Export 70% of your products to qualify for Free Zones – GFZA CEO

In order for companies to qualify to be part of the free zones enclave, they must export not less than 70 per cent of their products or services, Mr Michael Okyere Baafi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), has said.

He said this is a statutory requirement that the companies must meet to stand a chance of qualifying to share in the enclave.

Mr Baafi who is also an aspiring parliamentary candidate for the New Juaben South constituency for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) explained that the free zones was established by government purposely to earn foreign exchange to strengthen the local currency.

To that end, he said their focus is mainly on export.

He told Accra based C TV in an interview on Thursday April23 that : “By law every free zones company is supposed to export not less than 70 per cent of what you produce whether goods or service. This is what a company must do before it can be in the free zones.

“The government brought about free zones to ensure more export for foreign exchange to cushion our currency.

“So the free zones proramme is not meant for every company unless the company is ready to export 70 per cent of its products.”

Touching on his plans for his constituency of he becomes the parliamentary candidate and eventually the Member of Parliament, he said he has said that he has good plans for the constituency especially the regional capital.

He noted on the that at the moment, the constituency, especially the Eastern regional capital Koforidua has a lot of challenges which have remained unresolved hence when voted for to become the PC and eventually an MP, he will lobby for developments to the area.

He further noted that although the government is trying hard to provide jobs for all unemployed youth, there still remains some who are jobless.

He said he will ensure that these people are employed.

“I will change the face of Koforidua politics,” he said.

He added : there are some challenges in the constituency. Koforidua for example has some bad roads thatI will ensure they are fixed when voted for.

“The youth who are unemployed as well as our party executives in the constituency will not be abounded.”