K.T. Hammond
Minister of Trade and Industry, K. T. Hammond, has said the government is implementing deliberate interventions to achieve the strategic objectives of industrial transformation and job creation.
Answering questions on the floor of Parliament, the Minister indicated that this is being done by enhancing investment across the country as well as in key strategic sectors.
“The IDIF Programme predominantly involves domestic firms investing in the processing of and adding value to local resource endowments in the Districts and which naturally involves high local content,” he noted.
According to him, the policy and incentive framework developed by the government to attract large scale investment into key strategic sectors such as automotive, garments and textiles, and pharmaceuticals will all include supplier development programmes for increased local participation and local content under the Strategic Anchor Industries Initiatives.
He said a case in point is the automotive industry where the incentive granted to assemblers are linked to progress in advancing from basic and enhanced Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) assembly to Complete Knocked Down (CKD) manufacturing with high local content.
“In addition, the Ministry intends to attract investment, both domestic and foreign, into the local manufacture of selected automotive components, parts and accessories, initially including but not limited to batteries, shock absorbers, brake pads, wipers and glass products,” Mr. Hammond disclosed.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House