Help revamp Ghana Publishing Company - Information Minister charges new board

The Minister of Information, Mr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has charged the reconstituted governing board of the Ghana Publishing Company Limited to facilitate a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, to help revamp the company.

He explained that the government currently did not have the financial capacity to solely turn around the woes of the company and, therefore, it has resolved to use public-private partnership for that purpose.

Inaugurating the board in Accra yesterday, Mr Abdul-Hamid said some local and international investors had expressed interest in partnering the government to revamp the entity but by law, government was waiting for the reconstitution of the board to facilitate the process.

Mr Abdul-Hamid said although by Law, all 20 per cent of public printing works were supposed to be given to the company, the law is not being strictly enforced because the company did not have the capacity to deliver.

The minister was of the opinion that such an arrangement would put the Ghana Publishing Company Limited back on its toes, to make it competitive in the publishing industry, as well as deliver its national mandate effectively.

“I am sure that through PPP we will be able to revamp the company adequately so that the law on the 20 per cent will also be strictly implemented to ensure that the investor reaps his or her investment,” he said.

Mr Abdul-Hamid also asked the board to work hard to better the remuneration of the staff and management who had over the years worked under very difficult conditions of service.
The minister pointed out that because the company had been weaned off government subvention and was not being productive due to logistic challenges, the board had an immediate task to think outside the box to increase internally-generated funds.

He also charged it to, as a matter of urgency, to work hard to increase the visibility of the company, as part of the process to making it competitive on the market.

Board members

The board is chaired by Dr Daniel Owusu Ansah and has as its other members, Mrs Cynthia Adu, Mr Adams Iddrisu and Mr James K. Amuah.

The rest are Ms Gloria Ofori-Boadu, Ms Olivia Okailey Quartey, Mr Ahmed Baba Yahaya, Ms Abyna-Ansaa Adjei, Nana Attobrah Quaicoe and the Managing Director of the company, Mr David Asante.

Board’s response

In his remarks, Dr Ansah expressed gratitude to the sector Minister and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for the confidence reposed in the members of the board..

He pledged the readiness of his team to collaborate with stakeholders to revamp the company and boost its operations.

Challenges

The Ghana Publishing Company is highly distressed and struggles to pay the salaries of its staff.

The company also lacks both technical expertise and state-of-the-art equipment required to make it competitive in the printing and publishing industry to attract jobs in order to be sustainable.

The company which prior to 2008, enjoyed exclusivity in the printing of some sensitive government documents including ballot papers has lost that right.

Currently, it delivers on just a fraction of its mandate, including the gazetting of public documents and legislative instruments passed by Parliament.

It also holds public documents in custody for the state.

Writer’doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh