Open letter to President

I congratulate you on your election and swearing-in as President for the next four years.

As a proud Ghanaian and someone who believes in positivity and hard work, I strongly believe in an individual’s contribution to achieving the desired state that we (Ghanaians) wish to see Ghana get to.

Below are 12 highlights of my convictions on how we can build Ghana to attain self-sufficiency in the medium to long term.

• Redevelopment/realignment of the Tema Freezones enclave. This should include a review of the Free Zones Act 1995, Act 504 to initiate the development of the Western and Kumasi Industrial parks, which will undoubtedly be one of the economic safe lines in creating jobs and a hallmark of economic excellence when implemented.

• Enhancing cohesion and productive collaboration between Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (G.I.P.C), Ghana Free Zones Authority (G.F.Z.A) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (M.O.T.I).

• Establishing and addressing sectorial/industrial deficits, starting with “low-hanging fruits” and developing actionable strategies to reduce these deficits to achieve self-sufficiency and self-sustenance in the long term.                                                                                                  

• A re-look at the Boankra In-land Port Project through a comprehensive value chain assessment. When completed, this project will be pivotal in expanding Ghana‘s economic reach to other West African countries north of Ghana.

• To birth and nurture deliberate policies to build the capacities of local construction firms. (One notable achievement is the awarding of the Motorway rehabilitation project to Maripoma Enterprise Limited, a local firm, in 2024).

• Formulating dynamic policies that align with the  African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) blueprint, and leveraging Ghana’s advantage of hosting the AfCFTA  Headquarters. A dedicated unit within the Ministry of Trade and Industry is to be established to oversee the transition to achieving this objective.

• To comprehensively assess Ghana’s foreign policies, monitoring and evaluating the mandate of High Commissioners and Ambassadors based on results-oriented criteria. Performance should be linked to GDP growth and efforts to enhance Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).

• Retooling the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) to conduct a comprehensive audit of all irrigation facilities and schemes, assessing human resources and infrastructure to redefine GIDA’s role within the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).

• Engaging specialists, experts and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the energy sector to develop sustainable policies aimed at achieving self-sufficiency with minimal or no political interference.  (It is very worrying to see inefficiencies in our energy sector despite Ghana being an oil-producing country since 2010 - 15 years and counting).

• To redefine and establish the firm mandate of the National Sports Authority (NSA) to fully take over the sports sector – Formulate a five to 10-year development plan fully funded with result-oriented targets.

• To personally take up the challenge as the President, to re-ignite the lost Patriotic and Nationalistic attitude of the Ghanaian (National Orientation & Mindset Change).

• Deliberately widening the tax net to increase beyond the about 2.5 million contributors and improve the tax-to-GDP ratio from the existing 12.4 per cent.

(For 32 years in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, successive governments have promised to achieve this, yet progress remains stagnant). It is troubling to note that over 80 per cent of our revenue goes into emoluments and debt interest payments.

I often shiver and feel disheartened when I observe the economic and governance advancements of Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, and compare them to Ghana.

It is concerning that less than 40 per cent of products sold in our shopping malls are produced locally.

It is my belief that these 12 highlights will define strides in attaining development.  

Alfred Mensah-Onumah,
Citizen.