The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah has hinted to Citi Business News, government may step in to push the National Investment Bank (NIB) as well as Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to return to their core mandate of providing long term loans to indigenous businesses.
One of the core challenges facing local business is access to affordable credit.
In cases where local businesses get access to credit, they complain about its duration, which in many cases is short term.
The Trade Ministry in a bid to deal with the challenge and others in 2010 set up an industrial policy.
The policy was set within the context of Ghana’s long-term strategic vision of achieving middle income status by 2020, through transformation into an industry- driven economy capable of delivering decent jobs with widespread, equitable and sustainable growth and development.
But Dr. Spio Garbrah tells Citi Business News the policy has so far failed to meet its set target.
“Industrialists need loans that could last for three to five years and so if you don’t have any such institutions that are going to give you loans, then you have a problem,” he stated.
“But the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the National Investment Bank were set up in the 1960s with that kind of a long term lending agenda. But their mandate has changed now because of these universal banking policies and practices and some of us have argued over the need to revisit the mandate of those institutions or other institutions that could be created that will have a longer term agenda,” the Minister added.
Background to the policy
Industrial development in Ghana dates back to the implementation of the seven year development plan from 1963 to 1971.
In April 2010, Cabinet approved Ghana’s Industrial Policy, set within a vision of transforming Ghanas economy into one that would be driven by an industrial development model capable of delivering widespread, equitable and sustainable impacts particularly in terms of inclusive growth, and job creation that leads to wealth creation and poverty reduction.
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By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
