Former President John Dramani Mahama says there is no truth to the claims being made by the government that the economy is improving.
He said this at the Council of Indigenous Business Association’s (CIBA) forum with the NDC Presidential Candidate in Accra, yesterday.
This comment, he said, was in reference to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Staff Report on Ghana.“Just two days ago the IMF said despite debt restructuring, Ghana’s debt is still unsustainable so all talks about turning the corner, we haven’t turned any corner yet,” he stated emphatically
Addressing the gathering under the theme: ‘Formalising informal sector business through CIBA and Cooperative for socio-economic growth and development – The role of National Leadership’ the former president said there are several mistakes the government has done and as a result the country is going through crises.
He reaffirmed that ensuring the stability of the economy will be the primary priority of his administration when it assumes power next year.
Mr Mahama emphasised on the need to pay attention to small and young enterprises, especially in the indigenous businesses and individuals.
“GDP growth includes the Gross National Product, which is the contribution of indigenous businesses and individuals to the economy’s growth”, he added.
To him, the foreign control of the country’s economic growth supersedes that of the indigenous businesses and individuals and as such the government should focus on the contribution of Ghanaian indigenous business to the total economic growth.
Mr. Mahama further told the gathering that his government had plans for the indigenous businesses in their 24-hour economy.
“We must have the safety and secured environment for businesses that work 24 hours because if we have armed robbery around at night nobody feels safe”, he explained.
Moreover, he emphasised the importance to have an efficient and reliable transport system to make sure that it is safer and easier for people to go to work especially at night.
Touching on fuel, he said his government will also address the high cost of fuels in the country because “a lot of businesses depend on transport of raw materials and finished goods and as such if fuel prices are high, their production cost will also go high”.
The Executive Secretary of CIBA, John K. Momo, who also gave the keynote address, said the CIBA is in line with Ghana’s digitization drive, with the intrinsic goal to accelerate economic growth and facilitate job creation.
