Government has announced moves to sell off a stake of the Ayensu Starch Factory to brewery giant, Guinness Ghana Ltd by June of 2014.
Ayensu Starch factory currently, is the major supplier of raw material for Guinness in the production of its new line, the cassava-based Ruut Beer.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Haruna Iddrisu, disclosed this to journalists after a tour of the factory.
The Minister explained that the move is to enhance the development of the local cassava industry.
“The essence of the relationship between Government and Guinness to boost the production of Ayensu Starch Factory is to significantly upscale the upstream environment which will lead to increased cassava yields. We believe that you will subsequently review the operations and technologies there on which is associated with the Ayensu Starch factory,” he said.
“We necessarily have had to delay the process because of the procument requirements of the country but government is happy to conclude a relationship on a public private partnership module which allows Guinness Ghana,” he added
It is unclear how much government is ready to offload in this partnership. Managing Director for Guinness Ghana, Peter Ndegwa told Citi Business News, “it will depend on what the government wants to dispose off. At the moment, we will wait for government to define that process and then we will go through that process.”
He gave the assurance that the deal “will be transparent and I am sure other parties will be involved. For us, it is about guaranteeing supply of cassava. We are not worried about what percentage it is. It is about securing the supply.”
By: Anim Kwaku Boadu/citifmonline.com/Ghana