President Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo has predicted that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will emphatically win the 2020 general election.
He was optimistic that the achievements of his administration in the last two years are enough to secure another landslide victory for the NPP in the 2020 polls.
The President believes Ghanaians would have no option but retain the NPP after his four-year term due to the massive development of the country.
“I will ask for your continuous support for my party and for my government, for it’s that support that strengthens me in the work I am doing.”
“For the one million difference in 2016, we are going to increase it on the basis of the work that I am doing…all those who said that I would not be able or I could not fulfill my promises, I hope that one by one, they are seeing that they were wrong,” the president declared.
He disclosed this during the opening of the Anyaa LA School Complex at Anyaa as part of his tour of the Greater Accra Region.
President Akufo-Addo, who is yet to declare his intention to seek re-election in 2020, garnered 53.85 percent of the total valid votes cast in the last elections to defeat former President John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
His electoral victory was historic because it was the first time a candidate from the opposition party defeated a sitting president in Ghana by 1 million votes.
Diaper Factory
President Akufo-Addo also commissioned the Sunda Ghana Diaper Ltd, the largest diaper manufacturing factory in the sub-region, at Bortianor in the Ngleshie Amanfro Constituency under the government’s flagship One District, One Factory initiative on the final day of his tour.
With an investment of about $84 million, the Sunda Ghana Diaper Ltd, which is one of the largest projects under the 1D1F initiative, would export its products to markets in sub-Saharan Africa.
The company, as part of the policy, is currently receiving incentives such as tax holidays, import waivers and subsidies to help boost its capacity and competitiveness.
Addressing the gathering, President Akufo-Addo indicated that “we have to attract investors into Ghana like Mr. Y.C. Chang; people who believe that the investment climate of our country is good, the governance of our country is good, and the opportunities for investment in our country are good.”
Sunda Ghana Limited is set to establish two more factories under the 1D1F Initiative, i.e. Homepro Ghana Limited with an additional investment of $26 million and Sunda Hardware Limited with an additional investment of $18 million.
The President stressed that “what it means is that the work we are doing to strengthen the macro-economy in our country is not some paper work, it is not talk, talk work, it has to do with creating the conditions for investment in our country, and that is why it’s extremely important for government to commit itself to the discipline that would enable it have a strong macro-economy.”
President Akufo-Addo added that “so long as I am your President, that discipline is going to be there in the management of the economy. We are not going to preside over widening deficits, high debts, high rates of interest, unstable currency and erratic power supply. That is not the path of the Akufo-Addo government for Ghana.”
Apart from establishing a strong macro-economy and good governance in the country, he revealed that his administration would ensure that Ghanaian industries and those established in the country do not face unfair competition from others.
“So that is another responsibility of government to create a level playing field for Ghanaian industries. It is in establishing industries here in Ghana that we can get work for our young people. When we continue to depend on imports, we are creating jobs for other people overseas. Let’s work hard to create jobs here for our people in Ghana by encouraging investments like what we are seeing today,” he added.
He appealed to the chiefs and people of Bortianor/Ngleshie Amanfro to “collaborate with our Chinese friends who have shown confidence in our country and let them see that Ghanaian people know how to conduct ourselves properly.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent