President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rallied the private sector to lead the country’s economic recovery process.
At a meeting with industry captains and businessmen in Accra, the President asserted that the private sector is the surest bet to reboot the economy, which is presently undergoing fiscal challenges.
President Akufo-Addo made the calls in the wake of the Government’s push to hold formal talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a support package to rescue the country’s economy which according to is beaten by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and a depreciating currency and Russia-Ukraine war.
President Akufo-Addo noted that it is imperative that the private sector plays a focal role in the economic transformation of the country because other countries that are doing well got to their present state of development solely on the wings of the private sector.
“We cannot do anything serious if we are not guided by history and example,” he said, citing the development of the four ‘Asian Tigers’- South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan- where private capital pushed the rapid economic growth and development of those nations.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
The President pointed out that rural, agrarian primary produce and exporting countries that transformed themselves from low productivity economies to high economies “have been nations where private sector has been the dominant force in their economic growth and development.”
“Japan, Korea, Asian Tigers all these names that are now part of the common vocabulary of the world are the names of people. Hyundai, Toyota, are all names of people who founded these enterprises that have now become worldwide entities… That is the example that has always inspired me, my career as politician.
“The private sector of our economy would be the lead vehicle for the social and economic transformation we are all looking for.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
However, President Akufo-Addo agreed that private sector development has been a difficult challenge for successive governments, but stressed that it is imperative to identify areas, where government and the private sector could profitably work together to achieve sustained growth and development of the country.
President Nana Addo noted that the meeting, which was aimed at soliciting and exchanging views with private sector players on Ghana’s policy direction and investment climate, underscored the importance and central role of the private sector to the economic growth of the country.
The Government, the President said, would continue to pursue and initiate policies, interventions and incentives, and engender conversations that would enable private sector players, particularly those in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, logistics, aviation and light manufacturing industries, to be more effective in the country’s economic transformation agenda.
Trade and Industry minister, Allan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, on his part, iterated the Government’s commitment to building a strong partnership with the private sector noting that the government’s commitment is unwavering.
Mr. Allan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, moreover noted that countries like China that have sustained its economic progress and achieved its prosperity through private sector-led growth.
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