Accra, June 6, GNA – Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia says Ghana’s economic opportunities for private sector investors are back on track as the country is navigating its way out of the global economic meltdown.
Dr Bawumia stated that the Government was relentlessly re-focusing on economic growth and working hard to regaining the trajectory Ghana was on and get back to pre-Covid growth numbers.
Vice President Bawumia made the remarks at the Third Ghana Investments and Opportunities Summit in London.
The summit, on the theme: “Post Covid Economic Recovery: Opportunities for the Investor” was being organised by the Ghana High Commission in UK, in collaboration with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC)
Vice President Bawumia said: “we are living in extraordinary times. Over the past two years, inflation has surged. Its rise has been large, sudden, and global. In many parts of the world, it is now at levels unseen for generations”.
He said financial systems had come under strain for the first time in recent decades, with high rate of inflation and financial stress emerging in tandem.
The Vice President noted that the world continued to face difficult moments caused by several factors, including climate change, disruptions in the supply chain of manufacturing goods due to the pandemic, among others.
“These issues as projected by the World Bank are sinking some developed and developing countries into recession. Just when the world was recovering from the ravages of Covid-19 pandemic, which came to shake the foundation of the world’s economy, causing it to a standstill through its devastating effects, resulting in the fall of Global Gross Domestic Product by over 78%, war also broke out between Russia and Ukraine.
“Its consequence has not only affected the two countries but also extended to other parts of the world, including Ghana,” he explained.
Ghana, he said, had been hit by mainly three major external forces, saying; “The Covid-19 pandemic hit our capacity to access fundamental goods, and the response put a burden on public finances.
“The war between Russia and Ukraine hit fertilizer and grain prices, among others, and increased the prices of commodities back home. And the US Federal Reserve’s move to hike interest rate severely hit our capacity to borrow and repay debt in the international market”.
The investment summit seeks to woo foreign investors to take advantage of opportunities created in the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy in a road up to a total economic recovery.
Vice President Bawumia said the Government was balancing sound fiscal management with strategic public investments that would unlock growth.
“The private sector is the engine of growth, and we are only here to support you. Our government is acting as your facilitator. We will unlock bottlenecks and prioritise limited resources to strategic sectors and projects. We think this is an exciting time to be part of Ghana’s economic growth,” he said.
“We are organizing this Investment and Opportunities Summit exactly in that context. First, we want to show that Ghana is back on track and that strong opportunities exist for profitable private investments in key sectors. “
“Ghana is home to one of West Africa’s most prominent and efficient ports, Tema, on the eastern serves as a feedstock to the landlocked ECOWAS countries. There is also the Takoradi port on the western coast, which serves logistics, oil and gas, and allied industries. Takoradi is undergoing a significant transformation and requires significant investment to help decongest Tema and establish a commercial case for more vessels berthing there,” he added.
Dr Bawumia cited the Brownfield, Greenfield, and Public Private Partnerships as tangible and bankable projects championed by the private sector in Ghana and abroad.
GNA