President Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo has called on businesses in the country to make the necessary expertise and resources available to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Delivery Fund operational.
The fund, when operational, is expected to provide support to transformational actions and human development projects that are geared towards attaining the SDG at the community level.
The projects include sinking of boreholes, establishment of reading centres for deprived communities, organising teacher training programmes, executing ready for work programmes for the youth and scaling up of innovation through multi-purpose innovation centres.
He emphasised the importance of businesses in attaining the SDG, which is aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all.
“Without stronger actions from businesses the SDGs would remain a mere aspiration,” he said.
The President also announced the establishment of a core group of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) as an advisory body on businesses and SDG.
The group has already adopted a framework to coordinate corporate social responsibility and sustainability activities of companies.
The president made the call in a speech read on his behalf by the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at the 4th edition of the Ghana CEO Summit, which was held in Accra.
The summit was themed, “The Futuristic Economy: Technology-Driven Future of Business and Governance for Economic Transformation.”
The President said that the profitability, competiveness and survival of businesses largely depend on technologies, which are the drivers of modern businesses.
“Sadly some of our local technologies have some catching up to do in terms of streamlining their business operations” he said.
The Vice President also indicated that the role of technology in governance is crucial in linking state institutions with the public, as well as providing convenient ways to reduce cost, improve performance and increase ease of doing business.
He also attributed the low ranking of the country on the Doing Business Index to the structure of the country’s public administration.
“As a governance instrument for the ruling class, it’s rigid, unbending, centralised and slow to respond to public need,” he said.
The sector, he said, requires technological innovation to leapfrog activities of public administration, hence the introduction of the digitalisation agenda by the government.
Dr Bawumia, however, cited the conventional nature of some Ghanaians and pessimistic approach to changes to the status quo as some challenges in improving the ease of doing business in the country.
He advised corporate institutions to adopt proper records keeping systems and structures, adding that family businesses should pay more attention to succession plans.
By Issah Mohammed