Kumasi, May 1, GNA - Members of Ashanti Regional branch of Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG) have expressed appreciation to Government for negotiating a 24 million-dollar grant from United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to assist artisans at Suame Magazine in Kumasi to improve their ingenuity.

Nana Oppong Mensah, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the association, speaking to newsmen in Kumasi on Wednesday, said the grant would assist artisans to cope with modern scientific way of engineering in manufacturing of various vehicles. He described the government's negotiation for the grant as a major breakthrough in its quest to upgrade the skills of mechanics to enable Suame Magazine become an efficient first class motor vehicle industrial centre.

Nana Mensah said the association had acquired land at Mampong, Kodie, Ampenyoo and Boankra to serve as an industrial village for the over 500,000 artisans in Ashanti Region. He called on Government to establish consultancy manned by technocrats with administrative and management skills to manage the grant judiciously.

Nana Mensah announced that GNAG had negotiated for a Japanese grant to establish a training school at the Magazine and reactivate the Suame Foundry to begin the manufacturing of mini-buses, wheel barrows and other inputs.

He expressed appreciation to Dr Kandeh Yunkella, Director-General of UNIDO for his assistance to artisans in Ashanti Region.