Encourage Partnerships Between Ghanaian Entrepreneurs And Australian Renewable Energy Companies - To Provide Off-Grid Energy Independence Across Ghana

Those who establish businesses that create jobs need certain conditions that will enable them to grow their businesses.

As we have all come to realise, a foremost requirement for businesses to grow, is the availabilty of reliable electricity, which is reasonably priced.

A key to affordable electricity in Ghana, is to encourage off-grid energy independence, focusing on solar energy, to begin with. As a people we should aim to make Ghana a global power in renewable energy production - with investment in the sector's entire value-chain being made tax free.

Today, renewable energy storage technolgy has evolved to the point where whole communities, educational institutions, hospitals, small and medium-sized  businesses and homes, can go off-grid and become energy independent, using renewable energy systems - such as IBM Research and Airlight Energy's Sunflower  high concentration photovoltaic thermal power system with molten salts storage.

If we  are to become a global power in off-grid renewable power generation, it should be led by the private sector.

That is why we must have a political class that clearly understands that in the long run it is the private sector, not the public sector,  which will make our country prosperous - and become a nation in which all young people who are willing to work can find work.

Luckily for our country, today, virtually all the political parties in Ghana, acknowledge the pivotal role the private-sector of the national economy, can play, in the transformation of our nation.

What is needed is for politicians to understand clearly that the most effective way to assist private-sector entities to grow, and expand their operations, is to make Ghana the country with Africa's lowest corporate tax rates - and also abolish personal income tax.

It will attract many renewable energy companies from places like Australia, such as Zen Energy,  to partner Ghanaian entrepreneurs to exploit the Ghanaian market.

Politicians must also develop a consensus on curbing government's appetite for short-term borrowing - which is crowding out the private-sector from having access to long-term financing: because risk-averse banks focus on profiting from treasury bills, for example.

There is a vital need, to downsize the public-sector, to achieve that end. A key step, will be to reduce the numbers of people, who are employed by the state. It does not make sense to cripple our country, by using nearly seventy percent of tax revenues, to pay 600,000 public-sector employees, many of whom are unproductive.

Above all, politicians across the spectrum, must commit to reducing wasteful government expenditure.

Would we not be better off with smaller numbers of government ministers and members of Parliament, for example, who are well-paid, and can live comfortably on their salaries - and thus be less susceptible to corruption?

If we undertake all the reforms above to improve the national economy, and aggressively pursue the goal of making Ghana a global power in renewable energy production, we can make our country one in which off-grid energy independence is widespread.

Affordable electricity is a must for our nation's long-term future - and it is renewable energy and off-grid energy independence that will provide Ghanaian families, communities, hospitals, educational institutions, government departments, etc., etc., with affordable electricity.

The government must encourage Ghana's private sector to look to Australia for partnerships between Ghanaian entrepreneurs and Australian renewable energy companies - to help make off-grid energy independence in Ghana a reality. Australia is one of the world's  leaders in renewable energy production - and the Ghana High Commission in Canberra should make renewable energy a priority area in its economic diplomacy.