Government Outdoors Industrial Policy

Government has spelt out an industrial policy that seeks to transform Ghana into an industry-driven economy capable of delivering decent jobs with widespread, equitable and sustainable growth and development.

Prepared within the context of Ghana’s long-term strategic vision of achieving middle income status by 2020, the industrial policy is designed to promote increased competitiveness and enhanced industrial production with increased employment and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

The document, prepared by the Ministry of Trade & Industry (MoTI), spells out key development objectives geared towards expanding productive employment and technological capacity in the manufacturing sector.

It seeks to provide a broader range of fair-priced, better quality products for domestic and international markets.

Ghanaian manufacturers must be able to offer high quality products, processes and services and be empowered to effectively engage in competitive trade, as well as take advantage of opportunities to expand and retain market share, it recommended.

The industrial policy cuts across 21 policy thematic areas.

It targets the promotion of agro-based industrial development, as well as spatial distribution of industries in order to achieve reduction in poverty and income inequalities.

The thematic areas have been categorized into four main components namely: production and distribution; technology and innovation; incentives and regulatory regime and cross-cutting issues.

MoTI indicated that the actual implementation would be effected through an Industrial Sector Support Programme (ISSP), with a detailed Action Plan and Budget specifying activities to be undertaken annually.

The ISSP would be driven primarily by MoTI but would be coordinated through a cross-ministerial industrial policy coordinating committee in recognition of its cross-cutting nature.

The success of the industry policy would be measured by the extent to which it empowers the private sector, predominantly but not limited to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).