News:
June 2, 2017
The Deputy Minister for Transport who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tema East constituency, Hon Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover has assured Industries located in the Tema Industrial enclave of his determination to help fix the poor road-network in the area.
The Tema East legislator disclosed that he had already begun discussions with the Roads and Highways Minister on the deteriorating nature of the Industrial area roads and the urgent need to fix them.
According to him, the industrial area road stretching from T T Brothers Ltd all the way down to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) environ is under serious government consideration and would soon be awarded on contract to help ease to burden off businesses operating in the area.
Hon Titus Glover gave the assurance when he paid a working visit to the Tema Heavy Industrial area which coincidentally falls within his constituency to familiarize himself with the challenges facing companies within the catchment area.
The Deputy Transport Minister who is also Chairman of the Trade, Industry and Tourism select Committee of Parliament comforted the Captains of Industry of government’s commitment to provide a business friendly environment for their smooth operation.
He mentioned the recent tax cuts as a testimony of governments’ commitment towards creating a thriving atmosphere for the private sector to grow and create more employment opportunities.
Hon Titus-Glover promised to relay all the concerns of the Industry players to the appropriate authorities for redress.
Managing Director of Tropical Cables and Conductors, Dr Tony Oteng Gyasi noted that since very heavy machines and vehicles ply the industrial area roads, it is not economically viable for the companies located in the area to burden themselves to fix the road.
According to him firms that are located in the area pay very huge sums of money in the forms of taxes to government hence the need for government to help put the roads into good use to enable businesses to remain functional.
He also raised concerns about the unregulated manner in which kiosks are springing up on the industrial lands and the indiscriminate burning of car tyres and its attendant challenges. These he noted posed threat the industrial enclave saying; “there is the need to make the Tema Industrial area showcase to befit its status as a true Industrial enclave of Ghana’’.
On his part, Mr Isaac Tetteh, Managing Director of T T Brothers Limited also expressed bitter sentiments about the poor road condition in the Tema Industrial area over the last decade.
He noted that the dusty nature of the area as a result of the poor road-network brings additional cost into their operation because most of them spent additional budgets on product cleaning on daily basis.
He also noted that several attempts to get the road fix in the past proved futile and expressed frustration at the neglect.
“It is not fair for us to be treated this way, most of us, the companies here in the Industrial area are the highest tax paying companies in the country but our roads are very bad, He lamented.
Mr Tetteh however took solace in the assurance given by the MP for the area to help get the road constructed. Another concern raised by the Industrialists include the challenge of power fluctuation which is negatively affecting production.
Some of the firms located in the Industrial Area includes,T T Brothers ltd, Tropical Cables and Conductors, Nexans Kabelmetal Ghana Ltd, DVLA, Nestle Ghana, Foundaries & Agricultural Machinery Ghana Ltd, TOR, Chrocodile Machets ltd, among several others.
By Christian Kpesese/ ghanamps.com