The awards were presented to the company by The Heleh Africa Honours, which also honoured other distinguished Ghanaians with 24-caratgold medals.

In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer of Ernest Chemists Limited, Mr Ernest Bediako Sampong, he said his firm would not have been able to attain that feat without the strong faith Ghanaians had in them to continue providing quality medicines at affordable prices.

He said, “we have been graced by the growing loyalty of our cherished customers over the past decades and we are even geared to do more for our most deserving current and potential clientele. It is in this light that we have taken steps to expand our current operations to help us meet the increasing demand of our locally manufactured medicines.”

As a key strategy, Mr Bediako Sampong revealed, “We have initiated an investment programme to procure modern and high capacity equipment aimed at increasing the output of our liquid products by 300 per cent. By July 2017, the installation of the additional equipment at our main factory will be completed to ensure that our supply of much sought-after products such as Auntie Mary Gripe Water, Epanol Syrup, Stopkof, No. 10 Liver Salt and Nexcofer Blood Tonic, appreciate to serve well the constantly increasing market demand”.

To the company’s local and international customer base, Mr Bediako Sampong gave an assurance of their unwavering commitment to be an excellent partner in health care across the West African sub-region.

He reiterated that, “our currently under-construction Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) – compliant factory on a Greenfield, upon completion by the close of 2018, shall not only increase our output further by adding new dosage forms and product

lines to our present portfolio but also help upgrade our operational and management systems to meet current regulatory requirements and international standards”.

Mr Bediako Sampong was of the firm conviction that, “With these upcoming expansions in our production, we expect a wider coverage of our affordable medicines which are of the highest quality for even more Ghanaians. We are passionate in our quest to help create a healthier Ghana as we believe that health is indeed wealth.”

“Since the company is a purely indigenous company with virtually all our employees being locals, our expansions directly result in the creation of more jobs to reduce the unemployment ratio while contributing to the improvement of economic growth indicators such as GDP, GNP and per capital income.

“With our increased supply of locally manufactured medicines reducing the need to import from abroad and our exportation of medicines, we can contribute positively also to the Balance of Trade and Balance of Payments indices”.

He expressed optimism that Ernest Chemists Limited would work jointly with all Ghanaians to create a stronger and better Ghana, and entreated Ghanaians to, “continue to believe in us, and we dedicate this award to you”.