The President, Mr J A Kufuor announced at the weekend that the government is in the process of setting up an International Financial Services Centre in collaboration with the Barclays Bank to, among others, transact off-shore banking business; making Ghana the financial hub of the West African sub-region.
President Kufuor said all the economic indicators, namely, inflation, interest rates, stability of the currency and Gross Domestic Product are showing positive trends.
These macro-economic and fiscal developments, he observed, have emboldened the Bank of Ghana to schedule a redenomination of the cedi from July 1, this year.
Addressing a durbar at Abetifi-Kwahu to launch the Kwahu Education Trust Fund and also inaugurate the Kwahu Development Association, President Kufuor said that confidence in the economy has encouraged the financial sector to witness an increase in the number of banks currently operating in the country.
He said the feat could not have been achieved without remittances from Ghanaians abroad which, as at last year, stood at more than $4 billion.
He announced that Government is taking the appropriate measures to achieve normalcy and adequacy of power supply not only on the short-term, but also on the medium- to long-term basis in order to meet domestic and industrial needs of the nation.
He said the government regrets the current energy problem which is causing anxiety to the whole nation, especially the business community.
President Kufuor said the government is making serious efforts to increase the current power capacity 2000 megawatts to 4000 megawatts in order to meet the national demand.
He called on Ghanaians, irrespective of political affiliation, to pool efforts and resources together to support the government to overcome the present problem, declaring that this is the only way to sustain the gains so far made through collective sacrifices over the years.
The President commended the people of Kwahu for coming together to institute the Education Fund to support their children's education.
The Kwahumanhene, Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng, commended the government for recognising the rich natural resources in the area by providing the necessary funding for agricultural production under the Millennium Challenge Account.
Daasebre Boateng recognised the enormous assistance the government provided in the area of education through the Ghana Education Trust Fund.
He drew the government"s attention to the perennial water supply problems in Kwahu.
President Kufuor, however, assured him that Government has drawn up a programme to solve the problem. A heavy down-pour later made people to run helter-skelter as the canopies began to fall.
