Faith Nyasuguta
The Vice President of Ghana , Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed that a Ghanaian company is considering setting up an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in the country .
He is optimistic that the company will commence operations in 2024.
Dr. Bawumia made the disclosure when speaking at the NPP International Women’s Conference in London.
Dr Bawumia said the electric vehicle assembling plant will add to the vehicle manufacturing companies producing in Ghana.
Currently, Volkswagen, Kantanka, Toyota, Peugeot, Nissan, KIA, Hyundai, and Sinotruk are manufacturing vehicles locally.
“We had no domestic automotive sector for vehicle assembly or manufacturing but what did we do about that, the new automotive sector development policy has resulted in VW, Sino Truck, Kantanka, Toyota, Peugeot, Nissan, KIA, Hyundai, they are all producing in Ghana today,” Bawumia said.
“Interesting piece of news is that a Ghanaian company is also in the pipeline to build an assembling plant for electric vehicles next year. That will be the first in West Africa,” he stated.
It would be recalled that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said the government would soon roll out an asset-based vehicle financing scheme to stimulate demand for domestically assembled vehicles.
Dr Bawumia has taken a swipe at naysayers in the opposition over their constant criticism and condemnation of initiatives undertaken by the Nana Addo led administration.
Dr Bawumia has been heavily criticised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for making profound statements on the economy both in government and in opposition.
The Vice President said the opposition NDC is fixated on impossibilities and therefore does not see possibilities in the growth and development of the country.
He noted that the New Patriotic Party government has remained focused on its mandate to the Ghanaian people, leading to a successful implementation of many initiatives that have transformed the economy, improved the quality of lives and positioned the country for a prosperous future.
These he noted are largely fueled by the belief in possibility and determination to deliver on an agenda of nation building.
“We are dealing politically with people with shackled mindsets who always think in terms of things being impossible to do. When you try to move the country forward with new ideas, they mask their ignorance by mocking you, ridiculing you and calling you a liar. But in the process, they only expose their lack of understanding of the issues,“ he said.
“My response to them is to stay focused, not get angry but rather make it happen! That is the best victory you can have over the naysayers! Make what they think is impossible possible!”
“What we have been able to accomplish so far shows that it is possible for Ghana to achieve many things that some believe to be impossible. With what we have done and continue doing in the wake of the global challenges, the outcome, thus far, points to an auspicious future”.
According to Dr Bawumia, Ghana has stayed afloat in the midst of a global economic shake-up without incidents of fuel shortage, power crisis, food shortage and the abrogation of any social intervention program including the Free Senior High School.
“We have been able to introduce innovative ideas such as the Gold-4-Oil policy to get our exchange rate fairly stabilized and reduced fuel prices from a litre at about GHC23 to about GHC12 and reduced transport fares. Inflation rate has consequentially dropped from 54% to 41% and is estimated to end the year at around 25%.”
“The growth prospects of our economy are high and we have absolute trust and confidence that out mitigating measures will lead to a rebound in the economy to higher performances recorded in the pre-Covid era soon. It is possible if we put our minds to it. We need to break the shackles of impossibility and embrace the mindset of possibility,” he said.
Moves to introduce some key policies and initiatives spearheaded by the Vice President were met with uncertainties and concerns over the viability, prudence and possibility of such decisions which were expected to among other things ease access to products and services, improve revenue generation, impact lives and grow the economy.
Such initiatives as mentioned by Dr Bawumia in his address included the introduction of Drone Services for medical supplies, Mobile Money Interoperability between bank accounts and mobile wallets which was the first to be introduced in Africa, introduction of a Universal QR Code for payment systems, no guarantor for students loan with use of Ghanacard and more.
Other initiatives deemed impossible by the opposition National Democratic Congress as stated by Dr Bawumia included Synohydro Bauxite Agreement, Free Senior High School, One Constituency One Ambulance, Gold for Oil Program, Free TVET Policy and creation of over 2.1 million jobs in the last six years.
“It is important to note that many of the transformational policy initiatives that we have introduced since 2017 are being done for the first time since independence and most have benefited women! What is interesting is that because many of them have not been done before, many people shackled by a mindset of impossibility have argued that they are not possible, but we made them possible,” he said.
While projecting a positive future for Ghana, he expressed optimism that it is possible for Ghana to become an advanced and advanced modern nation based on systems and data.
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