[ 2017-02-25 ]

Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, Minister of Information

Information Minister visits Ghana Publishing
The Minister of Information, Mr Mustapha
Abdul-Hamid, has advocated capital injection into
the operations of the Ghana Publishing Company
Limited(GPCL) in order to enhance its
profitability.

He said such a move would ensure that GPCL
competed with other vibrant publishing firms in
the country.

Mr Abdul-Hamid noted that so far three foreign
firms had expressed interest to partner the Ghana
Publishing Company Limited (GPCL) in its
operations.

Strategy papers

The minister said the companies, which comprised
Spanish, French and Indian, were requesting
strategy papers to study the company’s strength,
weakness and viability.

Mr Abdul-Hamid said this when he and other
officials of the Information Ministry toured the
GPCL Office in Accra to ascertain how it operated
its businesses.

The minister was taken round by Mr David Kwame
Dzreke, Managing Director, GPCL, and other staff.

The minister said it was prudent to let the public
know that the GPCL was viable and could compete
with others in the printing industry.

He said he was elated that the company was able to
print 300 copies of last Tuesday’s President’s
State of the Nation Address within 24 hours, and
same were distributed to Members of Parliament.

Cabinet decision

“You have the personnel, speed and efficiency,
so I would personally advocate and ensure that
other Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs)
would adhere to Cabinet decision that enjoins them
to give 20 per cent of printing jobs to the Ghana
Publishing Company Limited,” the Minister
declared.

According to him, although the New Patriotic Party
believed that businesses should be manned by the
private sector, the government sometimes needed
state agencies during emergencies.

He expressed dissatisfaction at the use of
obsolete equipment in the operations of the GPCL,
pointing out that they needed to be replaced with
state of the art machinery.

Mr Dzreke said the company was established in 1965
as a corporation but became a limited liability
firm in 2007 with the government owning 100 per
cent shares.

He said with the upsurge of educational
institutions and the oil industry, there had been
an increase in demand for printing needs, and, as
such, the company had put in place measures to
gain a fair share of the emerging opportunities.

Low public image

He said the company was, however, saddled with the
problems of low public image, patronage of
products and services and poor state of buildings
and machinery.

Mr Dzreke said the company needed three million
Euros to recapitalise its operations hence the
intensification of advertisements to enhance its
visibility.

“The company has extended her services to all 10
regional capitals by a memorandum of understanding
between her and the Ghana Post Company.”

Mr Dzreke cited the implementation of Cabinet
Directives to all ministries, departments and
agencies to cede 20 per cent printing jobs to the
GPCL by MDAs as a challenge.

He, therefore, appealed to the minister to
intervene in that direction in order to actualise
its recapitalisation bid.

name

Mr Dzreke said the GPCL and its management were
committed to ensuring that the company became a
leading name in the publishing industry as well as
enhance its profitability since it was
non-subvented.

GPCL served as the government’s press publishing
statutory documents such as Gazettes, Acts and
providing services to corporate institutions and
the public.

It also prints computer generated tickets for
Intercity State Transport Company, Ghana Post
Company, among others.

Source - Graphic.com.gh

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