Tema, May 15, GNA - GHACEM on Tuesday signed an agreement with the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) for the direct payment of duties to the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) through the Ghana Community Network (GCNet) operated by the bank.

With the agreement, GHACEM will channel over 225 billion cedis annually through the bank to CEPS, Mr Morten Gade, Managing Director of GHACEM said.

Mr Morten signed for his company while the Managing Director of GCB, Mr Lawrence Newton Adu-Mante, signed for the bank at the GHACEM plant in Tema.

Mr Morten said the GCNet process would enhance service quality, speed of payment, and certainty of payment, prevent fraud, cash flow and ensure transparency.

It would stop cash handling at some of their depots as it was risky and could be stolen while being carried to the bank. He said GHACEM was committed to doing business with local business entities by purchasing goods and services from Ghanaian establishment and local enterprises.

"This can be seen in our limestone project in the Eastern Region, our predominantly Ghanaian management team and our active participation in the Ghanaian banking sector to meet all our financial transactions". Mr Adu-Mante assured GHACEM of transparent business, saying it had put measures in place to facilitate business. He said installation of ICT facilities and the opening of more branches and agencies, all networked, to improve efficiency are evidence of the new wind blowing through the GCB.

The bank has 133 branches and 10 agencies through out the country and urged its clients to have confidence and transact business with it. GHACEM has installed six diesel generators to produce a total of 5.1 megawatts of power at its plant at Tema to augment the current shortfall of energy.

The generators compensate for the 25 percent enforced reduction in the electricity from the national grid. The vailability of the diesel enabled the company to hit its total production capacity of 2.4 million tons annually at both Tema and Takoradi plants.