Gov't to give industries stimulus package

Government will in 2014, give a stimulus package to industries as an intervention targeted at the pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, manufacturing, cashew and horticultural crops.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Trade, who announced this in Accra on Wednesday, said prospective beneficiaries of the stimulus package must demonstrate their commitment towards making prudent and judicious use of the funds for job creation.

The Minister was speaking at the official launch of the Seventh Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Trade Fair scheduled for between October 24th and November 4th 2013.

The Fair, which will take place in Accra, aims at showcasing a variety of products from member states as well as deepening inter and intra-regional trade and integration.

He said government had decided to support the development of small and medium scale irrigation facilities, through the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) in four parts of the country.

Mr Iddrisu said the move formed part of measures by Government to contribute towards the expansion of agricultural production, particularly exportable agricultural products.

He said the program would be pursued from 2013 through to 2016.

Mr Iddrisu added that the EDAIF law was being reviewed to enhance its resource envelope to provide meaningful resources for the Ghanaian private sector, and announced that Cabinet had given approval to a National Strategy to increase the export value to five billion dollars by the end of 2016.

“To do so will require that we invest more in agriculture, particularly in the export of horticultural products such as mango, banana and cashew,” he said.

Mr Iddrisu expressed worry that African leaders had over the years paid lip service to promoting regional trade and integration, saying that, more needs to be done practically to realize the dream and called on ECOWAS member states to open their doors to trade.

He said the government remained committed towards eliminating inherent suspicion between the public and private sectors and to create the congenial and an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

The Minister said the John Mahama administration remained committed towards easing the cost of doing business, reducing the time and cost of clearing goods at the ports as well as making Ghana the choice of destination.