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Government has taken steps to
re-energize PSIs - Kufuor
Accra, Feb. 8, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor said on
Thursday that the Government, as part of its job creation
drive, was taking the necessary steps to re-energize the
President's Special Initiatives (PSIs) to make them more
functionally efficient and competitive.
Additionally, it has launched a programme for reactivating
distressed state-owned enterprises, including the Pwalugu
Tomato Factory and the Juapong Textiles Company.
He noted that the PSIs' potential for generating employment
and foreign exchange as well as transforming the rural
landscape were not in doubt.
President Kufuor in his State of the Nation Address to
Parliament acknowledged that all had not been well for the
PSIs, an initiative to promote the policy of making Ghana a
leading agro-industrial nation.
He, however, noted that the teething problems encountered
had provided some invaluable lessons for their future.
President Kufuor said in this regard, the Government had
instructed the review of the processes at the Ayensu Starch
Factory at Bawjiase in the Central Region, which fell on
poor supplies of raw material and uncommitted personnel.
The expectation, he said, was that by April this year, the
factory would be back on the production line.
Similarly, the PSI for Oil Palm was also undergoing a
thorough review to address the problem of poor working
capital so as to hit the 500,000 acres of nurseries target.
Touching on Garments and Textiles, President Kufuor
announced that 10 new factory units were being set up in
Kumasi, Koforidua and Tema.
Already, nine factories have been established under the
initiative with the capacity to employ about 4,000 people.
The primary export destination for the garment products is
the United States of America through the African Growth
Opportunities Act (AGOA).
President Kufuor stated that in the case of the PSI for
salt, some of the producers were making major strides with
their ventures.
Those lagging behind would be provided with credit
facilities to expand their production units, whilst others
would be assisted to improve their technology and production
operations.
President Kufuor announced that over 1,300 farmers had been
supported to cultivate tomato to feed the rehabilitated
Pwalugu Tomato Factory to resume production during the
course of this year.
Juapong Textiles Limited was also set to commence full scale
operation by April and would initially employ about 800
people, he said.
GNA
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