Hassan Ayariga, the Presidential Candidate of the All People’s Congress (APC), has expressed concerns about Ghana’s reliance on imported goods and has proposed bold measures to address this issue if elected president in 2024. In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s *Face to Face*, Ayariga outlined his vision to drastically reduce imports and promote local production.
Ayariga’s plan includes the potential seizure of imported food and other goods to encourage the use of domestically produced products. He aims to implement what he calls an “economic lockdown” within his first 100 days in office, focusing on transforming Ghana into a self-sufficient, manufacturing-based economy.
“Ghana will stop the import,” Ayariga declared. “When you turn that country into a production-manufacturing nation, what it means is that we’re going to have an economic lockdown. I’m going to lock down this economy for one year. Nobody is importing anything anymore.”
Ayariga explained that this “economic lockdown” would change the country’s consumption habits, pushing Ghanaians to produce and consume locally. “We import to consume, we import to wear, and we import to survive. We’re going to lock down this economy and not importation. Right now we have to change our consumption pattern to produce what we eat and eat what we produce.”
He also emphasized the need for Ghana to produce its own goods, including clothing, and to reduce its dependence on foreign markets. “We have to change our standard of living, we have to begin to manufacture our clothing, and we have to live in a country where no other country exists.”
According to Ayariga, this strategy will help Ghana achieve economic independence, stabilize the cedi, increase productivity, and create jobs. “The purpose of the economic lockdown is to make our economy independent, stabilize our cedi, increase our productivity, [and] increase job creation.”
His plan also includes establishing a 24/7 manufacturing hub to boost local production and reduce the need for imports.
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