Managing Partner at Konfidants, Michael Kottoh has challenged the government to rapidly take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to fasten efforts at making Ghana a self-reliant country.
He argues that the difficulties brought on by the outbreak are clearly indicative that countries world over ought to diversify their manufacturing economy towards increasing local and production of goods and services.
Speaking on the first day of the Citi Business Festival on Monday, Mr. Kottoh said the ‘new normal’ also raises concerns for the countries which depend heavily on their foreign counterparts to re-strategize given what he says is the disruption in the global supply chain of international trade insisting that “as a matter of national security, resilience or self-reliance, there is an argument for localizing as much as of your supply change as possible, especially around certain categories of sensitive goods. It is about localizing and regionalizing being as much closer to you. China shouldn’t even the [factory of the world].”
Michael Kottoh who shared insights on the topic “The Temporary Window, Speed and the Old Normal – Opportunities and Transformation in the age of COVID-19”, underscored the need for to amidst the coronavirus era to boost the capacity of business to boost local production.
“This new thinking that we need to regionalize and localize as much of our supply chain as possible may also disappear. So right now, it has become more acceptable to focus on local content and nationalization and localization of certain critical supply and manufacturing and production. We can do it now, I am not sure if the state of the mind of the world will be the same three or fours after all this is over. So it’s like striking while the iron is hot. Global supply chains are a bit destructed that creates local demand for local production”, he said.
While acknowledging steps already taken by the government in this regard, Micahel Kotto stated that more needs to be done to eliminate Ghana’s over-dependence on other countries.
“But in Ghana, are we having this kind of conversation? I have heard the President and government move in that direction for industries to see this crisis as an opportunity. So I think, the President is moving in that direction. But I am not sure that if in terms of speed, and the sense of urgency and the sense that this opportunity is a temporary one that we need to capitalize and move quickly to take advantage of before the window closes. I don’t hear that conversation. But that is the kind of conversation I think we need to be having more. it is extremely important.”