Development Authority to assemble the relevant financial resources for the systematic exploitation and development of our bauxite deposits.”
By the same token, President Akufo-Addo added that we have decided to exploit our substantial iron ore and manganese deposits situated in the Western and Northern Regions of our country to build an integrated steel industry to serve the needs of our country and region.”
Education
“Through my government’s policy of free secondary education in our public schools launched in September 2017 at the beginning of this academic year, 90,000 more children gained access to Senior High School (SHS) in 2017 than they did the year before,” he said.
Health
He said accessible healthcare to all of Ghana’s citizens through an efficient and financially self-sustaining National Health Insurance Scheme was a crucial goal of his regime.
“We do all this to promote a culture of incentives and opportunity to unleash the considerable ingenuity, creativity and entrepreneurial talents of our people, especially of our youth,” he said.
Special Prosecutor
“Last Friday, before my departure for this visit, I appointed the first Special Prosecutor in our history, a known respected anti-corruption crusader, whose task will be to deal exclusively with issues of corruption, and hold public officials, past and present, accountable for their stewardship of our nation’s public finances,” President Akufo-Addo added.
From Fortune Alimi, Washington DC