The fund would be raised through government and other sources.

“It will give hope to young people to start their businesses from their idea baskets and provide job opportunities to the unemployed youth,” Percival Kofi Akpaloo, the leader of the LPG told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

He explained that the dire economic situation Ghanaians found themselves in could only be resolved through job creation and support for the youth to venture into business endeavours.

No money

Mr Akpaloo said things were really tough because there was no money in the system for Ghanaians to utilise to invest or even dispense with.

He said a lot of contractors had executed several projects but were yet to be paid.

He said it was in line with that that the LPG would set up a child and unemployment benefit to support children and the unemployed.

The LPG leader said the state of the nation was nothing to be proud of as the country was still experiencing economic hardship, with the majority of citizens facing difficulties.

He said the cost of living in the country was contributing to the daily crises people face.

Mr Akpaloo said it was only the LPG that could turn the fortunes of the country around since both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had taken turns to run down the economy and worsen the plight of Ghanaians.

Reduce imports

Mr Akpaloo said a government of the LPG would also provide support for local rice farmers and those in the poultry industry to increase their yield.

That, he said, would reduce the country’s dependence on imports and save Ghanaians foreign exchange used to import rice and poultry in particular.

The IDH Sustainable Trade, a foundation headquartered in The Netherlands, reported that Ghana imported 800,000 metric tonnes of rice worth $560 million in 2022.

The Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association said the importation of poultry products amounted to approximately GH¢868.8 million, about 7.7 per cent of total imports in 2023.

It said the high cost of borrowing made it difficult for farmers to remain sustainable amidst the increasing market demand.

Mr Akpaloo said the overdependence on imports including toothpicks could not help the local economy to expand to create opportunities for Ghanaians.