Tamale, Feb 04, GNA - Mr Albert Atutiga, Vice President of the Tamale Youth Association (TYA), has commended management of NEWCO Limited, a Dutch company, for investing in the north. The company has established a branch in Navrongo in the Upper East Region.

He said the company's vision to invest in inland fish production in commercial quantities for local consumption and for export would not only give employment to the youth and boost the economy of the north but would also improve the people's nutritional status.

Mr Atutiga, who is also the acting Northern Regional chairman of the Convention People's Party (CPP), told the GNA in an interview in Tamale on Thursday that the tax exemption on investments in the north by the NPP administration was laudable and expressed the hope that more investors would be attracted to the area.

He said the company's willingness to invest about 1.6 billion cedis in fish production this year was commendable and called on the government to remove any difficulty that might stand in the way of potential investors in the north.

Mr Atutiga appealed to the government to show interest in such companies by encouraging them to invest more in the northern sector. He said the company had come at a time when fish, particularly tilapia, was in high demand both within and outside the country and that the creation of the new Ministry of Fisheries would improve the fisheries sector.

NEWCO was incorporated in Navrongo in 2004 with the primary objective of producing inland fish in commercial quantity for local consumption and export.

It is also aimed at developing out-grower fish production units to improve the income levels and living standards of the people. The company had set up a training centre on site to train farmers and other experts in tilapia production using fingerlings that are produced and developed by the company.