Mike Ocquaye Junior, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, has begun a regional tour of licensed free zone enterprises in Ghana’s Ashanti and Western Regions.
His first stop was at Angel FM in the Ashanti area, where he answered listener and presenter questions about the institution’s role and Ghana’s plans to accelerate the development of the Great Kumasi Industrial City Project.
The CEO emphasized the need of Ashanti-based industrialists with an export orientation taking use of existing incentives.
The crew visited Juaben Oil Mills Limited, an agro-processing enterprise at the forefront of adding value to oil palm, as part of the regional trip.
The GFZA team then paid a courtesy call to the Omanhene of the Juaben traditional territory, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, after seeing the plant and meeting with its leadership.
Mike Oquaye Junior commended the Paramount Chief for his unwavering support for industrialization, as well as for leading and molding the progress of Juaben Oil Mills since its foundation.
Nana Otuo Siriboe II praised Mr. Oquaye for his outstanding performance at the GFZA and challenged him to go above and beyond to fulfill the President’s responsibility on behalf of the Good People of Ghana.
Following that, the GFZA paid a visit to OLAM Ghana Limited, one of Ghana’s major licensed agro-food processing enterprises. In Ghana, OLAM Ghana is an experienced buyer and exporter of processed cocoa, cashew, and rice.
He urged OLAM to do more for the sector and pledged to work closely with the company to remove barriers that might stymie its expansion.
The crew next went to Logs & Lumber Ghana Limited, which is one of the biggest timber logging and processing enterprises in Ghana and the West African sub-region.
Mike Oquaye Junior acknowledged the company’s concerns and pledged to collaborate with other state actors to address them.
Before traveling to the Lands Commission with the team, the CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority and the team paid a working visit to the Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, in the Western Region to discuss significant land-related problems.
Mike Oquaye Junior was interviewed extensively on Skyy FM prior to meeting the Regional Minister, during which he updated listeners on a wide range of subjects concerning Free Zones and their activities in the Western Region.
The GFZA team then met with the CEO and management team of Wayoe Engineering & Construction Limited, one of West Africa’s largest privately-owned Ghanaian engineering and construction firms.
The group went on a tour of the company’s new factory to gain a sense of the company’s investment and growth prospects.
Mike Oquaye Junior agreed to collaborate closely with the organization to identify long-term solutions to several identified issues.
The crew then went to Amalitech Limited, a social organization that uses remote work to shape the future of work in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mike Oquaye Junior expressed pleasure with the achievements of numerous institutions in the two regions at the end of the one-week working visit.
He also charged the GFZA’s regional leaders with continuing to provide value to all GFZA-licensed enterprises.
Ambassador Mike Oquaye was accompanied on the working visit by Ziblim Alhassan, Director of Administration and Human Resources; Jesse Agyepong, Director of Corporate Affairs; and Lawrence Osei-Boateng, Director of Business Development and Research.
Ricky Osei Owusu, Regional Head of the Ashanti Region; Hajia Hanatu Abubakar, Regional Director for the Western Region; Fred Agyei-Gyane, Manager in Charge of Compliance; and Harry Ansah, Personal Assistant to the CEO joined him.
Ghana’s key body for overseeing the free zones plan and Ghana’s Special Economic Zones remains poised to do more, with two enclaves in the Western area and one in the Ashanti region.
