Trade and Industry Minister Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has advised Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to wake up from their slumbers and engineer innovative mechanisms to explore job-creation opportunities in their various jurisdictions.

He said it is government’s policy for MMDAs to have and promote at least one non-traditional export commodity with competitive advantage for the export market. It is therefore incumbent on Assemblies to capitalise on the ecosystem of government interventions -- such as the Rural Enterprise Programme (REP), EDIAF, and NBSSI -- to unlock job opportunities in the agribusiness and micro business sectors, he added.

“Ghana’s progress will depend on unleashing economic growth -- not just for the few at the top, but for many at the local level. MMDAs’ progress will depend on development that truly lift the people from poverty to prosperity. This begins with a job, and it requires investment in training and business development services such as existing interventions.

“You have to change your paradigm of thinking by empowering the youth. Let’s encourage the unemployed youth in our communities by putting them into mentorship programmes with experienced business actors; get them registered; help them to develop business plans,” the Trade Minister stated.

Mr. Spio-Garbrah made these remarks in Sunyani during a re-orientation workshop on post mid-term implementation arrangement for REP. Present at the workshop were MMDCEs, Coordinating Directors and Finance Officers from the 161 beneficiary districts of the Rural Enterprise Programme.

The workshop was organised to brief participants about the outcome of a mid-term review that was undertaken by REP, as well as offer them [participants] opportunity to deliberate on the implementation’s status and strategise to enhance the programme for the years ahead.

The minister said though government is working assiduously to promote the industry’s growth, including micro and small enterprises which are mostly dotted in rural areas, it is however important for the public the water-down their “unbridled taste” for foreign goods to the detriment of local industries.

“The paradigm shift is toward an export-led economy, instead of the import-led economy which is engendered by a liberalisation policy and our taste for foreign goods. The strategy then is to develop the non-traditional export sector’s potential to enable it make maximum contribution to GDP growth and national development,” he added.

The National Director of REP, Kwasi Atta-Antwi, underscored the Programme’s importance in addressing unemployment, wealth-creation and small-scale capacity building, especially for the youth. He however observed that: “In order to effectively reach and sustain its laudable achievements, there is need to step-up implementation of activities and involve other stakeholders such as the private sector”.

To this end, “The Programme Management has initiated talks with all key stakeholders to understand and effectively play their roles to realise the new targets and objectives. We have met with agencies like NBSSI and GRATIS Foundation among others,” he noted.

The Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) is one of public sector interventions designed to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods of rural folks by developing the potentials of rural micro and small enterprises. The government of Ghana, International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and African Development Bank AfDB are financiers of the programme.

The first and second phases have been successfully implemented since it was introduced in 1995. Following successful implementation of the district-based model in 66 districts, managers have now scaled-up the support to 161 participating districts for the third phase spanning from 2012-2020.

The three models of the Programme are: access to business development services; technology transfer through technical skills training and demonstrations of equipment; and ensuring micro and small enterprises’ access to rural finance.