Cost of electricity to go down next year- President Nana Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has assured businesses of good news in the 2018 budget which will be read on Wednesday November 15, 2017 by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

Speaking at the 6 Association of Ghana Industries’ Ghana Industry and Quality Awards held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, on Saturday, 11th November, 2017, the President noted that his government has set in motion the process for the review of electricity tarrifs.

“In the budget to be read by the brilliant Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, on Wednesday, 15th November, I am sure you will hear some good news, in this regard. Industry is going to be given all the assistance we can muster,” he said, adding: the government is moving to set in motion the process for the review of electricity tariffs.

He said “businesses are no longer burdened by the erratic power supply that wrecked our nation in recent years.”
Decline in industrial growth

The President also bemoaned sluggish in the industrial sector of the economy since 2008 when the then New Patriotic Party government lost power.

He said “from a growth rate of 15.1% in 2008, the last year of the government of the outstanding Ghanaian statesman, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, former President of the Republic, growth in industry slumped to 0.8% in 2014, -0.3% in 2015, and further down to -1.4% in 2016.”

He noted, however, that “as a result of the relative normalisation of the power situation in the country, and the implementation of our business-friendly policies, which has led to a growing stabilisation of the macroeconomy, decline in inflation and interest rates, industry, for the first quarter of 2017, recorded the impressive growth rate of 11.5 percent, the highest sectoral growth in the economy.”

The policies Government has put in place over the last 11 months, President Akufo-Addo indicated, which have shifted the focus of Ghana’s economy from taxation to production, are beginning to work, and are helping to reduce the cost of doing business in order to spur the rapid growth of industry.

“Indeed, our efforts at restoring business confidence are beginning to yield positive results, as confirmed by the AGI Business Barometer, showing a consistent rise in business confidence throughout this year.
“To the extent that exports guarantee foreign exchange and a stable currency, the greatest aspiration any of us could hope for is an investment in the vision of Ghana becoming an export-oriented economy, driven by industry,” he added.