DIVESTITURE IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE

The Divestiture Implementation Committee has instituted measures to recover all outstanding money due it from defaulters. The Executive Secretary of the Committee, Mr.. E.A. Agbodo announced this at a seminar for two Parliamentary Standing Committees on the divestiture of state-owned enterprises at Akosombo. They are the Public Accounts and Finance Committees. Mr.. Agbodo said a law firm has been engaged to prepare the necessary legal documents to effect the measures. He disclosed that total divestiture proceeds as at December last year was ?134.2 billion . Out of the amount, ?67.5 billion has been received leaving a balance of 66-point-seven billion cedis. He said this excludes proceeds from the divestiture of the Ashanti Goldfields, the banks and Ghana Telecom. Mr.. Agbodo said total liabilities of the various divested companies so far paid to workers amount to ?27 billion while only ?19.6 billion has been transferred to the government.

Unpaid liabilities as at the end of last year stood at ?77.8 billion. Mr. Agbodo said 110 enterprises were divested during the same period. Many of them have been modernised and brought back into production. They include Golden Tulip Hotel, Tema Steel Company, GAFCO, G.N.T.C.. Tarkwa and Dunkwa Gold mines. Mr.. Agbodo said unlike the 1961-67, where some companies including the Akosombo Textiles Company were soled without records, the present divestiture programme is being fully documented. He said the divestiture programme gives confidence to investors and entrepreneurs in the direction of government's economic policy and its approach to saving and private investment, Mr.. Agbodo said a privatisation trust to foster the public placement of shares in enterprises is being considered. gri