President Akufo-Addo exchanging pleasantries with some of the CEOs
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says his government is not in office to compete for business opportunities with the private sector.
He said his administration would turn over a new leaf in its relations with the private sector, reiterating that “the private sector is not going to bring projects only for members of government and their cronies to take over them.”
President Akufo-Addo made this known yesterday when he interacted with Chief Executive Officers CEOs) of some leading African and international companies at a round-table meeting on the sidelines of the 5th edition of the Africa CEO Forum in Geneva, Switzerland.
The President assured his audience that the business climate would be guided by the rule of law, and would ensure that the sanctity of a genuine contract was respected.
On the issue of contracts, the President indicated that a number of contracts, especially in the energy sector, which were entered into by the previous administration were being reviewed since most of them involved large sums of money.
He indicated that due process was being followed in the review of such contracts, stressing that “there is not going to be any witch-hunting. I don’t have any problem with legitimate arrangements that were made before I took over. I do, however, have a problem if they were corrupt and if the considerations for the contracts are ones that cannot be justified to the people of Ghana.”
The President added that if by the end of the review, any contract is found to be dodgy, his government would act on it.
Touching on corruption, the President indicated that “a new Office of Special Prosecutor which would be independent of the Executive will have the mandate to deal with issues of corruption and allegations of corruption against public office holders.”
He indicated that the Office of Special Prosecutor can be found in many jurisdictions across the world, adding that at the next meeting of Parliament, legislation on the office would be brought before the House for passage.
“There will be special arrangements about how the prosecutor will be appointed so that his independence from the Executive is maintained, not just in words but concretely, and also in securing the tenure of office. That body will have the remit to deal with issues of corruption, both past and present,” he added.
“Whatever is needed to clean up the business climate in our country and make it possible for people like you to put your money into Ghana would be done.
“That has been and will continue to be our prime concern, create an enabling business climate to allow domestic and foreign businesses to flourish,” he added.
By Samuel Boadi