President Akufo-Addo has asked Spanish investors to take advantage of Ghana’s favourable investment climate to invest in the country.
Addressing the Spanish business community in the Spanish capital, Madrid, as part of the “Focus Africa 2023” Conference, the President said during his first term in office between 2017 and 2020, much focus and attention were spent on correcting the fundamentals of the economy which were all pointing in the wrong direction.
“As most of you know, Ghana is a haven of peace, security and stability, indeed, the safest country in West Africa, where legitimate investments are protected. We have witnessed, through the ballot box, three peaceful transfers of power from one political party to another in the 28-year-period of the Fourth Republic.”
According to the President, Ghana’s economy is one of the few countries in the world which is recording positive Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at a time when most countries are in recession.
“In spite of the ravages of the pandemic, we are working to grow the economy at a much faster rate this year, our target being at five per cent GDP growth rate, which will enhance the prospects of a win-win environment for both private sector and country; an environment where companies do not just survive, but actually thrive,” he said.
He pointed at the source of Ghana’s economic revitalization as being the GH¢100 billion CARES ‘Obaatampa’ Programme, whose main elements include supporting commercial farming and attracting educated youth into commercial farming; and building the country’s light manufacturing sector; developing engineering/machine tools and ICT/digital economy industries; amongst others.
“It continues to be an exciting time to be in Ghana, and to do business in the country. Already, global car manufacturing giants, Volkswagen of Germany, Sinotruk of China and Nissan of Japan have established assembly plants in the country. Energy giant, ExxonMobil of the United States of America, is establishing an office in Ghana and the well-known Norwegian energy company, Aker, is very much established in Ghana; and I believe it is for good reason,” he added.
He therefore urged Spanish businesses to avail themselves of the positive and thriving business climate in the country by investing here.
Presenting Ghana’s key challenge as its infrastructural deficit, something shared by other African countries, he said it was an area worth entering into.
The President pointed out that his government was embarking on an aggressive public private partnership programme to attract investment in the development of both our road and railway infrastructure.
“We are hopeful that with solid private sector participation, we can develop a modern railway network with strong production centre linkages and with the potential to connect us to our neighbours,” he added.
“Ghana is rightly considered a beacon of democracy in Africa. In the same vein, we are determined to make her an example of rapid economic growth within the context of a well-developed market economy,” he remarked.