Ghanaians’ excessive appetite for imported products is a major contributor to the pressure on the local currency and the ailing economy, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has observed.
He has, accordingly, called on the industrial sector to come out with policies and strategies that would help boost the economy and make it more self-sustaining rather than relying mostly on imported products.
At the 54th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Accra, Dr Spio-Garbrah said the manufacturing sector was crucial in achieving massive economic growth.
The occasion, which brought captains of industry under one roof to discuss the performance of the AGI in 2013 and the challenges confronting businesses, was also used to launch the 14th National Industrial Week.
Promote local products
Dr Spio-Garbrah, who delivered the keynote address on the theme: “Promoting Made-in-Ghana Products to accelerate Industrial and Economic Development”, said in order to transform the country’s economic outlook, the consumption of locally made products ought to be given the highest priority.
“According to a recent study by the World Bank, Ghana will need to create 67 million jobs by the end of the year 2030, if it is to have a stable socio-economy. An obvious national agenda is for Ghana to promote and enhance the level of its manufacturing activities,” he stressed.
Dr Spio-Garbrah observed that it was imperative for manufacturers and service providers to aim at making products that offered a high value for money and render quality services that could compete on the global market.
“Ghana has great potential for exponential growth and prosperity, and the manufacturing sector must be supported to play a lead role in that effort,” he added.
AGI reports
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, said although the association faced numerous challenges, it stayed in the forefront of the fight to advocate the most appropriate policy framework for the private sector.
“In the year ahead, AGI promises to work even more closely with its members to advocate crucial policy issues that impact the private sector,” he pledged.
According to Mr Twum-Akwaboah, the AGI was nurturing a policy advocacy group known as the ‘AGI Corporate Forum’, to augment and strengthen the advocacy position and efforts of the association.
For his part, the President of the AGI, Mr James Asare-Adjei, attributed the numerous problems faced by the manufacturing sector to the depreciation of the cedi and the instability of the energy sector.