Unilever Goes Water

THE CORPORATE Relations Manager of Unilever Ghana, Mrs. Vicky Wireko-Andoh has hinted that the focus of the company has now shifted from education to health and hygiene, with provision of potable water being its primary social responsibility programme.

Mrs. Wireko-Andoh made this disclosure when 30 MBA students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management visited the company at Tema in the Greater Accra Region.

The MIT students were in the country as part of their Africa tour and had decided to visit Unilever to study the company's management policy.

They also chose Unilever because the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Charles Cofie is an alumnus of the university.

Mrs. Wireko-Andoh said her company's focus had been on the development of education since 1999, stressing that the management of Unilever Ghana had now decided to shift to the provision of water in the three Northern regions.

The Corporate Relations Manager disclosed that so far the company had undertaken construction of boreholes in the three regions.

On health issues, she disclosed that their attention would be on the fight against HIV/AIDS.

She however indicated that they were not doing away with education, but would be looking for means to sustain it.

On his part, the Food Production Manager of Unilever Ghana, Nana Damoah told the visiting MBA students that the company was currently exporting 80 percent of its Blue Band margarine brand to Nigeria with only 20 percent being consumed locally in Ghana.

The Foods Production Manager said that the company had reduced the fat content in the margarine.

According to him, as part of the company's policy to increase production for every household, it had added the production of sachet margarine.

Nana Damoah told the students that the company's main source of raw material was palm oil, adding that most of their supplies mainly came from the rural areas, with little coming from outside Ghana.

The students were conducted round some consumable manufacturing areas.From Simmons Yussif Kewura, Tema