From left: Thomas Abanga, Selma Ashipala Musavyi Namibia’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Dr. Benjamin Sasu,. Chariti Gbadawo, Prof Bani and Clarence Zamuee
ABANGA FARMS & Food Systems Limited, a Ghanaian agricultural-based company, has taken delivery of the first consignment of top-quality beef from MEATCO, the Namibian meat producing and exporting company to distribute in Ghana. It is the first of its kind between the SADC and ECOWAS regions.
At a ceremony recently at the Tema Harbour, Chief Executive Officer of Abanga Farms & Food Systems, Thomas Abanga, hailed the partnership as forward-looking with the expectation that the benefits that would accrue to both Ghana and Namibia would be immense and long-term. He called on Africa’s private sector to step up and propel Africa’s development and not rely solely on their governments to lead Africa’s economic emancipation. He said the problem with Africa’s underdevelopment is not entirely the government’s but also the inability of the private sector to take risks. “It is the private sector that can propel the economic development of Africa…it is time for the private sector to step up,” The partnership, he concluded, will strengthen the agriculture sector of both countries, particularly the livestock sub-sector whose true potential remains untapped in Ghana.
H.E. Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, High Commissioner of Namibia to Ghana, in opening remarks, called on African countries to increase inter-trade within the continent, still reeling from the impact of COVID-19 and the current Russia-Ukraine war.
She noted that Africans would do well to consume what the continent produces and stop depending on goods and products from outside the continent. She expressed the hope that the partnership between Meatco and Abanga Farms & Food Systems would expand beyond Ghana and Namibia and move into other African markets.
She said she was particularly proud of the partnership because it fell in line with the economic diplomacy of President Hage Geingob.
Professor Bani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Abanga Farms and Food Systems, thanked the management of Meatco “for having confidence in us to lead this process of inter African trade.”