The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has rolled out a directive to purchase cables from local manufacturers to undertake their electrification projects.

Electric cables have over the period been procured from international sources, even though the ECG agreed to government’s directive for domestic purchases four years ago.

Citi news reports that the Managing Director of the ECG, Kwame Agyeman-Budu, believes buying made-in-Ghana cables will empower local producers to create more jobs.

“The idea is to fulfil the local content policy of the country. We also want to make sure that the local companies have the capacity to supply ECG,” Mr. Agyeman-Budu said after visiting the premises of Tropical Cable and Conductor Ltd.

He complained about local manufacturers pretending to be producing locally but end up importing cables into the country. This, he explained, defeats the purpose of the local content policy.

“When we buy from the local producers, we also help create jobs and empower our own local companies,” he stressed.

He however praised the local companies who genuinely manufacture their own goods for producing quality cables of international standards.

The Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Cables and Conductor Limited, Dr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi, said sourcing electrical cables locally will help to create thousands of jobs since they are in high demand in the country.

Dr Oteng Gyasi assured that local producers have the capacity to meet the demand for electrical cables by ECG.

“There is a lot of idle capacity,” he said, adding that “if we are giving the opportunity, we can employ more engineers and create more jobs”