Ghana’s ministry of trade and industry will aggressively pursue the implementation of its Strategic Anchor Industries Initiatives (SAII) aimed at industrial transformation of the country in 2020, minister handling the portfolio Alan Kyerematen told a delegation of some of the leading global textile and garment companies that visited the country recently.
The purpose of the visit was to explore sourcing opportunities and to consider establishing a vertically-integrated textile and garment industry in Ghana on a long-term basis, according to Kyerematen. The delegation included representatives from Vanity Fair, PVH and H&M.
SAII is one of the key components of the ten-point Industrial Transformation Plan of the ministry designed to diversify and transform the economy by creating new pillars of growth and expansion in the industrial sector.
Key strategic industries under the initiative are petrochemicals; integrated aluminium and bauxite; iron and steel; vehicle assembly and automotive industry; garments and textiles; pharmaceuticals; vegetable oils and fats; industrial starch from cassava; industrial chemicals based on industrial salt; and machinery and equipment manufacturing, Kyerematen said.
He emphasised that, the Ministry of Trade and Industry launched the Ghana Automotive Development Policy in August 2019 which has so far attracted investments and commercial interests from global OEMs (Original Equipment manufacturers) including Toyota, Volkswagen, Nissan, Renault, Hyundai, Sinotruck and Suzuki.
He assured the private sector community that activities will be intensified in 2020 on the implementation of all key ongoing Strategic Anchor Industrial programmes being implemented by the ministry, according to a Ghanaian media report.
A programme of action will also be launched to attract strategic investors into these sectors to ensure sustainability and global competitiveness of Ghana’s industry, he added.