Bawumia Challenges Chief Directors of MDAs

Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana

Accra, March 13, 2018//-The Vice President of Ghana, Alhaji Dr  Mahamudu Bawumia, says all efforts to secure the economic future of the country and to attain a Ghana Beyond Aid, would be in vein without the contributions of chief directors of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

According to him, is imperative leaders of all sectors contribute their quota by providing effective strategies and policies as well as build a concerted efforts to support the promotion of rapid inclusive economic growth of the country.

Dr. Bawumia threw this challenge when he was speaking at the opening of a five-day micro-economic Policy Dialogue for Chief Directors of MDAs in Accra.

He reminded the chief directors that the government’s hopes and aspirations to promote trade and support for Ghanaian businesses in order to attract more investors hinge on the MDAs, rather than to be seen as the solely responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ghana’s Mission Abroad.

the country.

“You have the principal obligation to eliminate mediocrity and ensure hard work and discipline at all times. We owe it to our nation Ghana to be shining examples of excellence, that way, our proteges would consider it a moral imperative to follow in our footsteps. Tom Peter, the renowned American writer once said that “true leaders don’t create followers they create more leaders”.Indeed, we must ignite in our staff, a genuine passion to serve our country Ghana,and nurture them into leaders we can all be proud of,” he reiterated.

Dr Bawumia noted: “I am delighted to say that, the growth of our economy in the past year has been largely resuming, with a current growth rate of 7.8per cent, the highest since 2014, with projections of an upsurge of 8.5per cent by the end of the fourth quarter of 2018.

Additionally, government managed to reduce the rate of inflation from 15.4 per cent in 2016 to 11.6 per cent at the end of 2017, with a projected decrease to 10.3 per cent by the end of the first quarter of this year.

These favourable macroeconomic indicators according to him, are not tell-tale signs of a strong and buoyant economy but also a call to devote more vibrant efforts towards the achievement of a resilient economy.”

He added that government’s key flagship programmes such as the ‘One District One Factory’, ‘One Village One Dam, ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ largely depend on diligent and collaborative efforts from all sectors of the economy.

Adding that, these programmes would go a long way to bolster Ghana’s industrial sector and, with proper emphasis on value addition will propel trade activities to new heights with the ultimate objective of creating jobs and alleviating poverty in the country.

In his opening remarks, a Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mohammad Habibu Tijani said the principles of economic inclusiveness could not be overemphasised because, the economic development of this country must positively impact the lives of all Ghanaians, not just a select few.

According to him,  the over-alarming rate of armed robberies that have resulted in the loss of property and innocent lives in recent times, is a reality check that the high unemployment and the huge disparity of income in the country must be tackled as a matter of urgency.

According to him, “given the collective mandates of your various Ministries, I am confident that this platform will provide you the opportunity, to brainstorm on strategic, credible and sustainable policies to ensure that, the accelerated socio-economic transformation and the Policy on “Ghana Beyond Aid” envisioned by the President becomes a reality.”

“It is my belief that with your committed assistance, government’s initiatives aimed at reducing unemployment, poverty and achieving social inclusion such as “One District One Factory”, “Planting for Food and Jobs”, and “Free Senior High School” among others, will be successfully achieved,” Mr Tijani emphasized.

The workshop organised by the Economic Commission for Africa and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

By Sammy Adjei, African Eye Report

 

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