Senior Advisor to the President on Media Strategic Communications, Oboshie Sai-Coffie, has lauded the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA) for supporting government’s export-led industrial growth agenda.
She gave the commendation during the 3rd Annual Investment Week Celebrations of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), which was climaxed with a Chief Executives Forum in Accra.
It was held under the theme; “GFZA: Championing Export-led Industrial Growth in the Context of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and world trade.”
Ms Sai-Coffie said the GFZA has “created employment, earned Ghana foreign exchange, diversified the range of export products and invested capital in this economy.” She added the authority has also “created jobs indirectly for other companies that supply your inputs, undertake corporate social responsibility projects and more significantly, made it possible for Ghana to be part of the global value chain, especially in the cocoa, shea and fruit processing sectors.”
Ms Sai-Coffie said world events have shown that the way to go was export-led industrialisation, hence the decision of government to focus on that sector.
Assurance
She assured the free zones enterprises of government’s determination to surmount the challenges facing the economy. She stressed that government is “resolute in our intention to restructure the economy, transform the financial system and bring the economy back on track”.
“We are poised to create a conducive environment for all businesses to thrive in Ghana. I ask that you keep faith in the government and that you use the opportunity to encourage and reassure your management and staff that there are better days ahead that would help us to work better together in order to achieve the recovery we are all seeking,” she said.
Productivity
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, said efforts of the GFZA and its enterprises could not go unnoticed considering the huge capital investment they have made in the country.
He said apart from the job creation and technology transfer, the free zones regime has also helped strengthen the economic fibre of the country in the export-led industrial growth, an essential way to move the nation forward.
The Chief Executive of the GFZA, Michael Oquaye, disclosed that the country currently has 217 active free zone enterprises with export earnings of over US$27 billion. That, he said, is employing about 33,000 people directly with over 31,000 being Ghanaians.
