Takoradi, Aug. 28, GNA – The Ghana National Cleaner Production Centre (GNCPC) in collaboration with the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation have held a day’s workshop for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Western Region, to educate them on the Green Incubation Programme in Ghana.
The workshop was geared towards motivating participants to be innovative and adopt greener ways of doing business, build skills to assess their impact and dependencies to make informed decisions.
Mr Micheal Kofi Abrokwa, Energy Advisor for the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, said the Green Incubation Programme had the benefits of giving participants six-month business development support, access to industry experts, improved access to funding and peer-to-peer networking and exchanges.
He mentioned start-ups and early-stage businesses run by youth, women and returning migrants, businesses in the agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as businesses in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sectors as eligible businesses for the Programme.
Mr Paul Kwasi Ocran from GNCPC who took the participants through the benefits of Green Economy, said the impact of climate change was not evenly distributed as poorest countries would suffer earliest and more, while the benefits of strong and early action on climate change outweighed the costs.
Mr Isaac Kojo Baiden, a Senior Regulatory Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), who spoke on requirements for registration of products and licensing of facilities, said the FDA held inspections on the premises like location, walls, ceiling, hygiene station, washrooms, changing rooms and storage, and screening of doors and windows.
It also processed inspections like raw materials, storage, equipment, cleaning, maintenance, records and documentation; personnel inspections such as working apparel and personal hygiene; and product inspections like packaging and labelling.
He explained that to obtain a facility license, applicants should purchase and complete an application form with an application letter addressed to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the FDA, in addition to a copy of the Business Registration Certificate from the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) and a Facility Licensing Fee, which was renewable every year.
Touching on the requirements for the registration of food products, he indicated that application forms should be purchased and completed from the office of the Authority with an application letter addressed to the CEO and a copy of the Business Registration Certificate from the RGD.
Mr Baiden said in addition, applicants should attach Certificate of Analysis of each product and each variant where applicable, a copy of Food Handlers Test and a Product Registration Fee per the products, which was renewable every three years.
Madam Selina Amoah, a Deputy Director at the Environmental Protection Agency, said the Agency was mandated to issue environmental permits and pollution abatement notices for controlling the volume, types, constituents and effects of waste discharges, emissions, deposits or other sources of pollutants and of substances, which were hazardous or potentially dangerous to the quality of the environment or any segment of the environment.
She said Agency also ensured compliance with any laid down environmental impact assessment procedures in the planning and execution of development projects, including compliance in respect of existing projects.
Madam Amoah indicated that environmental reports should be submitted quarterly, and there should be annual environmental reports, environmental management plan, among others as determined by the Agency such as waste management plans among others.
She mentioned the importance of environmental permits as, having access to loans from banks, chance of being considered for projects, and ease of assessing other international certifications (ISO) and the benefits of compliance with sound environmental management as having good corporate image, avoiding sanctions and having sustainable operations.
GNA