Employers Hold Strategic Meeting in Takoradi

By Peter Gbambila

Takoradi — The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, has tasked employers to position themselves to take advantage of the huge business opportunities as Ghana was hosting the headquarters of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

He said under AfCTFTA, many goods and services would be available in the country which would boost the growth of the economy, and so it was imperative that employers were prepared to reap the benefit.

Mr Darko-Mensah was speaking at a breakfast meeting organised here in Takoradi by the Western Region branch of the Ghana Employers' Association (GEA).

The main objective of the meeting was to bring employers together to solicit their views on some of the key issues on the economic, social, labour, human resource and the environment, which needed their attention.

The Western Regional Minister noted that, it was particularly the business class, if well positioned, could work hard to transform the economy.

He said about 13.3 million people were in the private sector, and if these people worked seriously they would be able to develop the rest of the nation.

The Minister of Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, in his remarks , mentioned sectors like agriculture, Information Dommunication Technology (ICT), human resource and entrepreneurship, that could drive the economy.

He indicated that Ghana could not continue to be exporting raw materials, but had to go industrial to add value to the produce in order to earn more foreign exchange.

The Business Development Minister said the country could not rely on her old structures in a modern economy, so Ghana was to spend about $2 million to improve on its existing infrastructure.

Dr Awal said ICT was important to the growth of businesses, adding that, the best way to invest in people was to improve their human resource base, so they would intend improve the economy.

He mentioned skills and vocations acquisition as basic for human development, particularly for women whose competency in entrepreneurship could not be doubted.

Dr Awal intimated that the private sector would continue to be the engine of growth to drive the economy forward and urged the region to set up a skills development sector to qualify for loans to assist the people.

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