Ghana is still the best place for business- Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has described Ghana as the best place to do business in West Africa, urging investors in the United Arab Emirates and the private sector to make Ghana their first port of call when venturing into the Region for business.

Addressing a UAE-Ghana Business Forum on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, President Akufo-Addo told participant that Government has since 2017 put in place measures to reduce the cost of doing business, and improve the business environment.

These measures he noted have “made the Ghanaian economy not only one of the most business-friendly economies in Africa, but also one of the fastest growing economies in the world between 2017 and 2020, averaging 7% GDP annual rates of growth, up from the 3.4% rate we inherited in 2016.”

Ghana is currently facing a crippling economic crisis leading to a slowdown in business, investment losses, high cost of living, rising inflation and a fast depreciation of its currency the Ghana Cedis. Government has had to resort to the International Monetary Fund after plunging the economy into its worst state in many decades with borrowing pushing the country’s debt to GDP to almost 100%.

President Akufo-Addo however assured the investments community that his administration is working to restore the nation onto the path of high growth rates experienced prior to the onset of COVID-19 and the Russian/Ukraine war.

According to him, the decision to go to the IMF is “to repair, in the short run, our public finances, and give credibility to our balance of payments, which have taken a severe hit in very recent times as a result of these developments.”

“I am confident that we will emerge from this with a stronger and more resilient economy”, he added.

Describing mining as a key pillar of Ghana’s economy, President Akufo-Addo said gold, which still holds its own as both a commodity and a financial asset, is, by far, the most commercially exploited mineral in Ghana, accounting for more than ninety percent (90%) of the country’s mineral revenue.

“Indeed, in recent times until 2021, Ghana was the largest producer of gold in Africa and was 6th in the world. We are also major producers of bauxite and manganese, and are, indeed, the 3rd largest producer of these two minerals in Africa,” he said.

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