AGI chides govt over delayed implementation of policies
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has hit hard at the government, accusing it of rushing to formulate economic policies for industry but failing to implement them, to the detriment of the business community.
The AGI raised the concerns at the National Economic Forum at Senchi in the Eastern Region.
Its President, Mr James Asare-Adjei, mentioned the Ghana Industrial Policy (GIP) launched in 2011; the Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS) II, and the National Export Strategy, launched six months ago, as some of the policies that had not been implemented.
"It is very important for us to note issues related to delays in policy implementation. We have been very proactive as a country in formulating good policies but have always had challenges with implementation," Mr Asare-Adjei said.
Resource implementing institutions
The Industrial Policy, which was prepared by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) within the context of the country's Vision 2020 agenda, was aimed at helping to transform the economy into an industrial one that would be capable of increasing production for the populace and creating decent jobs for all. The same applied to the PSDS II, which was a second phase of the PSDS I.
Just as the phase one emphasised the creation of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, the second phase was to help build the capacity of industries to take advantage of the enabling environment created.
The NES, on the other hand, was envisaged to build the capacity of exporters, diversify the country's exports and ultimately raise the earnings from non-traditional exports (NTEs) to US$5 billion in 2017.
However, nearly four years into the launch of the GIP and the PSDS II and six months into that of the NES, the AGI President said industry was yet to see visible signs of their implementation.
Minister responds
Although the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, admitted the delay in implementing some of the policies, he said that did not in any way reflect the inability of the government to implement policies it had formulated.
"There are challenges we experience in the short term and that sometimes delays the implementation and so you cannot say that because we are sometimes constrained into concentrating our efforts on solving one emergent emerging situation, then it means we are not good at policy implementation”, he said.
"There are also issues with resources and stuff but we are working to resolve them," he said.
Mr Iddrisu, however, gave the assurance of the government's commitment to ensuring that such policies, which were intended to address the challenges facing industry, were implemented to the benefit of the business community and the country at large.