Africa-Press – Ghana. President John Dramani Mahama has disclosed that under the 24-Hour Economy Policy, one of its boldest proposals is the development of the Volta Lake Economic Corridor.
He said this corridor, which was centred on the Volta Lake and the Volta Basin, would become a national production zone and logistics fund.
He said the plan envisions cultivating over a million hectares of arable lakeside land, revitalising the fishery sector on the lake, and creating a chain of industrial parks that produce goods for domestic and regional markets.
“To support this corridor, the lake will be activated as a transport highway, moving food, people and goods more efficiently than our congested roads allow us to do currently,” President Mahama stated during a multi-sectoral engagement on the implementation of the “24-Hour Economy Policy” with business leaders and captains of industries at the Presidency in Accra.
He said new floating assets; lake ports and long-term investment partnerships would be developed in coordination with the Volta River Authority and the private sector.
“We must move beyond just hydro-power and unlock the broader economic potential of this beautiful national asset,” he stated.
He reiterated that the Volta Lake Corridor was only part of the broader plan.
President Mahama said the 24-Hour Economy programme identifies priority value chains across all regions, and these include agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, light manufacturing, tourism, digital services and the creative economy.
He said each one had specific bottlenecks and the programme outlines targeted solutions.
On infrastructure, the President said the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund would lead efforts to develop industrial parks, logistics hubs and upgrade transport links.
On financing, he said the Development Bank of Ghana and the Venture Capital Trust Fund would scale up value chain finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives and agribusiness in priority sectors.
With regards to land, he said they would develop local land banks, zoned, titled and investment-ready to reduce any delays and uncertainty to investors.
Concerning skills, the President said the Aspire-24 sub-programme of the 24-Hour Economy Policy would be launched to train young people for shift-based work, digital roles and entrepreneurship.
With regards to incentives, President Mahama said they would introduce tax reliefs on machinery and inputs, fast-track regulatory approvals and export facilitation.
He said the 24-Hour Economy Programme was not a top-down model, and that it would be decentralized.
“Each district will establish its own 24-hour Implementation Task Force, housed within the district and municipal assemblies and aligned with our local economic development policy,” he stated.
This decentralized approach, he said, would allow each region to define and lead its path of industrial transformation based on its natural comparative advantages.
“This is no longer just a vision. It is a structured, sequenced and inclusive plan, and its implementation is beginning,” he said.
The President said, he had authorized the 24-Hour Secretariat to begin a detailed programme design and investment packaging.
He noted that the draft programme document of the 24-Hour Economy Policy would be released publicly on Tuesday, June 3, for broader consultations.
The President said the Government would officially launch the 24-Hour Plus programme on July 1st, Ghana’s Republic Day.
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