Stop stifling printing industry – Ghana printers
The Ghana Printers Association has said the situation where most of the printing jobs of the government are done outside the country is stifling the growth and development of the local printing industry.
It said currently, most local printing industries were under-performing because most of the printing jobs, especially from the government, were done outside the country and called on the government to reverse the trend.
A delegation from the association, led by its President, Mr James Appiah Bekoe, made the call when it called on Mr Ibrahim Awal, the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), in Accra yesterday.
Other members of the delegation were Mr William Turkson, the Executive Secretary, and Nana Yaw Sarkodie, a member of the association.
Making the call, Mr Bekoe said the association was developing a policy to guide the government on the procurement of printing materials to boost the local printing industry.
When adopted, he said, the policy would also help the government to regulate activities in the printing industry.
The visit was to afford the association the opportunity to inform the GCGL MD about its upcoming 30th anniversary and also solicit his support in repositioning the industry in the country’s development process.
According to Mr Bekoe, last year $70 million worth of jobs were printed outside the country, saying if those jobs had been done locally, about 40 per cent of the said amount would have gone to publishers to help boost production and also create employment for the youth.
He said most countries were protecting their national interest and so Ghana should also work at protecting its nationals against the influx of foreign goods.
He said members of the association had the capacity to print all the textbooks the government required for schools, saying that they would be able to deliver on schedule as well.
Mr Bekoe said the association was revamping itself to help meet present challenges, adding that it had initiated moves to self-regulate the activities of its members.
Mr Awal commended the association for being able to overcome the numerous challenges that it had faced over the years.
He pledged the GCGL’s readiness to support the association and called for networking among members so that they could all reap the benefits that would come with it.
In a related development, the Managing Director and some officials of the Sahel Sahara Bank also paid a courtesy call on Mr Awal.
The officials included the Head of Credit, Mr Eben Awotwi-Pratt; Mr Reeves Abrokwa, the Head of Treasury; Mr Ben Danquah, the Head of Legal, and Mr Joseph Boateng and Ms Abigail Obuabah, both of Public Relations.
The aim of the visit was to find ways in which the two companies could collaborate and help each other to grow their businesses.
The MD of the bank, Mr Robert Kow Bentil, said the bank, which had been in Ghana for the past three years, had 10 branches, with seven in Accra and one each in Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi.
He said the bank was pursuing an aggressive expansion programme which would ensure that by 2012 it would have 16 branches across the country.
He said as a business entity, the bank, which is located within the Adabraka catchment area where the GCGL is also located, believed in collaboration which, when vigorously pursued, would be mutually beneficial to all.
Mr Awal assured them that the GCGL was ready to partner the bank and invited its management to join in the GCGL and Accra Brewery joint medical outreach programme in the vicinity.
He said it was through such collaboration that they would be able to enjoy the confidence of the people living in the area and outside who would eventually do business with them.
The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh, in a contribution, said the aim of the media was not to criticise but help grow businesses and, therefore, the bank was always welcome.
The GM, Finance, of the GCGL Mr Kwabena Baah Adade, also called on the bank to draw programmes and credit schemes that would be beneficial to the members of staff of the GCGL and support the company to meet some of its financial obligations.
Source: Daily Graphic