The flagbearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Ivor Greenstreet, has defended his emphasis on state intervention as he makes a bid for power.
Ghana’s problems bore down to “a failure of state intervention and support,” Mr. Greenstreet said on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, November 26, 2020.
“If we now are looking at the situation of Ghana and policies and programmes that we have been implementing, clearly, what we are doing is not working.”
“Clearly if you examine the results that we wished to have expected, we are not getting them,” Mr. Greenstreet said.
He singled out housing and Ghana’s struggle to provide affordable homes to citizens arguing that the situation could turnaround with state intervention.
As an example, he cited the housing situation in Singapore which has a home-ownership rate of over 91 percent.
“Do you know in Singapore, 85 percent of the housing is provided by government-backed housing corporations?”
But in the CPP flagbearer’s view, “the policies in the NPP [New Patriotic Party] manifesto about how to deal with it [housing] will not work and will not satisfy the housing situation we have.”
As evidence of the potential of state intervention, Mr. Greenstreet noted that the Akufo-Addo administration’s most touted policy is the Free Senior High School policy.
This same commitment that was seen for the Free Senior High School policy could also be translated to housing and job creation, he added.
“You are compelled to find the money therefore that state intervention in the same way for work is also a right and not a privilege.”
In line with the push for state intervention, Mr. Greenstreet, has pledged to revive over 50 collapsed factories established by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first Head-of-State.
This is to drive an aggressive job creation agenda.
The CPP flagbearer mentioned the Anomabo citrus factory, Ellembelle vegetable oil factory, Eveready batteries at Huni valley, Akwatia Diamonds Company Limited, Pomadze poultry farms and abattoirs, Kade matches corporation, New matches factory at Akim Oda and Akosombo Textiles Limited as some examples.