The Ghana Free Zones Board (GFZB) has announced that plans are advanced to establish a light industrial area in Kwamaso, a community along the Mamfe to Koforidua Highways in the Eastern Region .
The area will become export Processing Zone for variety of industries.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Free Zones Board Michael Kofi Okyere Baafi said this in Koforidua during the lauch of the maiden Media Awards Scheme for Journalists in the Region instituted by the Eastern Regional branch of the Ghana Journalist Association(GJA)
“We are talking about repositioning Eastern Region as an investment avenue, for me, i am investment promoter, and that is what i do, therefore i want to look at this side of Ghana. So for the first time, the Ghana Freezones Authority wants to develop an export processing zone in Kwamoso so we are about closing a deal with the AKropong District Assembly and the Regional Coordinating Council; we are about taking over the flat lands in Kwamoso, we want to build a light industrial area “.
The CEO of GFZB added: ” We’ve gotten investors who are coming from America to do Pharmaceuticals and that is what they want so we are bringing them, we are almost through with the paper work then we can start the development of the enclave and that is one of the things we want to do
GFZB was established to promote processing and manufacturing of goods through the establishment of Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and to develop commercial activities at seaports and airports areas.
Michael Okyere Baafi expressed worry that local businesses do not take advantage of Free Zones programs leaving the program to Foreign Investors.
THE MEDIA AWARDS
According to the Eastern Regional Chairman of GJA, Maxwell Kudekor , the awards which is the first of it’s kind in the region will be held in May this year and will award journalists in various categories including Business/SME, Mining /environment, Rural ,Road safety and Water/Sanitation Reporting.
Other categories are Morning show, Akan Newscaster and Crime/Court Reporting and it is on the theme, “Repositioning Eastern Region for investments and job creation; Role of the media.
Entries of journalistic works published between January and December 2017 will be received for vetting by a five-member committee from February 26 to March 26, 2018.
Kudekor said the media in the Eastern region for decades have proven to be formidable and paid their dues to the nation.
To him, it is time the mother body of the GJA considered making the national journalists awards competitive among the ten regions where it will take up the task of organising awards in all ten regions to select winners to compete for the national awards.
The members of the awards committee include, Dr. Awal Mohammed, Lecturer and Head of Department- Liberal Studies, Koforidua Technical University (Chairman), Isaac Akwetey Okunor, a journalist and media administrator (member), Edmund Quaynor, a journalist and Editor (member) and McAnthony Dagyenga,(GJA regional Secretary ).
Source: Ghana/StarrFMonline.com/Kojo Ansah
