Economic transformation is a national project that requires discipline, trust and shared responsibility across the Government, the private sector, labour, civil society and development partners, Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has said.
She made the remarks during the inauguration of the Presidential Advisory Group on the Economy (PAGE), which was conducted by President John Dramani Mahama.
The Advisory Group is under the Chairmanship of the President, and the Vice President, who is also a member, would act as Chairman in the absence of the President in line with constitutional requirements.
The Vice President on behalf of the PAGE, expressed their gratitude to the President for the foresight that informed the establishment of this advisory group.
She noted that after a period of acute strain, visibility was being retained, and confidence was gradually rebuilding.
“Even as we continue to navigate global and domestic challenges, this moment must be used not only to recover but to reset our economic direction,” she stated.
She added: “As an advisory body, our mandate is clear and demanding to provide independent, rigorous and practical advice to support the Government.
“We complement existing institutions by offering insight, testing assumptions and proposing solutions informed by global best practice and grounded in Ghana’s realities.”
She said the commitment of the PAGE was to move from crisis management to durable success.
“We will foster dialogue, intellectual honesty and collective responsibility, engage across sectors and deliver actionable advice aligned with Ghana’s long-term development vision,” she assured.
Vice President Prof Opoku-Agyemang said the Advisory Group comprises professionals of different backgrounds, perspectives and experience across diverse disciplines.
“As a lifelong teacher myself, I would like to respectfully leave my esteemed colleagues and myself with our first piece of homework,” she stated.
“That is, for us to constantly reflect on what the term, the economy, should mean to our fellow citizens,” she added.
She said beyond an abstract concept, it should mean many things, including stability for the teacher in the classroom and the nurse on night duty, fair prices and reliable markets for the farmer, and predictable costs and access to credit to the trader and small business owner.
Others are stable incomes and affordable housing and transport for the worker, opportunities and skills for the young person, especially the women and security for the labourer and decent care for the elderly.
She reiterated that “In short, our task is sobering. That is, to conceptualise the kind of support that makes their economy feel less distant and more everyday possibilities.”
Vice President Prof Opoku-Agyemang said to arrive at a reality where effort was rewarded, risks were shared, and honest work was not invisible, they must remember the concrete effects of the economy on their people’s lives, such as the safety of the water, the reliability of electricity, powering the aspirations and the dignity of their work.
“Our pledge is to provide independent, thorough and practical leadership to support this collective effort,” she said.
GNA
