The presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John dramani Mahama, has announced that a new NDC government will make the Western Region an industrial region.
According to him, it will be a deliberate policy of his government to bring industrial development to the region.
He opined that ‘we cannot allow all the factories and industries to be in one place. We have to spread them out to ensure that the youth in the region get jobs to do’.
He stated that all that remained was to find areas that would be designated for these factories so that the government could develop them and use them to construct the factories.
He noted that after these sites have been developed with all of the necessary utilities, such as electricity, water, and good roads, the private sector will be interested in collaborating with the government to establish the industries.
In explaining the 24-hour economy policy he intends to introduce, he said Ghana would not be the first country to do this.
He made the remarks when he paid a courtesy call to the Awutu Traditional Council.
Mr. Mahama, using the United Kingdom as an example, said that ”even at 2 a.m., you find people working, but in Ghana, by 8 p.m., people leave and lick up their facilities. So we asked ourselves what we could do to ensure we implemented this same 24-hour economy in Ghana.
“One of the major reasons businesses close early is due to security issues. Some are afraid they could be robbed, so they close early. Several others are also worried about the excessive taxes. So we can look at all these and reduce the taxes so companies will benefit, expand, and employ more people.
Others also attributed the reason why they closed early to electricity and water tariffs. We have examined all these things and realised we could reduce the tariffs. Unemployment has increased astronomically. We have no jobs for the youth, and yet, we have graduates coming out of our schools every year. We need a deliberate policy to resolve the problem. It is not compulsory to be part of the 24-hour economy.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
