Kumasi, Sept 24, GNA - A Special Purpose Recover Trust Fund is to be created to absorb the debts of distressed but potentially viable companies and inject more capital into them to resuscitate and make them profitable.

Mr Lawrence Prempeh, a Consultant and Special Advisor to the Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives, who announced this said the Trust will use the capital pumped into the company to acquire shares, which will eventually be off-loaded to the promoters of the company when it is able to stand on its feet. Delivering the keynote address at the fifth annual general meeting of the Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo branch of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Kumasi on Wednesday, Mr Prempeh said scheme formed part of the new policy direction of the ministry.

The first strategy of the new direction, he said, was the development of an expert-oriented industrialisation drive, focused primarily on agro-processing and other manufacturing activities that involve mass mobilisation of rural communities and other enlargeable groups.

The implementation of this strategy has already begun in part through the President's Special Initiatives.

The second strategy, Mr Prempeh said was a comprehensive domestic market-oriented industrialisation programme, targeted at producing locally, a substantial proportion of non-petroleum government imports as well as processed foods and agricultural products imported by individuals and companies.

Mr Prempeh said the implementation of these two strategies were being undertaken through a number of programmes, including the Special Purpose Recover Trust Fund and others like the Technology Improvement Programme.

He said the Technology Improvement Programme aims at conducting technology audits and retooling local industries to improve their productivity and enhance their competitiveness.

The Ghana National Procurement Agency's (GNPA) operations, he said, will be re-organised to focus on the supply of agricultural raw material inputs to local industry, particularly in the area of agro-processing, adding that this will be in addition to other trade related activities that it will undertake.

Mr. Prempeh said a Foundry, Metal Working and Machine Tool Centre will be established to focus on the manufacturing of machine tools, equipment and spare parts to support the industrialisation efforts.

Mr Prempeh said in all these strategies and programmes, the Ministry had duly recognised the importance of Small and Medium enterprises sector in national development.

He said the major thrust of the government's trade policy was to manage both internal and external trade for purposes of supporting its agenda for industrialisation.

He enumerated a number of key elements in the internal trade and import management policy and said within three to five years, a free port will be established in Tema to promote Ghana as the new trade hub for West Africa.

Mr Prempeh said trade representatives will be appointed in every country where Ghana had diplomatic representation as well as other countries of strategic importance but with no official diplomatic representation.

He said individuals with good local knowledge and strong business network will be engaged to promote Ghana's export and attract investment into Ghana.

Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, said government will not establish industries but will facilitate the private sector into leadership position as the engine of growth.

He said Ghana started vigorous industrialisation after independence but noted that this could not be sustained because the state was in the driver's seat, adding that government's leadership and control in industrialisation had not been beneficial.

Presently, Mr Boafo said, the industrial sector was less developed and that much of the private investment was in the commercial sector where people simply buy and sell.

He therefore stressed the need for the private sector to invest in the industrial sector and the need to look at the local market and the market within the sub-region.

Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, said the time had come for small and medium enterprises to merge and become formidable and be competitive.

He said the present situation where entrepreneurs employed only their relatives, most of whom were simply not qualified should be a thing of the past, pointing out that efforts of government to facilitate the growth of the private sector will come to naught if they did not employ professionals.