Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay
Government has re-affirmed its intention to transform Ghana’s economy from a raw material exporting to a high value-added industrialized economy through its industrial transformational agenda.
The transformation according to government would be anchored on the industrial agenda of the key aspect of the economy such as one district one factory, planting for food and jobs and other closely-related programmes.
Mr Robert Ahomka-Lindsey, Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, said this at the launch of the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority in Accra, under the theme “Facilitating 50years of Ghana’s Export”.
The Deputy Minister posited that, industrial transformation was key to socio-economic development, adding that value addition to its traditional products would consolidate the country’s export income for prosperity.
“Ghanaians are poised as a nation to ensure greater transformation, but that transformation would not happen by chance but by hard work,” he added.
He urged GEPA to continue to ensure that the country’s export trade contributed to accelerated economic growth through strategically aggressive marketing of Made-In- Ghana products in the competitive global economy.
“The true mark of GEPA is an impact on the economy, but 50 years down the line much has not been added may be in number but not in value. Our opportunity is so broad and that the journey ahead is exciting as to where we have come from,” he said.
Mr Ahomka-Lindsey expressed concern that Ghanaians trade everything made by others instead of trading their own products, calling for the need to place more emphasis on export for the needed foreign exchange.
He said Ghana had the capacity, the vision, the leadership and the private sector to ensure that the next 50 years of GEPA, there would be effective transformation from its achievement for national development.
Mr Ahomka-Lindsey said as GEPA looked forward to its other 50 years anniversary it was clear to the Ministry that it had specific roles to play in collaboration with the Authority.
“We must sell outside our borders to realize our dreams, if we can transform the potential into reality, into specific result oriented activities, we would leave Ghana a better place,” he noted.
Ms Afua Asabea Asare, the Chief Executive Officer, GEPA, said the Authority would continue to perform its role by building the capacity of Ghanaian exporters to compete favourably in the emerging market and generate in the needed export revenues for development.
She said GEPA had roll out a series of activities to mark its 50th anniversary to further enhance trade with the rest of the world.
These activities include corporate social responsibility activities, essay and project competition, design week, regional exporters’ forum, youth in export, and export school.
