US Ambassador to Ghana Robert Jackson wants the government to safeguard the public purse by holding corrupt officials accountable.
While commending President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his initiatives to make “Ghana a better place to do business,” Ambassador Jackson noted there is more room for improvement in various sectors of the economy.
“We applaud President Akufo-Addo’s focus on making Ghana a better place to do business. Indeed, the government has taken important steps to improve business processes, lower taxes, and reform customs clearance processes,” Ambassador Jackson said at the American Chamber of Commerce (Ghana) Annual General Meeting.
He added: “We appreciate the positive steps already made, but we must continue our joint encouragement for the government to do more: to protect intellectual property, to improve transparency in public procurement, to honor contracts, to address land disputes, enforce laws, and to hold people accountable when they defraud the public and break those laws.
“Moving beyond business, we will continue to build upon our substantial peace and security cooperation with Ghana.”
According to him, the US government will collaborate more with the new Ghanaian administration to achieve a common goal.
“With political change in both our countries, many people have asked me how that affects the work we do here in Ghana. I am here to tell you today that America’s commitment to Africa and to Ghana remains strong.
“The United States continues to work toward making improvements in Ghana’s power sector. A Congressional delegation led by Senator Coons reiterated support for U.S. govt initiatives like Power Africa — which will help make President Akufo-Addo’s “one district-one factory” vision a reality, through the provision of reliable and affordable power.
“Our Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact continues to move forward. The Compact will provide $498 million to improve Ghana’s power distribution,” he stated.
He continued: “Through Power Africa, we are also working closely with American companies General Electric and Endeavor to bring the Early/Bridge Power project to financial close by December.
“Once completed, this project will bring 400 megawatts of affordable and reliable gas power to Ghanaian homes and businesses. It will also generate $90 million in U.S. exports. Speaking of exports, the United States will continue to work with Ghana and other African countries to increase bilateral trade.
“We definitely want to see more American jobs created back home, but we also want to see new jobs created for Ghanaians. There is enough room for both our economies to grow and prosper.”
