Nana Kwame Bediako starts ‘276 tour’ nationwide to market his 12 Pillars for Economic Freedom
Independent presidential aspirant and leader of the New Force, Nana Kwame Bediako, has stated that his proposed 16 Regional Industrial Revolution will effectively address the brain drain syndrome by increasing productivity as well as create more jobs.
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He explained that the agenda aimed to awaken the dormant potential of all 16 regions by industrialising on the back of their resources and create more jobs to ensure that the youth did not migrate from their regions to the already populated Greater Accra Region.
“Every citizen deserves a fair share of the nation’s wealth, and it is crucial to refine and leverage the resources in the regions for sustainable development,” Nana Bediako said, when he paid a visit to the Graphic Communications Group Ltd last Tuesday, where he also announced plans to begin a campaign tour of all 276 constituencies, starting from today (Sept 20).
Visit
He was accompanied by the General Manager of Future Brands, Emmanuel Odoom.
The Director, Sales and Marketing, Franklin Sowa, led the GCGL team, mainly made up of the Editors, to receive and interact with Nana Bediako who confessed his liking for the state-owned media, the Daily Graphic, since he was nine years old.
Using anecdotes, metaphors and explicit language, Nana Bediako answered a number of questions, including his thoughts on the high number of youth leaving the shores of the country to seek greener pastures and how to stem the tide.
“Imagine being a mother or father who has spent 22 years of your life educating your child, believing that after they graduate from university, they will secure a job and take care of you.
“However, after 22 years, your child is left jobless and hopeless. Without a clear future, they start searching for one. At that point, anyone offering them hope will easily win them over.
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“I want Ghana to understand one crucial thing: we are losing our youth — our nation’s greatest investment. When they reach 22 or 23, they are at their prime, yet we are letting them slip away,” he added.
Nana Bediako further explained that without empowering the regions with the industrialisation drive, the country risked losing its most talented individuals to foreign nations eager to harness their potential, saying: “The power to develop the country lies within its people, and it is imperative to create an environment where the youth can thrive”.
Execution
On how to execute this plan, the independent presidential aspirant said he would focus on refining gold, minerals, and other natural resources domestically, rather than just exporting them in the raw state.
Nana Kwame Bediako (2nd from right), Leader of the Third Force Movement, explaining a point to the Editorial Conference. In the meeting includes Franklin Sowa (right), Director, Marketing and Sales. Picture: SAMUEL TEI ADANO
He said for instance that, cocoa could be turned into about seven different high value products, but over time the country had exported the raw beans, predominantly without adding value.
“We want people to understand that cocoa can produce seven different products, each of which can create a distinct job. If these processes run 24 hours a day, that means 21 different jobs can be generated. Multiply that by 100,000, and you can create 2.1 million jobs.
The potential is there — you already have the seed, but you haven’t yet created 2.1 million jobs for the people,” he explained.
In addition to that, he said he would establish 32 plants to process the resources in the regions in a bid to create a significant number of jobs for the educated youth and reduce the need for them to seek opportunities abroad.
Also, aside from merging education with industrialisation, which he calls ‘Industrication’, to re-orient the youth’s perception about job creation, Nana Bediako said he would focus on creating middle-income jobs and a decent standard of living for the youth so that they would not be compelled to migrate in search of better prospects. Read more on pages 14 & 35.
Fiscal space
Answering a question on where to get the fiscal space to undertake his ambitious projects, Nana Bediako said he would utilise the country’s $2.5 trillion attributable reserves across the 16 regions, underscoring the need to recognise and invest in those assets to be able to empower the local economy.
"It is painful when someone who does not understand the value of what you own outsmarts you," he stated, calling for a shift in mindset to build a sustainable future based on the resources and capabilities already present in the country.
The Leader of the New Force further challenged Ghanaians to break free from a culture of dependency, asserting that no external entity would come to rescue the nation. "If we keep thinking someone will build our economy, we are being lazy.
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“We need a powerful mentality to build our country. True change will come from within, driven by the collective will of the people,” Nana Bediako stated.
Commendation
He commended Daily Graphic, the flagship newspaper of the GCGL, for its leading role as a national voice and shaping discourse.
Nana Bediako called on the editorial team to remain committed to transmitting campaign messages accurately for the public to make meaningful decisions.
Courage
Mr Sowa congratulated the independent candidate on the bold step to compete to lead the country.
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He requested Nana Bediako to avail himself for exclusive content to help provide a comprehensive story on his plans for the country.
Mr Sowa further pledged that the GCGL would remain professional and provide better context to stories on the independent candidate to help drive the necessary public discourse.