Minister calls for printing agency’s staff training

THE Minister for State in the Second Vice President’s Office, Mr Mohamed Aboud Mohamed has underscored the need for Zanzibar Government Printing Press Agency workers to undergo special training to cope with modern printing technologies

Mr Mohamed made the remarks during a brief ceremony to hand over the Isles government printer, which has been moved from the second vice president’s office to the ministry for information, tourism and archives following a recent government reshuffle.

The brief ceremony saw Mr Mohamed and new Information, Tourism and Archives Minister, Mr Mahmoud Thabit Kombo put ink to handing over documents which was held at the second vice president’s office at Vuga, Urban West.

Looking to improve the performance of the stateowned printing agency, the revolutionary government of Zanzibar invested 2bn/- for the installation of modern machines at the factory located at Maruhubi area. Mr Mohamed said:

“The factory is now complete after being installed with new ultra-modern machines, but the challenge that remains is lack of experts to operate the new equipment efficiently, therefore there is need for the factory’s executives to develop training programme to impart them with the required skills.

” The minister stressed on the government’s keenness to turn the printer into a modern and competitive entity capable of serving efficiently government and private institutions and one that would contribute to the government’s coffers. He urged the agency’s new custodian to protect the welfare of its workers so as to boost their motivation, saying that will improve service delivery.

On his side, the Minister for Information, Tourism and Archives, Mr Kombo, who before recent government reshuffles was serving as the Health Minister, said the government has already directed all its institutions to use the state agency for all their printing requirements.

He said the remaining task was to ensure the agency’s workers attain required skills and know-how to run the new equipment and they reciprocate with technological advancements in the dynamic printing industry.

According to ZGPPA Director General, Mr Mohamed Suleiman Khatib, thanks to increased efficiency in service delivery, the agency, currently, attracts more customers from both Zanzibar Island and Mainland Tanzania. With massive investment, the agency, he added, was now able to stand on a firm ground in terms of machines and has an enormous printing capacity that can produce in bulks within a very short period of time