The domestication of products and services and expansion of the tax net are two pivotal factors worthy of adoption to contribute significantly to sustainable macroeconomic growth and sovereignty in the current economic situation, Country Managing Partner of Deloitte Ghana, Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, has stressed.

According to the audit and financial advisory expert, with the ongoing economic and global difficulties Ghana has seen unprecedented challenges which require innovative solutions and new ways of thinking, requiring a domestication strategy that concentrates on the production and use of locally produced goods and services to reduce dependence on imported products.

This in turn creates job opportunities, enhances a country’s balance of trade, and adds value to the nation’s exports – thereby reducing the cost of imported equipment by manufacturing them locally.

The tax net expansion, on the other hand, is meant to increase the number of tax-paying individuals and businesses. This, he said, can be achieved by making the tax system more efficient and transparent by deploying technology & digitalisation – and by creating incentives for people to pay their taxes.

The Deloitte Country Managing Partner also mentioned, among others, the need to ensure borrowed funds are invested in projects that will expand the productive capacity of our economy; the need to make corruption a far more costly and riskier venture; and to leverage on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to trade with other African countries and ensure we fully realise the trade agreement’s objectives.

“At Deloitte, we believe that sustainable corporate governance, digital industrial transformation, and economic sovereignty are key to unlocking new opportunities for growth and prosperity.

“We need to expand our tax net by increasing the formalisation of our economy through digitalisation. This will help boost internal revenue generation and reduce reliance on external borrowing and funding support.

“As a people, we need to redirect our tastes and preferences more in favour of locally produced goods and services in order to create jobs and empower ourselves economically,” he said.

Mr. Owusu made these remarks at the media launch of the Ghana CEO Summit’s seventh edition slated for May 22, 2023.

This year’s summit will be held under the theme ‘Economic sovereignty, sustainable corporate governance and digital industrial transformation: New paths for growth and prosperity – A Private-Public sector CEO Dialogue & Learning’.

Founding Chief Executive Officer of the organising agency – Ghana CEO Network – Ernest De-Graft Egyir in his remarks mentioned that this year’s gathering will offer concrete, innovative and actionable solutions, lead discussions around game-changing public policies, and advocate for the best growth-oriented practices to help the country move forward.

“The call to action for the 7th Ghana CEO Summit and Expo is that government should work together with relevant stakeholders, including the CEO Network of Ghana, to restore Ghana’s economy and strive to achieve sustainable economic sovereignty,” he said.

CEO of Margins ID Group and Chairman of the occasion, Moses Kwesi Baiden, shared that business owners are grappling with the impact of supply shocks and high inflation rates while consumers are discouraged by the Ghana cedi’s reduced purchasing power. Therefore, to resolve a national crisis there must be collaboration across sectors – and that is what this year’s CEO summit is aiming to facilitate.