Govt to revive onetime special initiatives on garments and textiles

Ghanaian government plans to revive the onetime special initiatives on garments and textiles as part of it’s industrialisation drive to create employment and boost growth, announced Trades and Industries Minister, Mr Alan Kyerematen at the opening of the second National Single Window conference on trade facilitation in Accra.

Mr Kyerematen said that the garment textiles and the automobile assembling plants were key areas the government was seeking to diversify into, hopefully within the next five years.

They will be diversifying their economy other sectors as they seek to create trade platforms that will require them to trade across borders in a cost effective manner.

Kyerematen also appealed to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to assist Ghana to fund its trade facilitation processes, which were costly and required capital injection.

The WTO has estimated that the trade facilitation agreement would generate over US$1 trillion in benefits annually to developing countries.
The minister also announced the government’s plan to partner the private sector to establish at least one major industrial park in each of the 10 regions.

This is also expected to aid its flagship industrialisation One-District, One-Factory policy so that industries can be established in any part of the country.

A Turkish firm has indicated its intention to invest US$150 million into the policy which will be a big boost to the country’s industrialisation agenda.

With such industrial parks, companies can establish in each of the regions they prefer due to the available resources at the particular location.

On the facilitation agreement, the Trade Minister embraced the concept and called for more collaboration between the implementing agencies and the government.

The combination of enhanced trade facilitation and trade development programmes as a dynamic synergy for the economic development of their country.

The Single Window is, therefore, enshrined in the TFA which is expected to help implement many of the policy measures by the government.