Chief Directors urged to own government’s initiatives - Bawumia

Chief Directors at the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been tasked to collaborate and own government’s flagship initiatives.

Projects such as; one-district, one-factory, planting for food and jobs and one-village, one-dam, are those that need their support for successful implementation.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who made the call at the opening of a five-day macro-economic policy dialogue for chief directors, policy advisors and other heads of the MDAs in Accra, on Monday, said the success of those programmes would depend on their diligent and collaborative efforts.

He therefore urged them to shun mediocrity and ensure hard work and discipline at all times, adding; “we owe it to our nation Ghana to be shining examples of excellence, that way, our protégés would consider it a moral imperative to follow in our footsteps”.

The dialogue, jointly organised by the Economic Commission for Africa and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, is intended to fashion out effective strategies and policies as well as build synergies to support the promotion of rapid inclusive economic growth of the country.

Vice President Bawumia said the chief directors, technical advisors and other heads of the MDAs, who were at the helm of affairs had the arduous task of leading their respective institutions towards the realisation of the government’s industrialisation agenda.

“These programmes would go a long way to bolster Ghana’s industrial sector, with proper emphasis on value addition, propel our trade activities to new heights with the ultimate objective of creating jobs and alleviating poverty,” he said.

He said the theme for the 2018 Budget was, “Stabilisation for Growth, Putting Ghana to Work Again”, therefore the dialogue was timely since the nation had prioritised economic growth.

He urged them to harmonise the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063 into the implementation of those initiatives, saying; “the essence of innovative-thinking should not be downplayed as we strive to transform these regional and global programmes from mere agreements into vigorous actions”.

Vice President Bawumia said the conduct of economic diplomacy should not be perceived solely as the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ghana’s Missions abroad, but all the ministries should make deliberate efforts to attract investments into the country.

“Ghana should benefit financially in her relations with other countries. In view of the fact that economic diplomacy has steadily made its way to the forefront of the country’s foreign policy, the promotion and protection of her global economic intents must become a major pre-occupation in our dealings with the world,” he said.

The Vice President told the meeting that the promotion of Ghanaian goods and businesses, both home and abroad should be strategic, vibrant, intentional and internationally competitive, in order to accomplish the industrialisation agenda.

He said it was time to find ground-breaking ways of marketing the country’s artistry and culture, and draw the world’s attention to the unique business opportunities here, which is intended to add value to the natural resources, revamp and revolutionise the national economy for wealth creation and jobs.

Nana Kwesi Agyekum Dwamena, the Head of the Civil Service, on his part, said the MDAs were responsible for implementation of government’s policies and programmes, as well as coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of those programmes.

Therefore, he said, it was imperative to ensure harmonisation and exploitation of all the necessary synergies to achieve government’s objectives of enhancing the lots of Ghanaians.

Nana Dwamena expressed optimism that the dialogue would improve their knowledge and sharpen their skills to deliver their constitutional mandate effectively and efficiently.