According to Nana Akufo-Addo, a government under his watch would put in place a “systematic, focused effort to restructure the Ghanaian economy – to take it out from just being a raw material producing economy, to one that is based on value addition, industrial activity and wealth creation”.

If this is not pursued, the NPP flagbearer explained that “we will continue to languish in the circumstances we find ourselves in today”.

Nana Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday, when he interacted with the leadership of the Trades Union Congress, (TUC) to outline the NPP’s policies and programmes aimed at solving the many problems confronting the nation.

The NPP flagbearer explained that it was of utmost importance for Ghanaians to “try a new path, a new programme and a new direction”.

He explained that if Ghanaians are to prosper, and Ghanaian workers should have a decent living standard, it “can only come about from the rapid growth and expansion of our economy. We are not going to generate higher living standards with our economy as it is now. We need to expand it and grow it”.

He noted that if the NPP’s proposals are to succeed, it is “your co-operation with our government and with the private sector, it is the sense of enterprise, innovation of Ghanaian private sector operators, which will spur us to that rapid growth”.

Nana Akufo-Addo continued, “The co-operation between government, labour and private sector is at the heart of any successful economic policy that we will promote. We are not just talking about the normal tripartite committees to set out a minimum wage.

That is not what we are talking about. We are looking for a much more constant, dynamic engagement, an engagement that allow us to be dealing at all times with the issues of wages, not just minimum wages, but living wages, that will address issues of shared benefits from the growth we want to stimulate.”

On the specific measures to be rolled out to ensure the growth of the Ghanaian economy, and the creation of jobs, the NPP flagbearer stated that these measures are hinged on moving the economy from one based on taxation to production.

Nana Akufo-Addo noted that the “burden of taxation on our companies is unreasonable, unnecessary. It is almost punitive and a complete disincentive for both investment and production”.

To this end, the NPP flagbearer explained that duties on the importation of raw materials and manufacturing equipment, for example, will be removed.