We can’t continue producing and exporting raw Materials – Nana Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that Ghana cannot continue to be a raw material producing and exporting country because there is no future in that for the country or for anybody else on the African continent.
”If, today, there is an opportunity to replace the Asians as a source of manufacturing activity, then we should grab it with both hands, for all the obvious consequences it has for the future of our people.”
President Akufo-Addo said this when the President and Chairman of the Board of AfriExim Bank, Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo, at the Presidency, to acquaint him with the workings of the bank, as well as find out the priorities areas of the Akufo-Addo government.
President Akufo-Addo told Dr. Oramah and the delegation from the AfriExim bank that his government inherited an economy in decline, with some major challenges in some critical areas, especially in the energy sector, which has a $2.4 billion debt overhang.
Ghana, he added, had also slipped in her capacity to produce cocoa in recent years, coupled with a decline in manufacturing and industrial activity.
“We have made the decision that the way forward is to clean up the business environment, not just in the area of regulation but also of policy, i.e. doing something about the high interest rates, the stability of our currency and tackling the major issue of corruption in our country. There is also the determination to stimulate the development of the private sector, because it holds the key to the development of our country,” he added.
Thus, “to hear a bank which is interested in helping us to deal with these critical areas of our national economy, especially an African institution, like yours, is great. Our programme fits so easily with the intentions of the bank.”
The President and Chairman of the Board of AfriExim Bank, Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah, has pledged the support of the bank to supporting the vision of a value-addition and industrialised Ghanaian economy, being embarked upon by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah, raw material producing economies do not create prosperity for the masses, explaining that the only way to the goal of ensuring access to prosperity in Africa is through the industrial development of their economies.
He was, thus, pleased with Ghana’s drive, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, towards becoming an industrialised country, and has assured government of the full support of the AfriExim bank towards the realization of this vision.
Source: otecfmghana.com
