I’ll scrap duties on raw materials - Nana

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised to scrap import duties on raw materials and manufacturing equipment should he become president.

According to him, this decision will ensure that the industry and production sectors of the economy are strengthened to create more jobs for the teeming unemployed graduates and Ghanaians in general.

“Import duties on raw materials will be scrapped. Import duties on manufacturing equipment will come in at zero rate, so that we can strengthen our industries and production. That is how we are going to bring jobs to young people,” he told a gathering in Ashaiman as part of his tour of the Greater Accra Region on Wednesday.

The opposition leader further revealed to the crowd that agriculture would be one of his priorities if elected as president.

According to him, whereas exports of five major cash crops earned Ghana’s neighbour Cote d’Ivoire $12 billion annually, the value of Ghanaian agricultural exports brings in a mere $2 billion, largely from cocoa.

“If we want to better these statistics, we need to focus on diversifying our agriculture to include cash crops like cotton, coffee, cashew, oil palm and maize in our exports. We will ensure marketing boards and a guaranteed price for all these cash crops so we boost agricultural production,” Nana Akufo-Addo assured the people.