I want to build most business-friendly economy in Africa – Akufo-Addo

President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the priority of his government is to build the most business-friendly and people-friendly economy in Africa, which will create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

This, the President stressed, will be done through the introduction of measures which will empower the private sector.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 when he delivered a speech on the theme: “Making Gender and the Youth the Private Sector’s business”, at the opening of the 2017 European Development Days Conference.

According to the President, since he assumed the reins of government, “we have introduced measures to stimulate the private sector, through the introduction of a monetary policy that will stabilise the currency and reduce significantly the cost of borrowing, in addition to a raft of tax cuts to bring relief to and encourage businesses.

These interventions, he indicated, will shift the focus of Ghana’s economy from taxation to production, and, hopefully, will make Ghanaian businesses very competitive in West Africa, Africa and beyond.

“It is the competitiveness of our enterprises, in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, that will determine our capacity to create wealth for our youth and women, and wealth in our society. The competitiveness of Ghana’s private sector is key to addressing issues of inclusion, economic development and growth of Ghana,” the President said.

He continued, “That is the only way we can build a Ghana Beyond Aid, that is, freeing our people from a mindset of dependence, aid, charity and handouts, and building a self-reliant economy which will mobilise the immense resources of Ghana, material and human, with women and youth in the forefront, to resolve Ghana’s problems.”

President Akufo-Addo noted that “whilst we empower the private sector to create jobs and wealth, my government, recognizing the benefits of the digital revolution, has instituted measures to keep the youth in touch with global trends, and also equip them with the skills, which, together with their sense of enterprise and innovation, will be necessary in Ghana’s economic transformation. That is the focus of my government.”

Private Sector key to women empowerment

With President Akufo-Addo having been appointed co-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocates Group of Eminent Personalities, in April this year, he referred the gathering to SDGs 5 and 9, which relate to the empowerment of women and the youth.

“It is worth noting that SDG number five (5) talks about achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Another of the SDGs, number 9, also aims at building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation. These two Goals, clearly, have specific demographics of our populations in mind – our women and the youth,” he said.

According to the President, with 51% of Ghana’s population being female, and also with about 73% of the population being below the age of 35, he stated that the “empowerment of our women and youth constitute fundamental challenges for our development.”

To this end, the President reiterated that the empowerment of women and the youth “is the surest way of rooting out poverty, and guaranteeing the progress and prosperity of our country and continent. This so-called youth bulge provides immense opportunities for rapid economic development.”

Ghana’s economy, like most of the economies of Africa, he said, has remained structurally rigid since colonialism, depending largely on the exports of primary commodities such as, in the case of Ghana, gold, cocoa, bauxite and timber.

“There can be no future prosperity in the short, medium or long term, if we continue to maintain this economic structure. Unless we industrialise, with the goal of adding significant value to our primary products, we cannot create the necessary numbers of high-paying jobs that will enhance the living standards of the masses of our country – our women and youth,” the President added.