Accra, Dec. 9, GNA – Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, has urged Ghanaians to seek indigenous solutions to overcome challenges confronting the country.
He said the citizenry should not succumb to the current national economic challenges but the situation should serve as an opportunity to unleash the entrepreneurial capabilities to drive change.
Speaking at the Group’s Annual Thanksgiving Service, in Accra, on Friday, the Executive Chairman said he was confident that the nation would overcome the current predicament if it utilised its local resources and expertise.
“Just as the lepers (reference to 2 Kings 7:8 in the Bible) relied on their own initiatives, and they succeeded; if we are determined to use whatever strength and limited resources God has bestowed on us, we shall succeed,” Dr Agyepong said.
“It is imperative that we seek indigenous solutions to diminish our reliance on foreign products,” he added.
Dr Agyepong rallied the nation to make a conscious effort to consume local products to limit dependency on foreign goods.
That, he said, would help to grow indigenous businesses, boost job creation and contribute to the stabilisation of the local currency.
“The time has come for us to bolster our domestic production, ensuring that we prioritise consuming what we manufacture to alleviate the persistent strain on the cedi. With a steadfast belief in the Almighty’s grace, I am confident that prioritising localisation will lead us to emerge victoriously from these challenges,” Dr Agyepong said.
Dr Freda Prempeh, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, assured that the Ministry would continue to support the private sector to keep the country clean.
She commended the Jospong Group for gaining Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMO) authorisation, an achievement she said should inspire other local businesses to grow.
“Together we will overcome sanitation challenges and grow from strength to strength,” she said.
Apostle Dr Aaron Ami-Narh, the President of the Apostolic Church of Ghana, preaching on the theme: “Be grateful enough to return”, applauded the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group for sustaining its annual-week long thanksgiving service.
“It takes a level of thankfulness to return to be grateful,” he said.
Dr Ami-Narh prayed for a peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections in 2024.
The Swiss Government recently signed an authorisation document conferring the Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO) credit on the Integrated Waste Recycling and Compost Facilities of the Jospong Group.
The granted ITMO status, which encompasses four out of the 38 waste treatment plants belonging to Zoomlion Ghana, a subsidiary of JGC, was signed at the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
The four treatment plants were selected for the initial phase of the project aiming to generate approximately 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide valued at US $20 million from the present until 2030.
Ghana has decided to explore the opportunities in carbon market as one of the means to unlock investments to meet Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), create green businesses and jobs.
Carbon markets are trading systems in which carbon credits – a permit acting as commodity- are sold towards sustainable development.
GNA