FEATURE: David Boateng Asante, the GPCL and the audacity of perseverance

American journalist and prolific writer, Dean F. Wilson once said, “there are always periodic opportunities to give up, while every single moment is an opportunity to persevere.”

Whereas the current generation of young people may seem to not want to have anything to do with perseverance, David Boateng Asante, has embraced its pursuit and is actually living a life of perseverance, focus, discipline and patriotism.

Born of the 23rd of November 1981, at Kwahu Obomeng, in the Eastern Region of Ghana, the soon to be forty (40) year old currently serves as the Managing Director of Ghana Publishing Company Limited (formerly called Ghana Publishing Corporation), a state institution incorporated on March 9, 1965 under Legislative Instrument No. 413, and subsequently amended by L.I. 672 of December 11, 1970 to take over the functions of the former Government Printing Department and the Administration of the Government Free Textbook Schemes.

The Assembly Press was converted into a Limited Liability Company under the Statutory Corporations (Conversion to Companies) Act 461, 1993, and same was re-named Ghana Publishing Company Limited (GPCL) in 2007 under the erstwhile John Kufuor Presidency.

David has in the past four years demonstrated that he is a transformational leader. “Achiever” is his middle name; when he sets his mind on a goal, he follows it through until it is achieved. Close associates of Mr. Asante, describe him as one with a great fountain of wisdom that both young and old can tap into. Others say he is an accomplished communications specialist with strong civic engagement.

The Thoughts of FODBA

Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, one of the (Friends of David Boateng Asante, FODBA) says his relationship with David Asante pre-dates their individual political circumstances now. He notes that he has known David Asante before public service and regularly engaged him in his capacity as MD of Ghana Publishing Company from 2017 to 2020.

“His dedication to duty, drive and delivery on timelines are simply unquestionable. He exudes the finest of values required for a sound public service ” Godfred Dame said of David Asante.

Cecilia Abena Dapaah, is the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources. She shared her thoughts on David: “I got to know Mr. David Asante before the 2016 elections, in fact at the height of the agitation for LET MY VOTE Count (LMVC.) He showed leadership and a sense of purpose. I was so impressed with their activities that I self-appointed as a patron of the LMVC movement”.

“He has a listening spirit and is always prepared to seek and take good and sound advice. I am happy he is making a difference at Ghana Publishing Company. I am indeed proud of him for the great turnaround of the Company under his tenure as the Managing Director. I wish him well,” Cecilia Abena Dapaah added.

The Political Pathway

David is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Convener of the Let My Vote Count Alliance, and a lifelong Community Volunteer. Through his involvement in multiple sectors and projects, he has gained experience in Communication, Material and Human Resource Mobilization and Management.

His extensive leadership abilities have propelled him to lead multiple achievements affecting many disadvantaged people through his long years of voluntary activities. He has acquired both professional knowledge and experience in General Administration and Management.

David’s childhood aspiration to contribute to development through leadership and engagement has been his guiding principle in fighting for results wherever he finds himself.

Right from his days as a university student, he started exhibiting leadership by becoming the President of the Industrial Art Faculty of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He was the youngest to head that faculty. He rose to become the President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) in his 3rd year. He was also the first from the College of Art and Social Sciences to have risen to that high office. Furthermore, he served as a member of the University Academic Board, the University Council, and the SRC Development Fund.

During his National Service in 2007, he was heavily involved in the NPP Congress. After completing his National Service at the Public Procurement Authority in 2008, he became a member of the then Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign team; he was the head of the Advance Team, as well as a Research and Operations Assistant in Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign office. At the turn of the 2012 elections, he was again appointed as the Head of the Advance Team as well as an Operations staff of Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign team.

The GPCL Story

After the 2012 election defeat of the NPP, the Let My Vote Count Alliance(LMVCA) was birthed, and David has been the leader of this alliance to date. LMVCA is a rainbow coalition of like-minded Ghanaians who believe in protecting the sanctity of the electoral process in consolidating the democracy of Ghana.

