The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Unilever Ghana Limited, Edward Effah, has assured the Nana Akufo-Addo government of the support of his organisation towards achieving its set objectives.
Mr Effah, together with a nine-person delegation which paid a courtesy call on the president, indicated that Unilever believed the promise of the Akufo-Addo government to create an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish as well as increase competitiveness for businesses is the surest way towards creating wealth and prosperity for the people of Ghana.
He further noted that government’s “Planting for Jobs and Food” initiative was a laudable one, and to this end indicated that Unilever was ready to partner with government to establish a world class oil palm industry in Ghana.
Also present at the meeting was Yaw Nsarkoh, Executive Vice President of Unilever Ghana-Nigeria, who praised Mr Akufo-Addo for his clarity of vision regarding private sector development, as evidenced in the 2016 manifesto of the New Patriotic Party and the 2017 State of the Nation address, delivered on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.
He also added that Unilever was intent on building an industrial powerhouse in Ghana in the coming years.
On his part, Mr Akufo-Addo was grateful for the words of support from the leadership of Unilever and their desire to co-operate with his government to help return Ghana onto the path of progress and prosperity.
Nana Akufo-Addo was confident that with the support and co-operation of industry players and the effective implementation of government’s policies and programmes, Ghana’s economy would, once again, be a major force to reckon with on the continent.
Describing the country as a “wealthy nation”, Mr Akufo-Addo added that the “proper management of the economy will see the wealth of the nation being manifested in the lives of the citizenry”.
With his government’s economic focus hinged on “getting the productive sectors of the economy working again”, the president urged Unilever to consider relocating their production units back to Ghana.
Unilever moved its production units to Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria as a result of the unfavourable economic conditions prevailing in the country.
Mr Akufo-Addo assured: “We will do our best to create an enabling environment so that we can facilitate the inflow of investments into our country. Ghana should be at the centre of producing things again in the region and on the continent.”
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, who was also present at the meeting, noted that it was reassuring that “Unilever is inspired by the President’s vision”, stressing that government will offer the necessary incentives to the private sector with the aim of industrialising the country.
Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, Yoofi Grant, assured that one of his major objectives would be the removal of bottlenecks to operations and a reduction of the huge administrative costs bedevilling the establishment of businesses, so as to make businesses operating in Ghana more competitive.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
