President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has applauded the new management of Cocoa Processing Company Ltd (CPC) for turning the company around from a debt-stricken company in 2017 into a viable enterprise.
President Akufo-Addo said the story of CPC should be widely told as a source of inspiration to the many in the private sector whose difficulty is to strategically position themselves to take advantage of the friendly investor policies of the government.
The government assisted the company with a stimulus package of US$3 million (GHc16 million) and a loan of GHC26 million from Prudential Bank to purchase and install additional machines.
As a result of the injection of funds and the timely implementation of strategic policies in 2017/18 and 2018/19, the company processed 25,039 metric tonnes and 28, 486 metric tonnes of beans respectively.
President Akufo-Addo gave the commendation on Wednesday, August 26, 20020, when he visited the processing facility of the CPC at Tema light Industrial Area to ascertain the workings and challenges of the company post-Covid.
The President said for Ghana to industrialised, it needed to add value to its natural resources “instead of just digging out the raw materials and marketing them on the global market.
“I’m encouraged by the reports that I’ve been receiving consistently of the big efforts and the courageous efforts you’re making to confront the past and to build a successful future,” President Akufo-Addo to the management of CPC.
The President said the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted negatively in all sectors of the economy and assured that the government would innovate to open up the country again, “but in the meantime, a lot has happened and we must draw a balance sheet of what has happened so that we can position ourselves to look at what we need to do.”
He also met with the leadership of the Ghana Stock Exchange and interacted with the Brokers and the Dealers who are instruments for mobilising savings to be able to direct the development of the economy.
President Akufo-Addo assured that the government would improve and strengthen the Ghana Stock Exchange in mobilising long term funds for Ghanaian entrepreneurs.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
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