Value addition can accelerate economic recovery – CWEIC Chairman urges

The Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), Lord Marland, has advised the country to accelerate efforts at adding value to its produce.

He said value addition and processing are fundamental issues that the country must address in its effort to harness trade and speed up economic recovery in the face of the ongoing crisis. Doing this, will also change the narrative from heavy reliance on imports to self-dependence.

“The way out for Ghana is the way out for every country’s growth – investing in trade and I am very encouraged with what I have seen. Processing produce here and not just exporting and then bringing imports back as refined products but involving in the whole process to create employment and prosperity is key,” Mr. Marland, who is on a working visit, told the B&FT in Accra.

The CWEIC boss noted that as more countries across the world ease restrictions, paving the way for people to travel outside their countries again, there is the need to build and strengthen capacity to leverage trade to spur economic growth.

“My role is to engender trade and investment across the 56 commonwealth countries and therefore, I believe our role is important as the world gets back into traveling, into globalization which has not happened in the last two years; people and countries have looked inward rather than outward and now recognise that we need to look outward to develop trade for growth and prosperity, to get the engine of each country going again,” he said.

“I have interacted with a lot of stakeholders and I have realised the desire to start looking outward. I see a lot of opportunities. We are determined to help Ghana in every possible way to regain that prosperity and growth it expected before these terrible global events,” he added.