He said “The most important transformation is the transformation of our mindset because that will make us believe that we can do what other countries and continents have done.

“It is not rocket science; it is not impossible. We must have a mindset of making things possible, not one of thinking that major achievements are impossible,” he said.

Dr Bawumia made the call when he addressed the second day of the African Transformation Forum (ATF) in Accra yesterday.

Background

The two-day forum, the first in the series of which was organised in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in 2016, was a unique African-driven event which brought together experts and practitioners from across the continent to share perspectives on how to accelerate growth, boost investment and implement transformational policies.

The Africa Centre for Economic Transformation organised the forum.

Transformation agenda

With respect to Ghana’s transformation agenda, Dr Bawumia said the government reconstituted the platform of governance on assumption of office to construct an entirely new economic management approach because “without those two pillars, we understood that we would not be successful”.

Next, he said, was the push for free and improved quality education at the senior high school (SHS) level to stimulate thinking and nurture creativity.

“Parts of the missing link in our transformation agenda are our infrastructure constraints in energy, transportation and utilities. We cannot enhance productivity without securing access to power and so we are working hard to keep the lights on securely and efficiently, hence our push for renewable energy as the primary source of power for our homes, offices and certainly for all public facilities,” he added.

Ghana Beyond Aid

On the government’s pursuit of a Ghana Beyond Aid policy, the Vice-President said that required a break away from dependency and taking responsibility for strong macroeconomic stability and an inclusive economic growth.

“We will continue to maintain fiscal and debt sustainability to ensure that we reach our Ghana Beyond Aid target. This is not just a slogan but rather an aspiration that we are working towards vigorously,” he stressed.

“As President Nana Addo Dankwa  Akufo-Addo has indicated, we cannot just talk about it; we need to make it happen,” Dr Bawumia stated, and urged the participants to work towards new approaches and partnerships that could inform African governments on policies related to agriculture, youth unemployment, leveraging resources for growth and frontier issues in technological adaptation and a diffusion of knowledge that would shape the continent and lives of the people.

Leadership panel

The President and Founder of the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), Dr K. Y. Amoako, in an address, stressed that leadership was essential for the transformation of the African continent and that a leadership panel to be chaired by a former President of Liberia, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, would be formed to advocate and influence policies across the continent.