Akufo-Addo Has Proven To Be The Most Visionary Ghanaian Leader – US Ambassador To Ghana
President Nana Akufo-Addo is more visionary than some of Ghana’s recent leaders, US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson has said.
Speaking on 21 Minutes, he said: “I do think that he is more visionary than some recent Ghanaian leaders”.
Asked if that meant that Mr Akufo-Addo’s immediate predecessor, John Mahama, was not visionary, Mr Jackson said: “I think ex-president Mahama had a vision, too, so, I want to give him credit where credit is due, his emphasis was on infrastructure, which is very important – schools, clinics, hospitals, roads, President Mahama did a lot for this country.
“President Akufo-Addo’s focus on the private sector and making the private sector the engine of growth rather than government being the driving force is how I see the difference between the two of them.
“Both of them had visions for the country, I think President Akufo-Addo’s vision of private sector-led growth is likely to create more jobs and propel the economy forward faster than the infrastructure investments but the infrastructure investments were important”.
In Mr. Jackson’s view, “President Akufo-Addo’s vision of one district-one factory may not be realized in his first term or even his second if there is one, but the idea is exactly what is needed to get beyond aid – that you have to industrialize, that you build your industrial base, that you create jobs so that people do not want to trek across the desert and be potentially enslaved in Libya or even if they make it to Libya, drown in the Mediterranean, we need to change the dialogue so that people do not see it as their only alternative, we need to make Ghana attractive for young people to stay here and see that they can be entrepreneurs, that they can have a real bright future here”.