John Kufuor in a pose with captains of industry, civil society members and officials of the Foundation
Former President John Kufuor has called for a policy framework to empower the private sector to partner the public sector to undertake export promotions, among others, to move Ghana beyond aid.
He made the call on Thursday in Accra during an interaction cocktail organized by the Initiators of Change Foundation (ICF) to bring industry and government together to discuss ways of moving Ghana beyond aid as envisaged by President Akufo-Addo.
Mr Kufuor, who is the life patron of ICF, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), said “such programming calls for purposeful political leadership with consummate appreciation of the role of the private sector, private sector entrepreneurship and enterprise for unlocking the wealth of the nation for sustainable development of the economy and society.”
“Such policy” he said, “must rationalize the macro-economy to achieve a robust financial sector to support the private sector of investment with affordable credit.”
According to him, “The rationalization must always take account of the markets, both domestic and international, to guide and encourage the investor to stay competitive.”
“The success achieved this way will be the underpinning of sustainability of development, entailing job creation and relative self-reliance,” said the former President.
Economy Still Colonial
“Ghana has been politically independent for 61 years, but its economy is yet to be transformed from its colonial attributes,” according to him.
Addressing lawmakers, top CEOs, civil society players, among others, at the event held at the Asante Hall of the Alisa Hotel, he added that “its economy is still hallmarked by raw material exports without much diversification and value addition and heavily import dependent for machineries, medicines and even some basic agricultural commodities like cereals, which can easily be produced locally with the right mix of entrepreneurship and policy.”
“This sad challenge is aggravated by the nation’s rapidly growing population with voracious appetite for imported commodities even in the face of the stagnant non-industrial economy,” Mr Kufuor noted.
“A major feature of this wither problem is the rural-urban drift of our youths who are pouring out of educational institutions without prospects of gainful employment.”
According to him, “The resulting confusion is that successive regimes have been rendered helpless and virtually forced to go cup-in-hand to the donor community of the world for aid to top up their fiscal inadequacies to run the nation on the basis of business as usual.”
The paradox, however, is that Ghana has so much natural wealth and very good and intelligent human resources that if used wisely can take the country off the path of aid in the shortest possible time, he said.
About ICF
The purpose of the Foundation is to contribute to give Ghana a positive change, according to Mr. Kufuor.
The Foundation was registered in 2008 with the mission of building a new generation of African with positive self-image and confidence and also to create opportunities for the less privileged in society through good governance, empowerment, education, mentorship, charity and leadership.
“Tonight’s event is to celebrate the partnership between industry and the government to build Ghana beyond aid,” ex-President Kufuor said.
By Melvin Tarlue