President Akufo-Addo has appealed to Chief Executive Officers and heads of business firms operating in the Tema business enclave to join hands with government to develop the economy.

Addressing a host of Chief Executive Officers and heads of businesses at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) Tower in Tema, as part of his three-day working tour of the Greater Accra Region, Mr. Akufo-Addo said his government is completely wedded to the idea of a strong market economy in Ghana, as the most efficient and effective way of developing the economy.

He said it is for this reason that he thinks the private sector should help Government to execute its mission, as well as Government offering the private sector every help needed to be successful.

“We should help each other, you in business, we in Government, we should help each other because we have a common goal and that is how to develop our economy as rapidly and as effectively as possible so that we guarantee our people a better standard of living than they have now,” the President said.

The Banking Sector

Zeroing in on the banking sector and the challenges the sector is currently dealing with, the President said he “does not believe that any objective assessment of what the financial and banking system was when we came into office can fail to notice the serious absence of regulation of our banking and financial system which in itself would have sooner than later threatened the integrity of the whole banking system of our country.”

“The stories of how certain local banks operated in our country is now becoming a matter of public record and we were supposed to close our eyes to the process of trying to sanitize the banking system?” the President asked.

“Ultimately, a vigorous, sane, and well regulated banking sector is the best guarantee of the competitiveness of your businesses. Yes, the immediate impact of those reforms have had an impact on liquidity in the system but the reverse of it is that at long last we are beginning to creates a banking sector that is fit for purpose,” the President stated.

Enforcement of Laws

Touching on reforms and the laws of the country, the President indicated that as long as the country’s laws remain in the statute books of the republic, they must be enforced.

“If there are parts of our own laws that says that particular activities are reserved for Ghanaians, those laws should be enforced. It does not make sense for us to make laws that we cannot enforce. It makes nonsense of law making,” the President said.

Tax Stamps

In his answer to a complaint on the working challenges of the new Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Tax Stamps, the President said, “All new initiatives do have challenges, but we cannot go back on it. We have to find solutions to the challenges.”

Acting DG of GPHA

In his welcome address, the Acting Director General of the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority, Mr Michael Lugoje, said the “Paperless Port Clearance System” of government “has been one of the best things that has ever happened to members of the port community”.

He further notes that currently, the staff strength of GPHA is a little over 4,000, including National Service Personnel. “Inspite of the difficulties ahead, we are thinking outside the box to be able to keep our revenue flows in good shape, endeavor to door best to keep our staff numbers and if possible, increase same as part of our efforts in sharing our part of the national cake fairly and equitably” Mr. Lugoje said.