Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond, the newly appointed Minister for Trade and Industry has embarked on familiarisation visits to sector agencies for the first time after his appointment to have first-hand information on the operations of those outfits.
Explaining the importance of the tour, the Minister of Trade and Industry noted that the tour is to enable the minister to interact with heads, understand internal structures and appreciate progress, challenges, and solutions to aid the agencies to carry out their mandates.
The Minister, accompanied by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mr. Patrick Yaw Nimo, first visited the Ghana Enterprises Agency, the organisation responsible for implementing policies and programmes to nurture and spur the growth of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises.
At the Ghana Enterprise Agency, Mr Hammond commended the Management of the Agency, particularly the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs Kosi Yankey Ayeh for instituting attractive programmes such as the “Young Africa Works Programme,” “Enterprises Development Project,” and “YouStart,” among other programmes, which have been able to attract funding from development partners like the World Bank.
At the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), the Minister entreated management to create a congenial and people-centred environment that will enable staff to give off their best.
Mr K.T Hammond also called on GSA management to ensure that proper standards are put in place and enforced to let Ghanaians get value for money for the products they buy, and to allow Ghanaian companies to reap the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.
The Minister, as part of his tour, visited the offices of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, and the Ghana International Trade Commission which aims to address unfair trade practices.
K.T Hammond’s last port of call was the National Coordination Office of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which seeks to provide the needed assistance to Ghanaian companies to gain market access to African markets.
The Minister later engaged heads of some companies under the Government’s flagship One District, One Factory programme.
His appointment came when the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen resigned from his position earlier this year.
Mr Alan Kyerematen had been championing the government’s One District One Factory initiative since 2018, birthing about 170 factories across the country.
Under Mr. Kyerematen’s leadership at the Trade Ministry, the country also witnessed the production of local vehicles by auto giants such as Suzuki, VW, Nissan, Sino Trucks among others under the Automotive Development Policy.
Though Alan Kyerematen left his role with a lot of experience, K.T Hammond is also bringing a lot of experience to the table. He has been the Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa constituency in the Ashanti Region of Ghana in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and the 8th Parliament of the 4th Ghanaian Republic.
Kobina was a member of the Finance Committee, and Mines and Energy Committee in the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana.
