The Inner Cities and Zongo Development Minister, Dr Mustapha Hamid, says he is going to support women who are producing all sorts of delicacies to package their products to get better patronage.
Speaking at a Meet The Press series on Tuesday he said, it is unfortunate that all sorts of delicious foods and beverages are being prepared and sold for cheap when others are packaging and selling the same food to make a fortune.
“The president has mandated us [Ministry] to improve the livelihood of the people in these communities so we will help them to develop their businesses, package them properly and make more profit,” he said.
Dr Mustapha Hamid, Inner Cities and Zongo Development Minister
He cited the example of how Tamarind is being packaged into a drink and sold in Shell and other high-class shops around the country when it is sold for cheap by Zongo women.
The former Information Minister said his office in collaboration with the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) will teach such businesswomen and caterers how to add value to their foods and beverages.
Popular Sobolo drink being prepared
“We will also increase their market access by compiling a Zongo food and beverages album which will highlight the food and the ingredients used in preparing them. These albums will be sent to all our embassies across the world,” he explained.
He believes this will give interested visitors to the country an idea of the unique foods and beverages so they try them out once they come in to visit.
“As I said, we will do this without apology…our mission is to help Zongo people and on Tuesday we started running ads in the media calling on these women to apply to be considered for assistance,” he said.
Dr Mustapha Hamid said for starters, 300 applicants from Accra will be taken in and assisted on a pilot basis. Other regions he said, will be subsequently considered.
