Prof. Lord Mensah is a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School
• The political has been urged to remain committed to the growth of local industries
• The support, Prof. Mensah believes must move beyond policy setting •
• Government introduced the 1D1F in 2017 to boost value addition and job creation
Professor Lord Mensah, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School has urged for the country’s local industry to be backed with strong political will.
According to him, the political class of the country, must beyond setting in place policies, lend their unwavering support and commitment to the growth of local industries.
“You see, as a country, you should ask yourself, who are those importing? Who are those rich people importing into the country? If they turn up to be the same policymakers, then obviously you will not end up achieving anything even if you place the policy,” Prof Mensah is quoted to have said on Citi Business News.
“Under normal circumstances, since we started manufacturing our own rice, we expect that gradually government will have some tariff increase in the importation of rice so that it will scare colossal imports of rice into the country. So, I don’t think that can easily happen because of the structure of our economy,” he added.
As part of efforts to boost local production towards achieving an industrialization agenda, the Akufo-Addo government introduced the One-District One Factory initiative aimed at creating jobs and value addition.
The initiative is hinged on promoting local participation in economic development with the motive of encouraging community-based public/private partnerships to yield results through a massive private sector-led nationwide industrialization drive.
Most recently, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has appealed to government to join efforts with the trading community to facilitate initiatives under the 1D1F initiative.
President of the Association, Dr. Joseph Obeng said traders of the union can play a vital role in the achievement of the targets of the programme particularly in the area of products distribution from factories.