Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President Bawumia has promised to add 2000 megawatts of solar power to the national grid when he becomes President.
This is in view of the increasing cost of power on the business community and, to a large extent, the ordinary Ghanaian.
He believes that will bring down the cost to a significant minimum.
Dr. Bawumia, who is the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), made the commitment when he met the leadership and members of the Council of Indigenous Business Association (CIBA) in Accra on Monday.
He also assured the Ghana National Association of Traditional Healers that once the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) certified medicines produced by the group, he would ensure the medicines were registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He supported a proposal by the National Refrigerators and Air Condition Workshop Owners Association for the establishment of a refrigerator manufacturing plant in the country, and said he would assist the association to achieve that proposal.
Dr. Bawumia highlighted the benefits of the digitalisation system to traders, and said as much as the construction of market infrastructure was essential, traders were already benefiting from the use of digital platforms.
Responding to a question on the availability of gold and challenges associated with its acquisition by the Federation of Ghana Goldsmith and Jewellers Association, Dr. Bawumia said small scale miners would be licensed under his administration.
He said those miners who operated within the mining regulations would be allowed to mine and sell to the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) or the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for onward sale to jewellers.
He assured the group that he would set up a Minerals Development Bank and ensure that the Geological Survey Authority receives funds to undertake more exploration.
He also assured the business group of a stress-free passport acquisition under his administration with the use of the Ghana Card, saying it could be done with a mobile phone and the passport delivered to the applicant through a digital address.
He promised to deal with smuggling by pegging the import duty of the country at par or lower than that of Togo to make smuggling unattractive.
Dr. Bawumia said his government would involve every stakeholder in the country and, therefore, urged CIBA and all other organisations to join him in his quest to become President.
He also urged traders and businesses to support his bid to be successful in the forthcoming presidential elections in December, and asked Ghanaians to give him the chance to be president, saying, “I am currently a Vice President, someone was President, I have not been President before, so give me the chance to be President and you will notice the work I will do.
“I know I will come to you again after you give me the chance in this year’s elections, and so I will work very hard, someone will come and have a honeymoon because he has just four years,” he added.
On his part, Executive Secretary of CIBA, John Nimoh, advised members of the group to wake up from their slumber and recognise that they were major players in the development of the country.
Mr. Nimoh debunked the assertion that government was the largest employer in the country.
He pointed out that the group would further sign a social contract with Dr. Bawumia based on which it would hold him (Dr. Bawumia) to it should he become President.
He said the CIBA, in partnership with Waltergate Limited, was restructuring its activities through a data system.
To that end, he said, there would be registration of members who would be issued with identity cards with payment solution benefits.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
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