President Nana Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday met with players in the pharmaceutical and banking industries to discuss at length how best Ghana can begin to reduce its dependency on imports in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We are far too dependent on the things made abroad, and imported by us for use. We should be making most of the things we use in Ghana and needed to combat the spread of the pandemic by ourselves,” the President stressed at the meeting, adding “the pandemic has very severe consequences, but it also presents us with an opportunity. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and advisedly so.”
He said Ghana should have the capacity to become self-sufficient in the manufacture of basic items such as masks, hand sanitizers and disposable gloves that are needed to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The President acknowledged that should there be a spike in the incidence of infections, the country would be presented with a significant challenge. He, therefore, prayed fervently to God to protect the people whilst the medical professionals do their best to find a solution to the disease.
To the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, who was present at the meeting, the President stressed that “there is the need for us to work collectively to see how our banking sector, which, fortunately under his leadership, is becoming stronger and stronger, can find a way of channelling monies and resources to some of you here so that you can begin to do things for our health system here.”
