President Nana Akufo-Addo has reiterated the commitment of his administration towards the industrial transformation of the country’s economy, the diversification of agriculture and an increase in agricultural productivity, and the creation of a strong social services sector in Ghana.
These, according to President Akufo-Addo, represent Ghana’s path towards the realization of the 2030 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda.
The President made this known on Friday, 9th June, 2017, when he called on His Excellency Peter Thomson, President of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, at the UN building in New York, USA.
With Ghana’s economy being largely dependent on the production and export of raw materials for many years, President Akufo-Addo noted this situation has resulted in Ghana’s economy being unable to create the necessary numbers of high-paying jobs that will enhance the living standards of the masses of the people.
It is for this reason, therefore, that President Akufo-Addo told Mr. Peter Thompson, that the addition of significant value to Ghana’s primary products, through initiatives, in collaboration with the private sector, such as the 1-District-1-Factory, is a priority of his government.
To this end, the President stated that his government has introduced a raft of policy measures aimed at creating an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish.
These measures, he added, will shift the focus of Ghana’s economy from taxation to production, and, hopefully, make Ghanaian businesses very competitive in West Africa, Africa and beyond.
From September 2017, he told the UN General Assembly’s President that his government has found and committed resources to begin the Free Senior High School policy.
Having inherited a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) indebted to the tune of some GH¢1.2 billion, which threatened the very survival of the scheme, President Akufo-Addo stated that his government has put in place measures to find the money to pay off the debt, and revive the NHIS.
The implementation of these policies, President Akufo-Addo noted, will put Ghana on the firm path towards progress and prosperity, as well as meeting the 15 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As co-chair of the UN SDGs Advocates Group of Eminent Personalities, President Akufo-Addo stressed that, he together with all other members of the Advocates Group, will do all in their power to mobilize political support for the realization of the goals, and promote global development that leaves no one behind.
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