Ghana is on the verge of economic take-off - Veep

Vice President Amissah-Arthur has stated that Ghana is on the verge of economic take-off and has urged investors who want to do business in the country to take advantage of the various opportunities that exist in the country.

Vice President Amissah-Arthur made the statement on Tuesday April 14, 2015 when a 36-member business delegation from India paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

Interacting with the delegation, he assured them that the medium to long term prospects of the country’s economy is good, adding that despite the economic challenges, income levels have improved and extreme poverty reduced- citing the economic reforms that took place in the 80s which has helped to reduce extreme poverty by half.

Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur said Ghana as a country has come a long way and this is the time that the country needs friendly investors to invest in the nation. He said Ghana in 2011 had the highest growth rate in Africa and also received a lot of portfolio investors.

Accordng Mr. Amissah-Arthur, for the past 5 years, commodity prices have been weak across the globe, hence some of the problems. He said government is working on wage growth restraining in order to reform the economy by limiting subsidies on petrol, electricity, public sector wages that created some of the deficit to restore economic stability.

The delegation is in the country to explore business opportunities in areas such as the manufacturing sector, sugar production, finance, health, rural electrification and agro-processing.

The courtesy call is a follow-up to an earlier visit by the Vice President to India last November.

Leader of the delegation, Mr. K. Jeeva Sagar, Indian High Commissioner in Ghana, said Ghana is a friendly destination for them to invest in, so the need to take advantage of the business opportunities in the country to invest and create jobs for the people.

On his part, Mr. Sam Pee Yalley, Ghana’s High Commissioner to India, who facilitated the delegation, called for partnerships between Ghanaian businessmen and their counterparts for the benefit of both countries.

He said the delegation was well selected from the Indian industry, the medical fields, Information technology and pharmaceutical companies to explore business opportunities in the country.

Dr Victor Bampoe, Deputy Minister of Health said he was very happy that they have been able to make it to Ghana because he had been there to sign an MOU with the Indian Health Sector last November and explained that the purpose was for Ghanaian medical personnel to be sent there for further training in specialized areas, as well as exchanging knowledge.