Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited, Frances Essiam(GCMCL) has urged Ghanaians to buy locally manufactured cylinders in order to improve the manufacturing industry.

In April 2017, nine out of the 16 major groups in the manufacturing sub-sector recorded inflation rates higher than the sector average of 2.9 per cent.

This, some industry players have said, is due to an unfavorable environment for the development of the sector.

However, in a bid to help reverse this trend,Essiam, in an interview with Class Business, said her office would continue to sensitise the public on the use of local cylinders.

“It is essential that we look at Ghana Cylinder as a key institution or organisation for job creation and also very essential for these corporate objectives of government – deforestation.These are social programmes which any private company cannot do. [Ghana Gas] is purely state-owned, so our objective is to promote cylinders and now that we’ve gone downstream, we’ve started on the pilot basis and with the programme rolling out, we are key stakeholders, especially in terms of infrastructure, to ensure it is safe, to ensure that we have LPG gas stations across the country just like Goil has and has outsourced it as well,” she stated.

“So you realise that we are not contractors. All these things will be outsourced after the modalities are worked out between the ministry and cabinet.You can imagine especially the northern part of this country and the rural areas.People would buy gas but who fills it and brings it back to them? So they go back to firewood. So somebody must promote the use of cylinders. We have the cook stoves, all sorts of burners, and to be frank [Ghana Cylinders] is a golden place. It lays the golden eggs because everything in the energy sector is a cash cow.”