Second Term: Establishing a Strong Economy is my focus – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that establishing a strong economy will be the main preoccupation of his second term as President of Ghana.

Delivering a speech at his inaugural ceremony, last week, the President pointed out that Ghana remains one of the attractive destinations on the African continent and added a strong economy will generate jobs for young people and enhance living standards to the levels Ghanaians expect.

However, he said, the Ghanaian economy was resilient enough to face the deadly coronavirus which shook many global economies.

“Today, our economy, even the face of the global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to show resilience and a much faster rate of recovery than originally envisaged”, President Akufo-Addo said.

“It was indeed one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in 2020. Ghana remains one of the most attractive destinations on the continent for Direct Foreign investment. the presence of some of the world’s largest conglomerates are attesting to this fact,” he indicated.

He believes these factors, among other things, have restored investor confidence in the Ghanaian economy but urged all Ghanaians to continue to be active participants in growing the economy of Ghana.

Ghana remains one of the most attractive destinations on the continent for foreign direct investment, with the presence in the country of some of the world’s largest conglomerates attesting to this fact.

Establishing a strong economy, undergoing a structural transformation to value-added activities, which will generate jobs for our young people and enhance their living standards, will be the main preoccupation of my second term”.

Again, in a Message on the State of the Nation delivered to Parliament before dissolution on the night of January 6, 2020, the President said the global pandemic of COVID-19 threatened to derail the progress chalked over the first three years of my Administration.

“Its impact has led to the revision in GDP growth for 2020, from 6.8% to 0.9%, and later to 1.9% to reflect a significant slowdown in economic activities as a consequence of the effects of COVID-19 on lives and livelihoods, he explained to the House, which sat in a conference tent erected at the precincts of Parliament, rather than the chamber, in Accra.

President Akufo-Addo said the proactive decisions taken by the government to fight the pandemic as well as revitalise and transform the economy with the one hundred-billion-cedi Ghana CARES ‘Obaatampa’ Programme, anchors bright prospects for the medium-term.

He gave the assurance that the Government would continue to implement prudent fiscal measures to quicken the pace of fiscal consolidation.

Also, , Minister for Finance will come before the House to provide further details on the measures to be taken to restore our country back to the path of economic recovery.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said the Government, in four years, had recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy.

“We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals,” he said.

The President mentioned the National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services as some of the drive to formalize Ghana’s economy, and enhance its productivity.

By Adnan Adams Mohammed