Deputy Trade Minister, Herbert Krapa (second right) interacting with some dignitaries at the Commissioning of Guinness Ghana Brewhouse at Achimota
A Deputy Trade Minister, Herbert Krapa has called on multinationals and manufacturing giants to continue working closely with the government to build stronger value chain systems to drive the country’s industrialization agenda.
The value chain describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service; thus from the raw material state to transportation, manufacturing, packaging, marketing, sales and even after-sales services.
He explained that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the country and the world to huge gaps in the manufacturing value chain; where the supply end of many industries suffered shortages that led to price hikes, product shortages, economic disruptions and fatalities in some instances.
“Today, building stronger value chain systems has become even more necessary. Covid-19 has taught all of us that protectionist and exclusive policies will hurt all of us in the long run,” he asserted.
He added that “It is clear that the world needs each other and all sectors of a product’s value chain must be developed, especially in developing countries like Ghana, where investments are safe. This will drive industrialization, create jobs, improve product value and stabilize local and global economies.”
Mr Krapa made the call in Accra, Ghana during the commissioning of the Guinness Ghana Limited’s Achimota Brewhouse last Thursday, September 2, 2021.
He observed that inconsistencies in the supply end of many value chains, shortages of essential products, and volatility in the prices of raw materials and finished goods have revealed the limits of sourcing in distant economies.
He, therefore, challenged multinational companies in Ghana to target sourcing a greater percentage of their supplies domestically by building stronger capacities of these supply sources to support a robust production and industrialization drive.
He told industry players to be rest assured as the government will continue to provide the needed incentives to help build a stronger manufacturing sector because building a resilient local supply base for multinationals and manufacturing giants as part of their value chain, directly affect almost every aspect of an economy.
The Ghanaian government through the Planting for Foods Jobs initiative, 1D1F and the 10-point industrialisation agenda has designed key modules to enhance the capacity of farmers and increase production of food and other agricultural products in the short to medium term. More so, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has embarked on an import substitution programme aimed at adding value to locally available resources for domestic consumption and export.
Mr Krapa was optimistic that these initiatives will make “local industries operate more profitably at scale, and consumers alike will enjoy cheaper prices.”
He added that the success story of Guinness Ghana is ample evidence of the government’s support in improving product value chains and fortunes of investors and the lives of citizens.
Currently, Guinness Ghana is sourcing 61 per cent of all raw materials locally. However, with the full operation of the 145 million Ghana Cedis worth Brewhouse, Guinness intends to increase its local sourcing of materials to 70 per cent by 2024.
The new plant will allow the brewhouse to conserve more than 30 per cent of energy compared to other energy systems which will translate into a 150 per cent increase in production capacity. This would however assist the company to double the amount of sorghum uptake from 20,000 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes used for producing its beer products. Through this programme, over 30,000 farmers have been engaged actively, and more than 210,000 people across the country have taken direct benefit from it.
On her part, Helene Weesie, Managing Director of Guinness Ghana expressed gratitude to the government of Ghana for the unflinching support to Guinness Ghana for the past 61 years. She stressed that the company is currently implementing some initiatives to build technical capacities and offer financial assistance to some local farmers in 11 regions in the country to support the increasing demand for raw material to feed the new brew-house.
From Fred Duodu ([email protected])