President Akufo-Addo delivering his speech at the official launch of the mall
PRESIDENT NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged operators of shopping malls in the country to promote the sale of more Ghana-made products than imported ones.
Delivering a speech at the official launch of the Kumasi City Mall, on Wednesday, the President bemoaned the way Ghana continues to be a retailer of cheap imported goods, whilst the capacity of our local producers remains weak and their products suffer low patronage.
According to President Akufo-Addo, “it would be truly commendable if, by the end of the first year of its operation, at least 20 percent of the goods that are sold here should be of Ghanaian origin, and the percentages increase as Ghanaian industrial production rapidly expands.”
“I know very well that, in some of our malls and supermarkets across the country, carrots sold, for example, are imported from Holland. Some of the dressed chickens on sale have also come from Brazil. Indeed, the items originating from Ghana and from our local entrepreneurs constitute barely a paltry 5 percent of goods on sale,” the President lamented.
He noted, however, that all over the world, new enterprises, such as the Kumasi City Mall, have spawned the creation of jobs and investments, and triggered increased local spending.
“Supermarkets and many shopping malls in several parts of the world, particularly in the advanced economies, have become magnets for production. It is my hope that the Kumasi City Mall will not only be a place for the sale of imported goods, but also Ghanaian goods,” he added.
Kumasi for jobs
“We want Kumasi to be a place of work again, not just a place where people come for funerals. We want to bring jobs back to this city, and restore Kumasi to its position, once again, of being the Garden City,” he added.
He, thus, encouraged the youth to take advantage of the immense opportunities the mall presents.
“Last month, I launched the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs in Goaso, in the Brong Ahafo Region. Organise yourselves and get involved in this initiative. I am certain that my admonition to shop owners of this mall will not go unheard. They will surely buy from you, if your produce meets the standard, which I am confident it can,” he urged.
Take advantage of new focus
The President explained that since Governor Guggisberg left the country some 90 years ago, the basic structure of Ghana’s economy has remained largely unchanged.
He added that Ghana’s economy cannot grow if it remains, primarily, a raw material producing and exporting country.
In his first Budget, President Akufo-Addo stressed that the economic programme of his government is hinged on the addition of value to the country’s raw materials in a process of rapid industrialization, as agricultural production and productivity is enhanced.
Gov’t priority
“Our priority is to do all we can to give our entrepreneurs the certainty of a positive business environment, devoid of arbitrary and irrational policy initiatives, so that they can do what they should do best – invest in the numerous opportunities to create jobs and prosperity,” he said.
The President assured that “the initiatives introduced in the Budget are aimed at stimulating private sector activity, and shifting the focus of our economy from taxation to production. To this end, I urge the private sector to take advantage of this new focus, which is offering opportunities to local ingenuity and production.”