Bono Regional Minister joins campaign for made-in-Ghana products

Following the President’s call on Ghanaians to prioritise the consumption of locally-manufactured products, the Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu Banahene, has been rallying more support for this call.

She believes that if Ghanaians heed to the President’s call and make it their habit to patronize locally made goods, the cedi would stabilize and compete favourably with other currencies.

The minister stressed that there are enormous benefits for the entire country “if we all resolve to pratronise products made in Ghana. We’ll be creating more jobs, we’ll be expanding the economy and we’ll be putting money in the pockets of our own people while reducing the unemployment rate drastically.”

Speaking to the media at Peduase after the recent Cabinet Retreat, Madam Owusu Banahene noted that in the face of the serious economic challenges confronting the nation, local production of goods and services “is a veritable way of addressing the challenges associated with our economy.”

She called on the media and Ghanaians in general to inculcate the habit of patronizing locally made goods and services in the interest of national economic growth

Robust economy

The Bono Regional Minister said most foreign-made goods are no longer affordable on account of the prevailing exchange rate, adding that “happily, most of these goods now have locally made ones. This is the time to patronize our locally made goods with all its benefits for the economy and the stabilization of our currency’s value.”

She also emphasised that the robustness of the domestic economy of every country greatly depends on citizens’ taste for locally manufactured goods and services.

According to her, though the campaign to whet Ghanaians’ appetite for made in Ghana goods and services has been intensified for some years, the efforts are yet to yield appreciable dividends.

Competitiveness

She said products manufactured in Ghana can only be competitive on the international stage if Ghanaians make deliberate and conscious decisions to patronize them, saying; “brands do well on the international market when they enjoy high patronage and support from their countries of origin.”

According to her, products made in certain countries enjoy good reputation globally because citizens of those countries prefer their own products to products from elsewhere.

“However, if a country’s citizens have a high taste for foreign made products, products made in that country struggle on the international market because they are considered inferior by their own people”, she explained.

“As Ghanaians, we need to support our own products. Ghana has a good name internationally. If we don’t like our products, it affects the image of goods made in Ghana”, she said.