Government tips robust industry to revive economy

Government is counting on its rapid and aggressive industrialisation drive to tighten the macro economy and make it more viable for the private sector to thrive, President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disclosed.

Opening the two-day National Policy Summit (NPS) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) in Accra on Monday , he indicated that the various reforms being rolled out by his administration have been designed to reduce the cost of doing business and make the country more business-friendly.

“A rapid and aggressive industrialisation as well as value addition in the agro-sector will underpin our quest to build a strong macro-economy for growth and jobs creation,” President Akufo-Addo stressed, while expressing worry about the recent setbacks stifling the growth of the dominant economic area.

The president assured the gathering of business owners and private sector business associations, including the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) and the Private Enterprises Federation (PEF), that his administration will tackle the problems of the economy with a more strategic approach to make them competitive.

He stressed: “Government will address the issues of the economy in a comprehensive manner to make businesses more productive to create the much needed jobs.”

According to the president, the various reforms and initiatives being undertaken by his administration such as the numerous tax cuts have been designed to reduce the cost of doing business, make the country more business friendly, and stimulate socio-economic growth.

“The various initiatives of this government provide new business opportunities that should encourage the private sector to leverage and turn them into profit-making ventures to create wealth,” he noted.

The two-day summit was on the theme: “The Industrial Transformation of Ghana”, and provided the platform for the Trade Ministry to interact and inform the investor community as well as the private sector on its various initiatives to drive change.

“This summit is in line with government’s quest to promote inclusive governance that will enable Ghanaians to contribute to the development of the economy,” President Akufo-Addo indicated.

President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nana Dr Appiagyei Dankawoso I, commended MOTI on the summit as he believed that sustained engagements between government and the private sector will position the country as the industrial hub of West Africa.

He said the private sector is fully prepared to tap the opportunities that are expected to come from the government’s industrialisation agenda.