“It is our mandate as an institution to support you to achieve more exports as Ghana takes the needed steps to address its structural economic setup. Accelerating our export drive is imperative to becoming the Ghana we want. ” -Amb. Mike Oquaye Jr.
With these words, the CEO of the GFZA kicked off a week-long engagement with licensed free zone companies in the Ashanti and Western Regions of Ghana.
With two enclaves in the western region and one in the Ashanti region, Ghana’s lead agency for regulating the free zones scheme and Ghana’s Special Economic Zones remains ready to do more.
Amb. Mike Oquaye Jnr. and his team kicked off the customer-facing engagement in the Ashanti Region.
His first stop was at Angel FM, where he answered questions from listeners and the presenter centered on the mandate of the institution and the plans Ghana has to accelerate the development of the Great Kumasi Industrial City Project.
The CEO stressed the need for Ashanti-based industrialists with export orientation to take advantage of available incentives
As part of the regional tour, the team visited Juaben Oil Mills Limited, an agro-processing company at the heart of adding value to oil palm, among others.
After touring the factory and engaging with its leadership, the GFZA team then paid a courtesy call to the Omanhene of the Juaben traditional area, Nana Otuo Siriboe II.
Amb. Mike Oquaye thanked Nana for his continuous support for industrialization and for guiding and shaping the growth of Juaben Oil Mills from inception to date.
Nana Otuo Siriboe II commended Amb. Mike Oquaye for his stellar performance at the GFZA and urged him to do more to achieve the mandate given to him by the President on behalf of the Good People of Ghana.
The GFZA then visited OLAM Ghana Limited, one of Ghana’s largest licensed agro-food processing firms. OLAM Ghana is an adept buyer and exporter of processed cocoa, cashew, and rice in Ghana.
Amb. Oquaye encouraged OLAM to do more for the sector as he committed to working closely with the company to clear bottlenecks that might impede their growth
The next company visited by the team was Logs & Lumber Ghana Limited, one of the leading timber logging and processing companies in Ghana and the West African sub-region. Amb. Mike Oquaye noted the company’s concerns and committed to working with other state actors to address them.
In the Western Region, Ambassador Oquaye and the team paid a working visit to the Regional Minister, Hon. Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, to discuss pertinent land-related issues before heading to the Lands Commission with the team.
Before meeting the Regional Minister, Amb. Mike Oquaye was interviewed extensively on Skyy FM during which he updated listeners on a wide range of issues about Free Zones and its activities in the Western Region.
The GFZA team then met with the CEO and management team of Wayoe Engineering & Construction Limited, one of the largest privately-owned Ghanaian engineering and construction companies in West Africa.
The group toured the new factory of the company to get a sense of the investment the company had made and its growth potential. Amb. Mike Oquaye committed to working closely with the company to find lasting solutions to some identified problems.
The team then visited Amalitech Limited, a social enterprise that harnesses the potential of remote work to build the future of work in sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking at the end of the one-week working visit, Amb Mike Oquaye expressed satisfaction with the achievements of many of the institutions in the two regions.
He also charged the regional heads of the GFZA to continue delivering value to all GFZA-licensed businesses.
Mr. Ziblim Alhassan, Director of Administration and Human Resources; Mr. Jesse Agyepong, Director of Corporate Affairs; and Mr. Lawrence Osei-Boateng, Director of Business Development and Research, accompanied Ambassador Mike Oquaye on the working visit. He was also accompanied by Mr. Ricky Osei Owusu, Regional Head of the Ashanti Region; Hajia Hanatu Abubakar, Regional Director for the Western Region; Mr. Fred Agyei-Gyane, Manager in Charge of Compliance; and Mr. Harry Ansah, Personal Assistant to the CEO.
