Bauxite deposits at Kyebi and Nyinahin will be mined to manufacture machine parts to transform the economy, the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has stated.
In line with this, the President further reiterated his government’s determination to partner the private sector to set up strategic industries to help create jobs for our youth.
“These include, but not limited to, an iron and steel industry, which will exploit the iron ore deposits at Oppon Manso and Sheini, near Tamale, and facilitate the manufacture of machine parts and equipment; an integrated aluminium industry, which will exploit the bauxite deposits at Kyebi and Nyinahin; petrochemical industries from oil and gas deposits from the Jubilee, TEN and Sankofa fields; and vehicle assembly plants,” he noted
He made this statement at the Okuapeman School when giving his address as the Guest of Honour at the 60th Anniversary celebration of the school, over the weekend.
According to the President, sixty years after independence, the progress of the country has been slower than it should have been. He added that it was time to take bold moves that will enable the country make rapid progress to transform the economy and the lives of Ghanaians.
“A society that aims to transform itself into a modern, productive player in the global market needs an educated workforce, and that means it must get its educational policies right,” he opined.
Speaking on the theme for the celebration; “One Vision, Many Lives”, the President said the theme fit in most appropriately with the circumstances of our country today. All our lives, he added, are affected by the decisions and public policy choices made by those who have been entrusted with the mandate of the Ghanaian people.
He cited that it was critical, therefore, that “we all buy into the One Vision of a free, united, wealthy and happy Ghana. As we seek to create a society of opportunities for all, it is clear that quality, accessible education is the fastest and most effective way to change the fortunes of our country and join the group of developed nations.
“Over the course of the last three elections, one consensus seems to have emerged across all the various political groupings – we are all agree that the economy of Ghana has to be transformed to make it a high-income economy. Graduates from our educational institutions should enter the labour market, well-equipped with skills for good, well-paying jobs. To do this, our country must move from an economy dependent on the export of raw materials, to an economy of value-addition. We must process the natural resources we have, to enable us reap higher benefits.
“Luckily for all of us, this is a well-trodden path, and there are many examples to learn from. The societies that have made rapid progress around the world have all put education at the heart of their development. The United States of America, the first country to institutionalise free public secondary education, did it over a hundred years ago, and the nations that we started independent life with, like Singapore, Malaysia and Korea, have done it.”
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