US Treasury Secretary commends Ghana for political stability

The visiting US Treasury Secretary, Mr Paul O'Neill on Tuesday commended Ghana for her political stability and called on Ghanaians to remain steadfast and contribute their quota to the development of the country.

He said with the stability and the good leadership the country was enjoying, she was going forward in her economic development and the people should feel good about their economic undertakings and work hard to bring the country to a higher economic pedestal.

Mr O'Neill made the remarks after touring the offices of Allied Computer Systems-Business Process Solutions (ACS-BPS), the largest US information technology company in Ghana, as part of his three-day official visit to Ghana. After interacting with the employees, he described them as beautiful people, who were equivalent to any information technology clerks anywhere in the world.

He called on corporate entities to treat their employees with dignity so that they could realise a broad-based improvement in their performance. On the payment of taxes on the operations of the company to the government, Mr O'Neill said the company was operating in the free trade zone.

The company, therefore, does not pay any taxes but was contributing to the overall development of Ghana through offering employment. Mr Tom Blodget, President of ACS, said the company employs over 900 people and pays a total of about 250,000 dollars monthly in salaries since it was established 20 months. It hopes to double the number of employees within the next 18 months.

Mr Blodget said with the operations of the ACS-BPS, Ghana might lead the continent in electronic commerce within the next few years. He urged the West to change their perception of Africa, saying; "the people of Africa are pretty great." The star musician Paul "Bono" Hewson, who said he was willing to learn from all quarters, accompanied Mr O'Neill.

Mr O'Neill is scheduled to meet President John Agyekum Kufuor and the Government Economic Team and tour various African Development Fund Project in Jamestown, Accra and view a display of USAID and Peace Corps projects at the US Embassy Warehouse in Accra.

The Treasury Secretary would also visit Tamale and tour Oxfam in Wamali. His visit forms part of two-week four-nation African tour that would take him to South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia.