The President, John Agyekum Kufuor has charged the Ghana Investor, Advisory Council (GIAC) to work hard to bring up innovative ideas that would eventually enable Ghana attain a per capita income of $1,000.
We need necessary domestic and foreign investment, which will enable us achieve growth in the range of 8-8.5 % per annum, “to enable us attain that per capital vision, the President told the Council members.
He gave the charge while addressing the fourth GIAC meeting at Akosombo in the Eastern Region. While Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has gone down worldwide, investments into Ghana are going up slowly, but steadily the President said.
The Ashanti/AngloGold merger has created the largest gold mining company in the world and will bring $500 million into Ghana. Also Newmont, currently the biggest gold mining company in the world is investing over $400 million in three mines in Ghana.
Further, Goldfields Ghana Limited is investing over $160 million in their Tarkwa and Daman mines.
That according to the President would raise Goldfield’s current total investment from $400 million to $560 million. The Ghana investment Promotion Council (GIPC) has this year alone recorded 108 new investments, which are altogether bringing in initial investment capital of $89.86 million as at the end of the third quarter, the President disclosed.
That compares with 138 projects, which brought in a total of $65.3 million for the whole of 2002. Over the last two years government effort has jumped cocoa output from 350,000 metric tones and expects it to reach 500,000 metric tones by the end of year.
That boost at expectation has been made possible by two factors, President Kufuor told the Council.
These are the mass spraying of farms undertaken by government and the increase in the producer price of cocoa, which currently stands at 67% of the world market price. The President also stated the first export of garments to the USA under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) adding that there has also been a trial export of cassava starch.
Both fall under the President’s Special Initiative (PSI) set up by government to promote job-creation, especially in the rural areas and also increase export revenues.
President Kufuor also disclosed that government projected an overall budget deficit of 2.7% of Gross Domestic Product but the deficit currently stands at 0.6 of GDP as far and it is expected to go down further.
Source: GhanaWeb
