Save Ghana Protein Limited from imminent collapse

The management of Ghana Protein Limited (GPL) has petitioned the President to intervene to save the company from being closed down due to unfair treatment from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Making the petition at a press conference on behalf of management of GPL in Tema, Mr. Anthony Adu-Nketia, Head of Administration, regretted that regardless of GPL’s petition to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture about the negative effects that the setting up a fish mill plant could have on the operations of GPL, Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC), the company’s main supplier of fish waste, had gone ahead to construct its own plant.

Mr. Adu-Nketia said as a result, PFC had officially informed GPL that with effect from October 31, it would no longer supply GPL with the fish waste which is its raw material.

He said in 1990 some officials from the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) visited Cote d’Ivoire as part of efforts to find a solution to the fish waste problem in the country.

He said having been impressed by the industrial processing of the fish mill, the GIPC officials lured the investors to replicate the project in Ghana.

Mr. Adu-Nketia said having accepted the invitation, the investors in 2000 set up GPL on a 25-acre land they acquired from the Tema Development Corporation (TDC).

He said during the process, both governmental agencies and GPL’s private sector partners, especially PFC assured the company of their willingness to supply raw materials.

Mr. Adu-Nketia regretted that GPL’s 360-ton plant received just about an average of 43 tons per day in 2008, adding that it was reduced to about 30 tons in the subsequent years.

He said surprisingly, the canneries have been generating more fish waste that ended up in the hands of individuals who lacked the capacity to process it properly.

Mr. Adu-Nketia pointed out that GPL was not against competition, rather it believed in best practices as well as a level playing field for all legitimate businesses to thrive.

He called on government to come out with fair and just regulatory measures to assist in its investment drive.**