Ghana not ready for new energy deals – Ken Ofori Atta
Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, says Ghana is not yet ready to sign any new energy contracts with international conglomerates.
According to him, the government inherited a number of dubious contracts in the energy sector which were currently being reviewed to ensure value for money, thus signing new deals would be unwise.
“We are trying to renegotiate and cancel some of the unbalanced contracts signed in the past.”
The Finance Minister was addressing about 50 German conglomerates at the Commerz Bank in Berlin Germany after the G20 compact with Africa conference.
The event was spearheaded by Ghana’s Embassy in Germany to encourage German business moguls to invest in the Ghanaian economy.
Ken Ofori Atta said Ghana remained Germany’s longest-standing investment partner in Sub-Saharan Africa for which reason, investments partnerships between the two nations should be strengthened.
He reassured the German business community that government will create an enabling environment for them to thrive.
“We truly invite you to look at Ghana differently and we appreciate the G20 compact with Africa initiative and its impact on Ghana.”
On the Ghanaian economy, he told the German business community that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government, within 21 months in office, has achieved macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline.
According to him, practically-oriented solutions have been put in place for a more efficient implementation of economic reforms in Ghana.
He said government had been compelled to consolidate some indigenous banks as a means of addressing the current banking crisis.
Ken Ofori Atta explained that government’s Free Senior High School (SHS) programme was implemented to boost human capital and also promote social justice.
He said the government has been consistent with its agenda of fighting corruption and adopting the “can-do spirit” in order to make Ghana work again.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Export Promotion Centre (GEPC), Yofi Grant added that, “[Ghana] is not going to recklessly borrow and we will ensure that we have an anchored fiscal policy.”
He said Ghana is a land of new opportunities and invited the German business community to quickly invest in various sectors of the economy.
He touted Ghana’s credentials as the fastest growing economy in the Sub- Saharan region using the investment trinity of Opportunity, Openness, and Optimism to convince the German business community.
“We are engaged in significant reforms to attract foreign investors. We have reformed our Pports to a paperless system.”
“We are going to empower the economy on the back of macroeconomic stability and significant reforms. We have a common culture of how to do business and we have a very aggressive drive,” Yofi Grant stated.
Most of the German business moguls at the meeting showed interest in investing in the Ghanaian economy.