Ms Dapaah the addressing participants
The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Ms Cecilia Dapaah, says Ghanians cannot should not let greed destroy the country’s water bodies and vegetation.
She noted that if bold decisions were not taken to tackle the menace of galamsey, the country would face huge challenges with looming water storage in the next 10 years.
Ms Dapaah stated at the 5th National Policy Summit (NPS) which opened here on Sunday in Takoradi.
Its two-day forum had the theme; “Improving performance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and agencies.”
Ms Dapaah appealed to the youth to support the president’s initiatives to move the nation forward, assuring that government had drawn up long-term programmes to improve the lives of Ghanaians through the Planting for Food and Jobs and the One District, One Factory policies.
She added; “Ghanaians must be assured that change has come, we want to increase employment for Ghanaians through skills transfer, research and development.
She argued that Ghanaians cannot continue to do things in the old fashion way and should therefore begin to improve upon the economy and restore confidence in state-owned enterprises.
Ms Dapaah believed the policy summit would promote good discussions to improve economic governance.
The chairman of the State Enterprise Commission, Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, said government was serious about addressing the challenges facing businesses, adding that SOEs were poised to improve the fortunes of the country.
The Omanhene of Wassa Amenfi, Tetreteh Okuamoah Sekyim II, lauded the summit as it demonstrated the desire of the country to seek consensus in driving policies for the development of the country.
The summit is a platform for explaining government policies, plans and programmes and outlining their objectives.
The summit has been a major flagship programme of the Ministry of Information and designed to bring together policy makers and business leaders to explore mutually beneficial ways of achieving the country’s objectives.
It further aimed at promoting social accountability in the public sector, improving transparency, public access to information, enhancing the capacity of the media and press freedom.
Speakers would deal with issues ranging from the petroleum sector, entrepreneurship, housing deficit, boosting exports, and small scale businesses. Other topics would be on safeguarding the health of consumers and protection of the country’s’s natural resources.
The speakers include the Chief Executive (CEO) of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Dr K.K Sarpong; CEO of Accra Digital Centre, Mr Kofi Ofosu Nkansah; Managing Director of State Housing Corporation, Nana Kwabena Appiah, CEO of Ghana Free Zones Authority, Mr Michael Okyere Baafi; CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority, Madam Delese Darko and the Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Mr Charles Onuawonto Bissue.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI
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