I've done a great job in 20 months – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lauded his government for creating a resilient and robust economy.

According to him, his government has made significant strides in the economy that have attracted foreign investors who are eager to work with Ghana.

Speaking at the Fortune 500 Business Executive Meeting in New York, the United States of America on Monday, 24 September 2018, Nana Akufo-Addo said his vision is to make Ghana a force to reckon with on the African continent and in the world as a whole.

The Ghanaian leader said: “We are creating a resilient and robust economy. The macroeconomic indices at the half-way point of my term in office are pointing in the right direction, the direction that would be maintained so that we can provide stability to stimulate investments.

“At the beginning of my government’s mandate, we confronted an economy that was in steep decline having attained a growth rate of 3.6 per cent in 2016, the lowest in 22 years. By dint of hard work and prudent management, GDP growth rate grew to 8.5 per cent in our first year. This year, we are expected to grow at 8.3 per cent, which, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will make us one of the world’s fastest growing economies.”

Nana Akufo-Addo continued: “Sector after sector, we’re making significant advances. We’ve also taken steps to formalise the Ghanaian economy and in the process, we aim to establish the most business-friendly economy in Africa to enable the private sector to thrive.”

He said as proof of Ghana’s business-friendly economy, two car giants, as well as Google and ExxonMobil, are in the country for business opportunities.

“Our modern successes in making progress in these areas are being recognised by the global business community that is now eager to engage in Ghana. Recently, our overarching goal to diversify our economy from being a producer and exporter of raw materials to dealing with the world on basis of things we make, received a major boost when two global car giants, Volkswagen of Germany and Sinotruck announced they will be establishing various assembling plants in Ghana with intention in the medium-term of producing their vehicles in the country,” he said.

The president added that: “Tech giant Google has also decided to base its African Artificial Intelligence centre in Ghana, which will make it the first in Africa.

“ExxonMobil has also signed an agreement with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to undertake deepwater oil exploration and production.”

Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated that for his government, the rapid enhancement of direct investments was an essential ingredient in realising his vision of a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, which he explained as “building in Ghana, a strong productive economy capable of generating a dignified prosperous existence for its people and banishing poverty.”

According to him, “Ghana is forging ahead, we want to be a force to reckon with on the continent and in the world.”

He noted that under his leadership, “Ghana will develop, industrialise, educate its people and add value to its abundant natural resources.”