Minister appeals to small-scale enterprises to sub-contract

Koforidua, Dec 23, GNA - The Minister of Manpower Development and Employment, Mr. Yaw Barimah, has appealed to micro and small enterprises to consider industrial sub-contracting and partnership exchange.

He said the programme, which is being implemented by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) with support by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), is a way of linking well-established companies with macro, small and medium enterprises. Mr. Barimah made the appeal at the opening of a two-day mini-trade fair for micro, small and medium enterprises from the Eastern, Volta, Central, Western, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions on Monday.

Some 176 manufacturing companies are exhibiting textile, wood, pottery and food products at the Hotel EREDEC for selection of 30 of them to participate in the National Trade Fair that is schedule for Accra next year.

The Minister said the five industrial sectors where the sub-contracting is already taking place include the metal, mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering industries, plastic and rubber, textile and leather, woodworking, ceramics, glass and the chemical industries.

Mr Barimah said the four main partners in the sub-contracting exchange are UNILEVER, GHACEM, Guinness Ghana Limited and Ashanti Gold Fields.

He said soon, a database would be installed to promote, collect and analyse incoming enquiries from main contractors and client enterprises for the subcontracted products, services and supplies. A Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiative, Hajia Alima Mahama, said due to the government's strategic policy interventions in agriculture, the country had been able to overcome the phenomenon of food shortages after every good harvest. She said as a result, the annual export of food products such as gari increased from 1,774 metric tones valued in 2000 to 2,091 metric tones, an increase of 39 per cent in 2002.

Hajia Mahama said the export of maize also increased from 1,482 metric tones to 42,063 metric tones, an increase of over 3,500 per cent. In a speech read on his behalf, the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, called on small-scale industries to start thinking of how to come together to form large-scale companies to benefit from the economy of scale enjoyed by such entities.

In his closing remarks, Daasebre Oti Boateng, Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area who chaired the function, called for constant research in production and marketing to support the micro and small enterprises.