With his government’s economic focus hinged on getting the productive sectors of the economy working again, the President urged Unilever to consider relocating its production units back to Ghana.

Those production units, he recounted, were moved by Unilever to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria over the last few years as a result of the unfavourable economic conditions prevailing in the country.

Ghana to become centre of production

The President gave an assurance that the government would do its best to create the enabling environment to facilitate the inflow of investments into the country, adding: “Ghana should be at the centre of producing things again in the region and on the continent.”

He said this when the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unilever Ghana Limited, Mr Edward Effah, led a nine-member delegation to pay a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday.

The visit was to enable the team to congratulate the President on his assumption of office and also express support for his initiatives geared towards an economic boom for the people of Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo was grateful for the words of support from the leadership of Unilever and its desire to co-operate with his government to help return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity.

Support of industry player needed

He was confident that with the support and co-operation of industry players and the effective implementation of the government’s policies and programmes, Ghana’s economy would, once again, be a major force to reckon with on the continent.

Describing Ghana as a wealthy nation, the President said proper management of the economy would see the wealth of the nation being manifested in the lives of the citizenry.

Mr Effah, for his part, expressed the preparedness of the company to support the government in the ‘planting for jobs and food’ initiative, saying the company would establish a world-class oil palm industry in Ghana.

Unilever to partner government

He also expressed confidence in the decision of the government to create an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish, saying Unilever was prepared to help achieve the set objectives of the government.

He indicated that Unilever, the largest producer and retailer of consumer goods in Ghana, believed that the decision of the government to create an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish, as well increase competitiveness for businesses, was the surest way towards creating wealth and prosperity for the people of Ghana.

Present at the meeting was Mr Yaw Nsarkoh, the Executive Vice-President of Unilever Ghana-Nigeria, who praised President Akufo-Addo for his clarity of vision regarding private sector development, as evidenced in the 2016 manifesto of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the 2017 State of the Nation Address delivered in Parliament last Tuesday.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, who was present, noted that it was reassuring that Unilever was inspired by the President’s vision, stressing that the government would offer the necessary incentives to the private sector with the aim of industrialising the country.

The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Mr Yoofi Grant, said some of his major objectives would be the removal of bottlenecks to operations and a reduction in the huge administrative cost bedeviling the establishment of businesses to make businesses operating in Ghana more competitive.