Ghana in Focus Special: The Make-or-Break Budget That Will Shape Ghana's Future

The upcoming budget presentation by Ghana's NDC government marks a pivotal moment in the nation's economic journey. Set against a backdrop of severe economic challenges, including crippling inflation, currency depreciation, and the aftermath of the domestic debt exchange programme, this budget will potentially shape Ghana's economic trajectory for the next decade.

Food inflation remains one of the most pressing concerns for everyday Ghanaians. The budget must address this through strategic investments in agriculture, potentially reviving policies like the "Operation Feed Yourself" initiative from the Acheampong era, which encouraged Ghanaians to cultivate available land. Additionally, providing interest-free or soft loans to farmers could stimulate food production and ultimately bring down prices.

The taxation landscape in Ghana requires urgent reconsideration. The E-Levy, COVID-19 Levy, Betting Tax, and Emissions Tax have become significant burdens on businesses and individuals alike. While these taxes generate revenue, their negative impact on economic activity may outweigh their benefits. The government could compensate for potential revenue loss by addressing public sector corruption, which reportedly costs Ghana approximately 2.5 billion USD annually, and tackling gold smuggling, which drains an estimated 5 billion USD yearly from the economy.

Interest rates in Ghana are the highest in the West African sub-region, deterring investment and hampering business growth. The budget needs to outline mechanisms through which the Bank of Ghana can gradually reduce its policy rate from the current 26-27% range. Lower interest rates would stimulate borrowing, investment, and expansion among businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises that form the backbone of the economy.

Indigenous Ghanaian businesses deserve special attention in this budget. Currently, key sectors of Ghana's economy are dominated by non-Ghanaian interests – Lebanese, Indian, and Chinese businesses control significant portions of the retail and manufacturing sectors, while European companies dominate mining and oil. The budget should include provisions for supporting indigenous Ghanaian businesses through preferential loans, tax breaks, and capacity development programmes. When local businesses thrive, profits remain within the country, stimulating further economic growth and creating employment opportunities.

The budget presents an opportunity for the government to boldly renegotiate more favourable mining and oil agreements, potentially generating billions of Ghana Cedi in additional revenue that could fund infrastructure development, healthcare, and education.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Budget Special
• 4:27 Why This Budget Matters
• 10:32 Removing Burdensome Taxes
• 19:07 Climate Change Debate and Emissions Tax
• 25:05 Stimulating Growth Through Agriculture
• 29:57 Supporting Ghanaian Businesses
• 35:49 Domestic Debt Exchange Programme
• 39:50 Mining and Oil Revenue Demands

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Akwaba, welcome to this week's edition of Ghana in Focus. Myself Kwame, ghanaian writer, broadcaster, journalist, podcaster and entrepreneur, and in this week's edition of Ghana in Focus, we're looking forward to the budget. It's a budget special, so we'll be telling you our hopes and our aspirations for the budget and why this budget is going to be a very, very important budget for you if you are wanting to do anything in Ghana. That's the theme for this week's podcast budget special, hopes and aspirations for the budget. So, before we get into the podcast, if you like what you hear, please share to your friends, family, social media networks, subscribe to Ghana Africa and Focus on YouTube. The aim for this is to try and get between 100 and 200 subscribers. So please subscribe to Ghana Africa and Focus on YouTube. Hit the notification bell, meaning that every time I upload a podcast, youtube will notify you. Also, we're on Spotify. Look out for Ghana Africa in Focus on Spotify podcast. Click on the follow button and that will ensure that every time I upload a new podcast, spotify will alert you. Ok, and we want to get a thousand subscribers this year on Spotify. So far we're 575. So thank you for those who have followed me on Spotify to tell your friends, family about this great podcast called Ghana African Focus and subscribe on either YouTube or Spotify.

