Trade and Industry Minister, Ms Hanna Tetteh on Wednesday launched Ghana’s Industrial Policy with a call on stakeholders to partner government for smooth implementation to enhance its success.
She said the country’s long-term vision of high levels of development required an industry-driven economy capable of delivering decent jobs and productivity to achieve equitable social and economic development.
The policy is a set of specific policy instruments and measures to be applied to increase access of the country’s manufacturing sector to competitive factors of production to enhance productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.
Key development objectives of the policy include expansion of productive employment in the manufacturing sector, promotion of agro-based industrial development and ensure spatial distribution of industries to achieve reduction in poverty and income inequalities.
The implementation of the policy will be done through an Industrial Sector Support Programme, which are time-bound interventions to speed up the rate of industrialisation over the next five-years.
Ms Tetteh said the policy would provide clear and transparent guidelines for the implementation of the industrial agenda to ensure the competitiveness and growth of the manufacturing sector.
“Generally, the policy is aimed at ensuring that our industrialists are able to offer high quality and competitive products to enable them gain access to the global market. It represents a critical component of Ghana’s strategic effort to alter the industrial structure by developing a competitive manufacturing sector,” she said.
Ms Tetteh said the ultimate success of the policy would be measured by the extent to which it empowered the private sector to expand and create opportunities for employment and reduce poverty inequalities in the country.
She said government also planned to amend the Export Development and Investment Fund to expand its mandate to provide financing for agricultural and agro-processing and to present the Industrial Competitiveness Bill to Parliament for passage to provide incentives for the use of local raw materials, and increasing domestic content in local industry.
“We are of the view that this combination of measures should put us on the path of industrial growth and development and help us to achieve our goal on accelerating industrial development,” Ms Tetteh added.
Nana Owusu-Afari, President of Association of Ghana Industries, said as demonstration of commitment the Association would set up an eight-member high level committee at the National Council to co-ordinate activities relating to the implementation of the policy.