Prof. Alex Dodoo, CEO of GSA (2nd L) and Sulemana Koney (3rd L), Collins Anim Sackey (4th) and Mr. Adomako-Berfi (1st L) of the Trade Ministry displaying copies of the electric cable standards
ALAN KYEREMATEN, Minister of Trade and Industry, has appealed to mining companies to now resolve to heavily patronise locally manufactured electric cables and only import similar products as a last resort.
This follows the launch on Thursday in Accra of the mining industry’s Electric Cables Standards by the Chamber of Mines and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr. Kyerematen noted that the patronage of local electric cables would enable the companies enhance their operations, support the ongoing industrial transformation by creating jobs and conserving more foreign exchange for the country.
He, therefore, called for collaboration between the GSA, mining companies and electric cables local manufacturers at all levels to ensure the successful implementation of the electric cable standards.
Sulemana Koney, CEO, Chamber of Mines, remarked that he was proud of a national technical committee (TC) which worked assiduously and developed 40 main and 50 normative standards for electric cables to be used mainly by the mining industry.
He also commended local producing companies, the GSA and Nexans Kabel Metal Ltd as well as Tropical Cables & Conductor Ltd, not forgetting his outfit for underwriting the cost of the work of the TC.
According to him, the commercial initiatives under the chamber’s leadership had led to consistent improvements in procurement of locally manufactured electric cables by mining firms from 60.5 per cent in 2014 to 99.74 per cent in 2019.
Collins Anim Sackey, who represented the CEO of the Minerals Commission, expressed delight that electric cables would be procured 100% locally by all mining companies, adding “we are justifiably so because of the existence of companies such as Nexans Kabelmetal Ghana Limited, Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited and Reroy Cables Limited which had been manufacturing electric cables in Ghana.”
He said ownership of the various mines in the country was diverse i.e. American, Australian, Canadian, South African, and Chinese, adding that at various points in time, these mines were built largely with materials from the home country of the owners.
He, therefore, encouraged the local manufacturers to do their best to always stay on top in terms of product quality.
A Business Desk Report