The Minister-designate for Trade and Industry, K.T Hammond has disclosed that industrialization is the bedrock on which Ghana can resurrect itself from the ruins of our current economic crisis.
The Adansi-Asokwa MP appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, February 20, promised to revitalize small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to make them vibrant to contribute to the country’s economic development.
He promised to follow a white paper that already existed at the Trade Ministry which deals with how to properly define and deal with the technical and economic aspects of SMEs.
“If we had industrialized long ago we would not be in this current situation we found ourselves in now, so we must industrialize,” he stated.
He told the Appointments Committee that he will seek funds to industrialize the raw material base in Ghana to create employment avenues for the teeming youth in the country.
The former Deputy Energy Minister also expressed disappointment over the country’s penchant for imports such as “yemuadie” or the offal of animals and other goods.
“Why is it that everything you can think about is being imported into the country? These usually have terrible effects on our foreign exchange reserves. I think it’s about time we took a serious look at this particular issue. I’m told a committee was put up by cabinet to deal specifically with this matter,” Mr. Hammond lamented.