Accra, March 13, GNA - Vice-President John Atta Mills on Monday said the time has come for Ghanaians to have the taste for goods produced locally to enable indigenous private business to grow.

He said the country's economy could only survive the turbulence in the fluctuating world commodity market if Ghanaians change their attitude towards home-made goods.

Vice-President Mills made the point when the Reverend Jannie Ngwale, a South African businessman, called on him at the Castle, Osu. Rev. Ngwale, owner of a business conglomerate, is also a Christian, statesman and political activist who was a key supporter of the empowerment of blacks in South Africa.

He arrived in Ghana last Friday on a private visit and has expressed interest in assisting to harness the country's raw materials for local production. Rev Ngwale has also identified telecommunication and information technology, energy, as well as agriculture as potential areas for investment.

Vice-President Mills told him that government is reviewing the economy to give it a boost after it suffered reverses as a result of falling prices of the main cash earners - cocoa and gold, and high cost of crude oil.

He said another priority area of government is to economically empower the indigenous business people, especially women in agricultural processing, and welcomed any genuine assistance that would support such objectives.

Rev. Ngwale was accompanied to the Castle by Mrs Sherry Ayitey and the Rev. Sam Koranchi Ankrah, General Overseer and President of International Bible Worship Centre, Accra.