The Chief Executive Officer of the MacDan Group of Companies, Mr Daniel McKorley, has expressed hope that the Songhor salt project at Ada in the Greater Accra Region, will earn Ghana more Dollars after export to help shore up the local currency.
He made this comment while speaking in an interview with TV3’s Paa Kwesi Asare on the Business Focus programme on Monday August 29.
One of his companies, Electrochem secured a 15-year lease for salt mining as part of efforts to grow the economy.
“Songhor salt exports will bring in enough dollars to help stabilize the Cedi,” Mr McKorley stressed.
He added “I went to Ada to develop Songhor for the benefit of this country.”
Regarding calls for the dismissal of the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, he said the Minister should be given the chance to fix the current economic challenges facing the country.
“I have respect for those calling for his dismissal. The Finance Minister must be given the chance to fix Ghana’s problems.
“The President knows why he is still keeping him,” he told TV3’s Kwesi Asare on the Business Focus programme.
A Global Financial Analyst, Dr Joshua Bamfo has also indicated that the best way in solving the economic challenges is not to sack Mr Ofori-Atta.
The Minister should rather be challenged to solve the challenges facing the economy, he said.
He added that the track record of this government in the first three years shows that they can turn the economy around.
Speaking on the Ghana Tonight show with Alfred Ocansey on TV3 Thursday August 25, Dr Bamfo said the first three years showed a performance that was excellent, that investors had confidence in.
“I think this is the time for us to challenge the current Finance Minister and his team to actually turn this back around. Because their track records, at least for the first three years, show a performance that was excellent, that investors had confidence in, there was a lot of Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) as well.
“So, I am not of the view that the best way to go about solving this issue is for the president to kick the Minister of Finance out.
However, what is very important is to rebuild credibility. I fully agree that the way and manner going to the IMF was handled wasn’t the most credible . I believe the Ministry should have known that we have some significant challenges,” he said.
His comments come at a time a Professor at the University of Ghana Business School, Godfred Bokpin, called for the resignation of the Finance Minister.
In his view, the country has reached the stage where it needs fresh ideas at the Finance Ministry on how the country can come out of the economic challenges.
Speaking in an interview with 3Buisness on the sidelines of the Imani Ghana-GIZ forum in Accra on Wednesday, he said “I think that we need fresh minds, we need fresh ideas, we need a different face from the Ministry.
“I do recognize the current Minister of Finance, perhaps has done his best for the country and I think that we should be able to recognize that we are at the point where somebody also needs to continue.”
But Mr Ofori-Atta said he would not resign.
Speaking to journalists at the Accra Sports Stadium during the delegate conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Saturday July 16, Mr Ofori-Atta said while reacting to the calls that ”It is almost like telling a father to resign from his children because he has changed his mind.
“There are times that decisions have to be made for the survival of the country and therefore, if such circumstances such as Covid or Ukraine war occur which are not typical, it does change the environment.”
