President Mahama Optimistic Of Ghana's Economic Transformation 

President John Mahama on Wednesday expressed optimism that the three year IMF programme will help largely in consolidating the country's fiscal efforts and advance governments economic transformation agenda. 

Negotiations with the IMF will be concluded next month and the programme will be signed by the end of the year. 

President Mahama was speaking on Ghana's Economic Transformation, Progress and Challenges in Policy implementation, at a Chatham house event as part of his visit to the United Kingdom. 
                               
President Mahama started off by assuring investors that Ghana's decision to go on the IMF programme is a major step towards transforming the economy. 
                                      
President Mahama said the vision of his government to improve Ghana's economy and transform it from the current huge import based one to an export based one. 

He described the current situation where the country depends largely on imports as a precarious one.
                                       
President Mahama said what his government intends doing in the short term is to develop the industrial and manufacturing base of the country by supporting local businesses to process raw products into finished goods for the domestic and export market. 

President Mahama said in 2013, it cost the country more than four hundred million dollars to import rice, sugar and vegetable oil.  

He said the Export, Trade, Agriculture and Industrial Development Fund, EDAIF, under the Ministry of Trade and Industry has approved 19 million dollars to support local manufacturing companies to expand and increase production. 

Government is also promoting Public Private partnerships to boost the Manufacturing sector, he added. 

He said the government had also released $50 million dollars to some poultry farmers under the broiler project and similar support had been given to the shoe factory in Kumasi to produce boots for security personnel and schools.

The President said the government would also resume the production of sugar to reduce the importation of the commodity by cutting a sod for the construction of a sugar production factory at Komenda in the Central Region.

President Mahama said a shea nuts processing factory had been completed in Buipe in the Northern Region and this would reduce the importation of shea products.

He said:"I am optimistic that after all these transformations, it will boost our economy in the areas of energy, agriculture, industry and mining among other ventures."

GBC/GNA