STRCCI to lobby for passage of Local Content Bill

The Sekondi-Takoradi Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STRCCI) is to lobby Parliament to pass the Local Content Bill passed into law, Mr. Vincent Annan, the Executive Secretary of the chamber, announced on Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting of the chamber at Takoradi, he said members would be able to take advantage of business opportunities in the oil and gas industry when the law is passed.

Mr. Annan said the chamber has made input into the bill which has been before Parliament for about two years.

He said the Chamber is to offer services to its members in Dispute Mediation in collaboration with the Judicial Services, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Annan said the new service is to help the members to settle disputes at a cheaper cost.

He said the Chamber is to recruit local lawyers to represent its members in international arbitration instead of hiring foreign lawyers.

Mr. Cadmond Dadzie, treasurer of the Chamber, said an advocacy research conducted last year revealed that cumbersome product certification processes was killing entrepreneurship.

Mr. Ato Van-Ess, Chairman of STRCCI, said the Chamber would be christened as the Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He said the Chamber can no longer call itself a regional body as a result of the establishment of the Tarkwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.