The\u00a0Presidential Candidate\u00a0of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana\u00a0Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that his party will rebuild the “shattered” Ghanaian\u00a0economy and fix the mess created by the governing NDC government.<\/p>\n
Nana was speaking at a meeting\u00a0of Ghanaian and International businessmen and women,\u00a0as well as\u00a0professionals and students, organised by the Young\u00a0Executive Forum (YEF) of\u00a0NPP UK.<\/p>\n
Nana Addo told the audience that Ghana was once the “poster boy of Africa\u2019s rising narrative,” but this was only up until when the NPP government led by President Kufuor left office.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”yxzWb2STHG5fBVZUGaPFSXHyeMcrn3km”]Nana Addo noted that democratic institutions were taking root in Ghana with a growth rate of\u00a08 %. “This was the image that was visible to the world,” he stated.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0lamented that within 6 years\u00a0after the President Kufuor regime, “we have a different image of Ghana today, a country with a struggling economy despite the numerous resources, including recently discovered petroleum resources at her disposal,\u00a0a country back under the tutelage of the IMF, a Ghana that is not working in any circle, a broken society, and broken economy.”<\/p>\n
Ghana today under the NDC and President Mahama, Nana Addo noted, is “in an even worst state than the NPP found it in the year 2000.”<\/p>\n
Ghana\u2019s growth rate, he added, has fallen to only\u00a03% this year from a peak of 11-12% a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n
“Rampant corruption, lack of proper planning and economic mismanagement of the country is what we find under the current NDC administration led by President John Mahama,” he noted.<\/p>\n
“Ghana needs to be\u00a0put back on the right track that President Kufuor’s administration placed it. Ghana needs to once again be the rising star and the hope of Africa and once again become the benchmark of a great African nation. The road map\u00a0to regaining this lauded status Nana stated, is to move away from simply being an exporter of raw and unprocessed agricultural products and instead, be in the position to add value to the raw materials and agricultural products that the country produces, with the aid of manufacturing technology. To a standing ovation, Nana Addo stated that \u201cmy vision, is to make sure that within the next decade at least 50% of the export proceeds of Ghana come from Ghanaian industrial companies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n Nana Akufo-Addo said that increasing agricultural productivity by supporting \u00a0farmers and fishermen, building strong financial systems that will support our agricultural needs and\u00a0\u00a0the building of light manufacturing industry to create jobs and improve the\u00a0standard of living of our citizens, is a major task, but certainly doable, with the right leadership in place.<\/p>\n He observed that countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Brazil and the likes of Botswana and Mauritius on the African continent\u00a0had followed such programs and succeeded, and so can Ghana.<\/p>\n Unsustainable levels of corruption<\/strong><\/p>\n Nana Addo\u00a0said the “unsustainable levels of corruption that the NDC\u00a0have introduced into their administration” will not be entertained under his watch.<\/p>\n “A Future NPP\/Akufo Addo government\u00a0will fight and defeat\u00a0corruption at all levels.”<\/p>\n As a first step, Nana announced that under his administration, the Office of an Independent Special Prosecutor, who will have the special powers of investigating and prosecuting acts of corruption, within and outside government, will be set up. To ensure a truly independent role, the Special Prosecutor will not be appointed by the President but by Parliament and removed in the same way from office.<\/p>\n SADA rot<\/strong><\/p>\n “The shambles that is SADA, has, and will forever shame the\u00a0NDC government for its gross mismanagement, and embezzlement of public funds meant to make a positive difference in bridging the divide between the North and South of the country,” bemoaned Nana Addo.<\/p>\n Sole sourcing destroying economy<\/strong><\/p>\n The NPP Flagbearer added that the NDC government\u2019s “appetite for sole sourcing is destroying the economy and raising the level of corruption which in effect, is raising the debt stock of the country to levels that is bringing the country back to HIPC status.”<\/p>\n Nana Akufo-Addo\u00a0told the audience\u00a0that there was\u00a0the need for Ghana to do more and achieve more than it currently is doing.<\/p>\n He made comparison between a stable Ghana, and the neighbouring Ivory Coast that had only recently been engulfed in destructive civil war following a disputed elections.<\/p>\n Nana Addo observed that the positive story of recover in the Ivory Coast within the short space of three years, post conflict, and under the current leadership, is a clear example of what a good, visionary and responsible leadership can achieve for a country.<\/p>\n He further noted that with the same land mass and weather climate as Ghana\u2019s, the export value of the Ivory Coast\u2019s agricultural commodities is $12 billion as compared to Ghana\u2019s $2 billion.<\/p>\n Cocoa<\/strong><\/p>\n Nana Akufo Addo pointed out that La Cote D\u2019Ivore produces 1.1 million tonnes of cocoa as compared to Ghana\u2019s 500 thousand tonnes. With this comparison between the two countries, Ghana he said,\u00a0need a leader and government with a clear cut focus, and one who would make the wellbeing of the people his primary focus.<\/p>\n “A good management of the economy and introduction of pro-poor interventionist policies such as president Kufuor introduced during his tenure, is the basis of freeing the people from their destitution.”<\/p>\n Nana concluded by promising that he will put Ghanaians first and introduce measures that will work to lift \u00a0the country from a developing country to a middle income economy, and ultimately to a leading economy in the West African sub region.<\/p>\n To this end, Nana observed that Ghana can be the bridge between Africa\u2019s number one economy, Nigeria, and Ghana\u2019s Francophone West African neighbour, the Ivory Coast, exploiting this role to become even more successful in her own right.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a working country, a functioning country, and a country where there is dignity in the public service. NPP will lead Ghana to the promised land,\u201d he said to a spontaneous standing ovation.<\/p>\n Also attending the event was Miss Adjoa Safo, Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region,\u00a0Bernard Antwi Bosiako aka, Chairman Wontumi,\u00a0NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Mr Stanley Adjiri Blankson, former Mayor of Accra, Mr Alex Dadey, Chairman Young Executive Forum, Mr Richard Diedong Dombo, 1st<\/sup> Vice Chairman, NPP UK, deputising for Chairman Michael Ansah, representatives of the UK Conservative Party, and other NPP UK executives.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Credit: NPP UK COMMUNICATIONS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The\u00a0Presidential Candidate\u00a0of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana\u00a0Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated that his party will rebuild the “shattered” Ghanaian\u00a0economy and fix the mess created by the governing NDC government. Nana was speaking at a meeting\u00a0of Ghanaian and International businessmen and women,\u00a0as well as\u00a0professionals and students, organised by the Young\u00a0Executive Forum (YEF) of\u00a0NPP UK. Nana […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":135096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[43,38],"yoast_head":"\n