Nkwanta South Remains Open For Investment
The District Chief Executive of the Nkwanta South municipality of the Volta Region, John Thasun, has stressed that the area welcomes potential investors to come and transform the local economy and improve the living conditions of the people.
According to him, the municipality, which has a projected population of about 200,000, has enough land for any projects that the government or any private person wants to invest in.
He said after sensitising the chiefs and people of the area about government's 'one district, one factory (IDIF)' programme, they (chiefs) and other land owners had pledged about 20,000 hectors of land for any investment venture. “The number is likely to go up as more and more people are knocking on our doors to offer land,” the MCE stated.
Mr. Thasun disclosed that the assembly was putting a team together to assess the lands and document them in readiness of any investments.
The MCE made this known when the Volta Chapter of the Ghana Journalists' Association (GJA) led a team of key industry players to interact with and sensitize small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and the assembly on ways of promoting local businesses and boosting investment.
The initiative, which was backed by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Volta and Eastern, was undertaken to mark the 2018 World Press Freedom Day in the region under the theme, “Reviving Local Industries.”
More so, the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI), National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and Gratis Foundation-Volta (Producer of light industrial processing equipment), also partnered the GJA for the project, which received sponsorship from the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) and the Nkwanta Assembly.
Beneficiaries of the forum included bee-keepers, gari processors, yam and cassava producers, dressmakers and tailors, carpenters and masons, welders and fabricators, traders and garage operators, among others.
Industrial Park
Apart from the 20,000 hectors of land, the Nkwanta assembly also revealed its readiness to host one out of the ten Industrial Park projects being spearheaded by MOTI. The project, which was launched in Sunyani, Brong-Ahafo Region, recently, is designed to prepare 5,000 acres of land in each of the ten regions of Ghana to stimulate the growth of SMEs.
Under the programme, government will ensure that the Industrial Parks are supplied with water, electricity, good access roads and other logistics to facilitate business. The idea is to have a one-stop shop of local business to create jobs and foster development.
Presentations
Vice President of the AGI-Volta/Eastern, Lucy Tenkorang, who is also the HR Manageress of Agya Appiah Bitters Limited, stressed the need for businesses in the area to form cooperatives to attract bigger support and funding.
She explained that the AGI is ready to help organise them into such groups and register them under their umbrella to channel training, business development opportunities and other benefits to them. Mrs Tenkorang also stressed company registration, standardisation, packaging and branding as significant tools for breaking into new and bigger markets, including foreign ones.
Presentations form MoTI and GRATIS focused on opportunities for businesses and collaborations to acquire simple machines to make businesses more efficient and productive.
From Fred Duodu, Nkwanta ( k.duodu@yahoo.com )