The Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited (GCMC) has presented its 2025 work plan to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Energy, outlining its strategic direction, operational challenges, and future aspirations. The session was part of the Committee’s ongoing oversight of energy sector agencies.
Led by the Managing Director, Abdul-Rahman Mankir, the GCMC delegation detailed the company’s historical performance, pressing challenges, and ambitions for growth. Mr. Mankir identified key operational bottlenecks, including obsolete machinery, insufficient working capital, and tax burdens dating as far back as 2005. He also highlighted the negative impact of strict compliance with the Public Procurement Act and the Public Financial Management Act, which has limited the company’s competitiveness in the face of private sector competition.
A central focus of the 2025 plan is the retooling of GCMC’s Spintex Road factory—an initiative deemed crucial to the company’s role in the government’s Cylinder Recirculation Model spearheaded by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). According to Mr. Mankir, the retooling exercise will improve GCMC’s production efficiency, enhance its ability to meet national demand, and support environmental sustainability efforts by ensuring the availability of gas cylinders and clean cookstoves, including the innovative Gas Pot designed for traditional Ghanaian dishes.
These interventions, he noted, align with Ghana’s green transition agenda and are expected to create jobs, supporting the government’s 24-hour economy vision.
Members of the Energy Committee, chaired by Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, MP for Ho West, commended GCMC’s efforts and expressed a commitment to helping the company achieve its 2025 objectives. The Committee underscored the importance of a resilient public energy manufacturing sector and pledged to facilitate the necessary legislative and policy support.
In a related development, the Committee also engaged with the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) to assess its operations since its establishment. Dr. Tony Aubyn, CEO of PHDC, briefed the Committee on stakeholder engagements—including meetings with chiefs and residents of Jomoro, inter-agency dialogues, and investment promotion activities.
Dr. Aubyn announced that plans are underway to hold an investor forum and an international roadshow to attract strategic partnerships for the Petroleum Hub project. These efforts, he said, are intended to operationalize the hub and build investor confidence.
The Committee reaffirmed its support for both GCMC and PHDC, emphasizing the importance of local industrial capacity and investment attraction in realizing Ghana’s broader energy and economic transformation goals.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com
