<<Print>>

 The Made in Ghana (MiG) Steering Committee has presented a draft policy document to Cabinet that is expected to give the Made in Ghana Campaign a major boost when approved. 

    The policy document, according to Dr Ekow Spio Garbrah, Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI), will help to ensure that government agencies, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) prioritize Made in Ghana products and services in their procurement processes.

    Speaking at an encounter between the committee and members of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), he said the policy would help create a ready market for products made by Ghanaian companies and thus help to create jobs and expand production.

    He noted that the policy, as well as other directives by President John Dramani Mahama such as the directives to print textbooks locally and to manufacture shoes locally for uniformed services personnel would all help to boost MiG products.

    The document, he said, covers about 20 different product-items and makes recommendations on how public institutions can consciously procure goods and services from Ghana.

    He maintained however that individuals and institutions had to take the lead in choosing Ghanaian products and services over imported products saying they did not need presidential directives or legislation in order to do so.

    “The State Protocol Department for instance, when hosting foreign dignitaries, do not need a directive to make sure they serve food and drinks made in Ghana,” he stated, adding that this would contribute towards creating an export market for some Ghanaian products.

    Dr. Spio Garbrah said his ministry was also working on a document that would be presented to Cabinet proposing the merger of the Ghana National Procurement Authority and the Ghana Supply Commission to create a new Procurement Services Company.

    The proposed merger is expected to streamline procurement procedures and services across all public institutions; and it will be part of the processes by which public and private institutions procure goods and services.

    When approved, it will also have the responsibility of marketing Ghanaian products and services to get them procured and prevent institutions using ignorance of the availability of such products for non-compliance.

   He urged the media to also play its role in ensuring that attitudes about made in Ghana goods are changed and also ensure sustainability of the campaign over time.

    “It’s a national campaign irrespective of any differences we may have, whether religious, ethnic, political or other and we must all ensure that successive governments continue projects that the people deem important, such as this one,” he said.