Govt to roll-out ‘one - village, one-dam’ initiative next month
The government will roll out its ‘one- village, one-dam’ initiative to boost agriculture through the construction of irrigation dams in every village in the three northern regions, in September this year.
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The Minister of Business Development, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, made the announcement at the Ghana Quality Business Awards in Accra last Saturday.
“Come early next month, we are going to start rolling out the ‘one-village, one-dam, which is meant to ensure that opportunities in the agricultural sector are explored. Ghana has vast lands which can be explored for farming and I want to urge young people that farming is not a bad idea,’’ he said.
Award winners
The event, organised by Entrepreneur Foundation of Ghana, saw 13 companies and five products receive awards for promoting quality.
They include the Graphic Communications Group Limited, print media industry; Medi Moses Prostrate Centre, herbal medicine; Security Warehouse Limited, security systems; L’aine Services Limited, human resource development; SIC Life Company Limited, insurance industry; Ghana Oil Company, oil and gas; Royal Crown Packaging Limited, packaging, and Consolidated Shipping Agencies Limited, freight forwarding and logistics.
The rest were Berock Ventures Limited, building construction; Rehoboth Ventures Limited, real estate; Nyonkopa Cocoa Buying Limited, agri-business; Melcom Group of Companies, retail and M&G Pharmaceuticals Limited, pharmaceuticals.
Products awarded at the event were: Lucky V-care Mixture, produced by Lucky Herbal Centre; Dual Hybrid Wood & Metal School Desk, produced by Central Furniture Works; Old Soldier Mosquito Coil, produced by Beatex Enterprise Limited; Alomo Herbal Bitters, produced by Kasapreko Company Limited, and Awake Purified Drinking Water also produced by Kasapreko Company Limited.
Thirteen personalities also received awards at the ceremony. They include: Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, President & Chairman of Groupe Nduom; Dr Kwabena Duffuor, a former Minister for Finance; Dr Kwabena Adjei, Chairman of Kasapreko Company Limited; Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim, Chairman of GT Bank; Dr Nii Kotei Dzani, a member of the Council of State; Dr Felix Kweku Anyah, Executive Chairman of Holy Trinity Medical Centre, and Dr Eric Seddy Kutortse; Chairman of First Sky Group of Companies.
The rest were Nana Dr Micheal Agyekum-Addo, CEO of Mikaddo Holdings Limited; Dr Sampson Effah Apraku, Executive Chairman of Samara Group of Companies; Professor Edmund Delle, Founder of Rabito Clinic Limited; Reverend Professor Emmanuel Kingsley, Founder of Regent University College of Science & Technology; Mr Dan Kofi Okudzeto, Executive Chairman of Allied Oil and Dr Francis Adam Asaanah, CEO of Quality Group of Companies.
Quality is key
Mr Awal challenged business leaders to put premium on quality, which is the bedrock of every successful business.
“When a customer is satisfied with your product, he does not only come back to buy, but he will become an ambassador of the product and tell people that the product is of high quality,’’ he said.
He appealed to the private sector to support the government’s drive in improving the business environment in the country to create more jobs.
“The goal of the government is to establish Ghana as the most business friendly and people friendly economy in Africa, which will be led by the private sector for job creation and improved livelihood of all Ghanaians,’’ he said.
For his part, the Founder of Entrepreneur Foundation of Ghana, Mr Sam Ato Gaisie, said the need for quality in businesses should not be underestimated, especially as the country planned on becoming an industrialised nation.
“It is time for us to look at quality to ensure that consumers purchase things produced in the country instead of imported products,’’ he said.
Made in Ghana
The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Sun Boahong, lauded the government’s efforts at making the country an industrialised nation through the ‘one-district, one-factory’ initiative.
“I firmly believe that made-in-Ghana products will make a better Ghana. Therefore, China-Ghana cooperation needs to be oriented to this new dynamic and be elevated from aid to trade and investment,” she said.