The President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Mr James Asare-Adjei, has stated that until the structure of the economy is changed from import-led to export-driven, the country’s balance of trade will continue to be in the negative.
According to him, there is an urgent need to focus more on helping to grow the capacities of Ghanaian industries while reducing the taste for foreign products.
“If we do not nip this growing trend in the bud, I am afraid our local manufacturing industries risk becoming endangered species”, he said.
He thus welcomed plans by the government to establish an EXIM Bank, which he said would lead in the strategic positioning of the country as an export-led economy. He further expressed optimism that the bank would be pro-industry with credit facilities targeting the manufacturing sector.
Mr Adjei was speaking at the third AGI Ghana Industry Awards in Accra last Saturday to honour companies that had achieved outstanding success in various areas of industry and innovation in the year under review.
This year’s event was on the theme, “Rewarding Industry to Promote Made-in-Ghana Products”.
About the Awards
At the event, organised by AGI in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Guinness Ghana Limited won the overall Best Industrial Company of the Year 2013, while Unilever Ghana Limited took the Best Company Employer of the Year 2013.
Guinness Ghana also won the Food and Beverage sector award.
Others were the Young Enterprising Company of the Year 2013, Techcom Visions, Corporate Social Responsibility Company of the Year 2013, Airtel Ghana Limited, Fastest Growing Company of the Year 2013, Olam Ghana Limited and the Best Enterprise in Sustainable Manufacturing, which went to Nestle Ghana Limited.
The recognition awards were won by Groupe Nduom, and ZYZ Ghana, for their commitment to entrepreneurship in the country.
Government support
Speaking on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister of State in charge of Public Private Partnership
(PPP), Mr Rashid Pelpuo, said the government had embarked on a consumer-oriented made-in-Ghana agenda to cut the county’s import bill to reasonable size.
To that effect, he said, the government would continue to support the work of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) to achieve the ultimate goal of increasing local production.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Kweku Rickets-Hagan, lauded the AGI’s commitment to promoting industrialisation in the country and pledged the ministry’s support for its continuous growth and development.
Source: graphic business
