He said foreign investors were beginning to see the transformation taking place and were now prepared to invest in Ghana’s economy.

He said this when a Caribbean business delegation called on him at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday.

The delegation, led by the acting Managing Director of the HFC Bank, Mr Anthony Jordan, met the President to assure him of its preparedness to partner the government in the quest to make Ghana progressive and prosperous.

President Akufo-Addo said the efforts by the government to attract more investors had led to the making of certain key interventions, not only for the benefit of Ghanaians but also to make Ghana more attractive to the international investment community.

One of such commitments of the government, he said, was to clear all debts owed by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) within the next 12 months, in addition to the roll out of the free SHS programme and the provision of an effective and efficient power and energy regime.

He reported with pride that within the first six months of his government, an initial payment of GH¢560 million out of the GH¢1.2 billion debt the NHIA owed health service providers had been made.

Confidence in government’s policies

The President related to the delegation that the government was trying to build a strong economy with a strong private sector-led approach in a bid to deliver a dignified standard of living for the people.

“And in this scenario, we think that there are two things that are critical: first, strengthening the private sector by creating a micro-economy that is stable with low interest rates, a low rate of inflation, a stable currency and a competitive fiscal regime that will enable Ghanaian enterprises and those operating from here to be competitive within Ghana, West Africa and the world,” he added.

He went on to say there was the need to put a policy framework in place that would enable the government to facilitate a structural transformation of the economy.

Beyond that, the President stressed his conviction that the country had to move from being the producer and exporter of raw materials with a renewed focus on value addition through industrialisation.

He said until such a crucial change in direction was made, there would not be much for the future of the country in terms of building and sustaining a resilient economy.

The future of free education in Ghana

Throwing light on the Free SHS programme, President Akufo-Addo said the programme was implemented with the idea of providing every Ghanaian child with the minimum of secondary education and stressed how important such education was in helping the youth to achieve fulfilled lives.

He expressed optimism for future prospects of making education free up to the university level, saying: “Maybe in the cause of time we may find the means to be able to rise to the university level.”

Mr Jordan expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for his solid vision for the private sector and said among other areas, the delegation was interested in investing in the health, agricultural and energy sector.

“Our main objective is to support your agenda of a private sector-driven economy by using our presence, both in the Caribbean and Ghana, to facilitate long-term trade and investment,” he said.