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Ghana Told to Diversify Economy, Create Jobs

Ghana Told to Diversify Economy, Create Jobs
Ghana Told to Diversify Economy, Create Jobs

The CEO of the World Trade Center Accra, Emmanuel Doni-Kwame, is urging a diversification of Ghana’s economy to ensure that jobs are created to cater for all the hands that will be rendered jobless when the country goes paperless at the ports in September.

Government has set September 1, 2017 for the country to go paperless as far as transactions in the clearance chain are concerned, starrfmonline reported.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia at a recently held port efficiency conference organized by his office announced his government’s quest and commitment to see full automation of the processes involved in cargo clearance through paperless transactions.

The move, according to the vice president, will allow a high level of efficiency in the ports, eliminate corruption and reduce the time and cost of doing business.

The vice president also called for the integration of all the systems in the port and agencies who play various roles in the clearance chain to deal with the issue of having numerous agencies inspecting cargo at different times leading to delays.

But Doni-Kwame believes the country must work at adding value to her agricultural products. “As we automate, it will get to a stage where all these people we see handling trade facilitation at the ports will reduce.

“With the automation, you sit in your office and you are able to monitor your goods as they are being loaded from another port and then monitor as it is being discharged at your port and transported to your warehouse. So what happens to all that labor? You are supposed to create jobs, but in the other productive sectors. So we need to get the necessary investment so that we can start adding value to our agricultural products and so on,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the vice-president of the People’s Republic of China has announced his country’s preparedness to partner Ghana to undertake a massive transformation of her economy.

Speaking at a state reception for his Ghanaian counterpart, Bawumia, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Li Yuanchao said China stands ready to pass on knowledge, expertise and assistance to Ghana to facilitate the transformation agenda of the President Akufo-Addo government.

In particular, China is committed to deeper trade and investment cooperation, as well as value addition to Ghana’s natural resources.

In addition, Chinese companies would provide assistance in the railway, agriculture (planting for food and jobs), industrialization, energy, and transportation sectors, he indicated.

Bawumia is on a four-day official visit to China, at the invitation of the Chinese government.

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