Ghanaian businesses must venture into foreign-dominated areas - Alan

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, has said that the investment undertaken by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Engineers and Planners, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, should pave the way for more Ghanaians to venture into investments in industries that otherwise have been dominated by foreign entrepreneurs for so long.

Speaking during a familiarisation visit to the newly constructed Dzata Cement in Tema yesterday, Mr Kyeremanten said the magnificent project showed that indigenous entrepreneurs could significantly improve the country’s business sustainability.

The project

The eco-friendly $100 million factory sitting on a 13-acre land near the Tema Port under phase one of the project will produce some 1.2 million tonnes of cement annually when commercial operations take off in the ensuing weeks.

An expansion drive is underway for phases two and three, which officials say when completed, will increase the production capacity to three million tonnes annually.

Already, the factory has a warehouse that could hold some 18,000 tonnes of cement, as well as a temporary dome warehouse to hold some 1,500 tonnes of cement.

Similarly, the bagging and packaging plants are ready ahead of the commencement of commercial production in June 2021.

Managers of the factory, as part of emission control measures, also indicated that they had installed modern pollution control systems which would prevent cement dust from escaping from the plants into the environment.

Job creation

Mr Kyerematen maintained that on a yearly basis, nearly 300,000 young graduates left the universities in addition to a high number of others who also graduated from second cycle institutions.

“Looking at these figures, nobody should tell you that our number one development challenge is to identify job opportunities for our teeming youth and that’s why I am happy that this investment will contribute to providing high skilled jobs for young people,” the minister stated.

He also commended the management of the company for what he described as the engagement of less foreign management for the factory owing to the nearly 80 per cent of the company’s top management being Ghanaians.

“For a Ghanaian to have had the courage to undertake this level of investment, which is very significant in the area of $100 million, is something worth commending,” Mr Kyerematen stated.

Support

The minister underscored the importance of supporting indigenous Ghanaian companies in propelling the country’s economic growth.

According to him, while foreign direct investment remained important to leverage growth, there was no evidence of any country in the world that had achieved quality growth without supporting its own indigenous entrepreneurs.

Technological advancement

The Managing Director (MD) of the company, Nana Phillip Archer, in his remarks indicated that the pollution systems installed had extractors which would re-process the dust from the factory into cement in line with the company’s own environmental protection processes.

Similarly, he said, investments had been made to reduce noise pollution.

“Our goal is to become the number one local cement producer, hence environmental and human safety is key to us,” Mr Archer said.