AGI Urges Govt To Protect Local Industries

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has appealed to the government to review the tariffs and taxes on imported goods as a means of protecting local industries from unfair competition.

It said also that the 7.5 percent withholding tax on local small-scale enterprises can gradually erode their working capital.
 
Opening a made-in Ghana shop in Tema, Mrs Leticia Osafo-Addo, vice- president of AGI in charge of small and medium scale Enterprises, said the country is losing its huge potential in industrial development because of challenges in the production and manufacturing sector.

She said 80 percent of jobs in the private sector are made up of the labour force in the manufacturing sector.

Mrs Osafo-Addo noted that presently, services, trade and commerce are doing very well but expressed regret that the same cannot be said of the local production sector, a situation she described as worrisome.

She commended the managing Director of the shop, Mrs Comfort Aniagyei for taking the initiative to promote made-in-Ghana goods, instead of imported ones, many of which are usually of inferior quality.

She said it is a bold decision for the operators to dedicate their time and resources to market made-in-Ghana goods.
 
Mrs Osafo Addo said many attempts and initiatives by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in partnership with the AGI, to promote goods made in Ghana has been discouraging.

Mrs Aniagyei for her part, said the shopping mall was established to bridge the gap between producers and consumers, adding that it will provide good quality made-in-Ghana consumable products.

'It is a one -stop shop for all goods made in Ghana,' she said.