In 2017, he was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Managing Director of Ghana Publishing Company Limited; a fully state-owned publishing company, and officially, the printing house for the government, where laws enacted in Parliament are gazetted.

In 2017, the Akufo-Addo administration inherited a financially bankrupt and heavily indebted Ghana Publishing Company Limited. The organization was bedeviled by multiple challenges such as manual issuance of receipts at the principal business centre resulting in leakages and accounting challenges; backlog of unaudited accounts dating back to the 2012 financial year; non-compliance with statutory regulations; difficulty in paying staff salaries and emoluments; inheritance of a legacy tax liability of over four million Ghana cedis (Gh₵4,000,000.00) due to non-payment of P.A.Y.E. deductions and Withholding Tax.

The Company, due to prudent financial management practices under the leadership of David Asante, is now a profit-making entity, averaging a 47% annual increment in net profit during the period under review. In addition, the company now has up to date audited accounts, has introduced Mobile Money payment options to reduce human interference, regularization of the payment of statutory obligations, improvement in debt recovery from state institutions and the upgrading of electronic payment systems to avoid leakages as well as improved accountability.

In the area of infrastructure, the present administration inherited a Company whose infrastructure was in very bad shape. The Company’s premises was in a state unbefitting of a state institution. These included an unpaved compound providing challenges for staff and customers especially during the rainy season, offices in a deplorable state, disorganized principal business centre as well as abandoned warehouses and stores.

Upon resumption of office as the Managing Director of the Ghana Publishing Company Limited, David Asante and his team through internally generated funds, total refurbished the Business Centre to make it customer friendly. He successfully paved the entire 2.5-acre premises to make it conducive for customer and vehicular traffic.

The old warehouse of the company was also transformed into a new, ultra-modern printing centre and the entire office complex of the company has also been renovated. In addition to these, he has supervised the establishment of a new production unit to house the newly acquired working equipment of the company.

In terms of staff strength and capacity at the company, David and his team inherited a challenging situation with suspension of staff promotion due to financial challenges, demotivated staff, tardiness, absenteeism among staff and the lack of staff capacity building.

David and his team when they took office, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for staff capacity building and exchange of experience and ideas. Staff promotions, which had been suspended, were reinstated.

Annual promotions are now a mainstay of the Company. To boost morale, David facilitated scholarships and soft loans for over fifty (50) staff to pursue academic programs. The administration has overseen an increment of 12.5%, 22.5%, 15% and 16% in salary for 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 wage opener/collective bargaining negotiations respectively.

A total of 94 staff were employed during the four-year tenure of David Asante. Regular training and development programmes for staff in areas such as Performance Management, Customer Service, Report Writing, Costing and Estimation were also organized for staff of the Ghana Publishing Company Limited.

Prior to the assumption of office of the current administration, the last major investment in machines the Company witnessed was in 1996. Two printing machines were purchased from the national lottery authority in 2016, however, none of the machines were in operation when David Asante took office.

During his tenure, the Company has been able to acquire the following machines/equipment using internally generated funds despite the financial challenges; One 5-Colour Heidelberg Speedmaster Printing Machine, two 2-Colour Heidelberg Speedmaster Printing Machines, two Heidelberg GTO printing machines, one 32-fold Heidelberg folding machines, one perfect binder, four industrial stitching machines one canon image digital printing machine, one canon image runner digital printing machine, one industrial laminating machine, one computer-to-plate machine and two cutting machines.

David Eulogized

If there is anything that Ghana needs today, it will be some many more David Asantes. From all indications, this is a man who has lived the advice of Martin Luther King Jr. to the fullest; “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well”.

David Asante’s story of turning the Ghana Publishing Company Limited around into a profitable venture has the host of the earth (Ghanaians) and perhaps the heavens at a standstill saying, here is a true patriotic Ghanaian who while in public service, did his job well.

Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#asaaseradio #TVOL