Today in History: Amazon is coming to Ghana – Ofori-Atta assures as GIPC works to ensure reality

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on May 9, 2021, noted that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) was working assiduously to ensure that Amazon establishes its head office in Ghana.

“GIPC working to attract Amazon to Ghana,” Ken Ofori-Atta said at a press conference on May 9.

His comment came after micro-blogging site, Twitter set up its head office in Accra, Ghana.

The establishment of the head office, Ken Ofori-Atta said will employ some teeming unemployed youth in the country.

Read the full story originally published on May 9, 2021.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has assured the nation that the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is working to ensure that Amazon.com establishes its head office in Ghana just as Twitter has done.

This, he said, forms one of the ways the Akufo-Addo government is fixing the challenge of youth unemployment in Ghana.

Mr Ofori-Atta said this at a press conference in Accra on Sunday, May 9.

“GIPC working to attract Amazon to Ghana,” he said among others.

Amazon.com, Inc. is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.

The company has been referred to as “one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world”, as well as the world’s most valuable brand.

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon from his garage in Bellevue, Washington, on July 5, 1994.

Mr Ofori-Atta further commended the convener of the FixTheCountry Movement saying the government will scape up its efforts at transforming the country.

He said “In extraordinary times you should expect exceptional leadership from your administration, government and truly believe we cannot ensure exceptional leadership without the collective efforts from all of us.

“So I commend the youth for calling on government and leaders to be at their best. This shows the patriotism of Ghanaian youth, echoing the president’s call to be a citizens and not a spectator.

“You have elected us to solve the problems that face us a country, we will continue to work with you and other stakeholders to do just that.”

A few days after the announcement of increase in fuel prices with accompanied tax, Ghanaians took to Twitter to express their displeasure against the hardship in the country with the hashtag #FIXTHECOUNTRYNOW.

The main concerns identified with the hashtag include poor sanitation, inadequate jobs, tax increases, fuel price increases, unstable power supply, poor roads etc.

With over twenty thousand tweets, it appears another section of Ghanaians are opposing the hashtag with a new one, #NANAISFIXINGIT which has over five thousand tweets.

While the hashtag #FIXTHECOUNTRYNOW is highlighting the challenges faced by the country, the hashtag #NANAISFIXINGIT is supporting the current government by indicating some of the work done by the government.