Trade and Industry Minister and one of the front runners in the upcoming NPP Presidential Race, Alan Kyerematen has pledged to pay for the printing of the NPP delegates’ album for all the 276 constituencies in the country ahead of the Party’s Presidential Primaries.
He has also donated an amount of one hundred thousand cedis GHC100K to the NPP National Headquarters to support the National Executives in the day-to-day administration and management of the activities of the party.
Mr. Kyerematen at a meeting with NPP National Executives and Staff at the party headquarters last Friday in line with solidifying relationships between the Party and the government, urged the leadership of the party to earn the trust of the grassroots voters by conducting a fair and unbiased election.
“We can only break the 8 if we stay together and act as a unit,“A free and fair election will trickle down to the average voter since they won’t feel manipulated or machinated”, Alan Kyerematen told the meeting .
Mr. Kyerematen briefed the leadership of the party on some key interventions rolled out by the Ministry of Trade and Industry since 2017, when he became a Minister .
He disclosed that his Ministry has pursued two major objectives aimed at reducing unemployment and strengthening the Ghanaian economy.
He further noted that towards achieving these objectives, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has developed a comprehensive programme to fully industrialise Ghana as practiced by developed economies globally.
Mr. Kyerematen cited specifically amongst others, the revival of existing distressed companies with stimulus packages; introduction of the One District One Factory (1D1F) initiative, diversification of the economy with the introduction of ten new economic anchors, increasing Ghana’s export through the opportunity offered by the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA), creation of specialised industrial parks and economic zones to accommodate manufacturing and processing companies, and the creation of an enabling environment for local businesses to thrive as some interventions by the Ministry of Trade and Industry since 2017.
Moreover, he highlighted other initiatives by his Ministry to create sustainable jobs and strengthen the local economy. These included: the establishment of over seventy (70) Business Development Centres nationwide in support of Small and Medium Enterprises, State of the Art Technology Centres to build components for industries, the establishment of the Ghana Enterprises Agency to provide financial support to Small and Medium Enterprises and the establishment of assembling plants by global automotive giants such as Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, Kia, Peugeot and Hyundai.
Mr. Kyerematen, said these various interventions introduced by the Ministry of Trade and Industry provide avenues for the rich and poor, young and aged, as well as citizens and foreigners to actively participate in growing the economy of the country.
The National Chairman of NPP Stephen Ntim,lauded Mr. Kyerematen for his visit and reiterated the need for government appointees to collaborate with the party to present a united front for victory during the 2024 general elections.
The Party-government engagement series, Chairman Ntim said, is one of the several initiatives introduced by the current National Executives to achieve the aforementioned objective. He noted that other initiatives and interventions such as “Time With Patrons”, “Time With Ambassadors”, “Time With CEOs, regular meetings with the Party’s parliamentary group among others, are all geared towards enhancing the working relationship between Party functionaries and government appointees.
The General Secretary of the Party, Mr Justin Kodua Frempong also commended Mr Kyerematen for his cooperation when the party wrote a letter to him regarding a health walk that was organized by some group alleging to be his supporters, in violation of the party’s Code of Conduct for pre-parliamentary and presidential primaries. Lawyer Kodua Frimpong assured that the leadership of the party will remain neutral, fair and transparent during the party’s presidential and parliamentary primaries in 2023.
Mr. Kyerematen was accompanied by Hon. Carlos Ahenkorah, Hon. Sylvester Tetteh, Hon. Catherine Afeku, Hon. Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, Alhassan Samari and Mr. Hopson Adorye and others.