A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, and the Maltese High Commissioner to Ghana, Jean Claude Galea Mallia, last Thursday witnessed the signing of the agreement between JL Properties, a local real estate firm, and RA & Sons Manufacturing Ltd, based in Gozo, Malta.

The factory, which would be set up in Ghana, is expected to produce high grade materials and chemicals used across the various sectors within the construction industry which are usually imported.

For starters, the factory would produce specialised paints manufactured to prevent dampness in buildings, which is a major problem for the country’s housing sector, especially in Accra.

About 70 per cent of the raw materials that would be used for the factory’s production, would be locally sourced.

Dampness solution

The Chief Executive Officer of JL Properties, Dr James Orleans-Lindsay, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the idea behind the establishment of the firm was strategically conceived, to produce products tailored to solve problems peculiar to the country’s construction sector.  

Dr Orleans-Lindsay said excess water or moisture in all its forms (vapour, liquid, and flooding) was still the most common problem in housing, especially in Accra which lies below sea level.

“It results in visible wetting of walls, ceilings and floors, blistering paint, bulging plaster, sulfate attack on brickwork,” he said, adding that “it would be a big relief for the industry and a true game changer”.

The Chief Executive Officer of RA& Sons Manufacturing Ltd, Ward Caldwell in a separate interview said while the dampness in buildings was a major challenge in housing construction globally, it was observed that the situation in Ghana needed immediate attention.

He warned that buildings with dampness create unhealthy living conditions, while travel of moisture through walls and ceiling may cause unsightly patches, and may cause softening and crumbling of plaster, especially lime plaster.

Cooperation

On what the partnership means to the government, Mr Baafi said it was the conviction of the government to ride on the back of such private sector partnerships to industrialise the economy and set it up as a hub for manufacturing in West Africa.

He said the government’s policies, including the one district, one factory initiative was purposely set up to support the private sector to expand and partner others across the globe for accelerated development.

“The government is fully behind this partnership and we will continue to support such partnership because the development of the private sector is key to the government and the President’s agenda of a Ghana Beyond Aid,” Mr Baafi said.

For his part, Mr Mallia said the government of Malta considered Ghana as an important partner for trade and would always support such partnerships that would help deepen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.