Kasalgu (N/R), Aug. 21, GNA - Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister, on Wednesday inaugurated a 60,000-dollar shea butter factory at Kasalgu, a village near Tamale. Alhaji Idris pledged to ensure a constant supply of electricity to the factory to facilitate the processing of the shea nuts to enhance production.

He said, he had his doubt, when he was first informed about the factory because investors had come with the similar proposals but had ended up "taking the shea nuts away". He advised the workers to work hard in peace and unity. The Regional Minister assured the owners of the company, Sekaf Ghana Limited, of government's support to promote shea butter production saying: "The government will support the shea industry just like it has done for cocoa and coffee".

Mr Senyo Kpelly, the Managing Director, said the company had sales representatives in the United Kingdom, United States and Taiwan adding that the company currently exports refined shea butter to the UK, US, Jamaica and Australia.

The company, he said, also produced refined shea oil, a new product yet to come on to the market. Mr Kpelly said the company had employed 200 women while it had trained 500 others in modern shea butter production adding: "The shea butter village has employed one woman in every household in Kasalgu. "The shea butter village will provide these women with health care assistance, training in world class packaging, labeling and quality control.

"We will also offer them a fair price for the shea nuts they buy to feed the factory to help improve the quality of life of the Kasalgu society," he said.

Mr Iddrisu Abdul Karim, who chaired the inauguration, said the shea butter village, which aimed at producing premium quality shea butter, was another attempt to empower women in the region. He, therefore, urged the women to avail themselves of the employment opportunity provided by the factory to enhance their livelihoods and those of their families. 21 Aug. 08