Already, he said, talks had been initiated with the parent company and its leadership had promised to take steps to address any challenges facing the operations of the company in Ghana.

Rather than watch businesses die, the President said, the focus of the government was to bring a new lease of life to struggling business entities, while creating an enabling environment for fresh businesses to start and flourish.

He gave the assurance when the Paramount Chief of the Adansi Traditional Area  Opagyakotwere Bonsra Afriyie II, and other chiefs from the area paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House yesterday.

The delegation was at the seat of government to congratulate the President on emerging victorious in the December 2016 polls and acceding to the highest office of the land.

Gold, valuable export

Reacting to the concerns expressed over the challenges confronting AngloGold, which had led to its fortunes diminishing in recent times, President Akufo-Addo said in spite of the oil find in commercial quantities, gold and cocoa remained the nation’s proud exports and they ought to be preserved.

He said it was unfortunate that not much was done under the immediate past administration to deal decisively with the challenges facing AngloGold and reiterated his commitment to ensure that the company regained its former glory.

Ghanaians, he said, voted for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and for his Presidency because they believed a government under his leadership was capable of providing the panacea to the challenges confronting the economy.

Govt will live up to expectation

President Akufo-Addo thanked the chiefs and people of the Adansi Traditional Area for what he described as the massive support they offered him and the NPP that culminated in the party’s victory.

He promised that his government would do its best to justify the confidence reposed in it by the people of Ghana so that economic transformation could be achieved by an Akufo-Addo-led administration.

The Adansihene said the chiefs and people of his area had confidence in the President’s promise of ‘one district, one factory’ and had already made land available in readiness for the project.

He said gold mining had been the mainstay of the economy of the area and expressed worry that with the challenges confronting AngloGold, the company had had to downsize its workforce, leading to a good number of young people losing their jobs.