Speaker 1: 1:48

Okay, so let's get into the podcast, looking about the budget and our hopes and aspirations for this important budget. So on March 11th for Tuesday the new NDC Mahama Part 2, 2.0, will be presenting its first budget on that day. Now, this is a very, very important budget. It possibly is the most important budget in Ghana's recent history, and I make no exaggeration when I say that, because this budget is under the backdrop of a severe, severe cost of living crisis in Ghana, severe inflation, particularly food inflation. Food inflation is huge in Ghana. Yes, if you come to Ghana on a holiday, your pounds or whatever, your dollars, euros, that either is not going to work because, basically, food inflation in Ghana is huge. Yeah, it's massive. And also it's under the backdrop of also the domestic debt exchange programme, which all the Ghanaians are going through right now, also the external debt programme, of which Ghana has just concluded talks with its external partners to pay back some of the huge external debt that Ghana owes. And added to that, you've also got the depreciation of the city, which is still quite high despite a new government developing government for six weeks and also backdrop against, you know, high interest rates. Yeah, so this is a backdrop of the budget that will be taking place on tuesday. So, like I said, it's possibly the most important budget, yeah, for at least 20 years, at least 20 years.

Speaker 1: 3:41

So it also affects you. So, if you're so, it also affects you. So, if you're obviously living in ghana right now, the burden is going to affect you. Definitely, if you're wanting to come to ghana, even a holiday, yeah, because the pounds in your pocket, the euro in your pocket, the us dollars in your pocket, when you change it, yeah, that's going to have some bearing on you getting a hotel, the cost of transportation, food, et cetera. This is important to you. If you are wanting to settle in Ghana, the budget is important to you. If you are wanting to settle in Ghana, especially buy property, buy land, the budget is important to you. So no one can escape the reality of the budget is important to you. So no one can escape the reality of the budget.

Speaker 1: 4:33

Yeah, because the budget is going to affect each and every one of you listeners, whether you're in Ghana or not. In Ghana, because you know, like I said, that this year's budget backdrop is very, very, you know, unprecedented and very, very precarious, and so what we're going to do in this podcast is to look at things that we think should be in the budget, yeah, and things that that you know government should do to try and stimulate growth within the economy, because this budget, for me, is going to be very, very important, given the backdrop that I've mentioned on the outset, but also because this budget will determine with direction my jammy, jaman and muhammad and then, you see, are going to take ghana, particularly in the next four years. It could also shape ghana for the next 10 or so years, yeah, and so we're going to give our perspective as to what we feel should be in the budget, what, what should not be in the budget and how the budget could affect Ghana in the short, medium, long term. So, for me, the first thing that we want to see in the budget is the removal of some taxes, which are the E-Level Tax, the Betting Tax, the Emissions Tax and also the COVID-19 Tax, because for me, these taxes are a burden on the order gainer, it's also a burden on business and it's also hampering growth and also, you know, the business sector, yeah, and these taxes is why things are so expensive in Ghana is why food is so expensive in Ghana, is why there's a cost of income in Ghana. So if the finance minister at a foursome, if he's able to remove four of those taxes because there's quite a few taxes, like I said, the last NPP government introduced 22 new taxes yeah, and so if at a foursome is able to remove the key ones, which for me are the cover levy tax, and so if Attaforsen is able to move the key ones, which for me are the COVID levy tax, which was initiated during the COVID time. Now that COVID is gone, I don't even need to pay this outrageous levy. Another levy needs to go is the betting tax. Yeah, because a lot of particular, a lot of young ghanaians, young ghanian men, are putting a lot of money within their gambling fraternity. Yeah, and even if they win, yeah, their returns aren't that much because of the taxes, the betting tax that has been imposed by the last government. So if the new NDC government budget can remove the betting tax, that would be a good thing. Another tax that should be removed is this emissions tax again. Another tax that should be removed is this emissions tax, again another tax that was introduced by the last MPP government in a bid to this thing about climate change.

Speaker 1: 8:34

For me, climate change is a hoax. I believe you know well, I knew this even before Donald Trump but Trump is of the opinion that this climate change thing is a hoax. It's a false narrative and I agree with that because you know example in Ghana. It's not climate change that is causing flooding in Ghana. It's not climate change that is taking away, that is polluting our land. It's not climate change that is destroying the water bodies. It is not climate change that is taking away, that is polluting our land. It's not climate change that is destroying the water bodies. It is not climate change that is part of deforestation in Ghana. All of these things right that I've mentioned have got nothing at all to do with climate change.

