Accra, Ghana//-The former President of Ghana and the NDC Presidential Candidate has pledged to revive the abandoned “Gateway Programme” to reposition Ghana as the gateway for African investments if he wins the December 2024 elections.
John Dramani Mahama pledged in front of over 500 CEOs, captains of industry, entrepreneurs, diplomats, and policymakers at the just-ended eighth edition of the Ghana CEO Summit held in Accra.
According to him, the programme would be one of the key programmes to attract billions of investments into the West African country which is currently losing global businesses to its neighbouring countries due to bad political leadership and policy incoherence.
Ghanaian businesspeople dominate the economy
Mr Mahama added: “Ghanaian-registered businesses will be given priority in government procurements. We want Ghanaian businesspeople to dominate the economy.
Creating jobs for Ghanaians through public-private collaboration to upskill the workforce Africa boasts the world’s youngest population, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30”.
If harnessed effectively, this presents a significant opportunity for growth. Our young people are our most valuable assets, he said.
It should be of concern that in addition to unemployment and lack of skills training, Ghana is ranked 99 out of 123 countries in the 2023 Global Innovation Index.
This is unacceptable and highlights the urgent need to diversify the country’s economy and establish the necessary structures and programmes to enhance Ghana’s innovation ecosystem.
Upscaling the skills
He noted that the demand for skilled talent is unprecedented, emphasising that; “to ensure Ghana’s competitiveness and adaptability to emerging trends, we are committed to upscaling the skills of our workforce across diverse fields such as technology, engineering, craftsmanship, seafaring, manufacturing, healthcare, and renewable energy”.
Leveraging insights from successful global models, the former president assured that his new National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would forge strategic partnerships with skill development agencies and educational institutions to offer targeted training programmes and apprenticeships for the youth.
Again, by centralising collaboration among various tech hubs, academic institutions, and centres, Mr Mahama aimed to equip Ghana’s workforce with the requisite skills to thrive in a digital economy, unlocking new opportunities for economic growth and job creation.
Emphasising vocational and technical training alongside quality higher education is essential, and “we are determined to invest in this human resource base, which will be critical to Ghana’s industrialisation agenda”.
Export Ghanaian expertise abroad
Mr Mahama who delivered the keynote address at the summit further pledged to train artisans, technicians, and professionals to a world-class standard and enter into agreements with other countries to export Ghanaian expertise abroad on fixed short—to medium-term contracts.
Investing in world-class infrastructure for economic transformation and achieving these goals will require investing in infrastructure development—improving transportation, energy, and telecommunications, which will help lower transaction costs, increase productivity, and enhance the competitiveness of our exports.
Priority Investment Programme
In his words: “We will draw up a Priority Investment Programme (PIP) to cover critical infrastructural projects in roads, bridges, dams, railways, aviation, telecommunications, manufacturing, healthcare, education, power, water and sanitation, agriculture, and agribusiness”.
$10 billion BIG PUSH
This will be implemented under a five-year, $10 billion BIG PUSH infrastructure programme, investing $2 billion each year in priority infrastructural projects to boost economic growth and prosperity, according to him.
Harnessing AI for Economic Transformation
Touching on the theme: ‘Reigning Business and Economic Growth: Charting a Path Forward; Economic Diversification and Artificial Intelligence Transformation’ assured that his government would harness AI for economic transformation.
He noted that AI has the potential to revolutionise every sector of our economy, from healthcare to agriculture, finance to education. It will enhance efficiency, drive innovation, and create new business opportunities.
“As I said during my recent presentation at the University for Energy and Natural Resources, we intend to use cutting-edge technology, including geo-fencing, to supervise the small-scale mining sector.
AI technology will help us analyse information gathered to monitor what is happening in districts with mining activity”.
The NDC is on record as having invested significantly in digital infrastructure during our tenure in office, including my time as president. Yet, there remains a substantial digital divide in Ghana, Mr Mahama indicated.
Only an estimated 34 to 40% of rural individuals have internet access compared to 59 to 66% of urban dwellers.
Men are more likely to own phones with internet access than women (63% vs 49%). Access to computers is also low, with only 20% of Ghanaians reportedly owning one, according to data.
“To address these issues, we must and are committed to bridging the digital divide and harnessing technology and the power of AI to benefit our economy and people.
This will help bridge digital divides by offering solutions tailored to local contexts. For instance, AI-driven educational tools can be used in remote areas with limited access to quality education”.
AI can support local languages and dialects, making digital content accessible to diverse populations. It will also help the country boost our agriculture and agri-business potentials.
