PSI is not dead ...

Govt has taken steps to re-energize PSIs - Kufuor
Accra, Feb. 8, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor said on Thursday that the Government, as part of its job creation drive, was taking the necessary steps to re-energize the President's Special Initiatives (PSIs) to make them more functionally efficient and competitive. Additionally, it has launched a programme for reactivating distressed state-owned enterprises, including the Pwalugu Tomato Factory and the Juapong Textiles Company.

He noted that the PSIs' potential for generating employment and foreign exchange as well as transforming the rural landscape were not in doubt.

President Kufuor in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament acknowledged that all had not been well for the PSIs, an initiative to promote the policy of making Ghana a leading agro-industrial nation. He, however, noted that the teething problems encountered had provided some invaluable lessons for their future.

President Kufuor said in this regard, the Government had instructed the review of the processes at the Ayensu Starch Factory at Bawjiase in the Central Region, which fell on poor supplies of raw material and uncommitted personnel.

The expectation, he said, was that by April this year, the factory would be back on the production line.

Similarly, the PSI for Oil Palm was also undergoing a thorough review to address the problem of poor working capital so as to hit the 500,000 acres of nurseries target.

Touching on Garments and Textiles, President Kufuor announced that 10 new factory units were being set up in Kumasi, Koforidua and Tema. Already, nine factories have been established under the initiative with the capacity to employ about 4,000 people. The primary export destination for the garment products is the United States of America through the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA).

President Kufuor stated that in the case of the PSI for salt, some of the producers were making major strides with their ventures. Those lagging behind would be provided with credit facilities to expand their production units, whilst others would be assisted to improve their technology and production operations.

President Kufuor announced that over 1,300 farmers had been supported to cultivate tomato to feed the rehabilitated Pwalugu Tomato Factory to resume production during the course of this year. Juapong Textiles Limited was also set to commence full scale operation by April and would initially employ about 800 people, he said.