Speaker 1: 9:16

The reason why there's something in Ghana is because people are building up waterways. So the waterways which you know water you know your bath water, your toilet water, the waste water has to go through, right. If people are building on on those pipes where the waste has to go through right, that means you're blockaging those water bodies access to the rivers, yeah, and to the ocean, and so when you block it, yeah, you block that pathway. It's obviously going to cause issue. So that's why, when it rains heavily and water is not allowed, water can't flow because the waters have been blocked because people have been building on it. That will cause um, you know that will cause flooding in flood prone areas. You know that are low, that are low level areas as well. So why live in tamil? Because kwame nkrumah built a lot of drainage systems in tamil. When it rains, it doesn't fall in tamil, yeah, even even if, you know, some of the guts are choked, yeah, but because there's an effective drainage working system in Tamar, when it rains it doesn't flood, yeah, and so climate change does not cause flooding.

Speaker 1: 10:39

Now two, the pollution of our land and the water body. This has got nothing at all to do with climate change. It's about illegal, small-scale mining. I'm saying that is, you know, damaging chemicals like cyanide, like mercury, like lead. Yeah, these chemicals is what is destroying the water body and causing land erosion, not climate change.

Speaker 1: 11:07

And finally, the deforestation in Ghana. Nothing at all to do with climate change, but there's a lot of illegal logging in Ghana, right, and even the cocoa farms have been destroyed by these gangsters because they want to mine gold. And also, these deforestation has occurred because these greedy people want to take our prime wood, mahogany because Ghanim's wood is very, very it's of prime quality that is used to make top notch furniture. So this cutting of our trees causes deforestation to make top-notch furniture. So this cutting of our trees causes deforestation that changes the climate. So you know, I don't believe in climate change. All I've mentioned is man-made, and so you know the emissions tax needs to be removed. So if this government in its budget that is going to be read out by the Finance Minister after forcing if they can remove the curvilinear tax, the betting tax, the emissions tax and also the e-levy tax, yeah, that's a very, very good thing because that will stimulate growth. But before I come to that, some people have said that, oh, you know, these are very, very key taxes that contribute, you know, in a sense of 50 billion gallons. It is, you know, to the coffers. Where are we going to get that from?

Speaker 1: 12:50

Simple answer, like I said on many occasions, why public sector corruption in Ghana is huge. The Auditor General does his report every year talking about the corruption in the public service and every year talking about the corruption in the public service and in every year since 2018, 2.5 billion US dollars have been lost due to corrupt activities by public search officials. Yeah, so 2.5 billion, right times up by 15 to a dollar. How much is that? Yeah, that's more than 30 billion Ghana cities that Ghana could be saving if it negated corruption in the public sector. Yeah, also, like I mentioned before, ghana loses on average yeah, 5 billion US dollars a year because of because of gold smuggling out of the country. So, five billion counted by fifteen to a dollar. Yeah, that 75 billion Ghana cities that Ghana could be saving if Ghana was able to stop this unwholesome practice of gold smuggling. So, if you add 75 billion to 30 billion in terms of the public sector corruption, that's over 100 billion Ghana cities. Just suppose that to 50 billion that Ghana will lose because of scrapping e-levy, covid levy, emissions levy and also the betting tax. Yeah, so government can scrap those taxes that I've mentioned, because if it's able to negate the corruption within the public sector and also stop gold smuggling going out of Ghana, ghana will save a lot of money that it can even invest in other areas of the economy, such as infrastructure development and what have you. And so for me, these taxes need to go. So we very much hope that these four taxes I've mentioned will go come the budget on Tuesday Again.

Speaker 1: 15:05

But before I get into that point, I talked about how these taxes, if they're removed, it will stimulate growth.

Speaker 1: 15:12

Let me just um elaborate on that point. Because these taxes, yeah, if they are removed, yeah, that will still make good because people will have, you know, more money. Yeah, so, rather than this money being lost in taxation, this money will be spent by the public. They'll spend more money because they don't be taxed. Yeah, so this will. So, in terms betting tax, that will encourage more people to spend more money because then there won't be tax and that money will go to the government coffers. Also, if these taxes are removed, when businesses come to Ghana and do business right, they won't put that extra cost on the consumer. So, again, it will make prices, stabilising Ghana by removing the usage of taxes, because companies will not pass on those taxes onto the consumer. So that we've seen in the last couple of years and I'd have reported to you many big brands have left Ghana because of this high taxes that businesses have to deal with. And so if some of these taxes are removed, it will a stimulate growth within the you know um, business sector, because businesses will be in a stronger position because not paying uh, they're paying less taxes. That could stimulate growth in the economy. Also, it will encourage consumer spending because, again, if you move your new taxes here, a lot of companies will not put these taxes on the consumer, so that will, in effect, make on the consumer, so that will, in effect, make prices cheaper in Ghana, which will encourage consumers to spend more on consumer goods. Yeah, which will definitely, you know um, kick-start the economy or reset the economy in terms of that aspect. And, lastly, you know, by businesses having to pay, you know, more taxes, they could use some of that money that they will save on taxes to invest in their companies, pay better wages for their staff and, more importantly, you know, use that extra money to generate growth within their own businesses to try, and you know, create more job opportunities and what have you. And so for me, it is essential, essential, that these taxes are removed, because you know businesses will benefit and that will help. Also, you know, in terms of what the goal of the NDC is to reset the economy, because these taxes will help business reset the economy by having more money in their pockets.

