Ghanaian industries propose special fund for local content

The Association of Ghana Industries’ (AGI) annual Local Content Exhibition and Conference ended in Accra on Thursday with a suggestion to government to consider setting up a special fund for local content initiatives to support companies.

Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, Executive Director of AGI, who made the call, said such a fund would help provide assistance to local companies to develop their capacities to meet the requirements of the industries.

He said indications from the exhibition showed that foreign companies were committed to the implementation of local content and asked local companies to enhance their capacities in order to take advantage of the opportunities in both the mining and the oil and gas sectors.

Mr Twum-Akwaboah said although the exhibition and conference started with focus on the oil and gas industry, the increasing benefit had led to other sectors taking advantage of it to tell their stories.

Currently, the exhibition embraces the mining, housing, energy and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

He said the AGI was impressed that discussions at the conference and exhibition had led to the development of good local content policies in all sectors, adding that, the policies, laws and regulations must be driven by capacity development.

The AGI Local Content Exhibition is an annual initiative that gives policy makers and businesses the platform to discuss local content issues with the view to developing and influencing policy direction.

This year’s edition, which was the fourth in the series, was held on the theme ‘Making local content work’.

Source: GNA