The Convention People�s Party (CPP) says it is the sole responsibility of government to ensure that institutions and structures are put in place not only to grow Ghana�s economy but to support the private sector to compete in the marketplace.
�To simply say that the private sector is the engine of growth is like sitting on a motorcycle without holding the handle bars; you can neither give it power nor direction, and we have lost a lot valuable time in building a kind of economy that would be reliant and productive,� the party�s presidential candidate, Dr Abu Sakara, said when he appeared at the Institute of Economic Affairs� (IEA) Evening Encounter with Presidential Candidates.
According to him, any proper and honest assessment of Ghana�s condition today clearly showed that unemployment and high living costs were the twin banes of the society.
�Ninety per cent of our people today live between abject poverty and the verge of civility on meagre rations of less than GH�10 a day and there is a wide gap between those who have and those who have not."
He observed that in spite of the much touted economic growth many Ghanaians still did not have access to clean water, sufficient food or food with adequate nutritious value, basic healthcare and education.
The CPP�s strategy would be based on a paradigm of stronger state intervention to restore Ghana�s productive capacity.
It would create jobs with real incomes and maintain internationally-acceptable minimum standards of living for the people.
�This we will achieve by significantly increased investments in agriculture to increase productivity and also provide opportunity for the emergence of strong agro-processing interventions to be followed by investments in targeted areas that would enhance our manufacturing capacity,� he said.
Job creation efforts of a CPP-led government would be targeted at the youth and especially at those who were unfortunate enough not to pass the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
�We would institute opportunity industrial centres in all districts to ensure that [such people] can develop trade skills for life and ensure that they continue to be educated in the basic reading and writing skills."
The CPP would ensure that investments are made in consultation with stakeholders in the private sector so as to understand the nature of their transaction costs and �work it backwards from the prices in the marketplace so that we can make targeted interventions that would make them competitive.�
He cautioned that attention should not only be given to infrastructure but also to Ghana�s trade policy to ensure that captains of industry do not face unfair competition.
<<Print>>