It was launched in June 2011 and was to be implemented through an Industrial Sector Support Programme (ISSP) over a five-year period from January 2011 to December 2015.
With the implementation period having effectively elapsed captains of industry feel disappointed and they are asking the question: “What happened to the Ghana Industrial Policy?”
“Five years is long enough for us to implement the policy. If you look at all the sectors, there is a positive relationship between industrial growth and employment,” said Samuel Baba Adongo, Deputy Country Director of Technoserve Ghana, at the Ghana Economic Outlook and Business Strategy Conference 2016.
“The statistics of unemployment correlate positively with the dip in this country’s industrial development. The industrial policy looks at certain thematic areas that we can use to develop our industries. So I think the industrial policy is something very important government must take steps to implement soon,” he said.
Under the policy, a fund was to be set up to disburse GH¢297million in medium- to long-term loans and matching grants to the manufacturing sector by the end of 2015.
In preparing the document, government said it recognised that certain “interventions in the domestic economy must be time-bound to engender rapid industrialisation.”
Commenting on the issue James Asare Adjei, President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), said failing to implement such important policy has contributed to economic woes the country has been going through over the past few years.
“The objectives contained in the industrial policy are related to productivity of local industry, and therefore creating sustainable jobs. So if this important policy has not been implemented, it will affect the economy. That is why we can see the manufacturing sector over the past three years has been experiencing slow growth,” Mr. Asare Adjei revealed in an interview.
According to the policy: “Government will explore other options for raising medium and long-term funds for financing industrial development; government will ensure that Financial Sector Reforms take account of the need to increase access to medium and long-term financing for industrial development.
It also states that: “Government will streamline existing public-funded financing schemes to enable SMEs access them.”
However, funding for SMEs and manufacturing companies remains a major challenge in the sector — and Mr. Asare Adjei believes government needs to take urgent steps to set up the fund in order to help businesses address some of the challenges they are going through in accessing capital in the country.
The Industrial Policy represents the set of specific policy instruments and measures to be applied for improving access to competitive factors of production within the economy; and enhance productivity, efficiency and growth of Ghana’s manufacturing sector,” the policy document states.
“Ultimately, the success of the Industry Policy will be measured by the extent to which it empowers the private sector — predominantly, but not limited to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) — to expand and create opportunities for employment, and reduce poverty and spatial inequalities in Ghana,” the document adds.