Source: newsthemegh.com
If elected to office in December 2024, National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer John Dramani Mahama, a former president of the nation, has pledged to revive a number of strategically important but long-closed sectors.
He claimed that in order to make factories like the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO) more profitable, they will be redesigned and rekindled.
“We will work to revamp and reignite strategic industries such as Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO) because of the aluminium downstream sector while boosting the production of rice, sugar, tomato, fish, meat and meat products, vegetable oil and pharmaceutical products,” he said.
“Once local capacity in the production of these and many other products is boosted, we shall place restrictions on unbridled importation of these items,” Mr. Mahama reiterated.
The guarantee was given by the former president during a Tuesday meeting in Accra with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) leadership.
The Party’s top hierarchy, including Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the running mate for the 2024 elections, were with him.
Among other things, the purpose of the gathering was to get industry captains’ opinion for the Party’s manifesto.
It was time, according to Mr. Mahama, for Ghana to transition from its existing import-dependent economy to an export-driven one.
In order to do that, the outgoing president declared that the next NDC government would collaborate with business to create and carry out an industrial policy that would aid in transforming the economy in keeping with his goal of creating the “Ghana We Want Together.”
He stated that under the plan, the government would promote large-scale farming in order to attain food self-sufficiency and supply the feed sector with much-needed raw materials.
In line with the policy, he continued, the incoming NDC government would prioritize Ghanaian companies in budgetary purchases and provide incentives for the country’s private sector to take the lead in all economic sectors and lessen the significant profit repatriation.
In addition, Mr. Mahama pledged to assist each of the 16 regions in developing their industries in accordance with their comparative advantages and guaranteed that the government would work with the private sector to establish industrial processing zones in each region, particularly for crops like cashew, palm, cotton, groundnuts, cocoa, soy, cassava, and shea nuts.
“All these will be integrated within the 24-Hour Economy Policy,” he said.
“I am aware that many industries are producing far below their capacities due to constraints such as availability of raw materials, access to credit, high utility tariffs, high taxes, and access to markets among others.”
“We must achieve increased production so that we can take advantage of the ETLS and the AfCFTA,” the former President added.
He said that the 24-hour Economy Policy will increase output for both domestic and foreign markets and provide jobs for the hordes of young people by partnering with the private sector to address issues that limit their capacity for production.
In order to help Ghanaians and businesses, Mr. Mahama asked the current administration to accept accountability for the country’s economic problems, which include high taxes, erratic electricity supplies, and exorbitant exchange rates.
The President of AGI, Dr. Kwesi Ayim Darke, restated that excessive taxes, erratic power supplies, and high power costs rendered items uncompetitive on the domestic and international markets.
Dr. Darke advised the present and upcoming governments to guarantee the country’s nuclear power plant is fully operational in order to address the electricity problem and provide a more reliable and alternative power source.
In order to guarantee value for money, he also asked the incoming NDC government to carefully review all of the nation’s bilateral trade agreements.
The future NDC government, according to General Secretary Mr. Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, will be a listening one that will take the hardships of the average person into consideration.