The Vice-Chancellor of UMaT, Prof. Richard Kwasi Amankwah, disclosed this at the maiden UMat-MIIF-organized Distinguished Speaker Series on Industrialization at the University.

He said the first Jewellery workshop which will be at a cost of $750,000 will drive value addition and industrialization in the country.

“If all plans go well, we are expecting to have this support from MIIF by the end of June this year, which will not only ensure human resource development here but the mining industry as a whole… Without question, industrialisation and local value addition is the way forward for Ghana. We at UMaT intend to help build world-class human capital in support of our novel beyond aid agenda. We appreciate the support from MIIF and the company’s determination to help transform the mineral and exploration sector for the benefit of Ghanaians”, he said.

Delivering a lecture on ‘Supply Chain Management, Africa’s Industrialisation, Long-term Socio-Economic Development and Stability: The Inextricable Link’ at the event, Prof. Douglas Boateng, said appropriate supply chain management would be critical to achieving accelerated industrialization in Ghana.

Professor Douglas Boateng-Chairman, MIIF Board

Prof. Boateng who is the Chairman of the MIIF Governing Board described proposals for Ghana to go to the IMF as a short term solution.

He explained that, the way to address the country’s economic problems is industrializing to add value to the numerous raw materials like gold in Ghana, understanding the differences between supply chain management and procurement as well as a change in taste for foreign goods.

“Women spent over $600 million every year on underwear, according to a 2014 data. Just imagine if those underwears were produced in Africa and the number of jobs that it will be created. These are some of the things that are hampering our industrialization agenda because we are very quick to import cheap things. We also have this challenge of certain state-owned entities that are supposed to be drivers of economic development but there are a lot of interferences in their work due to lack of supply chain thinking. There is what is called silo thinking where each state-owned entity is doing their own thing and there is no integration. Supply chain management is there to break down that silos for the benefit of all. We need to buy and use what we manufacture locally to create the needed jobs”, he said.

The Chief Executive of MIIF, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng while stating the MIIF’s intention to become the largest mineral investment fund in Africa and also ensure investment in small scale mining with equipment, emphasized the need for sectoral collaboration and the right human resource development.

Edward Nana Koranteng-CEO, MIIF

“Without sectorial industrialisation, our hopes of becoming self-sufficient will remain a pipe dream. To achieve this, we need the right human capital, hence the academic and industrial partnership between UMAT and MIIF”, he noted.

Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng stressing the importance of the maiden UMaT-MIIF organized Distinguished Speaker Series on Industrialisation assured to make it a long-running annual series to help direct the way forward for a thriving mining sector and promotion of Ghana’s industrialization.