The Ghana Publishing Company Limited is highly distressed and struggling to pay salaries of its staff, Managing Director of the company, David Asante Boateng, has revealed.
He told the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday that the company which prior to 2008 enjoyed exclusivity in the printing of some sensitive government documents including ballot papers, has lost the rights.
The company, he said, lacks the both technical expertise and state-of-the-art equipment required to make it competitive in the printing and publishing industry to attract jobs in order to be sustainable.
Currently, the company is only engaged in the gazetting of public documents and legislative instruments passed by Parliament.
Beyond that Mr Asante Boateng revealed that most government agencies, as well as Parliament, also owe the company huge sums.
He said a law passed in 2007 that required the government to cede 20 per cent of public printing works to the company but that has not been well-implemented.
“If this particular law is practically activated, I believe we shall be overwhelmed with job and the organization will be turned around into a profit making institution,”, he assured.
In view of the current financial state of the company, Mr Asante Boateng, has appealed to the government to recapitalise the company to make it productive and self-sufficient.
He said the company is not under government subvention; hence the need for a recapitalisation to make it survive in today’s competitive market.
Asked by the Chairman of the committee James Klutse Avedzi, if under his leadership can repackage the company to be more viable, he said: “I believe strongly we have a team of competent management in place. The sector ministry is very much interested in the well-being and the overall re-establishment of the organization”.
Mr Asante Boateng expressed optimism of better days if government recapitalises the company.
