President Mahama Woos United Kingdom Investors

President John Mahama has wooed investors based in the United Kingdom to the rich emerging opportunities in the country. According to him, Ghana has over the last few years exhibited enormous potential to grow if given the needed attention.

The President is currently in London for a number of international engagements which includes a meeting with the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace later today.

As part of his engagements, the President would be addressing the British Parliament, the House of Commons on the Ebola menace and the security situation in the West African sub region.

He will be addressing a number of investment forums which includes an address at the Chatham House.

Speaking at a Business Breakfast Meeting hosted by the Royal African Society of the UK in London on Wednesday, President Mahama assured the world of the safety of their investments if they choose to invest in the country.

“This is an exciting time for Ghana. We are crossing new thresholds, expanding our development, creating partnerships and exploring frontiers in a way that not so long ago were barely imaginable………Throughout Ghana's history, from the time of our independence, we have remained a beacon of peace, even during the decades that portion of the West African sub region were engulfed in civil wars,” he said.

Explaining further, he added that “Ghana boasts an active and engaged civil society; solid and well – functioning institutions; a free and independent media; and respect for the rule of law is unassailable. And the assurance that is perhaps, for me, one of the greatest sources of pride is the fact that Ghana has always been a trailblazer on the African continent.”

In a bid to woo the investors to the limitless opportunities in the country against the President Mahama said “What I am here to do is tell the stories that existed before the accumulation of those facts and figures, the stories that remain fluid and active even as I speak......Now that those past assumptions about Africa have been proven wrong, now that countries like Ghana have proven that they can not only achieve stability but catapult themselves onto the world stage and be considered rising stars, it is still those stories that matter most.”

The President also sold some successes chalked by Ghanaians as against the “dismal projections [that] were being written,” to make Africa feel so unattractive and uninviting and urged global businesses to turn their eyes on the country.

He particularly mentioned the story of Salma Okonkwo, the Chief Executive Officer of UBI Group as well as Herman Chinery – Hesse, founder of SOFTtribe Limited as evidence of those who defied odds and succeeded in the chosen field's of endeavour.

“There are numerous examples and stories to be told of Ghanaians whose nascent efforts, at the time, may have seemed highly impractical, underpins of a fool's paradise. Yet collectively, stories have shown the world, in facts and figures, what is actually possible in Ghana.”

The President also mentioned that some “foreign companies have realized both safety and success in their investments.” These include Barry Callebaut, Cargill Incorporated, Tullow Oil, Vodafone, Coca – Cola, Huawei, Baker Hughes, as well as several other companies.

He further underscored the country's preparedness to deal with the deadly Ebola disease which has killed over 4,000 people mostly in West Africa.

“The spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa has given rise to many concerns in the business community. This is understandable. Ebola should not be considered a West African disease. It is an epidemic that we, as an entire world, must work together to end. That said, there has not been one documented case of Ebola in my country, and Ghana is not merely well prepared to fight the disease, should it cross over our borders, but by offering our capital city, Accra, as the base of operations for activities geared towards the containment of the disease. Ghana is well poised to assist our sister nations in the fight against its spread.”