President Akufo-Addo receiving the outstanding award from officials of US Chamber of Commerce
PRESIDENT Akufo-Addo has been awarded the 2018 Outstanding Leader’s Award in the United States of America.
The U.S. – Africa Business Center Outstanding Leaders’ Award is presented in recognition of regional, diplomatic, and economic leadership in Africa. President Sall is the first recipient of the award.
He becomes the second African leader to be honoured with such a prestigious award after Senegal’s Macky Sall first received it in 2016.
Speaking at the awards in New York on Monday, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the global business community is increasingly becoming eager to trade with Ghana.
That, he said, was as a direct result of the successes his New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has chalked up since assuming office on January 7, 2017.
He indicated that the successes of his government which include the rapid industrialization of Ghana under the ‘One District, One Factory (1D1F)’ project, the sanitization of the country’s banking sector, and the end to the erratic electricity supply which crippled many businesses from 2012 to 2017, are now being recognized by the international business community.
He underscored his administration’s overarching goal to diversify the Ghanaian economy from being a producer and exporter of raw materials to dealing with the world on the basis of things the West African nation makes and continue to receive major boosts from major multi-national companies seeking to invest in Ghana.
Major Firms
The Ghanaian leader told his audience that the decision by two leading global car manufacturers namely Volkswagen of Germany and Sinotruk of China to establish assembly plants in Ghana in the shortest possible time, with the intention to produce vehicles in Ghana in the medium term, was a case in point.
According to him, “tech giant, Google, has also decided to base its African Artificial Intelligence Centre in Ghana, which will make it the first in Africa. ExxonMobil has also signed an agreement with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to undertake deep-water oil exploration and production.”
Robust Economy
He gave an assurance that his government was strongly committed to creating a resilient and robust economy.
He revealed: “And the macroeconomic indices, at the halfway point of my term of office, are pointing in the right direction, a direction that will be maintained so that we can provide the stability to stimulate investments.”
Having inherited, in 2016, an economy that was in steep decline, and growing at 3.6%, he stated that “by dint of hard work and prudent management, GDP growth rate grew to 8.5% in our first year”, with growth rate in 2018, expected to be 8.3%.
“Sector after sector, we are making significant advances. We have also taken steps to formalise the Ghanaian economy, and, in the process, we aim to establish the most business-friendly economy in Africa, to enable the private sector to thrive,” he emphasised.
Ghana Beyond Aid
He spoke about his government’s intention to move Ghana beyond the age-old mantra of reliance on foreign aid.
Mr. Akufo-Addo pointed out specifically that “For us, the rapid enhancement of foreign direct investment is an essential ingredient in realising our vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, that is building in Ghana a strong, productive economy, capable of generating a dignified, prosperous existence for its people, and banishing the spectre of poverty.”
Appeal
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has urged representatives of Fortune 500 companies present at the event to look at Ghana, and not to ignore her.
He told them: “You can choose to invest through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, or set up as a company in our Free Zones enclave. Regardless of where the investment is, government has instituted a number of incentives for the investor, depending on the nature of the activity or the location of the investment. This is to ensure that your investment succeeds. I assure you that your investments will be safe, in fact, and will be protected by law.”
BY Melvin Tarlue