By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Government Statistician at the Ghana Statistical Service has called for an establishment of Integrated Shea Butter Processing Factories in the three Northern Regions to process about 50,000 tons of Shea butter per annum for both local and international markets to resuscitate the Ghanaian economy,
He also proposed the rehabilitation of abandoned but viable manufacturing enterprises, including the Jute Factory, Tomato Cannery, Gold Energy, and Ceramics Production.
Speaking at the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, on the topic “resuscitating Ghanaian Industries to address Current Economic Challenges, the Trends and the Way Forward” under the National Industrial Policy, the industrial sector-specific policies, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim submitted that the time is now for the state to rejuvenate the textile industry in an integrated manner, from seed production to spinning to ginning, and printing as he also proposed an “establishment of new and emerging industries such as petrochemicals, fertilizer, and LPG cylinders production on the back of the new oil and gas industry”.
Prof Annim also emphasized on the need to exploit the limestone deposits in northern Ghana for the production of cement and industry, as well as utilization of the significant clay deposits in the country for the production of bricks and other building materials to support the program for the construction of affordable housing units.
According to the Statistician, the Government must necessarily establish manufacturing enterprises to process agricultural produce, especially beans, fruits, and Shea nuts, decentralize industrial development to exploit the resource endowments of districts and strengthen the links between industry, and research and development institutions”.
