By Razak Abdul Bawa and Gifty Arthur

The owner of Zoomlion Company Limited has moved his partnership with the Mills-led administration to a higher level by setting up a factory which is also being used to address the menace of youth unemployment in the country.

The impressive factory which is located at Abelemkpe –Accra-inside the former State Construction Corporation (SCC) Yard, is part of the Local Enterprise and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) aimed at empowering the youth through the acquisition of skills, supported by equipment and machinery.

The magnificent facility, according to Castle sources, is expected to feature prominently in President Mills’ tour of the Greater Accra Region when he resumes his nationwide trip to inspect infrastructure put on the ground as part of his Better Ghana Agenda.

A Chinese company, Wusheng, is collaborating with Zoomlion Ghana in this venture. Plans are far advanced to replicate this initiative outside of Ghana.

A very number of Chicken Carriers, water tankers, Refuse carriers, Mineral Carriers, Sales Vans, Block and Bricks-Laying Machines and General Purpose Vans on tricycles, some of which were built and assembled here in Ghana, were on display when The Herald visited the once bushy and reptiles-infested SCC Yard, last Friday, and taken round the factory.

According to the managers of the company, thousands of their machines, including trucks, have already been exported to both Liberia and Zambia where they are making inroads.

Plans are also far advanced to register the presence of the vehicles in Mauritania and other parts of Africa, but with Ghana remaining the African headquarters of the factory, due to the prevailing peace and economic stability in the country.

The factory has 113 Ghanaians and four Chinese trainers touring the country, impacting knowledge into beneficiaries, after which they will be equipped with the necessary machines to be on their own.

Over 6,000 have been trained in hair dressing, tailoring, dressmaking, catering and other modules, including farming since the inception of the programme. Mobile phone repairs, wielding, ICT training and carpentry are also about to commence.

Some people have also been taken though tractor and bulldozer operating as part of government’s Youth in Agriculture Programme.

After a successful completion of the training, beneficiaries, especially the artisans are provided with machines, with flexible payment terms, to enable others to also benefit from the programme.

Two officials of the company, Makafui Dunya and Justice Addo, conducted TheHerald round the huge facility. Also seen at assembling plant were two cars said to be from Iran, which the partners are hoping to assemble, and sold in Ghana, as they are very affordable.

The Africa Department Manager of Wusheng of China, Mr. Huang Deming, who spoke to The Herald after the tour of the facility, said that the company is excited about the support that has been offered to them by the government of Ghana, and was optimistic that the programme would continue to strive.