Don�t Bank Hope On Oil- Minister

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Hannah Tetteh has revealed that the revenue from Ghana�s oil would not solve all the problems of the country. The Trade Minister noted that the country�s oil would provide additional resources for government to boost infrastructure for businesses to thrive. Speaking at the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Investiture Dinner in Accra, she said government was also putting in place vital infrastructure to enhance productivity. Ms. Tetteh announced that government would set up a Tariff Advisory Board to deal with the issue of inferior goods on the Ghanaian market. Nana Owusu-Afari and five others were inducted into office as national executives. Nana Owusu-Afari, who was elected as the new president, called on members of the AGI to embrace new, innovative trends in manufacturing to ensure efficiency and competitiveness in the sector. He said in view of the great patronage of Ghanaian goods in Burkina Faso and Liberia, AGI would collaborate with the Ghana Export Promotion Council and Ghana Missions to establish warehouses to ensure the availability. He explained that such a measure would be a bold attempt by government to address the serious cash flow limitations faced by the manufacturing sector, which would create a level playing field for industries in the country. Nana Owusu-Afari said AGI would engage all stakeholders to join hands in the �Buy Made-In-Ghana� campaign to build a strong customer base in the country. He announced that as part of the campaign, the AGI would also organize the Ghana Industrial Week to coincide with the Africa Industrialization Day celebration to reward industrialists in the country. Nana Owusu-Afari said unemployment had a devastating effect on the country and called on government to expedite action on the AGI�s Small Medium Enterprise Charter to enable SMEs to expand and employ more people. Mr. Oteng-Gyasi, who is also the Managing Director of Tropical Cable and Conductors Limited, said the AGI had witnessed four years of dramatic improvement under his leadership. �We have increased paid up membership to 60 percent, subscription revenue by 230 percent while total income for 2009 was over GH�900,000,� he said. He called for �fresh thinking� in the management of interest rates and exchange rates as well as a review of the mechanics of inflation measurement in the country. Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), said his outfit would continue to implement tough but prudent monetary interventions to ensure the stability of the economy.