They have been selected from more than 350 viable business facing distress who submitted applications for the programme to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI). Mr Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry (MOTI), said government believed that the best way to create jobs for citizens of the country was to embark on an extensive industrial transformation drive.

It, however, recognised the various challenges that the private sector  had faced over the past years, which had adversely impacted their performance, including electricity challenges, high cost of borrowing, and exchange rate volatilities, among others.

He was giving the keynote address at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) in Accra on Wednesday.  He expressed the hope that the companies were viable but in distress, and would be able to improve their performance with the industrial stimulus package.

“The next steps are that over the next few days and weeks, we will be corresponding with these entities with a view to putting together an implementation schedule for those companies to get the benefits of the stimulus package.”

He said the objective was to ensure that those that had stood the test of time were helped to become leaders in industry. Mr Ahomka-Lindsay said the ministry, as part of its 10-point intervention to support the private sector was also working to implement the ‘One District One Factory’ policy.

He said the ministry had received about 400 business plans, of which 340 had been analysed.He expressed confidence in the ability to meet and exceed the target of one factory in every district and pledged the Ministry’s commitment to working with the GNCCI and its members to achieve this.

Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, Senior Minister, in a statement read on his behalf by Mr Robert K. Poku Kyei, at the AGM, said in order to achieve government’s transformational agenda, anchored on macro-economic stability and debt sustainability, infrastructural development, accelerated industrial development and agricultural transformation, there was the need for significant increase in investments and political will. He said government was committed to partner the private sector to deliver these programmes.

“In this regard the private sector will be supported to develop their capacities and position itself to partner government in implementing the key initiatives identified under the coordinated programmes of the government,” he stated. The GNCCI recorded profit before tax of GH¢840,251.00 for the year 2015 compared to GH¢143, 486.00 in 2014.

Profit for the year for the 201 financial year also stood at GH¢1, 029,212.00.