News:
Majority Leader with the delegation on tour
June 25, 2022
Majority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has visited the only Ghanaian owned and indigenous Cement producing factory in Ghana, Dzata Cement on Thursday, June 23, 2022 within the Tema enclave. According to him the invitation was at the request of the management of the factory and on his part he invited his colleague the Minority Leader Haruna Idrrisu, the Committee on Trade and Industry with leadership of the Works and House to join him.
After touring the factor site with his delegation, he commended management of the factory for their effort to ensure that the environment was clean since cement production comes with pollution and revealed that he has been briefed that, the factory has a system in place which inhale the dust back into their system. And in commending management of the factory he noted that with the clean environment, it would ensure the workers are healthier and ensure the work rate goes on well.
They were also briefed that the factory was still in its infant stage and employs four hundred direct works. “Again, with agents and distributors across the length and breadth of this country certainly, we are talking in numbers of excess of three to four thousand; so many people have to depend on this factory certainly lifting them out of poverty which is what Ghana requires at this time especially post COVID-19”.
And for anyone to move into an industry which has monopoly should tell every Ghanaian the person is courageous, more especially in this era of unfolding Ukraine war, “no wonder he has named the factory as Dzata, an animal of courage and I think what we have seen so far, we are impressed with it and he tells us the effort he is making to expand seeing this two giant sailors, says to us that he is building 8 more which should make it the largest in the sub region”.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu added that it takes a lot of financial capital, as the owner takes money from the banks and if interest rates are high it would not help him, and that is the reason why they should all help to bring some stability in the financial sector. Also production so much depends on power that is generated and sold to them and if the cost of power is high it would certainly affect the cost of cement. He disclosed that he just got informed that a bag goes for fifty five cedis (GHc55) which is close to about 7 dollars.
“ I want to believe if the cost of power was low, certainly the cost of the product would also come down. There are some obstacles that would come and we should all assist in addressing it. Cement is at the heart of the construction business including the construction of residential facilities. We all do know the deficit in the housing in the country is in the range of one point five million and we need cement to do the construction; if it is high those of us aspiring to build houses like all of us here you would not be in position to have your own residential facility if the cost is all that high”.
In commending the management of Dzata Cement, he pointed out that it’s for parliament to come together to assist him to address the teething problem the company is facing, by giving some exemption that they may need in the import of equipment. “We have One District One Factory (1D1F) it comes along with some facilities we can extend same to him, despite he being in operation, I know some existing companies have applied by way of trying to expand their outfit. “What, can be done to assist him to employ Ghanaians and to also offer a system of resilience for the economy it would help transform our economy”.
The Executive Director of Dzata Cement, Ibrahim Mahama, thanked the Majority Leader and his team for their visit and made know that despite the fact that they are young they want to partner government to bridge the infrastructure deficit in the country. “We are well positioned to partner government, so that at the end of the day we would develop this economy through the provision of cement product and we have challenges and some of them you already know”.
Mr. Ibrahim noted that the company would engage the leadership of Parliament, on the challenges they face as it runs through the value chain right from the ports through production up to when they go down stream to the market.
As the only Ghanaian indigenous set up in the industries they believe that the support they have had from government so far is most appreciated and they want to believe that a lot more would come having visited and seen what they have put up and they need additional support
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria