UK to invest £20m to boost job creation, infrastructure development

The United Kingdom (UK) government has announced plans to invest 20 million pounds into the Ghanaian Economy with the aim of boosting government’s job creation efforts and infrastructure development through a programme dubbed “The Jobs and Economic Transformation Programme.”

The UK Minister of State for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister of State at the Department for International Development, Harriett Baldwin, disclosed this when she paid a courtesy call on the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, at the Jubilee House.

Minister Baldwin in her brief remarks stated that she was in Ghana to signal the United Kingdom’s support to government’s agenda of a Ghana beyond Aid.

“We are announcing a 20 million pound programme on jobs and economic transformation which will seek to work in four main ways in terms of investment promotion, in terms of policy, in terms of localization of jobs, in terms of infrastructure development, and to leveraging even more investments into Ghana’s very vibrant economy and to create thousands of jobs for Ghanaians,” the Minister stated.

President Akufo-Addo in his response to the announcement by the UK Minister for Africa said his government is hopeful that the UK’s new approach in dealing with Ghana will yield dividends for both countries.

“it is good that the British government has now seen the necessity to support this area of our development and to do so with this new instruments that you are about to engage in. We will continue to value our relationship with Britain and our participation in the Commonwealth,” the President said.

Ghana’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Allan Kyeremanten subsequently signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of Ghana and the Minister.

Harriett Baldwin, signed on behalf of the United Kingdom. In a brief remark after the signing, Mr. Kyeremanten, said the current level of trade between Ghana and the UK does not reflect the long standing bond of friend and commercial interest between Ghana and the UK.

He said the new Initiative, the Jobs and Economic Transformation Programme, that has been announced by Minister Baldwin, to him is a game changer that will open a new chapter in Ghana, UK relations.