Government to Revive Volta Star Textile Ltd-Trade Minister
The government of Ghana through the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry is currently taking steps to revive the Volta Star Textile Ltd which has been shut down since July 2023This is part of the government’s Industrialization Agenda and the implementation of the 24hr economy.
The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Exim Bank Hon. Sylvester Mensah paid a working visit to Juapong in the Volta Region to assess the current situation of the company to see the best way it could be revived. The Managing Director of the company, Jerom Koku Dunyo, who took the Minister and her entourage though the various processing plants, revealed that, the company was established in the late 1960s and incorporated in November 2007 as an agro-processing business involved in the processing of cotton into yarn and grey baft for local consumption and export.
He said, the company is the largest state investment in the industrial sector in the Volta Region and a world-class producer of grey baft for GT and other state institutions such as schools and hospitals. According to him, the company has the biggest spinning and weaving capacity in the country, with an estimated 26 million yards a year. Its current cloth production is 936 tappet looms with an average loom speed of 164 reams per minute. However, the company has not been operational since July 24, 2023, due to huge power debt and operational inefficiencies caused by the deployment of obsolete machines. The Director of the company suggested to the minister to consider a Private Partnership towards the revitalization of the company as the best way forward.
The Hon. Minister after the tour, expressed the government’s preparedness to assist all State Own Enterprises (SOEs), and the Volta Star Textiles Limited is one of such companies that the government had at heart since it holds the potential of huge economic prospects towards the attainment of the country’s rapid socio-economic goals. She added that the country is interested in import substitution hence there was a good case to revive the company that used to produce quality grey bafts for the textile industries in Ghana. “You know, if you are importing all these grey bafts for the number of local companies we’ve mentioned, it will go without saying that we need foreign exchange to do this. But if we are producing in-house, apart from the job creation. There will be no pressure on our cedi" she said.
She however assured the management of the company that, the government will do a thorough evaluation of the company and come out with a pragmatic steps to revive the Volta Star Textile Ltd back as the leading company in Gray Baft production whiles creating jobs and employment for youth in the region. The CEO of Ghana Exim Bank, Hon. Sylvester Mensah said, in reviving the company, government must provide public leadership while the private section drives the industry. According to him, the bank would be interested in understanding the country’s competitiveness and the dynamics of the gray baft industry within the African sub-region.
The Minister and her entourage also went to Akosombo Textiles Ltd, where she interacted with the Management and staff of the company. She assured them of government’s support to increase production and be more efficient towards the government’s Industrialization Agenda and the 24hour economy.
