Nana Sets New Target
Nana Akufo-Addo with AGI members after yesterday’s meeting
The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has promised to build 100,000 houses annually to solve the country’s housing problem when he is elected.
At a meeting with captains of industry in Accra yesterday, he proposed to establish a ‘new economic order’ when given the mandate.
He said he would “add value to our natural resources and manufacture what we need and consume” and lead the country to “become an export-oriented economy” with the West Africa sub region as the main target.
“We very much still believe that for our economy to grow, we need to support and energise the private sector to grow exponentially, create jobs and be the main instrument for economic growth,” he said.
“Should I, God willing, be voted as president of Ghana come December 2012, a new era of ascendency of Ghanaian business will also come into play,” he stated, adding, “Government’s role in this regard will to be to ensure that we have a globally competitive business environment and private sector.”
The components of this ‘transformational agenda,’ according to him, would include “increasing agricultural production and adding value to products through agro processing, developing and adding value to natural resources, including oil and gas, salt, gold, bauxite, iron ore, manganese and other natural resources”.
Apart from that, he also spoke of supporting and promoting industry, especially small and medium scale entrepreneurs and businesses to be competitive in import substitution and exports through what he described as “a comprehensive review and reform of our trade policy” whilst promoting high-value services including concentration on ICT services, financial services, education, health and tourism.
Plan
Under an Akufo-led NPP government, he promised to support and make Ghana the pharmaceutical manufacturing centre for the West Africa region.
“We need to tackle the barriers that hinder our becoming a true modern economy,” he explained.
In the light of this, he stressed the need to “implement an aggressive infrastructure programme focused on expanding the key areas of economic activity”.
As part of the plan, Nana Addo also gave his word to “reduce the overall cost of doing business and make Ghana attractive as an investment opportunity by streamlining bureaucracy, and achieving macroeconomic stability” since “the NPP has always been at the forefront of empowering our businesses to lead the economy”. He insisted that “the time has come to cement further this notion and make private sector the largest actor in the economy.”
“It only takes true committed leadership and the support of our hard-working entrepreneurs and business people to achieve this aim.
“That is why I find it possible to sign, on behalf of the NPP, the document setting out the commitment to the private sector facilitation and development to the AGI.
“In our manifesto, we have outlined an audacious and forward- thinking blueprint that we believe will change the economic landscape and fortunes of our country,” he stated.
100,000 Housing Units
The NPP presidential candidate said his government, in partnership with the private sector, would reduce Ghana’s housing deficit by 10 percent in his first term.
“We believe that government’s role is to facilitate strong collaboration between land agencies, family/stools/skins, banks, insurance companies, mortgage houses, building material suppliers and real estate developers like GREDA. Our goal is to reduce the housing deficit by about 10% within the four-year term, by increasing national annual output from 40,000 units to 100,000 units,” Nana Akufo-Addo said.
The NPP presidential candidate made this known when he addressed members of the Ghana Real Estate Association in Accra yesterday.
Ghana’s housing deficit currently stands at some 1.5million housing units.
The demand for housing units every year, according to him, currently stood at 70,000 units.
However, only an estimated 40,000 housing units were added to the housing stock annually, leaving a deficit of 30,000 housing units.
Out of the 40,000 housing units delivered annually, only 10% was provided by the real estate developers, a contribution described by him as “a minute proportion”.
That, among others, the NPP presidential candidate stated, was why he had requested to meet with GREDA specifically to outline his housing policy proposals and to seek the association’s support.