President John Dramani Mahama has said that the government wants to create a resilient economy that can withstand future global shocks.

He said the economy was not out of the woods yet, despite showing signs of economic recovery, having encountered difficult situations on his return to the Jubilee House last year.

“We have a good story to tell. Inflation is down, and the currency has appreciated. Debt to GDP is within ranges that are good; 45 per cent. Many things are looking good, but we are not out of the woods yet.

“We need to still work hard to make sure we create a kind of resilient economy that will not be affected by the next global shock,” the President said.

“We've seen that before.

We progress, we do things well, and then there's a global shock, and then we retrogress.

So, right now, even though things are looking good, we want to create a resilient economy that makes Ghana immune to shocks that will come in the future,” he said.

President Mahama was addressing the Ghanaian community in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a meeting at the residence of Ghana’s Ambassador to Ethiopia.

Regional cooperation

President Mahama also underscored the importance of regional cooperation, saying the country's economic success was tied to the performance of the West African sub-region and the entire continent in general.

“We can't do it alone.

We must pray that Nigeria is doing well, Cote d'Ivoire is doing well, Senegal is doing well, and all of us in the sub-region are doing well.

“We're turning the economy around, like I said in Davos, you can't be a jewel in the dirt.

You scratch the dirt, and you find one big jewel. Ghana cannot be that. We progress together with everybody. So, it should not be just Ghana,” he added. 

The President said that Africans must not only think domestically, but globally in terms of the sub-region, and work together to make things better. 

Concern

President Mahama also expressed concern over the exploitation of Africa's natural resources, saying Ghana loses significant revenue from gold exports.

He said prior to the establishment of the Gold Board, the country exported 63 tonnes of gold each year but only got revenue for 40 tonnes, while the remaining 23 tonnes of gold vanished into the world market without benefiting the country.

“That's one commodity that we have started regulating, and it brings $10 billion in nine months.

We should not be ashamed as Africans that God gave us a comparative advantage in terms of natural resources,” the President said. 

He said Africa must take control of its development and resources by regulating the export of its mineral resources for the benefit of the continent.

President Mahama also emphasised the need for Ghana and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to prioritise security and cooperation in the sub-region, saying it is the next major thing needed to create a safe and secure environment that enables progress and prosperity for the people.