Revenue mobilisation our focus - Bawumia

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reiterated its commitment to developing Ghana beyond aid, with a focus on revenue generation.

According to the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the government is addressing challenges that are impeding the progress of the country.

He explained that government is investing in agriculture to improve productivity, which will reduce the monies used in importing food.

Speaking at a conference on the theme “Ghana beyond Aid; Lessons learned from private sector practices”, Dr Bawumia said the NPP government is targeting revenue mobilisation locally to boost the Ghanaian economy.

For him, industrialisation is very key because it was time Ghana stopped raw agricultural produce export without adding value.

Citing examples, he said Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire produce more than half of the world’s cocoa, yet, farmers and the country do not gain maximum benefits from production.

He reiterated government’s resolve to include value addition to minerals and other products whose raw materials originate from the country.

Dr Bawumia said donor countries are moving beyond aid and this will not favour “countries that are sitting and waiting for more aid” from foreign donors.

He said taxpayers in donor countries are getting more apprehensive about their taxes being used to help other countries, and the sooner the beneficiaries explored ways to generate their own funds, the better.

For him, the focus for many African countries should be turned to domestic and regional resource mobilisation to fund government projects that will be beneficial to citizens.