Speaker 1: 18:05

Again, we want to see, you know, the government invest in agriculture. So you know, there's two ways that this can be done or three ways which this can be done. So I mentioned in the old podcast, you know, the great Achampong Kutu Achampong had a policy of pedophilia self where he encouraged every Ghanaian, every Ghanaian, to get a parcel of land and grow food on it. Yeah, again, this will encourage Ghanaians to grow what they eat and eat what they grow. Yeah, so this will encourage many Ghanaians who've got local parts of land to grow food on it. Yeah, again, another way in which we can invest in agriculture is by either interest free loans to farmers or soft loans, whereby you know the farmers don't pay exorbitant rates opportunity for yourself. But just doing these two things will stimulate growth within our agriculture sector. Because if farmers get interest-free loans or soft loans at very, very low rates, that will encourage the farmers to produce more food. And if they produce more food, and if they produce more food, that would take the massive burden off food inflation.

Speaker 1: 19:42

Because, like I said, right now, food in Ghana is very, very expensive and everyone eats in Ghana. So if you're a tourist, you come to Ghana on a holiday, you're wanting to do business in Ghana for a few weeks. You're going to buy food, so food inflation is very, very high in Ghana. And so if the government's on the budget on Tuesday, if they can, you know, put money aside to even subsidise the farmers or encourage every Ghanaian to get part of London growth food, as well, as you know, providing farmers with interest free loans or soft loans, that's going to stimulate growth within the agriculture sector and that will hopefully, you know, lead to cheaper food prices. That will again stimulate growth, because if food is cheaper in Ghana, right, people will be encouraged to buy more food Because, like I said, right now, you know, families are struggling to afford three square meals a day because of the high inflation on food. And so if the government, within the budget, invests or has a part where it can, you know, ensure that food is cheaper in Ghana than what it is right now, that's going to stimulate the economy, because people will be inclined to buy my to, to buy more food, yeah, and this also help our local farmers as well.

Speaker 1: 21:18

So the second thing that we want to see in the budget on Tuesday in terms of developing, you know, a policy that can actually, you know, bring down the rate of food inflation in Ghana. So the first thing that we want to see is that the government, you know, makes it conducive for businesses to grow, and what we mean by that is by making interest rates low, because right now, interest rates in Ghana are very, very high, and this has caused many businesses to close over the last three to five years either close, particularly local Ghanaian businesses or, in terms of the big boys, many of the big boys have relocated to other parts of west africa, whereby interest, interest, interest rates are much, much lower. And so what we want to see in this budget is a mechanism whereby the ministry of finance can actually, uh, enforce a policy that will allow the bank of Ghana to cut its base rate, because right now, the base rate in Ghana is still hovering about 27, 26%, very, very high. In actual fact, ghana has the highest base rate of any country in the West African sub-region. Yeah, even the so-called war-torn or cool makers in Guinea-Bissau, mali, burkina Faso and Niger, they've got low interest rates, and so, in order to stimulate growth within the business sector and within the wide economy, there must be a mechanism that brings interest rates down, because that will stimulate growth in the economy and that will also allow businesses to take out loans and to invest more in their business development and capacity. Yeah, so that's another thing that we want to see in the budget on Tuesday whereby, you know, government can put mechanisms in place to lower the rate of interest. Now, on that, it's also vital that if Ghana wants to attract businesses, particularly in the wake of the African content of free trade area and also the West African sub-region, that Ghana has to lower its interest rates Because, like I said, right now interest rates in Ghana cost of doing business is very, very high.

