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Speeches

Keynote Address by the Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister for Finance at Launch of the 2020 SDGs Budget Report

With less than 9 years to 2030 - the deadline for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals - the government of Ghana concurs with the United Nations on the need for accelerated action to enable us to realise these ambitious yet critical objectives that we have set for ourselves in the Sustainable Development Goals. The Pandemic has exacerbated the challenges of achieving the Global and Country level SDG Goals – but we cannot despair.

Remarks by Hon Ken Ofori-Atta on the Occasion of the Swearing-in Ceremony of AfDB President

Thank you very much for coming to witness the occasion of the swearing-in the President-Elect, Dr Akinwumi “Akin” Adesina, of the African Development Bank Group. This ceremony is historic in the sense that this is the first time an electronic voting system has been used to elect a President of the Bank, the first time a sitting President seeking re-election has received a unanimous endorsement (obtaining a 100% from both regional and non-regional members of the Bank) and the first time a swearing-in has been telecast. Covid is forcing us to reimagine our future.

Launch of tax Audit & Quality Assurance Unit at GRA

To increase our tax-to-GDP ratio from 13% to 20% to match our peers on the Continent requires challenging the status quo. It requires making tough choices which would force people to leave their comfort zones. It calls for having a Quality Assurance Unit. A Unit that will watch the watchman and protect the taxpayer from abuse by some tax officers in GRA. The current manual system has led to leakages resulting in revenue losses between GHS700 million to GHS1 billion (McKinsey, 2019).

Speech by Hon. Minister on GCX Inauguration

Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Honourable Ministers, Honourable Members of Parliament, Traditional Rulers, Members of the Business Community and our able Farmers, the Media, Invited guests, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. Good Morning.   I am very excited to be here with you all for this historic inauguration of the operations of the Ghana Commodity Exchange(GCX). Today, a new market is born, an institution that will contribute immensely to the transformation of our economy, a regulated market that will see agricultural and other commodities take center stage in our endeavor to ensuring irreversible economic growth and development.