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Opinions of Saturday, 1 September 2007

Columnist: Bolus, Mercy Adede

Why don't we our own organic home made fruit drinks?

It is rather sickening to arrive in Ghana, a tropical country and not seeing a huge marketing promotion on its homemade exotic drinks.
What are we waiting for? What are the homemade organically produced chemical free drinks then one may ask?
Well, they are the corn drink known as the Asaana or Alihaa , pito, pineapple drink, mango, guava, pomegranate, coconut, banana, orange, lime and grape fruit drinks.
These days there are many combinations of these fruits for sale in the western countries known as the exotic drinks. . The combinations are as follows, coconut and pineapple drink, pineapple and banana drink, pomegranate and orange drink, mango and orange drink, pineapple, pomegranate and orange drink, coconut, pineapple and lemon drink and many more.
Would it not be a good idea for our Government to build more factories to produce these combinations just like the way "Coke", "Fanta", "Sprite" and the others drink companies are doing and using our own human resources as a greatest assets? It could be argued that, this is like a daylight robbery yet our police service is powerless in arresting anyone. Come on brothers and sisters lets wake up to these facts. Would it be a good idea for Ghana Government to start investing in introducing the marketing techniques, certificate or diploma in management in senior school to generate interest in this area? Currently, our youths lack these skills as well as and even the basic package skills. The value of quality is underestimated in Ghana. However, this is an area we need to invest into. When we talk of quality products we point our fingers to foreign produced goods and shamefully not our own. This is pathetic isn't it? What is the missing gap here? Come on, Ghana Government, come on Ghanaians? Is this idea of grave concern far much more outweigh the building of new Palace, which we aim to impress the world?
Who are we kidding?
Perhaps investing into these crucial areas, for example quality management, health and safety issues and planning of quality implementation would start the ball rolling. We could then use our current policies to plan using the key elements of a service concept, using service quality factors, statistical control to highlighted issues. Ghana as a nation and not a collection of states need to heavily invest in these areas and don't allow other foreign companies take control of our affairs. Ghanaians must be in control at all times. Ghana must take this very seriously. If one have a property and resources one call themselves the landlord and control every activity that goes on within it. Ghana must not classic itself as a tenant-landlord. Please don't let us fool our youths. They need to walk tall with chest out not short.
Another area of interest, which as a nation Ghana must add onto any contract be it a foreign investor or local investor, is corporate social responsibility or social responsibility. This is when any business operating within a community contributes to the maintenance or enhancement of a village, town or a city. Any business in Ghana may need to be reassessing them so that the community in which they operate also benefits from the negotiations done under cover.
Ghana must wake up to this reality check now and not tomorrow.
What Ghana is failing to realise is that, if we do not flaunt the exotic drinks we got naturally other foreign companies would take this credit for doing so. Thus we are also encouraging child labour, depriving our youth from reaching their potential in life. Ghana must not fail her children. Our youths the future generations who are currently operating on our High Street as "Hawkers" must be given a way out from poverty through free marketing tuition, IT lessons etc. It is everyone one responsibility to help our youths through empowerment strategies.
Ghana must encourage the youths to aim at a strategic level to see the bigger picture and not just the pocket money (that is bribes or corruption).
This would pave the way of getting our youths off our main street and rather focus on the pleasant things in life.
Fellow Ghanaians this is one the ways we could eradicate poverty within Ghana instead relying on foreign loans and aids of any kind. Ghanaians must remember that, a sitting Government however good they might be would pack their bags and leave office at any time but our children are the ones who left to pay off the so-called foreign loan debts.
As the saying goes if you got it flaunt it! Come on Ghana Government and fellow Ghanaians lets flaunt our exotic drinks on all the forecourt of our Airport, restaurants, school, markets and the international world. This is the challenge for Ghana and not foreign loans and foreign aids.



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