Mahama to hold a national dialogue on the economy in his first 120 days in office

John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said that he will convene a National Economic Dialogue during his first 120 days in office.

According to Mahama, the debate is part of the attempts to design a four-year fiscal consolidation agenda.

He added that a new program will be an important part of his economic recovery approach. On Saturday, August 24, 2024, Mahama delivered a speech at the 2024 NDC Manifesto Launch at the University of Education in Winneba.

Economic policies

• Implement a 24-hour economy strategy with three (3) shifts of eight (8) hours each to maximize productivity and efficiency, transform Ghana into an import substitution and export-led economy, enhance access to public services, and create more well-paying jobs for unemployed Ghanaians.

• Stop the economic decline and restore stability and inclusive growth to the economy.

• Provide opportunities for experienced banking professionals who lost their jobs after the collapse of banks to secure their careers once more and move from the menial jobs they were forced into.

• Abolish the obnoxious e-levy and review the levy imposed on bet winnings. With improved revenues from the savings made from a reduced size of government, an anti-corruption fight, fast-tracked operationalization of new oil and gas wells, increased investment in the mining sector, and a revamped cocoa sector, we can ease the heavy tax burden that has been placed on Ghanaian households and businesses.

• Actively attract viable and serious private sector investors to partner with the government to invest in productive sectors for job creation.

• Relocate some ministries out of the central business area to decongest the city of Accra. This will involve an emphasis on agriculture and agribusiness and will have a strong focus on making Ghanaians own their micro-enterprises.

• Lead a process to set a standardized limit for borrowing and ensure that Ghana never suffers such a deadly debt management program that threatens to send elderly people holding government bonds to their early graves and wipe out the investments of the Ghanaian middle class.

• Transform the economy, diversify our exports, and ensure value addition to create more jobs from January 2025.

• Add value to our cocoa by increasing domestic processing, refining our gold before export, and pursuing the dream of an integrated bauxite and alumina industry.

• Bring VALCO, TOR, and other strategic industries that can serve as extra pillars for our economy onstream.

• Build a modernized agricultural economy driven by technology and digitalization and establish agribusiness as one of the key anchors of our economic transformation plan.

• Introduce a new budget in April 2025 to support small and medium-scale businesses and adjust some taxes.