Don’t abandon Export Strategy - Spio-Garbrah pleads
The former Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has advised the new government not to abandon the National Export Strategy (NES), which was started under the John Mahama led administration.
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He said the NES was an important strategy that could help the country to double export earnings to about US$5 billion by 2020.
As a result, he said it was prudent that the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration to adopt and implement it.
He spoke to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on the sidelines of President John Dramani Mahama’s last state of the nation address.
He said under the NES, the ministry identified 11 priority products and was hopeful the new government would continue with it.
“They can modify it by adding or changing some of the products but abandoning it will not be a good decision,” he stated.
Given that governance was a continuous process, Mr Spio-Garbrah said the NPP government needed not to abandon projects and policies started by the outgoing government.
Funding for the NES
The former minister, however, pointed out that the strategy under his regime suffered setbacks due to the lack of funds.
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He said the strategy was not funded through the government budget but with support from some agencies and the defunct Export Trade, Agricultural Development and Investment Fund (EDAIF).
“So, we hope that under the President Nana Akufo-Addo regime, they will be able to mobilise the funding to support the strategy,” he stated.
“The NES should be seriously funded both through domestic and international funding agencies so that Ghana can become the most competitive and most efficient, not just in West Africa, but Africa as a whole,” he added.
Mr Spio-Garbrah also expressed his willingness to interact with the incoming administration on trade and industry matters, should the need arise.
NES strategy
In August 2013, government launched the NES aimed at raising the level of export proceeds from the Non-Traditional Export (NTEs) to US$5billion by the 2019.
The strategy was also expected to lift NTEs by 35 per cent within the next five years.
The strategy has four planned strategic outputs, which include reduced impediments, uncertainties, risks and costs in production and conducting of export business, enhanced export value chain infrastructure and support services delivery, capacity of GEPC, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies enhanced to promote export so that every District is able to develop at least one significant export product preferably from the Priority Product List, and a strengthened and expanded institutional capacity for export-oriented human capital and resource development to enable exporters to stay abreast with modern trends, best practices and demands of the contemporary international market.
A priority product selection approach was adopted priority list focused on products which were likely to make a significant contribution to achieving the strategic growth target revenue of US$5.0 billion by the 5th year of the NES.
The priority products list comprises: cocoa products, wood products, fresh/chilled and processed fish, articles of plastic, vegetable oil seeds and oils, and natural rubber and rubber products.
The rest are aluminum products, high value horticultural products, cashew nuts and processed cashew.
Textiles and garments, pharmaceuticals and selected products of the creative arts industry were also added, based on special considerations.