President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Humphrey Ayim-Darke, has spoken of Ghana’s industrial preparedness in the face of global economic shocks.

He warns that weak implementation of the country’s local content policy has left the economy vulnerable to external shocks such as the new 10% U.S. tariff on Ghanaian exports, including cocoa.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Friday, April 11, Dr. Ayim-Darke expressed deep concern that despite years of rhetoric about local empowerment and industrialisation, very little has changed structurally in the Ghanaian economy.

“We are concerned with this rhetoric that, yes, it is okay. We can recalibrate our system and take advantage of it. Recovery couldn’t take advantage of the situation to industrialize,” he said.

Referring to assurances offered by government representatives in high-level stakeholder meetings, Dr. Ayim-Darke cautioned against taking such reassurances at face value.

“The general, broad assurance is there. But you know, there are some externalities, or external factors, when they befall a nation, no matter the assurance from the President… because they are beyond your control.”

He pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as a missed opportunity, noting that the crisis could have triggered a serious transformation of Ghana’s manufacturing base.

“The case of COVID showed us one clear example,” he said.

“However, how did we execute the fallout of COVID, and how did we deliberately promote local manufacturing companies as a fallout out of the COVID? That example is there. How many companies can you count beyond that?”

Dr. Ayim-Darke argued that while local content legislation exists, its enforcement is weak and inconsistent. Citing the energy sector as a case in point, he recalled a concerted effort to promote local production of cables, conductors, and meter assembly plants in collaboration with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

“We even have a local content law… ECG was so cooperative in encouraging meter assembly plants to come to Ghana to take advantage of the local content. But beyond that, you need to go interrogate: how far has that been successful over the years?”

He called for a sober reflection on how the country has implemented structural reforms aimed at building internal capacity, arguing that the continued dominance of imports in Ghana’s economy reveals the failure of local content policies to deliver meaningful results.

“The structure of the economy is still highly dominant with imports,” he said bluntly.

“If COVID couldn’t give a stark reawakening to correct issues, and we could see such mistakes still reoccurring, what is the probability that we could take our destiny into our own hands?”

Dr. Ayim-Darke’s remarks come in the wake of the Biden administration’s decision to impose a 10% tariff on Ghanaian exports, including cocoa products—an action he described as another “external factor” with major implications for Ghana’s economy.

“This is one clear case of an external factor. How do you manage it? How do you mitigate it?” he asked.

Despite some optimism within government circles about recalibrating the economy to take advantage of the current challenge, the AGI President warned against complacency.

“That said, assurance is not sufficient, because there are other obstacles in these structural reforms to build internal capacity.”

Ending his remarks with a note of frustration, Dr. Ayim-Darke dismissed the official narratives surrounding economic liberation and transformation. “Even with this Liberation Day declaration, it’s full of talk. What we need is deliberate execution, not just declarations.”