Accra, Nov. 25, GNA
– The Ministry of Trade and Industry will next year advance the transformation
of Ghana to an industrial status by giving greater impetus to the
implementation of its Strategic Anchor Industries Initiatives (SAIIs).
Mr Alan Kwadwo
Kyerematen, the sector Minister, stated this when he led a high-level
delegation of some of the leading global Textile and Garment companies, who
visited Ghana last week, on a tour to some selected industries.
The delegation
included Senior Representatives of three of the largest Apparel Brands: Vanity
Fair, PVH and H&M. The combined
annual revenue of these companies was reported to be worth more than $30
billion in 2018.
The visit was to
explore the sourcing of opportunities and to consider establishing a vertically
integrated textile and garment industry in Ghana on a long-term basis.
The SAIIs, captured
in the 2020 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament, is one of the
key components of the Ten-Point Industrial Transformation Plan of the Ministry,
designed to diversify and transform the economy through new pillars of growth
and expansion in the industrial sector.
Highlighting the
initiatives, Mr Kyerematen mentioned the key strategic industries under them
as: Petrochemical, Integrated Aluminum and Bauxite, Iron and Steel, Vehicle
Assembly and Automotive Industry, Garments and Textiles, Pharmaceuticals,
Vegetable Oils and Fats (in particularly Oil Palm), Industrial Starch from
Cassava, Industrial Chemicals based on Industrial Salt, Machinery and Equipment
Manufacturing.
He said the Ministry
launched the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, in August this year, which
had so far attracted investments and commercial interests from global OEMs
(Original Equipment manufacturers) including Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan,
Renault, Hyundai, Sinotruck and Suzuki.
“The Policy will
also support existing local auto assemblers such as the Kantanka Group,” he
explained.
An Automobile
Industry Development Unit (Auto Unit) has been established at the Ministry of
Trade and Industry to act as a One-Stop Shop to coordinate the implementation
of the programme and facilitate engagements with Assemblers, Component
Manufacturers and Suppliers, Auto Dealerships and Distributors, Vehicle
Financing Institutions and the public.
Mr Kyerematen
assured the private sector community that in 2020, activities would be
intensified on the implementation of all key ongoing Strategic Anchor
Industrial programmes being implemented by the Ministry.
A programme of
action would also be launched to attract strategic investors into these sectors
to ensure the sustainability and global competitiveness of Ghana’s industry.
In addition, in
collaboration with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the Ghana Integrated
Aluminium Development Corporation and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel
Corporation, the Ministry would pursue programmes to attract investments to
develop the aluminium, bauxite, iron and the steel downstream sectors to act as
the backbone of the country’s infrastructure development.
GNA
