TEMA PRESS ABANDONED (PAGE 23, JUNE 24, 2010)

THE Tema Press, a former subsidiary of the Ghana Publishing Corporation, is now an abandoned edifice, though it was put on the divestiture list over 12 years ago.
The building, depicting colonial architecture, is sandwiched between several new warehouses at the Fishing Harbour Industrial Area and has two-storey offices, a detached printing section, an open hall and warehouses.
Although efforts have been made to protect the structures, parts of the building are crumpling due to lack of maintenance.
The press, a product of Dr Kwame Nkrumah's vision, was inaugurated in 1964 by Ghana’s first President and was expected to print books to ensure the steady supply of stationery to the many schools constructed under the education-for-all policy of the First Republic.
A visit to the premises of the press revealed its appalling state and erratic supply of electricity and water.
Some residents in the area that the Daily Graphic spoke to said some people sneaked into the premises to sleep there at night.
They claimed that security men often patrolled the area during the day and night to prevent intruders from entering and the head of the skeletal staff, Mr Joseph Nkrumah, who the Daily Graphic met at the press, confirmed that there was no activity at the press and explained that the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) took over the administration and management of the press when the government listed it for divestiture.
He said the skeletal staff was made up of 11 people, including five watchmen who ensured that intruders did not loiter in the yard.
Mr Nkrumah said the DIC mandated them to take over the running of the premises until a potential buyer was found. He explained that they were also mandated to generate their own funds and, therefore, had rented out the six warehouses to cover overhead costs and salaries.
Mr Nkrumah named some of the organisations to whom some of the warehouses had been rented as Kingdom Books and Stationery Limited, the Ghana Education Service and Dizengoff Ghana Limited.
He said there was an accountant who handled the revenue so there was nothing illegal about the renting of the warehouses and hinted that a potential Ghanaian investor accompanied by some foreigners had visited the press so very soon, investment documentation would be completed.
He noted that with the monies accrued from the rents, the staff had maintained the structures and the premises to avoid the situation where squatters would convert the facility into their sleeping places.