<<Print>>

Mr Moses Baiden, the Chairman of Margins Group, has urged government to ensure that its policies are in sync with the demands of the private sector to be able to accelerate the pace of development.

Speaking during a visit of the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Ekwow Spio-Grabrah to Intelligent Card Production Systems, (ICPS), a subsidiary of Margins ID Group, a Ghanaian indigenous company, Mr Baiden said when government introduced and implemented policies conducive to the private sector it would enhance growth and employment.

He said the private sector could not do it alone and there was the urgent need for support from the public sector if efforts at job creation and generation of the necessary foreign exchange were to be achieved.

The $ 3.5 million state of the art card and security printing equipment facility of ICPS in Accra puts ICPS in a pole position to be the leader in security printing and the manufacture of secure documents and cards on the African continent.

Mr Baiden said the company’s focus was to develop its human resource as that was important to help leap frog the company into meeting its goals of becoming a global player.

He commended the Minister for the visit to see at first hand the developments in ICPS.

Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said Ghana has a high potential to move up the industrial ladder and contribute to national, regional and continental development.

He said the example of Intelligent Card Production Systems, (ICPS), showed that the country was able to establish industries using the latest technology.

The Minister said to bridge the gap between industry and academia the government was working on mentorship programmes to allow individuals with rich experiences in industry to guide students, teachers and civil servants.

On the made in Ghana campaign, the Minister said the Ministry was developing policies, which would soon be approved by cabinet to ensure that the campaign succeeded.

He said key to the success of the campaign would be a deliberate government policy and conscious decision to procure only goods made in Ghana before looking outside the country.

This, he said, would provide companies high returns on their investment and boost growth as well.

Mr James Asare Adjei, President of the Association of Ghana Industries, said local businesses must be supported to grow.

He said support from government and agencies would be key to getting the made in Ghana campaign off the drawing board, adding that, this must be done with the local content policy.