Dr. John Kpikpi, Presidential Candidate for the Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG), has criticized the policies of the NDC and NPP, saying they merely scratch the surface of Ghana’s problems without addressing their root causes.
Dr. Kpikpi stated that the solutions being offered by these two political parties do not effectively address the country’s problems.
In contrast, Dr. Kpikpi emphasized that the PAG is committed to implementing five critical transformations designed to elevate Ghana from its current state of poverty to a high-income nation within twenty years.
“The five inter-connected transformations include agriculture, industrialization, natural resources ownership, infrastructure, and ethics. We want to produce everything we eat in this country. In fact, even more, than we eat so that so that we become net exporters of food”.
“At the moment, sadly, we import more than $ 391 million worth of rice into this country. That is sending our money to other nations just for rice”.
Dr. John Kpikpi
Dr. Kpikpi indicated that the PAG aims to eliminate the importation of rice and chicken, two major items on Ghana’s import list, within three years.
He explained that this move would inject millions of cedis into the economy, boosting local producers of these food items and ultimately enriching Ghanaians.
The Presidential Candidate warned that Ghana’s lack of a strategic plan for domestic food production is alarming, as it renders the country vulnerable to external threats to food security.
He assured that a PAG government would focus on achieving robust production and storage capacities for foodstuff, protecting the nation from the risks of droughts and other disruptions.
Ghana’s Lost Industrial Edge
Dr. Kpikpi noted a stark contrast between Ghana’s past and present, highlighting that while two-thirds of home appliances were once produced domestically in the 1960s, the country now relies heavily on imports for these goods.
Dr. Kpikpi stated that the PAG government will revitalize Ghana’s production and industrialization sector by guiding young people towards these opportunities.
He emphasized that the country will invest in producing a range of technologies, from basic to advanced, such as tractors, to ensure Ghana’s competitiveness in the current industrial era.
“Ghana has been blessed with so much wealth under our feet in the soil; the gold, the manganese, oil, bauxite. We are potentially one of the richest countries in the world. But this has not really reflected in the experience of Ghanaians at all”.
“Unfortunately, the resource agreements that were signed by successive governments and the foreign companies that came to exploit these minerals have been very unfair to Ghana”.
Dr. John Kpikpi
Dr. Kpikpi questioned the logic behind signing such agreements, pointing out that Ghana derives minimal benefits from them, receiving only 1.7% of the gold industry’s profits and between 11% and 17% of the oil sector’s revenues.
He lamented that the country’s wealth generated from these deals is largely transferred to foreign nations and possibly individuals who have interests in these agreements.
Dr. Kpikpi pledged that a PAG government would reverse this trend and transfer true ownership of national resources to Ghanaians.
He explained that wealth generated from these natural resources would henceforth belong to the Ghanaian people, clarifying that foreign contractors would be fairly compensated for their services.
“It should never be the case that they [foreigner companies] have ownership and they give us royalties”. – Dr. John Kpikpi
Dr. Kpikpi observed that if Ghana’s natural resources are properly harnessed, the revenue generated from the gold industry alone would be sufficient to render IMF assistance unnecessary.
He criticized the government’s Gold for Oil deal as redundant, arguing that since Ghana has its own oil reserves, the focus should be on utilizing them effectively rather than exchanging gold for oil.
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