1. INTRODUCTION a. On behalf of the President and members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we appreciate your invitation to serve as a panelist on the Ministry of Trade and Industry National Policy Summit. b. Firstly, let me commend the organizers of the National Policy Summit (NPS) for the commitment towards Government initiative of transforming the Industrial Sector of the country. 2. The Government is embarking on comprehensive Industrial Transformation Agenda with focus on making private sector competitive on the local and international front. Hence, the Government has earmarked the following ten (10) strategic flagships industrial programmes to help revive distress but viable industries towards wealth and job creation. These ten (10) industrial expansion programmes will be implemented under the Strategic Anchor Industries initiative and expected to cover the following key sub sectors of the Ghanaian economy; i. Petrochemical Industry ii. iii. iv. Pharmaceutical Industry Iron and Steel Industry Oil Palm v. Garment and Textiles vi. Industrial Starch Page 1 of 8
vii. viii. ix. Integrated Aluminum Vehicle Assembly Machines and Machine Components x. Industrial Salt Petrochemical Industry The Government has indicated its strong commitment to ensuring an Energy Economy devoid of power shortages. With the passage of the Petroleum Local Content andlocal Participation Regulations, 2013 under L.I. 2204, the Government should empower local companies to take advantage of the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas production activities within the four off-shore sedimentary basins. However, Government must continue to engage the private sector to help developed the petroleum sector value chain towards social value creation. Pharmaceutical Industry The industry is known to be faced with challenges making them less competitive on the international front. The Government should help address the issues of packaging, standard and quality, funds, low production capacity, regulation, and the importation of drugs that hinders the growth of local drug manufactures. The Government willingness to support and provide incentives to local manufactures will help combat the menace of Page 2 of 8
counterfeit and sub-standard pharmaceutical products imported into the country and make them competitive. Iron & Steel Government intention to revive the iron and steel manufacturing sector of the economy, the chamber urges Government to ensure the formulation of medium-to-long term strategic measures to deal with issues of raw materials and investor protection in order to sustain the industry. Oil Palm As one of the leading oil palm producing countries ranked second in Africa and eight in the World, Ghana is still a net importer of Palm Oil. This initiative to be implemented by Government should help boost production to address the current deficit of 50,000 and create additional employments to the already employed 300,000 workers of the sector. This will also help meet market demands and sustained local industries, which serves as raw materials for these industries. Garment & Textiles The Chamber has collaborated with USAID to facilitate capacity training for garment and textile producers in Ghana. This is to enable them fully utilize the AGOA initiative and increase their competiveness on the global market. The government should support Page 3 of 8
them financially through the stimulus package to facilitate an increased in export and meet market demands through this trade agreement. GOVERNMENT TEN (10) INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION AGENDA The Government plans to implement these ten (10) interventional programmers to boost growth and development of the country. These programmes include; a. National Revitalization Programme b. One District One Factory c. Establishment of Industrial Parks d. Enhancing Domestic Retail Infrastructure e. Export Development and Diversification f. Public-Private Sector Dialogue g. Business Regulatory Reforms h. Industrial sub-contracting and partnership i. SME Development j. Development of Strategic Anchor Industries National Revitalization Programme This initiative by government is focused on providing financial and technical support to distress but viable companies through the stimulus package. A stimulus package of Page 4 of 8
US$50 million is to be made available to industries facing operational and financing problems, and help drive their growth and development. One District One Factory The 1DIF policy initiative seeks to drive the Industrialization Agenda of Government. This aims to provide an even spatial spread of industries across the ten regions and the two hundred and sixteen MMDAs of the country. This will as well enhance the production of local substitute for imported goods in Ghana. It is also expected to promote rapid industrialization at the district levels and create wealth and jobs for the local people. Establishment of Industrial Parks The Government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry plans to establish industrial parks at the various regions of the country. These parks will be within the Free Zone enclaves with access to reliable energy supply to house these industries. Enhancing Domestic Retail Infrastructure This initiative of Government is expected to help local manufacturers to become more competitive through value addition and increase their infrastructure to contain the expected rise in production volumes under the One District One Factory programme. Page 5 of 8
Export Development and Diversification The Government is expected to increase its export volumes through the National Export Strategy and make use of the African Growth And Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiative to facilitate export trade. This is particularly necessary because should the factories under One District One Factory take on Free Zones status, they would be required under the law to export about 70% of their production. Public-Private Sector Dialogue The engagement of the private sector in the implementation of these interventional programmes through policy dialogue would help identify the associated challenges and make relevant contributions to the policy initiatives. The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a key stakeholder mandated by L.I 611 of 1968 to promote and protect trade, commerce, industry and manufactures of Ghana organize the GNCC Industrial Forum in the second quarter of 2017. The forum provided an opportunity for the private sector to engage the Government and discuss issues pertaining to the 1D1F policy initiative. Where the Government outlined its strategies for the implementation of the policy programme. Participants from the private sector also made significant contributions to the programme, particularly in areas of financing, risk assessment, value-chain and value addition, export development etc. Page 6 of 8
Business Regulatory Reforms The Government plans to implement prudent fiscal and monetary policy initiatives to help reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana. This is will be done alongside with the institution some pragmatic measures to remove tax multiplicities and bureaucracies identified at the various ports of Ghana. The reforms implemented are expected to restore investor confidence and promote business activities in Ghana. The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry through the support of Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) has undertaken an extensive research at the ports t ohelp address the challenges associated with doing business at the country s ports. This form part of the objective of advocating for a Business Enabling Environment under the BUSAC to enhance the growth of businesses in Ghana. This is expected to serve as an informed research policy documents. Industrial Sub-contracting and Partnership This initiative is to help create a linkage between SMEs and large companies in Ghana, which is to ensure that the large companies subcontract some of their businesses to the SMEs. Page 7 of 8
SME Development The Government willingness to create the necessary business enabling environment is vital for the growth and development of SMEs in Ghana. Driving SMEs growth will help create jobs and increase the country s output. The GNCCI has assured the Government its commitment to assist in the implementation of these strategic interventional programmes that seek to accelerate industrial and economic growth of our dear country, Ghana. Thank you. By: Atta Takyi Donkor & Abudu Asoman (Research Officers, GNCCI) Page 8 of 8