AGI decries bottlenecks in acquiring lands for industrial purposes

The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) is calling on government to institute a policy framework for the protection of local industries against unfair competition from their foreign counterparts.

Ghana’s economy is expected to enter a road of recovery after challenging times in the year 2022.

Experts believe a buoyant local industry will help stabilize the local currency and reduce the country’s dependence on imports.

He further urged government to make access to land easier for local business as acquiring land for industrial purposes is a major challenge for investors.

“We still have a major challenge with our members acquiring land for industrial purposes. Our members had to pay for the same land three times because different owners pop up asking for the same amount of money for the same piece of land.”

“Our hope is that, we expect this challenge to end this year because we want government to ensure that lands are properly acquired for industrial purposes”, says Tsonam Akpeloo,  Greater Accra chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries.

Government has already given an indication of increased investments in local production through its Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) Obaatanpa programme but the AGI believes more needs to be done to move away from consumption to production.