President John Dramani Mahama has pledged to maintain strict fiscal discipline, eliminate waste in government spending and channel the savings into productive interventions, as he assured business leaders that the economic gains recorded since his administration took office would be sustained.
The President made the pledge on Thursday during a courtesy call at the Jubilee House in Accra by a delegation of over 130 members of the CEO Network Ghana, led by the organisation’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ernest De-Graft Egyir.
President Mahama named the Big Push infrastructure programme, Adwumawura and the Free Primary Healthcare policy as the key areas into which the government was redirecting resources, describing them as productive interventions designed to deliver tangible benefits to Ghanaians.
He said the discipline the government had exercised over the past year and a few months was already showing results. Ghana’s GDP, he announced, had surpassed the $100 billion mark, reaching an estimated $114 billion, and the country had moved from 11th to 8th largest economy in Africa. Debt levels, he added, had been brought down to sustainable levels.
“The business environment today is stronger than it was in the recent past, as business confidence has revived. Foreign direct investment is increasing and domestic investment is also picking up,” the President said.
President Mahama said the government was also taking steps to reduce corruption and promote transparency through the introduction of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, in the computation of duties and levies — a move he said would make the business environment cleaner and more predictable for investors.
He told the CEOs that rebuilding and transforming the Ghanaian economy was a task that could not be done by government alone.
“Government deeply values the contribution that you are making as we believe rebuilding and transforming the Ghanaian economy must be done in close partnership with the private sector,” he said.
The President also used the occasion to reaffirm the 24-Hour Economy Policy as a key tool for expanding production, maximising infrastructure and increasing job creation, and outlined the government’s Accelerated Export Agenda, which puts value addition and diversification at the centre of Ghana’s trade strategy.
“Ghana can no longer rely on exporting raw materials,” the President said, encouraging members of the CEO Network to assess opportunities within the export framework and engage government on the support needed to implement it effectively.
Mr De-Graft Egyir commended the President for what he described as sterling leadership in responsible debt stewardship, fiscal consolidation and the renewed focus on restoring the country’s macroeconomic stability.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
