The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi has called on Ghanaians to invest more in the private sector to help Ghana achieve the dream of Ghana Beyond Aid.
Speaking at World Meets-in Ghana Investment Forum in Kumasi, he said although foreign investors are encouraged to invest in the country, there are opportunities Ghanaians can take advantage of to help transform Ghana.
[contextly_sidebar id=”jsUwsyaRSNfItRAQG6K0WCZ243DulHXt”]He, therefore, urged the private sector to partner with the government to for development.
“We believe that Ghana can only develop and do more for the people of Ghana if the indigenes of Ghana would take this up and work with the government. Germans build Germany, American build America, so we cannot sit down and somebody else come build Ghana for us. We are inviting all diplomats to bring their companies here and join hands with Ghanaian companies for a better future and the future is now,” he said
On his part, the President of Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nana Dr. Appiagyei Dankwawoso I, also stated that ratification of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement by 22 member states will boost Ghana’s chances as an investment destination.
“Given the ramification of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement by 22 member states, the creation of the world’s largest block for goods and service has begun. The agreements commit to alternating barriers to trade, address Africa’s skewed with the rest of the world and serve as one of the world’s greatest and transformation in the African continent,” he said.
Last month, the Association of Ghana Industries lamented over the increasing rate of graduate unemployment in the country.
Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi attributed this to a lack of support from the government for local industries and policies.
“Government policies do not favour industrial development and the biggest example is what happened just 2 weeks ago –the recent government policy on the reduction of import values by 50 percent for general goods and 30 percent for automobiles. What the government is saying is that for all the imports coming into the country, their value charges are being reduced by 50 percent and this by far means you are promoting importation rather than promoting local production”.
He added that “as a result, there is going to be an influx of foreign goods in the country and this will continue to displace our locally manufactured products”.
In February, President Nana Akufo-Addo received a strategy document and Charter that outlines the roadmap for Ghana to achieve self-reliance and the vision of a ‘Ghana beyond aid’.
He said the agenda of a Ghana Beyond Aid, primarily was a mobilizing strategy to teach Ghanaians “that no one was going to come from anywhere to develop Ghana for them other than Ghanaians themselves”.
“The document is also going to be a guide as to how we go about applying the slogan [Ghana Beyond Aid] for it to become meaningful in the lives of the thirty million Ghanaians in Ghana and those outside Ghana,” Akufo-Addo said.
“Africa ought to utilize its own resources and rely more on appropriate home-grown policies to unlock the economic potential of the continent. Progress would be made when we accept responsibility for our own actions and thereby conduct ourselves in a manner that would be fruitful,” he added.