We have vision to transform Ghana and are doing so despite current global crisis – Bawumia

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has reaffirmed the Akufo-Addo Government’s commitment to its vision of transforming Ghana despite the global economic challenges which have wrought dire straits on the country’s fortunes.

Speaking at the Pentecost Convention Centre, Millennium City, Kasoa, on Thursday, (April 7, 2022), Dr Bawumia said the Akufo-Addo government has been focused on undertaking major structural reforms in the Ghanaian economy by shifting from a focus on the production of raw materials to value addition, and by diversifying the economic fundamentals.

This, Dr Bawumia said, is to address the urgent need to change the structure of the Ghanaian economy and make it responsive to the realities of the time, especially as the world moves in to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Virtually every government in our history has noted the need for Ghana to change the structure of the economy through diversification and by shifting from the focus on the production of raw materials to value addition. This is a key pillar of Nana Akufo-Addo’s Ghana Beyond Aid agenda,” Dr Bawumia emphasized.

The Vice President explained that to accomplish this, government has implemented a number of programmes which continue to yield significant results, and has plans to implement even more. Some of the programmes include Planting for Food and Jobs to increase agricultural output for agro processing and food sufficiency, which has resulted in a significant increase in food production.

The Tono dam and the Left and Right banks of the Kpong dam have been rehabilitated to provide 13,190 hectares of additional irrigable land for rice and vegetable cultivation. As well, 80 warehouses have been constructed with a combined storage capacity of 80,000 MT to provide storage and reduce post-harvest losses.

“Reforms in the cocoa sector (including hand pollination have resulted in the highest ever cocoa production (1,047,385 tonnes) recorded in Ghana during the 2020/2021 cocoa season. This is very remarkable.”

The “One-District-One-Factory” policy has taken off with a significant impact on the manufacturing sector, the Vice President continued. 106 factories have been completed and are operational, and 148 factories are under construction. This represents the largest number of factories established under a government program since independence.

“The facilitation of the growth of an Automotive Industry is on course. Volkswagen, Suzuki, Sino Truck, Peugeot, and Toyota, and recently Nissan have all established assembly plants in Ghana. KIA, Hyundai and Renault are also on course to start production in Ghana this year. Kantanka automobiles is also benefiting from the same incentives that have attracted these giants onto our shores.