The government is keen on thoroughly formalising the economy since that is a prerequisite for rapid development, according to vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Opening the regional ministers’ conference in Kumasi on Friday, December 15, 2017, Dr. Bawumia opined most of the programmes being embarked on by the government will soon reflect in the livelihood of Ghanaians.
He noted the Akufo-Addo administration has “worked arduously to lay the foundation for rapid development of our dear country” by rolling out programmes such as the Digital Property Address system which is aimed at formalising the economy. He reiterated next year land title registration will also go digital in addition to the Ghana Card – National ID card – which will also be rolled out soon.
“Since independence there has been tremendous efforts by successive governments towards the development of the nation. Ghana is currently classified as a middle income country based on certain economic indicators, such as the Country’s per capita income, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Income (GNI) among others.
“However, all these indicators of economic growth will continue to remain meaningless to our people for as long as they do not reflect in the livelihood of our people who lack basic social infrastructure. The lack of basic infrastructure at the local communities is of significant concern,” the vice president stressed.
He added: “It is against this backdrop that, Government, under the leadership of H.E President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo has worked arduously to lay the foundation for rapid development of our dear country. It is the vision of the Akufo-Addo’s government to develop Ghana beyond aid by galvanizing stakeholders, including Regional Ministers, MMDCE’s, coordinating councils among others, to build the required infrastructure that are prerequisites for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction.”
“Our primary vision, to which we are highly committed, is to chart a sustained course to economic growth that will reflect effectively on the wellbeing of every Ghanaian; an economy that our children can look back 60 years from now and be utterly proud that our generation took decisive steps to correct the structural imbalances that undermine growth and poverty alleviation. Each one of us has a critical role to play, and in doing so, we need to move away from an era of aid dependency to a regime of self-reliance where we manage our resources effectively.
“We need, therefore, to identify and redefine our priorities in the most effective and efficient manner in order to attract trade and investment as two key drivers of social and economic growth. Indeed, this is underpinned by the clarion call of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana for national unity and a positive change; a positive attitudinal change towards timeliness, judicious use of state resources and a conscientious effort to create national wealth and make this nation a better place for all,” the economist pointed out.
He continued: “To build our economy beyond aid, formalization of the economy is critical. However, the majority of our economy is in the informal sector. To this effect, the Government has taken steps to formalize the economy through three different key initiatives: the National Identification System, The National Digital Addressing System and Bank interoperability. The National Digital Addressing System and National Identification System make it possible for every property and individual to be uniquely identified respectively.
“The agricultural sector is key to national development and an engine of growth to move our economy beyond aid. It is therefore fundamental to boost agricultural productivity to achieve sustainable industrial and agribusiness development as a means of wealth and job creation. Consequently, our Government has placed renewed emphasis on the agriculture sector, pumping in much resources into the sector to facilitate rapid integration to global and regional value chains. The revival and modernization of Ghana’s agriculture sector through the introduction of the Planting for Food and Jobs program, provision of financial support and inputs for farmers and the intensification of the Local Economic Delivery (LED) Programme at the MMDAs among others are a major plank of the Government’s agenda and commitment of creating and providing jobs for the people.”
The conference which is scheduled to end Saturday, December 16, 2017 is being chaired by Otumfuo’s Adontenhene, Nana Adu Gyamfi II and also serves as a platform for the ministers to share ideas and come up with solutions to enhance development in their regions.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
