Several developed countries across the globe have grown their economies with varying strategies. China, for instance, grew its economy through industrial production and is now one of the largest and most powerful economies in the world.
With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $17.7 trillion as of 2021, China has the second largest economy behind the United States GDP of $22.9 trillion.
The history of the country, from a rather poor state, devasted by World War II and its own civil war, by the mid-20th Century grew to becoming a force to be reckoned with, has been largely attributed to its resolve to industrialise.
Like other countries, China’s first step was to build up its heavy industry, focusing on manufacturing and producing almost half of the world’s steel.
Evidence abounds, apart from the case of China that we have cited above, that it would be extremely difficult for any country to develop without industrialisation.
With that knowledge, it is rather pathetic that Ghana unfortunately has a bad history on the subject matter, given that the first President, Osagyefuo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, envisioned that.
If for nothing at all, successive leaders could forcefully champion the industrialisation agenda for the nation.
However, it is better late than never, as the saying goes, so we commend the Akufo-Addo government for bringing up the agenda of industrialisation in his government, by implementing the One District, One Factory initiative. As we speak, reports indicate that there are over 200 factories spread across the country.
This policy was under the auspices of the resigned Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, who is now the leader of the Movement for Change and is campaigning to run for president in 2024, as an independent candidate.
His public engagements have landed him in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, where, during an interview with Nhyira FM, he is quoted by a radio station as indicating that “throughout history, it is industrialisation that has developed nations, not digitalisation.”
The vision of Alan Kyerematen, as is known by now, firmly stands on industrialisation, whose foundation he built with the One District, One Factory program when he was the minister for Trade and Industry.
The concluding part of the comment, attributed to him from the Nhyira FM interview, necessitated this piece, as we oppose it. He may have been right decades ago, but in the fourth industrial revolution, we think that industrialisation moves in tandem with digitalisation.
We are of the firm belief that digitalisation can provide new opportunities for industrialisation if the country can leverage data on market demand for design and production decisions.
The government he was part of championed digitalisation. Now, it is easy to deliver packages to the doorstep of others due to the GPS address system and drones are delivering emergency medical items with the proper addressing system. Thanks to digitalisation, telecommunication companies trade among themselves through interoperability. Public institutions have moved to transact business online, reducing human contacts.
The Ghana Card is a good tool for data on the demographics of the country, which will help every investor decide which part of the country to invest in and in what.
We agree, like everyone else, that industrialisation is the best form of developing our country, but it cannot be right that in this technological era, digitalisation may not be very important.
We will suggest that successive governments continue from where this government will leave the industrialisation and digitalization agenda, instead of focusing on one, at the expense of the other.
