The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has chided the Mahama-led ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for investing too little to support industry in spite of the huge revenue inflows it received from oil proceeds and the billions it has borrowed since the party took over the reins of government .
According to the party, government invested less than $150 million out of the $21 billion it received from both borrowing and oil proceeds.
“Give or take other sundry investments into other industries, it seems the government has only invested not more than a paltry $150 million into direct industrialisation and/or support for industry, out of total borrowings and oil receipts in excess of $20 billion in the last seven years...This is a meagre 0.75%,” the party noted.
Nana Akomea, communications manager of the party, says although the recent commissioning of the new Komenda Sugar Factory by President John Dramani Mahama is commendable and a vehicle through which jobs could be created, it is a disappointing evidence of what a government could show for the billions of dollars it has superintended over.
“The new sugar factory in Komenda is, therefore, a step in the right direction. However, President Mahama and the NDC government’s commitment to value-added industrialisation and transformation of the Ghanaian economy is very disappointing”, he said.
He argued that considering the fact that industrialisation is the best tool in the country’s quest to transform from a raw material-based economy into a value-added industrial economy, the piecemeal approach by the NDC’s investments in supporting industry is backward and inimical to the country’s development.
He added that although the President has made public his commitment to value addition and industrialisation to achieve the desired paradigm shift and transformation of the economy, with its positive effects on sustainable youth employment, stable economy and growth, it still remains a dream.
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