The boss of GIHOC Distilleries has asked the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to flush out foreign restaurants, hotels and outlets which do not sell locally manufactured beverages.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIHOC Distilleries, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, lamented that almost all restaurants, hotels and liquor shops owned by foreigners do not patronize local drinks, a situation he described “as an insult to the Ghanaian economy because you cannot operate a liquor shop or restaurant in America without selling American manufactured liquor”.
Mr Kofi Jumah wanted strict measures to monitor, flush out and disband all outlets be they restaurants, hotels and liquor shops which do not sell local drinks. He explained that “this move will strengthen local beverage manufacturers, boost their market base and enhance the local economy”.
GIHOC is a government-owned industrial hub noted to be a giant in the alcohol manufacturing and distillery industry. GIHOC, like any other government institution, was on the brink of collapse until the current administration took over some four years ago.
CEO Kofi Jumah said that the long-term measures to ensure the sustainability of GIHOC and other local beverage manufacturers demanded constant monitoring and flush-outs of influx of foreign liquors on the local market.
The former Asokwa MP and KMA mayor, who has now been reappointed as GIHOC CEO, was addressing the media during a mini staff durbar at GIHOC’s Asuofia Achiase outlet in the Ashanti Region. Mr Kofi Jumah further appealed for swift intervention to save Ghana’s beverage industries.
“I am hereby charging the Ghana Tourism Authority, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Finance and all allied agencies to take up the task and ensure local manufacturers are not threatened by foreign cheap and poisonous liquors.”
Source: 3news.com
