“I am going to repeat here something I have
said several times. Those who seek to be in my government to make money
are going to be disappointed. They will make money in the private
sector, not in the public sector,” he stated.
Delivering
an address at a post-annual general meeting (AGM) private sector forum
of the Private Enterprises Federation (PEF) in Accra yesterday, Nana
Akufo-Addo said under his government, the public sector would not
compete with the private sector.
Gov’t will support, not compete, with private sector
“None
of the people who are going to be working with me are going to be your
competitors. Ours is the public sector, and you are the private sector.
The former is meant to be a supporter, not a competitor, of the private
sector. And that is how it is going to be,” he said to loud applause
from the gathering.
He said the NPP, in view of
its outlined programmes and policies, had an ambitious plan, adding
that those plans were ambitious but deliverable.
“I
believe they are deliverable programmes for my administration. These
programmes will not be deliverable if you, the private sector, are not
confident or able to play your crucial part,” he urged.
“You
asked for a government that spoke your language and believed in the
private sector; you asked for policies that supported rather than
hindered your plans; you asked for a government that listened and worked
with you rather than dictated to you; you asked for a government with a
team of professionals able to deliver on our promises and you asked for
transparency and accountability in government. You are getting it.
Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work,” he said.
National recruitment agency
Nana
Akufo-Addo said his administration would work with stakeholders,
including employers and trade unions, in an open and fair manner on
employee welfare, as well as ensure living wages for all workers.
“We
intend to develop, in collaboration with employers, trade unions,
educational institutions and other state bodies, such as SSNIT, a
database of the labour market with the view to establishing a National
Recruitment Agency to serve as the primary source for channelling job
openings to Ghanaians,” he said.
His government
would also work with employers and trade unions to formulate a policy
of comprehensive occupational health and safety standards, he said.
Holistic approach
“In
sum, ours is a holistic approach to job creation and our goal is that
by the end of the next decade industrial and manufacturing activities
will be the mainstay of our economy,” he added.
The
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PEF, Nana Bonsu-Osei, said as Nana
Akufo-Addo was about to usher in a new frontier to find solutions to
the multiplicity of challenges in the economy, the federation had
committed itself to fully engage with his government.
That
kind of engagement, he said, would not only be as partners on policy
formulation but also lead in the implementation of the directives,
programmes and opportunities that would come out of the various
implemented policies.
He enumerated a number of taxes and other policy actions that had stifled the smooth operation of businesses in the country.
Quarterly meetings with govt
In
that regard, he called for, on behalf of the PEF, structured and
functioning meetings between the PEF, its members and other private
sector players with the President-elect and his economic management
team.
Such a meeting, he said, should take
place within the month following the end of each quarter during his
Presidency to review the performance of the economy and its impact on
the operations of the private sector at the end of each quarter.
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