President-elect John Dramani Mahama has identified agriculture and agribusiness as the main drivers of his yet-to-be-installed government.
He said investing in the sector has the potential to transform the economy and create the needed jobs.
During a courtesy call on him by the US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, in his office in Accra yesterday, the President-elect said he hopes to work with the US to derive the full benefits of the sector.
“One of my passions now is agriculture and agribusiness and we look forward to see how we can share knowledge and see how we can boost agricultural growth and be food self-sufficient,” he said.
Ghana, he said was aiming to foster deeper relations with the United States to lift the West African country from the economic doldrums it finds itself.
President-elect John Dramani Mahama noted that the need for closer collaboration had become more crucial than ever before especially in the energy sector to salvage the economy from derailing further.
“[Deeper collaborations between Ghana and the US] is critical even more now than before because of what Ghana is going through both in terms of the economy and finances but more importantly the energy sector,” he stated.
According to him, the US has the requisite experiencing in transforming the energy sector and Ghana would not hesitate to tap into that experience to enhance its power sector.
“Knowing the comparative advantage, technology and knowledge the US has we want to work closely to see how we can resolve some of the issues in that sector,” he stated.
He recalled how in his previous government, he worked with the US on the Millennium Challenge Corporation before exiting power in 2017.
That collaboration, the President-elect said made Ghana’s electricity generation sector more resilient than it was before the MCC and looks forward to wrap-up the final phase of the Corporation agreement.
On the security front, President-elect Mahama said Ghana would continue its cooperation with the US to tackle terrorism and violent extremism in our sub region.
“We know what the issues in our sub region are. The US has been a long-standing partner in terms of improving our resilience when it comes to security matters and we look forward to continue that cooperation,” Mr Mahama said.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, extended the US government’s congratulations to Mr Mahama on his second coming and said America looks forward to working with him again.
“We look forward to working with you to deepen the Ghana-US partnership,” she said.
The President-elect also had a separate meeting with the Apostolic Fathers where he has been telling them of how he plans to work with them to restore Ghana’s lost glory as the black star of Africa.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
