Govt invites Czech investors into manufacturing sector

A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, says the government wants Czech businesses to increase their investments in Ghana.

He said this when he paid a courtesy call on the Junior Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr Ivan Jancarek, in Prague last Tuesday, to discuss issues on how to deepen the economic and social ties that was existing between the two countries.

Mr Ahenkorah who led a Ghana Free Zones Board (GFBZ) investment promotion mission to the Czech Republic was accompanied by a Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Perry Okudzeto, the Ghana Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mrs Virginia Hesse, the Executive Secretary of the GFZB, Mr Michael Baafi, and officials of Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Ahenkorah said although the trade relations in the country was good, it could be better if a lot more was done to promote it.

"We have opened our doors to any investor who wants to invest in Ghana.

Companies like the sugar factory, Abosso Glass factory, the matches factory which came from here are all there, and government is ready to give them to interested Czech investors," he said.

The deputy minister said Ghana was positioned to serve as the investment hub for Czech businesses to penetrate the West African market which boasts of over 400 million population by  taking advantage of the Economic Trade Liberalisation scheme.

"Today, if there is any country that you want to invest in, l would recommend Ghana to you because of the stable political environment, good management of the economy, and a business friendly government coupled with the fact that the economy is also picking up."

Mr Ahenkorah also suggested to the Czech government to consider engaging Ghanaian nurses who had just completed their education to undertake two-year internship programmes at Czech hospitals as a way of  improving on their capacity.

"Every year about 5,000 nurses graduate from the nursing schools and l believe that 200 of them can be taken on by the Czech government to acquire further training in the hospitals to gain practical experience."

The Junior Deputy  Minister of Foreign Affairs commended Ghana on the strides it had made in ensuring good governance, and stable political environment which had become a good example to the rest of Africa.

He said the potential to deepen the existing trade relations between the two countries were great. He said currently there was a growing interest to move Czech businesses beyond the European Union and that presented a good opportunity to do more business with Ghana.

Mr Baafi told the Daily Graphic that the rationale for organising the trip was to give meaning to the GFZB's focus of attracting foreign direct investments and also provide a platform for the participating Ghanaian companies to seek strategic partnerships and also strategic investors with their Czech counterparts.

He also expressed the board's determination to expose local investors to opportunities available under the free zones programme and ultimately encourage them to take advantage of them.

The trade mission include Mrs Kate Abbeo, officials of GFZB, the Chief Executive of Tema Oil Refinery, Mr Isaac Osei, the Deputy CEO of Microfinance And Small Loans Centre, Afia Akonor, and some Ghanaian business executives representing the Ghanaian 17 companies.

Some of the companies participating in the mission are Tema Oil Refinery, Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited, Fraga Oil Ghana Limited, Microfinance and Small Loan Centre, Wildam Engineering Services Limited, Dihoc Footwear Division Limited, and Phoenix Insurance Limited.

Others are West African Foods Limited, DMT Collateral Management Company Limited and Prefos Limited, and Sarpok Company Limited.