Veep confers with Indian business captains
The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, last Tuesday conferred with Indian entrepreneurs, either doing business or prospecting to explore investment opportunities in various sectors of Ghana, with the aim of wooing them into Ghana.
Advertisement
Taking turns to meet the Vice-President, who is in New Delhi where he attended the just-ended 11th EXIM Bank conclave on India-Africa partnership project, the business moguls mostly expressed their willingness to partner the government to deliver on some development projects, including infrastructure.
Shapoorji Company
First to meet Mr Amissah-Arthur was a team from Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited, led by its advisor on special projects, Mr Subramania Kuppuswamy, whose company arranged a loan of $400 million for Ghana from the EXIM Bank of India for the rehabilitation of the Tema-Akosombo railway line.
The two parties discussed ways in which the project could proceed.
Mr Kuppuswamy told the Vice-President that the company was also in the business of providing energy and had presence in South Africa, The Philippines, Egypt and India.
Responding, Mr Amissah-Arthur mentioned the establishment of the Ghana Infrastructure Fund and assured the delegation of the government’s readiness to engage the company to partner the fund to provide the necessary infrastructure for the people.
He, however, expressed concern over the use of government guarantee for infrastructure projects, explaining that it put financial strain on Ghana’s public purse.
“The government is finding innovative ways of financing projects without putting further financial strain on the government,” he said
In a discussion with the Vice-President, the Senior Vice-President of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, Mr Sanjay Ghag, said his outfit was prepared to help the Ghana government finance the feasibility of projects, adding that the company was also in the business of partnering governments to build infrastructure through a private-public partnership initiative.
The company is one of India's leading infrastructure development and finance companies with the capability of taking infrastructure projects from concept to inauguration.
Mr Amissah-Arthur, in his response, expressed the government’s willingness to restore the railway system in Ghana and urged the company to use its rich expertise to fashion out how it could come on board to help realise that objective.
Mahindra Company
The General Manager and Zonal Head in charge of West Africa of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, a tractor/vehicle manufacturing company, Mr Prasad Sane, at his meeting with Mr Amissah-Arthur, said a brand of the company’s vehicles, Swani, was currently being used by the Ghana Police Service.
He stated that the company was in partnership with some automobile companies in Ghana. According to Mr Sane, the company had presence in more than 25 African countries.
For his part, Mr Amissah-Arthur stressed the need for foreign companies to consider involving local content in the countries in which they operated, saying, “We cannot always be at the receiving end.”
He asked the management of Mahindra to consider involving Ghanaians in the manufacturing process to help in job creation.
Ghana’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, Mr Sam P. Yalley, was part of the meeting.