The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated
government’s commitment to empowering indigenous industries in order to get
them ready for the emergence of what he called a new global architecture.
Speaking at the 25th
anniversary of the establishment of Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited in
Tema on Wednesday June 22, Vice President Bawumia said the ongoing global
economic crisis will bring about a new phenomenon, where countries would no
longer have to depend much on external products and services, but depend on
their local industries.
He, therefore, called for a
rethink, and the offering of more support to local Ghanaian industries, to
empower them and become as successful as Tropical Cables in order to be
internationally competitive.
“The on-going global
economic crisis, which is the result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the
Russia-Ukraine war, will bring about a new global architecture, where countries
will have to be more dependent on themselves,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“If we are going to succeed
in this new global architecture we have to support our local industries to
succeed and that is what other countries are going to do.
“So there has to be a
rethinking of the policy environment; what can we do to empower our local
industries. We don’t know when this war between Russia and Ukraine will end but
it will end, even if it is five years, it will end.
“But we have to be prepared
for the new emerging global architecture and we can only be prepared for it if
we are empowering our local industries to produce and to compete globally,” he
added.
Government’s
industrialization vision
The Vice President stressed
that the Akufo-Addo government’s industrialization agenda, which was initiated
right from the onset of the government in 2017 before the current global crisis
struck, could not have been done at a better time, as it fits into the agenda
to boost local industries, be self-reliant, create jobs for the youth and also
boost the economy.
“Industrialization has been
a strategic priority of the President Akufo-Addo government. The One
District-One Factory (1D1F) initiative has been transformed from a political
mantra into an effective flagship programme geared towards revamping of the
economy to create job opportunities for our teeming graduate youth,” said the
Vice President.
“At the heart of the One District One Factory (1D1F)
concept lies government’s firm determination to transform the Ghanaian economy
from one known as a supplier of raw materials to the international market,
supplying foreign industries with our natural resources to the detriment of our
locally based ones, to one that feeds local value enhancing entities in the
country.
“This is why our government
in 2019 launched the Ghana Beyond Aid program, with the overriding objective of
adding value to our raw materials at source.”
25 years of
TCCL excellence
Congratulating Tropical
Cable on its 25th anniversary, Dr. Bawumia expressed joy that an indigenous
Ghanaian company, which started on a modest note and went through the
challenges of industrialization, has grown to be an industry leader and has
also become globally competitive.
“Twenty-Five years in the
life of any business is certainly worth celebrating but if one appreciates the
unique challenges of the manufacturing sector, then the significance of this
achievement stands out even more,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“We are gathered here to
congratulate and to celebrate you as a company on the attainment of this
remarkable milestone. I am sure that, 25 years ago the scale of what we see
here today was probably difficult to imagine but due diligence, discipline and
innovation and hard work, have paid off and propelled you to sit at the top of
your industry, serving power utilities, the real estate and construction
sectors, the mining sector, and son on, with internationally certified cables
and conductors.
“As a nation, we are indeed proud to have an indigenous company like Tropical Cable. Its achievements over the years, have given meaning to the belief that this nation is capable of producing and sustaining industrial excellence.”
At the
ceremony, the Vice President also launched Tropical Cable’s CAT-6 cable, which
is the first certified CAT-6 cable to be manufactured in Ghana.
Source:3news