Industries to get support via technology audit programme

Accra, Aug. 15, GNA - Government has voted five million dollars to conduct technology audit of domestic industries towards the promotion of sub-contracting in Ghana.

Industries identified to be viable but in distress would receive government support in terms of equipment and resources under the ongoing Industrial Sub-Contracting and Partnership Exchange (SPX) Programme. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday, Mr Ntim .K. Donkor, Team Leader of the SPX Programme, said together with the Ministry of Trade and Industry's Technology Improvement Programme (TIP), the Project would be implemented by December this year.

He said currently a database of more than 200 small and medium scale enterprises had been built while a number of interventions to promote partnership with bigger firms had taken place.

"We have held stakeholder meetings in Accra and other regions, and the Government has organised sub-contracting fairs that brought contractors face to face to sub-contractors and positive results were achieved," Mr Donkor noted.

He said all these were to encourage effective matchmaking between the SMEs and bigger companies ensuring that larger firms sub-contracted to smaller companies, the non-core components of their production inputs. Mr Donkor said all these were being done to empower local SMEs to enable them to produce or manufacture such non-core components for bigger companies at efficient cost levels and high quality standards. He said Association of Ghana Industries under whose auspices the implementation of the project would be carried out with funds from the United Nation Development Programme was setting up similar database for bigger companies.

Mr Donkor urged industry to lend their support to the SPX, saying: "When effective implementation begins it will kick start the economy and boost industrial growth since local sub-contracting firms would also gain contracts abroad.

"The SPX programme is worldwide and, therefore, industry should cooperate," he said.