Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong
Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has said that the One District, One Factory initiative of the current administration has the potential of turning Ghana’s fortunes around by creating wealth and sustainable jobs.
He called for more support from government for indigenous private businesses to collaborate with local authorities for the selection and efficient execution of the initiative to the benefit of the communities and growth of the private sector.
Dr Siaw Agyepong made this observation on the second day of the 69th annual New Year School and Conference at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon on Tuesday.
This year’s New Year School’s theme is: “Job Creation for Accelerated National Development: The Role of the Private Sector,” and it was organised by the School of Continuing and Distance Education of the University of Ghana, Legon.
He said efforts aimed at creating jobs should not be focused on the formal sector only.
“The informal sector has the potential to generate a good number of jobs. The essential need is to exert some of direction and control in this sector,” he added.
Dr Agyepong bemoaned the politicization of businesses, which usually occur after a change of government and said the practice of especially colouring private business political was unhealthy.
To this end, he stressed the need for successive governments to ensure continuity of businesses to promote growth of local entrepreneurs.
Using the Zoomlion example, Dr Siaw Agyepong enumerated its various achievement since its establishment in 2006 to manage waste in the country and create jobs for thousands of Ghanaians, and called for the protection of local industries.
Speaking on the topic, ‘The Private Sector Participation in Local Governance for Job Creation,’ the Zoomlion boss called for more collaboration to enable local private companies to undertake government projects.
He commended successive governments for their efforts at reducing unemployment but said that more efforts must be put into the talk to make it a reality.
He said Jospong Group of Companies has collaborated with the public sector in areas such as waste management, sanitation, environmental hygiene, agro-based industrialization, among others, to create jobs.
Against this backdrop, Dr Siaw Agyapong affirmed his group’s commitment to continuing to collaborate with local government authorities to create jobs for the teeming youth in the country.
The Zoomlion boss stressed the need for government to promote sustainable partnership arrangements to engage and empower the private sector.