The Chief Executive Officer for the Ghana Exim Bank, Lawrence Agyinsem, has disclosed that government under its flagship 1D1F intervention has done about 82 projects, which have received approval and disbursement.
Mr. Agyinsem added that this year, government will build about 100 greenhouses around the country as well as 100 SME industries in the various districts.
According to him, the Ghana EXIM Bank which has become the key financial institution that has given revenue for the project has disbursed 362 million cedis into various sectors of the economy and by the end of this year the factories will be up and running.
Mr Agyinsem made this revelation to Starrfm.com.gh at this year’s edition of the Ghana HR Innovations Awards organized by Instinct Wave, where his bank swooped two awards.
The Ghana EXIM Bank was adjudged the HR team of the year for the public sector – Silver and Most people-focused CEO of the year to its CEO.
Expatiating on the progress of the 1D1F, he said projects are in various stages of development with equipment already imported and ready for operations to start.
“The Ekumfi project, the equipment has actually arrived and they are in the warehouse for it to be sent to Ekumfi, so we are hoping that by April, we will start the test of the production of the fruits,” he said.
“This year we are going to do more of the green-houses. We are going to do about 100 green-houses around the country, we are also going to do 100 SME industries in the various districts. This I’m sure that by the end of 2020 we should have seen that the 1D1F wasn’t a fluke or a rhetoric, but a reality because EXIM bank has become the key financial institution that has given revenue for this project,” he said.
He explained that “in Greater Accra we have financed about 7 pharmaceutical industries. In central region we’ve done about four in Ekumfi, Komenda, an approval has been given to central oil mills in lower Denkyira. Eastern Region we’ve done about 8 to 9, the charcoal factory, Akuapem Gold. In the North 10 million facility has been approved for shear empowerment with four processing plants across the northern region.”
Mr Agyinsem added that per the NDC’s advice that already existent factories should be revived, all the pharmaceutical companies were existent, for them to be GMB compliant. There are some that have been existent that we have given money.”
On strategies he put in place to win the awards he said “I had to do more of staff engagement in communicating the new strategy and to bring everybody along especially when you have had a particular culture that has been existent for almost about 16 years.
“To change habits and attitudes to make them professional especially in the public sector where punctuality and productivity Is always a problem. I have been humbled by this achievement, I just have to do more I just have to engage more. I personally am a motivational speaker so I always have to bridge the gap between executive management and staff,” he said.
Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Senanu Damilola Wemakor