My plans will impact all Ghanaians positively – Dr Akoto

A flagbearer hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, says his plan to make life comfortable for all is superior to that of all his competitors.

To him, using agriculture as the bedrock to develop other sectors of the economy as well as his ambitious project to spearhead establishment of NPP party owned businesses will impact all Ghanaians positively.

According to him, his proposed policies, projects and programmes will lift Ghanaians from current economic difficulties to boost the morale of citizens.

Dr. Akoto said his vision to set up a chain of party-owned businesses at national, regional, and constituency levels to be managed by a holding company will provide the needed financial resources for the party to function effectively as well as provide employment for NPP members.

The former two-term Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwadaso in the Ashanti Region, explained that party owned businesses exists in citing examples such as the Kuomintang (KTM) or Nationalist Party of Taiwan, ANC of South Africa, RPF in Rwanda, the French Communist Party, Social Democrats in Germany and Austria, Scandinavian socialist and communist parties among many others.

KMT of Taiwan

The Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Party of Taiwan amassed a vast business empire of banks, investment companies, petrochemical firms, and television and radio stations.

The party which is currently struggling financially was thought to have been the world’s richest political party at a point, with assets once estimated to be around $2 to $10billion.

ANC in South Africa

Chancellor House Holdings is a private company committed to generating wealth through prudent and viable investment opportunities for shareholders including mining and other assets of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) Party.

However, it does not invest in companies that tender for any work or conduct procurement directly or indirectly with any South Africa National, Provincial and Local Government spheres, Government Agencies and State-Owned Entities.

RPF in Rwanda

Crystal Ventures, the Rwanda Patriotic Front’s (RPF) holding company, has investments in everything from furniture to finance.

It owns the country’s biggest milk processor, its finest coffee shops, and some of its priciest real estate.

Its contractors are building Kigali’s roads.

There are several firms offering security services in Rwanda but the guards from ISCO, part of Crystal Ventures, are the only ones who carry guns.

The company is reckoned to have some $500 million of assets.

Dr Akoto said winning 2024 elections should be directly tied to helping Ghanaians develop and enjoy a good standard of living like any other descent societies as well as make NPP financially powerful.

“This country is sitting on wealth. It hasn’t been exploited. My vision is to use agriculture to spearhead breaking of the poverty cycle.

“We’ve been financing our development with debts; pensioners’ funds and borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund.

“Since the beginning of our republic, we have had to rely on them for our development.

“It won’t work; it has never worked, and it will never work. We have to move away from the cycle of borrowing money to fix our roads and finance our infrastructure.

“Agriculture has the tools to be able to do that.

“The farmers of Ghana have demonstrated to me clearly in my six years at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and given the necessary support, they will deliver.

“So, to me the priority is that we will support farmers in whatever that they are doing and create the institutions to assist them,” he stated.

Dr Akoto pointed out that the establish of the Tree Development Authority (TDA) to develop six tree crops – rubber, oil palm, coconut, mango, cashew and Shea under one roof to be developed to the level of cocoa where production could generate between $6billion to $12billion for the country annually.