Ghana Is On The Rise Again – VP Bawumia To Diasporans
Ghana is on a path of major recovery in all spheres after a year of
prudent policy implementation by the Nana Akufo-Addo government, and it
is time for Ghanaians domiciled outside the country to turn their
attention back home.
The Vice President of the Republic, H.E. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who
gave the advice when he met the Ghanaian community in the Bay area of
San Francisco, USA on Thursday April 12, 2018, also urged the Ghanaian
community abroad to make their skills and expertise available to their
compatriots back home to speed up the pace of development.
The Vice President met the Ghanaian community as part of a 5-day
working visit to the technology hub of Silicon Valley, California, USA.
Accompanied by some government officials and the leadership of 15
leading local ICT firms, H.E. Dr Bawumia held discussions with the
Valley’s thought and technology leaders to explore the possibilities of
developing strategic insight, decisions and partnerships with the view
of helping to enhance the digitisation of the Ghanaian economy to move
Ghana Beyond Aid.
“We inherited a very challenging economic situation, but due to
prudent measures that we continue to implement, in 2017 we recorded
remarkable economic growth and fulfilled a number of major promises we
made to the good people of Ghana,” Dr Bawumia indicated.
Explaining the rationale for the implementation of policies such as
Free Senior High School Education and the restoration of Teacher and
Nursing Training allowances despite enormous fiscal challenges, Vice
President Bawumia said any nation that seeks to achieve holistic
development must necessarily invest in its human capital, “and the
President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is very committed to the
education of every young person in Ghana, because an educated population
is a prerequisite for growth.”
The curriculum is also being reviewed to focus more on maths and the sciences, H.E. Bawumia disclosed.
Structural economic reforms are also beginning to yield positive
results, Dr Bawumia continued, with Inflation down to 10.4%, Interest
and Treasury Bill rates on the decline, and business confidence growing.
“We have maintained exchange rate stability, and last year, for the
first time since 2006, a Ghanaian government met and surpassed the
deficit target. All of this reflected in a real GDP growth of 8.5% in
2017, from an inherited 3.7%. Indeed, that was the fastest growth rate
in the world”, the Vice President announced to loud applause.
Government has also embarked on an ambitious Digitisation drive
geared towards leveraging the use of technology for the transformation
agenda, with the roll-out of the National Digital Property Addressing
System, the soon-to-be-issued national ID card, the land records
digitisation agenda and efforts to increase financial inclusion via
interoperability in the payment systems, and the visit to Silicon Valley
was further evidence of this commitment.
“We are trying to build a new, efficient Ghana. The world is
continually evolving, and this evolution is led by cutting edge
technology. We know there are many talented young men and women in the
ICT space, and government is looking at ways to make innovating and
actualising promising ideas easier.”
He urged the diasporans to actively support the Akufo-Addo government
to take Ghana to the next stage of her development, assuring, “This is a
listening Government. We are committed to the fight against corruption,
and will implement policies to create jobs. We are ready to take on
board your suggestions and expertise to move Ghana forward, beyond aid.”
The Vice President was accompanied by Hon Mohammad Tijanni Habibu,
deputy Foreign Minister; Deputy Minister for Communications Hon George
Nenyi Andah; Hon. Alex Tetteh Djornobuah, MP for Sefwi Akontonbra and
member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education; and Hon
Halidu Ali Maiga, Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food,
Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs.
The Vice President returned to Accra on Saturday April 14, 2018.
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