The Managing Director of Healthilife Beverages Company Ltd, Mr Nuamah Fameye, has expressed his gratitude to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for the support given to the company, which has saved it off from collapse.
Speaking at the premises of the company on Tuesday, when President Akufo-Addo paid a visit to the company, as part of his 3-day tour of the Greater Accra Region, Mr Nuamah expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Trade, “for selecting our company to be part of the President’s vision to support indigenous Ghanaian businesses”.
The stimulus package, the Healthilife MD explained, “seeks to reduce the burden of high interest commercial loans for indigenous businesses. We are very grateful for your approval and wish to thank you for letting us join this eminent group and to let our business prosper.”
It will be recalled that upon assumption of office in 2017, President Akufo-Addo set up a stimulus package to support existing Ghanaian industries, improve their competitiveness, and also for the revival of distressed companies.
As a result of being beneficiaries of this package, Mr. Nuamah stated that the company continues with its operations, and now employs some 300 people.
The establishment of another manufacturing line, he said, will provide employment for an additional 1,000 young Ghanaians, with some 5m000 peasant farmers from across the country being engaged in trade, from retail to distribution.
“As you can see, your laudable initiatives especially 1-District-1-Factory (1D1F) and Planting for Food and Jobs are a perfect fit for our ongoing projects. We are already off-takers for locally produced oranges, pineapple and mango, and we are going to add coconut water and water melon. We believe a sure way to making 1D1F a sustainable reality across the country is to partner local businesses like us,” he told the President.
GH¢237 million disbursed
Addressing the gathering, the President noted that real growth in the industrial and manufacturing sector, in particular, had declined significantly over the eight years preceding the coming into office of the NPP Administration, contributing to high levels of unemployment.
A variety of factors including high cost of capital, limited access to medium and long-term financing, high cost of electricity and unreliable power supply, limited access to land for industrial activity; and weak logistics and infrastructure support for industrial development, contributed to this situation.
That is why, upon assumption of office in 2017, Government established the National Industrial Revitalization Programme with a Stimulus Package for industries.
Thus far, President Akufo-Addo revealed that 85 companies across the country had received GH¢237 million in the form of medium-term credit.
The President commended the lead Entrepreneur for investing heavily in the enterprise development of Ghana, and further indicated his gratitude to the Ghana EXIM Bank, UMB Bank, Prudential Bank, Cal Bank and Ecobank Ghana for supporting the Stimulus Package Programme initiated by Government.
On his part, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen noted that the stimulus package demonstrated the commitment of government to supporting private sector development in Ghana.
“A major part of what will bring Ghana into the league of countries is not just the 1D1F programme, but the stimulus package for local industries. So, the exercise here this morning is to show one of the beneficiaries of the stimulus package for local industries,” he added.
Mr. Alan Kyerematen reiterated the commitment of government to supporting indigenous companies, stressing that “whilst it is important to attract foreign investors, it is equally important that we start from our own domestic economy by supporting our local entrepreneurs, and there could be no better demonstration of this than what we are witnessing today.”
