Key objectives outlined by the next National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, when elected, will see a 55% of Ghanaian ownership of the economy, Kingsley Awuah-Darko, a former Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has said.
According to him, Ghanaian ownership and contribution to the economy has fallen from a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 72% to a low of 20-30% under the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking on Citi TV’s Point of View segment on September 9, 2020, and monitored by GhanaWeb, Awuah-Darko said, “So when a Finance Minister [Ken Ofori-Atta] comes on television to talk about the economy growing in reference to GDP, we as Ghanaians do not feel it in our pockets and that has created a certain breach of trust between the politicians and the people.
“The NDC manifesto has raised some very key objectives that we believe that as a matter of policy, we want to have Ghanaian ownership of the economy to about 55% because if you don’t achieve that, we would be looking at a national security issue because the problem of this country [Ghana] is poverty”
Awuah-Darko, however, admitted that being in opposition was purgatory and not hell for him, therefore was optimistic that the NDC will make a resounding come back in the upcoming 2020 elections.
Mr. Awuah-Darko was appointed as Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in 2015 under the erstwhile John Mahama administration with his appointment coming as part of a restructuring exercise of the leadership of government at the time.