Guinness pledges to support ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme
Guinness Ghana Limited has pledged its support for the government’s flagship agriculture programme, “Planting for Food and Jobs.” The company believes that apart from creating jobs for many Ghanaians, the programme will also boost the use of local raw materials for manufacturing companies.
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The Managing Director of Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, Mr Francis Agbonlahor, made this known last Wednesday when he paid a courtesy call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to congratulate him and the people of Ghana on the successful 2016 elections and the 60th independence anniversary.
“The company made a key decision some five years ago to use local raw materials for the production of its beverages and within a four-year period, the company has increased its use of local raw materials from 12 per cent to the current 48 per cent,” he said.
On that score, he indicated that Guinness Ghana was excited about the government’s ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme, which he said could increase the use of local raw materials for the company’s production to 80 per cent by 2020.
Investments
Guinness Ghana has two branches in Achimota and Kumasi where investments of about $50 million have been made in expanding production in the last four years.
Mr Agbonlahor stated that the company had also invested heavily in training farmers in planting schemes and farming methods so as to increase their yields.
He said the brewery was exporting its products to West African countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Togo, while efforts were being made to reach other countries in the region.
On the company’s corporate social responsibility, Mr Agbonlahor told the President that Guinness Ghana had initiated schemes which had provided potable water to about 600,000 Ghanaians, and would soon inaugurate a project at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), which would provide water to 35,000 people.
The Guinness MD appealed to the government to take a second look at reintroducing the “4-tier system”, which would see companies that used local raw materials in their production activities benefitting from excise duty concessions.
President applauds Guinness
President Akufo-Addo commended Guinness Ghana for its contribution to Ghana’s development over the years.
The President told the Guinness MD that “we are here (in government) because for some time, our economy was not performing well. So, the Ghanaian people decided they needed a change in direction, and a change in the leadership of the nation in order to revive our economy and put Ghana to the road of progress and prosperity. That is why I am sitting here”.
To that end, President Akufo-Addo noted that the only way to put the economy back on track was to create a good business climate which would enable the private sector to thrive.
“If our country is to succeed, it will be a function of how strong, creative and innovative the Ghanaian private sector will be. That is why we are putting all our cards in that particular basket. We want, therefore, to do all we can to create a good business climate for investors like yourself, not just for you to feel secure but also for you to be able to do good business,” he said.
The President applauded the company’s decision to expand its operations into the ECOWAS market, stressing that: “I believe that the future of our country is intimately tied up to the regional market that ECOWAS represents. It is good to see Ghanaian companies taking advantage of the possibilities of the ECOWAS market. I am also happy about the use of local raw materials in your operations. This is extremely positive news.”
“We want to work together with businesses so as to develop our country. You are not going to have competition from us. Ours is to govern and provide the regulatory framework and policy framework that will allow you to do business. You have in us honest and loyal interlocutors who are trying to promote business,” he added.
