Ghana Spends 3 billion dollars on consumables - Nana Akomea

Attention Subscribers: This is a corrected repetition of a story in the Friday; April 6, 2012 Economic News Bulletin, which quoted Nana Akomea , Communications Director of the NPP as saying Ghana spent 3 billion dollars to import chocolates, instead of consumables.

Accra, April 9, GNA - The Communications Director of the NPP, Nana Akomea has revealed that Ghana last year spent 3 billion dollars to import consumables.

He cited this among other reasons why the cedi has depreciated more than 70 per cent over the last three years.

Nana Akomea said this when he addressed a public lecture organised by the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of the University of Ghana City Campus, to celebrate TESCON week.

The theme for the celebration was: “Celebrating the NPP: A testimony of hope, prosperity and nationalism.”

Nana Akomea added that the NPP government would empower Ghanaians to set-up factories to produce products that were been imported into the country.

Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, Member of Parliament for Kwadaso, also added that Ghana's economy could only develop when jobs are created to boost the human resource base of the country.

He said Government needed to transform the fortunes of Ghanaians through the oil find by financing some specific targeted activities to achieve that feat.

He said the manufacturing and agriculture sectors needed to be transformed in order to make meaningful contributions to the country's development.

Dr Akoto said agro- processing needed to be promoted, marketed and extended to farmers that lack support to develop their skills to cultivate and rear crops and animals to meet international standards.

The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wagon, Mrs Frema Opare said there was hope, prosperity and nationalism in the NPP and that the theme for the celebration was in the right direction.

She said there would be no development in a country were citizens are not informed and that the NPP has always believed in education and would prioritise education and the promotion of the country's human resource.

Other speakers present were Mr Dan Kwaku Botwe, Member of Parliament for Okere and Mr Kyeremanteng Agyarku, NPP's Parliamentary Candidate for Ayawaso West Wagon.

GNA