BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to salute His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana on the occasion of President Akufo- Addo's visit to the United States.
Ghana tops many lists of Africa's most peaceful and stable democracies, boasting an uninterrupted series of free and fair elections since 1992 that have seen power change hands between the two major parties three times. Freedom House ranks Ghana first on the continent for political and civil liberties. It was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of its people in extreme poverty, achieving this milestone well ahead of the 2015 target. The World Bank places Ghana first in its West African sub-region for ease of doing business.
Since his election, economic growth has surged from 3.6 percent to 7.9 percent. The World Bank projects an additional increase of 8.3 percent in 2018, making Ghana one of the world's fastest-growing economies. At the same time, Ghana's budget deficit as a proportion of GDP has been slashed from 9.3 percent to 5.6 percent even as the government has cut taxes. That would become an international cultural landmark. The school appeared in many movies and television shows until 1971, when portions sustained damage in the Sylmar earthquake, and then were ravaged by fire while awaiting assessment and repair.
Underpinned by a rich endowment of oil, gold and cocoa, Ghana's $43 billion economy is becoming increasingly diversified. Expansion outside the commodity sector and renewed confidence in the government's ability to manage its finances are seen by analysts as key drivers of the country's current performance and growing attractiveness as a destination for the U.S. and other investors.
During President Akufo-Addo's American visit, he will receive an Exemplary Leadership award from: The Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa; AllAfrica Foundation; The Constituency for Africa; The Corporate Council on Africa; Invest Africa USA; The U.S. Chamber of Commerce/U.S.-Africa Business Center; Africare; and The Whitaker Group. I stand with them to honor his work as Ghana continues to be a beacon of hope, a model for democracy and a leader on the African continent.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT