'Ghana Beyond Aid' is not an unrealistic aspiration - Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has said that his government’s ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda is not an unrealistic aspiration but a rather feasible one as measures are being put in place to meet the target.

According to him, the country needs to first own the use of its resources to build the economy rather than believing that ‘our deliverance will come from benefactors and aid assistance.’

“I am insisting that we take our fate in our hands and work to bring us to where we do not look for or expect charity from donor countries. If and when helps comes, it is a bonus and we accept it with gratitude but it should not be the case that our national budgets are dependent on how much aid we’re given, when and how the donors should dispense it.”

“Ghana can only be truly independent when it becomes economically independent and this is not an unrealistic aspiration, it is within our reach, others have done it and so can we,” he stated.

The President made known speaking at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) High-Level Dialogue in Accra on November 7 under the theme; ‘Africa’s Money for African Development: A Future Beyond Aid.’

As part of efforts for his Ghana Beyond Aid agenda, President Akufo-Addo revealed that Ivory Coast and Ghana have agreed initial deals to sell cocoa with a living income premium of US$400 a tonne added to the price, in a bid to reform the cocoa sectors global pricing.

“A Living Income Deferential (LIB) of US$400 per tonne will be paid to farmers for all categories of cocoa beans from Ghana and Ivory Coast starting from the 2021 cocoa crop season when our two countries begin to apply a new price mechanism for the sale of cocoa at US$2,600 dollars per tonne” President Akufo Addo disclosed.

The UNPD high-level dialogue brought together African influencers seeking to explore how Africa can optimize the use of its own resources, creativity and innovation to effectively finance Africa’s development.

Some speakers at the event were Tony Elumelu; Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr Eleni Gabre-Madhin; former CEO of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, Samba Bathily; Chairman of Africa Development Solutions Group, Professor Benedict Oramah; President of Afreximbank, Temitope Shonubi; Executive Director of the Sahara Group and Micheal Ansah; CEO of the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Development Corporation.

They also discussed how Africa can capitalize on the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), as well as the opportunities emerging from the Fourth Industrial Revolution.