Speaker 1: 24:24

Again, we want to see a mechanism in the budget whereby Ghanaian businesses are, in essence, subsidized, because right now, like I mentioned before, the key sectors of Ghana's economy is not Ghanaian owned. They're owned by non-Ghanaians, ie Lebanese, indians, chinese and in the mining and oil sector it's Europeans. And so for the government to, you know, encourage a golden age of Ghanaian businesses, yeah, it has to formulate policies and strategies right that will enable local Ghanaian businesses to thrive, and this is why I'm saying that within the budget, there must be a mechanism in place that encourages, a Ghanaian businesses in the first place, that, b supports guiding businesses in terms of their capacity development and building and also, more importantly, c, financially. It should, you know, again, offer local Ghanaian businesses, indigenous Ghanaian businesses, yeah, either soft loans, yeah, or tax breaks for five years until they start making profits, or, you know, interest-free loans, because the engine of any country's economy is its small medium enterprise. You know, you know, small medium enterprises, yeah, this is a micro economy, yeah, and so if the indigenous Ghanaian businesses are allowed to thrive, yeah, like what other countries do, then Ghana's the win-win-win situation for Ghana. Why? Because, a then Ghana is the win-win-win situation for Ghana. Why? Because, a these local Ghanaian businesses, indigenous Ghanaian businesses, were making profits. These profits are not going out of the country, they're staying in the country. That will stimulate growth. And, b that will also help these businesses employ more people. That will create wealthless opportunities in Ghana. So this is why it's a must that the budget on Tuesday has a component that you could say that encourages indigenous Ghanaian businesses and supports the development, the growth and trajectory of indigenous Ghanaian businesses. And supports the development, the growth and trajectory of indigenous Ghanaian businesses. That, for me, is a must, because without that, then you know, we're not going to get the Ghanaian entrepreneurs of the future and we're not going to get the Ghanaian businesses that we need in order to compete with the non-Ghanaian businesses who are dominating the key sectors of Ghana's economy. So it's very, very important that you know local businesses are supported and developed.

Speaker 1: 27:32

And finally, one of the things that we want to see in the budget is this issue about the domestic data exchange program. Like I said before, because of the, the, the mismanagement and reckless borrowing of the last mpp government, yeah, that caused, uh, over borrowing and overspending. That, in essence, is the backdrop and the cause of the domestic exchange program that Guineas are going to suffer in the short, medium and long term. As I said, this, this domestic debt crisis, or, yeah, domestic debt program, could last another five years, up until 2030. So what I want to see in the budget is that mechanisms must be put in place that will allow the interest on the domestic debt exchange programme to be as such, that Ghana investors do not suffer massively, because right now, as we all know, pensions have suffered, you know, because of the domestic debt programme.

Speaker 1: 28:50

You know, investors local investors who bought government bonds have been affected of the domestic debt exchange programme. They've had their hair cut as it was poor, yeah, and so that has led to, you know, people not, uh, investing in the local economy, ie, you know, government bonds or another financial instruments, and that has created a vacuum within the financial sector in Ghana, because right now the financial sector in Ghana is struggling, you know, the banks are probably breaking even with that. And so, and a lot of that has to do with the effects and after effects of the domestic debt exchange programme, yeah, which saw, you know, billions wiped off of the bonds, government bonds, the domestic debt exchange programme, which saw, you know, billions wiped off of the bonds, government bonds, and also pensions, just to have some equilibrium as to the money that government has borrowed. And so in the budget on Tuesday, we want to see how the burden of the Ghanaian tax pay can be eased, whereby government is not going to prolong the domestic debt exchange programme and put in facility whereby the interest rate that Ghanaians are getting for their bonds can at least be doubled, so that the effect of the domestic change programme is not as stark to local investors as it is right now, whereby many, many investors have lost a lot of their money because of the domestic debt exchange programme.

Speaker 1: 30:35

And apart from this, one is the investment in education and healthcare in particular, and this is more pertinent because of the USAID removing its aid from Ghana as an order from Trump, and we know that, as I mentioned in one podcast, why Ghana does not need the USAID, that Ghana gets 150 million dollars from USAID. A good three quarters of that money goes into just health and education, and so on Tuesday, we want to see the Defence Minister make proposals to invest more in our system of education and also our healthcare, because right now, healthcare, as I mentioned before, leaves a lot to be desired, and so it's important that government invests in healthcare, invests in education to provide local solutions for local problems. We don't need the USAID, we don't need donor support. We can do this on our own and, like I said, the money is in Ghana. You've got to look at the corners, particularly in the mining sector and the oil and gas sector. The mining sector will not get enough royalties. So, again, I want the finance minister to say that he's going to demand more royalties from these mining companies that are basically looting Ghana, because right now, ghana gets 2%.

