Intentionality needed for long-term local and regional wide industrialization in Ghana – Prof. Douglas Boateng

The Board Chairman of the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF), Professor Douglas Boateng has stated that Ghana can only achieve its industrialization drive through proactive planning and a mindset change among the citizenry.

He asserts it will take a conscious effort on the part of Ghanaians with strategic and long-term focused directional leadership from those at the helm of affairs for the country to become an industrial hub.

According to him, with the appropriate human capital to feed local factories such as the Ekumfi processing factory under the government's 1 District 1 Factory (1D1F) policy, Ghana can realize its industrialization agenda. 

 “When it comes to the product, it must be what is required by the market, competitively priced, consistency in quality and must be innovative. For businesses to also thrive locally, then there must be political stability with appropriate infrastructure put in place,” Prof Boateng said.

Tackling how industrialization can be reached on a regional level on the African continent, Prof Boateng charged governments to be long-term driven, tackling issues and challenges as a collective, breaking down the artificial trade barriers, moving away from proudly country specific initiatives to “Proudly African initiatives" and educating as well as encouraging individuals and organizations to think beyond their own communities and national boundaries.

He advised the various governments on the continent to also move away from applying policies and modes of operations which have not yielded positive results, urging them to remove state owned institutions from the various ministries whilst encouraging regional wide Public Private Partnership (PPP).

Africa's first ever appointed Professor Extraordinaire for supply and value chain management made this submission at the 2022 Executive Insight Series at the Pan African Supply Chain Management Public Lectures.