Akufo-Addo arrives at Nkawkaw
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has given assurance that his administration would oversee the mining of vast and untapped bauxite deposits in Kyebi, Atiwa plains and Nyinahin, should he win the December 7 elections.
He said he was ready to build an integrated aluminium industry, add value to the country’s bauxite deposits and position Ghana at the forefront of efforts to industrialize West Africa.
Nana Addo added that he would facilitate the export of manufactured aluminium products, a vision which has been envisaged for several decades.
The NPP flagbearer was addressing a mammoth gathering at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region, the last of the regional rallies on Wednesday, November 30, 2016.
Jobs creation
Nana Akufo-Addo explained the establishment of the integrated aluminum industry would provide thousands of jobs for the teeming unemployed Ghanaian youth across the country.
“There must be jobs in our country. The lack of jobs, which is the case under this government, poses a threat to the future stability of our country.
“We have put in place programmes to make sure we create jobs and prosperity for our youth so they can also stand on their own feet, thereby securing the peace and stability of our country. That is the task we have put before ourselves. We want to construct a bright future for the Ghanaian people,” he added.
One district, one factory
Nana Akufo-Addo also reiterated his commitment to helping to establish at least one factory in each of the 216 districts across the country.
“We have completed the surveys, and already at least 300 projects have been identified across the 216 districts of Ghana. Marketing plans and markets for the products are being worked out. What is needed is that on 7th December, you give me the opportunity to implement this programme (1-District-1-Factory),” he said.
Widespread development
The industrialization of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo indicated, “is going to help us in many ways, by generating wealth and development across the country.
“We will stop this ‘Accra-Kumasi’ centered development. It is dangerous for the future of our country. In doing so, we will revive the lives of our districts and regions, and stop this potentially dramatic exodus of young people towards the city centres.”
Import duties
The NPP flagbearer said his government would abolish import duties on raw materials and manufacturing equipment, and reduce corporate income tax from the current 25 percent to 20 percent to make Ghanaian enterprises competitive.
Fiscal policy
He also said Ghana’s fiscal balance would also have to be firmly put in place through the enactment of a Fiscal Responsibility Act, which would set out specific relationships between government expenditure and national reserves to make sure that the economy is always within the fiscal balance.
GIPC
“We want to reposition the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to focus its attention on attracting investment, both domestic and foreign, into these strategic industries – iron and steel, cement, bauxite and aluminum, petrochemical industry, vehicle assembly and the manufacture of machine parts and equipment. These are going to be the industries for which we are going to anchor our industrial development,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.