Independent presidential aspirant and leader of the New Force Movement, Nana Kwame Bediako, has announced an ambitious plan to industrialize all 16 regions of Ghana.
This declaration was made during the virtual launch of his manifesto, titled “The 12 Pillars of Economic Freedom,” held tonight.
During the livestream, which attracted a large online audience, he showcased a series of artist renderings and mock-ups to vividly depict his comprehensive vision for the nation’s economic future.
Central to his strategy is the transformation of the Western Region into the “Texas of Africa,” leveraging the area’s rich natural resources to drive industrial growth.
“We have to take the Western Region seriously because it has a lot of natural resources,” Mr. Bediako stated. “Western Region is going to become the Texas of Africa”.
He stressed the importance of redirecting Ghana’s economic focus from imports to exports, asserting that this strategy would bolster the national economy and help curb inflation.
“We need to export more, not import more,” he noted, outlining his plans to build refineries and increase the production of petrochemicals locally. “All we have to do is build our refineries, and we will have competitive prices, and we will save the losses in the economy, the inflation in the economy, just because of industrialization.
Mr. Bediako pointed out that Ghana currently produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day. He suggested that refining this oil within the country would not only generate employment opportunities but also decrease reliance on foreign markets.
“We produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day in Ghana. We sell this and then, in fact, we let people extract it, go and refine it. They will go back to Europe and buy this same product premium and sell our fuel at 15 point, something cities per liter,” he explained.
The manifesto outlines twelve key pillars aimed at fostering economic freedom and prosperity. These are:
Pillar 1- 16 Regional Industrial Revolution
Pillar 2- Ghana’s First Water Transportation & Sub-Regional Railway
Pillar 3- Energy City & Technology Hub,
Pillar 4- Reserves
Pillar 5- National Sovereign Wealth Fund
Pillar 6- The SSNIT Revolution.
Pillar 7- Industri-Cation (Industrialization + Education)
Pillar 8- Environmental & Human Rights Protection
Pillar 9- The “Apostolic” Government
Pillar 10- Ghana’s First $50 Billion
Pillar 11- National Security and Data Protection
Pillar 12- Sports and Creative Industry