The latest news and the decision by Volkswagen, a German car manufacturing company, to establish an assembly plant in Ghana, he said, were testaments to the efforts the government was making to create the necessary environment for the private sector to flourish.

The President, who gave the hint of Siemens AG’s intention to extend its services to Ghana yesterday, at the ongoing G-20 Compact with Africa Conference in Berlin, Germany, said: “We are not resting on our laurels.

We will continue to work hard to attract investments, domestic and foreign, to Ghana, so that we can unleash the sense of enterprise, creativity and innovation of the Ghanaian people and help build a progressive, prosperous Ghana whose citizens live in harmony and security.

“My government’s vision of moving our country to a situation beyond aid, that is, a ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, is aligned to Germany’s Compact with Africa programme.

Under my leadership, we are determined to discard the mindset of dependence on aid, charity and handouts and aim at becoming self-reliant within the context of strong global co-operation,” he said.

Compact programme

The objective of the compact programme is to ensure more private sector investments and President Akufo-Addo stressed that in order for Ghana to harness its full benefits, “we have to get our act together to create the enabling environment for investments in Ghana not just to survive but also thrive”.

The President said it was for that reason that his administration had spent the last 21 months to improve the fundamentals of the economy.

That, he explained, was because “we believe that an improved macro-economy is a basic requirement for stimulating the investments we need for the significant expansion and growth of the national economy and the generation of wealth and jobs”.  

He said his government had initiated and implemented policies that were encouraging and empowering the private sector to grow the economy within the framework of macroeconomic stability.

“We believe that when the private sector flourishes and when our enterprises become competitive, not just on the continent but also in the global marketplace, we can create thousands and thousands of jobs for our teeming unemployed youth,” the President added.

President Akufo-Addo said if respected, the premise on which the Compact with Africa conference was being held would enable Germany and the Compact with African countries to re-shape their countries and chart new paths of growth and development in freedom.

Other agreements

A leading manufacturer and supplier of specialist feeds and compound feeds in Germany, HL Hamburger Leistungsfutter GmbH, also signed an agreement to invest eight million Euros in a Ghanaian company, Agricare Ltd.

The investment from HL Hamburger in Agricare comprises the full transfer of technology in animal feed formulation and sales and would also help Agricare utilise more locally produced raw materials in the formulation of feeds.

Merkel’s departure
Commenting on the news of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s departing from politics in 2021, President Akufo-Addo lauded her exceptional quality of leadership of Germany in the last decade, saying: “The Ghanaian people and I will regret your departure very much because you have been one of the most outstanding leaders of modern times.”
President Akufo-Addo said Ghana was delighted about Germany’s decision to re-orient its policy and relationship with Ghana and, indeed, Africa from one based on aid to relations focused primarily on trade and investment co-operation.