Accra,- President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has encouraged members of the black business community in the United States of America (USA) to take advantage of the numerous investment opportunities in Ghana as the country builds back strongly from the ravages of the COVID-19.
He told them that it was a great time to invest in Ghana, “for the opportunities are bright.”
The President made the call when he addressed the “Africa Flagship Programme” session of the 45th Annual Legislative Conference of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
He was the Keynote Speaker at the “Africa Flagship Programme” of the week-long Conference that will explore policy solutions having the biggest impacts on Black Americans.
The National Black Caucus of State Legislators is America’s premier organisation representing and serving the interests of African American State legislators.
Speaking on the “Intersectionality of Ghana’s post-COVID economic development strategy and that of the US,” President Akufo-Addo said despite the real difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana was doing some things right and sending out the right signals to the global investor community.
“Last year, 2020, Ghana recorded FDI of US$2.65 billion from 279 projects. For 2021 alone, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) recorded Foreign Direct Investment of US$973.38 million, 173 projects for the first three quarters of the year, with large ticket projects in the pipeline to boost FDI flows by the close of the year” he said.
Ghana was among the first countries in the world to put together a medium-term response strategy to address the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and to outline an economic recovery, revitalisation, and transformation plan to build back better and stronger, the President said.
“We have identified the relevant sectors of the economy requiring the needed investment that will help accelerate the rebound and growth of the Ghanaian economy, as was witnessed in the immediate years before the pandemic struck, which saw, between 2017 and 2020, our average annual GDP growth rate of seven per cent as one of the fastest in the world. We call the recovery package the Ghana CARES ‘Obaatampa’ Programme,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that the GH¢100 billion Programme, aimed at stabilising and revitalising the Ghanaian economy, had two phases, the Stabilisation Phase, which was implemented between July to December 2020; and the Revitalisation and Transformation Stage, currently under implementation and would end in 2023.
“We are focusing our energies on supporting commercial farming and attracting educated youths into agriculture, building Ghana’s light manufacturing sector, fast-tracking efforts at digitisation, developing Ghana’s housing and construction industry, establishing Ghana as a Regional Hub, and strengthening the enablers of growth of our economy,” he said.
“However, the most attractive and the greatest selling point of Ghana is and has always been her people, the Ghanaian people. The welcome that you find in Ghana, with all due respect to you at this gathering, is unique, and like none anywhere else.”
President Akufo-Addo assured the investor community that Ghana remains a safe country in West Africa.
“Our police and security agencies work hard to keep Ghana an open and happy place, where we are not embarrassed to see ourselves as each other’s keeper.”
He urged the investor community to either invest in Ghana through the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre or set up as a Free Zones enterprise, stressing that government had instituted a number of fiscal incentives for the investor depending on the nature of the activity or the location of the investment.
President Akufo-Addom, who extolled Ghana’s democratic credentials, which has seen the country conducting eight presidential elections in the 28-year period of the Fourth Republic, indicated that investors are optimistic about the Ghanaian economy.
“We have done the heavy lifting required to transition our economy into a growth economy, and are now establishing sustainability and irreversibility.”
“We are spearheading regional integration and cooperation in industrialising Africa, and currently hosting the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which comprises fifty-four (54) states, with a combined GDP of three trillion United States dollars (US$3 trillion),” he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency