Goaso, (A/R), June 13, GNA – The South African High Commission in Accra has called on the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to package viable economic investment opportunities in the Ahafo Region to attract investors.
Mr Mzwakhe Lubisi, the South African High Commission’s Economic Counsellor, said the Ahafo region had huge agriculture potentials that required excellent branding to attract investors to create jobs and push socio-economic growth and development.
Mr Lubisi made the call during a two-day working visit to the region to explore economic opportunities and deepen cooperation between Ahafo and South Africa.
He said the visit was to herald the official tour of Ms Grace Jeanet Mason, the South African High Commissioner to Ghana, to the region.
Ms Mason’s visit is to reciprocate a similar call by Mr George Boakye, the Ahafo Regional Minister to the High Commission in April, this year.
Mr Lubisi said several South African investors were interested in Ghana’s cocoa and rice sectors.
He said the flourishing cocoa sector in Ahafo could woo investors to establish factories to add value to raw cocoa for export.
He asked the Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council to collaborate with the GIPC to package the economic prospects in the region to enable the Commission to sell such potentials in South Africa.
Mr Lubisi called on the Regional Minister to ensure that potential investors ready to set up factories in the region could acquire land without difficulties, saying difficulties in land acquisition in Ghana remained a major setback to foreign investors.
On his part, Mr Boakye expressed appreciation to the Counsellor for the visit and assured that the Ahafo region had arable farm lands devoid of litigations.
He said he was hopeful that the visit would greatly inspire the South African High Commissioner to also visit the area and to deepen the economic cooperation between the Commissioner and Ahafo for mutual benefit.
The Regional Minister later led the Counsellor to a 1,000-acre cocoa plantation at Sankore, acres of rice farm at Hwidiem and a raw quarry and other tourist attraction sites at Mim.
Mr Charles Alex Gyamfi, the Technical Officer-in-charge of the Sankore Cocoa Station, said the station secured 456.84 hectares of land through the Sankore Traditional Council.
He said 232.78 hectares of the land were developed, which included 184.7 hectares of cocoa area and 18.98 hectares of the recreational area, adding that in 2019/2020, the station produced 50 tonnes of cocoa beans.
He said the station had produced 60 tonnes of cocoa while harvesting of beans was ongoing.
Mr Gyamfi said cocoa fruit had several benefits, saying the husk could be used for soap making, organic fertilizer while other commercial companies used it for the preparation of inorganic fertilisers.
He stressed the station’s readiness to partner with investors and appealed to the South African High Commission to connect the station with investors in South Africa.
GNA