Uphold good corporate, hygienic practices— Prez urges companies

Story: Boahene Asamoah

PRESIDENT J.A. Kufuor today inaugurated the $40 million Accra Mall, a shopping centre, with a call on the companies it hosts to ensure good corporate and hygienic practices.
The President acknowledged the employment generation that the mall had brought to Ghanaians and used the occasion to woo foreign investors to take advantage of the prevailing investment friendly atmosphere to invest in the country.
The pioneering retail venture is the brain child of Mr Joseph Owusu-Akyaw and supported by Actis, a leading private equity investor in emerging markets.
The shopping mall is situated on a 20,000-square metre retail space at the Tetteh-Qaurshie roundabout, it accommodates 65 line shops, of which about 30 per cent is operated by Ghanaian retailers.
It is home to some international brands such as Shoprite, Game, Mr Price, Barcelos, Ocean Sting, Rhapsody, Puma, Sony and luxury car dealers.
President Kufuor urged the youth to take advantage of the industry with specific skills in order to brace themselves for more of such opportunities.
He said the government’s policy had been a public-private partnership to develop the economy.
He said the government had embarked on reforms such as reforming the public sector to be more efficient to respond to private sector needs.
The Chairman of Accra City Hotels, the local partners of the mall, Mr Owusu-Akyaw, said the inauguration of the mall was borne out of a long time vision to build a shopping mall to meet needs of the burgeoning middle and upper classes in Accra.
“It was borne out of the determination to prove that the surest way to attract foreign direct investment is when local entrepreneurs themselves identify the felt needs of our people,” he stated.
He said the Accra Mall would be an instrument for growing new entrepreneurs for the creation of jobs estimated for 5,000 people and generate revenues from over 64 enterprises under one roof, adding that “the Accra Mall points to the future of the retail sector”.
A Partner of Actis, Dr Nkosana Moyo, stated that the company had so far invested $1.6 billion in the project and had about $6 billion investible funds, stressing that access to capital was longer a problem for businesses in Africa.
The Accra Mall is the second of such investments in Africa after the one in Lagos, Nigeria.
He said Africa was open for business and that Actis, would partner local investors who had the requisite skills and business strategy to develop.
The Accra shopping mall is the first large-åscale shopping centre in the country and one of the modern shopping malls in West Africa.
The design of the mall is contemporary and incorporates trradional internal mall circulation with open skylights, modern flush plastered ceileing and tiled floors.