Speaker 1: 32:08

Gold is at record prices. Gold is nearly $3,000 an ounce $3,000 an ounce, yeah, and Ghana only gets 2% of that income. Last year, 5 million ounces of gold were mined in Ghana. That's legally. I'm not talking about the legal stuff, that's legally. So you times 5 million ounces, you times that by, you know. Let's average it out $2,900 an ounce. You do the maths. Ghana only got 2% of that. Yeah, that can't be right.

Speaker 1: 32:41

So in this budget, I would love the finance minister to say that we want 10%. That's a start, 10% baseline of royalty that would bring in billions upon billions upon billions of US dollars and cities to the coffers if Ghana can demand more revenue from its gold production output. Also, oil, again, the financing minister needs to be bold, like Ibrahim Toure of Burkina Faso, like leaders of Niger and Manu. Be bold and say that we want more for oil. Yeah, so right now, ghana's getting about 10 to 50 percent revenue from from, from oil production. That's nothing beloved. So at least Ghana should be getting at least you know, if you speak to oil um experts within the industry Ghana should be getting at least 25% of all revenue, of all royalties from oil production.

Speaker 1: 33:46

So again, if the Finance Ministry is bold and says that we're going to ask the oil companies to give at least 20% of all the revenue, 20% of all the revenue that's a lot of revenue coming into Ghana coffers that can be used to build schools, roads, hospitals, factories, complete the unfinished Agenda 111 hospitals that the last government didn't build, complete the schools that the last government didn't build, etc. Because we need this money, particularly from the mining and oil sectors, because these are key sectors that are bringing a lot of revenue, particularly gold where, like I said, gold is at the all-time high on the world market, but we're not seeing any benefit right now. So the finance ministry should be bold and demand more revenue, more royalties from gold production and oil production. So, for me, if the finance minister does all that I've just mentioned here, you will still see a big reset within the economy of Ghana and you will see the Ghana economy grow yeah, grow exponentially. That will also enable the citizens to enjoy the wealth of the oil, of the gold receipts that Ghana gets potentially be getting from substantial increase in receipts that come into the government coffers, and that will manifest itself, like I said, in first-class schools, first-class public hospitals, first-class roads, first-class infrastructure, etc. That would also help within the economic development and territory of the country, and so this is my aspirations for Budget 2025. And we hope that the finance minister and other government officials are listening to this podcast and will take in consideration some of the things that we've outlined today of what we would like to see in Tuesday's budget that we believe will stimulate growth and ruin the economy and also reset the economy from the last four to five years of economic mismanagement and, you know, of spending and of borrowing. Yeah, because if this budget is done very, very well, yeah, ghana will never need to go to IMF or World Bank again because we, you know, these mechanisms that were put in place will set Ghana, particularly if you get a lot of revenue from golden oil will set Ghana on on the correct trajectory and on the path towards Ghana beyond aid. Yeah, remember that Ghana Beyond Aid Right. So this is why this budget is a very, very, very important budget that will, you know, chart the future course and direction of the country, particularly over the next four years. And so I thank you for listening to this special edition of Ghana in Focus with Myself, kwame.

Speaker 1: 36:59

Ghanaian writer, broadcaster, journalist, broadcaster and entrepreneur. If you like what you hear, please share to your friends, family, social media networks. Please subscribe to Ghana African in Focus on YouTube, subscribe to Ghana African in Focus on Spotify and also, if you'd like to donate to the show to help us continue to bring some fantastic content for you from Ghana, from Africa. You can donate as little as three redoubles a month and just go onto the donate page and that's in the footnotes to the show, all right? So for the next few weeks, we're going to be looking at business opportunities in Ghana. As it's Ghana month, we'll be looking at some of the business opportunities numerous business opportunities, I may add that you can tap into, particularly if you're coming to Ghana to start new businesses. So we'll be doing that for the next few weeks, throughout March. So from myself, kwame, and from the crew here on Ghana in Focus, it's thank you very much for listening and we'll see you next week for some more exciting content coming out of Ghana.