Make the Komenda sugar factory work, do not sell it – Mahama tells the government

<! –

->

A decision of government The sale of the Komenda Sugar Factory was repressed by former President John Mahama, under whose leadership the factory was built.

Mr Mahama said the decision was inappropriate and that the interest of Ghanaians would not be served if the Akufo-Addo administration proceeded with the proposed sale.

"It is unacceptable to sell the factory. it's an investment the government has made. We can get the expertise and technology to make this factory work. Sugar is one of the products we import a lot. – almost $ 200 million each year – so if we produce some of that sugar here, it will reduce the currency that we have to extract to import sugar.

"I urge the government to follow the path taken," he said in addressing the residents of Komenda during a tour in the central region.

The sugar factory, built at a cost of $ 35 million from an Exim Indian Bank facility, was inaugurated by Mr. Mahama in May 2016, in an atmosphere of great pomp.

With a milling capacity of 1,250 tonnes of sugar cane per day, the plant is expected to change Ghana's dependence on sugar imports. In 2016, Ghana's annual sugar requirements were estimated at 375 000 tonnes.

The plant was also expected to generate energy for its production activities and produce by-products such as molbades for the liquor industry.

However, many problems, including the unreliable supply of sugar cane for continuous processing after the preliminary test, stifled the company's core business and led to its closure a few weeks after its inauguration.

In November 2017, the government launched processes to revive plant activities.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, told the Parliament that a $ 24.5 million credit facility of the Indian Exim Bank was being put in place. place to develop and implement a program of planting and cultivating subcontractors to provide raw materials at the factory.

The program provided for the cultivation of some 14,100 acres of sugarcane to feed the plant.

But delays in unlocking funds for growing sugar cane turned the plant into a white elephant, not producing sugar and making job seekers desperate and disappointed.

The trade minister has returned to Parliament, this time to announce governments decision to sell the plant to a new strategic investor by the end of April.

This angered the minority who accused government to deliberately undervalue the plant in order to sell it cheaply.

Mr. Mahama is also unhappy.

Undoing his claims that he also wanted to sell the factory, he said his government was only looking for establish a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement to help the plant function properly.

"There was never a plan; As the former president under which this factory was built, I can say unequivocally that it has never been considered to sell it. There is still about 3,000 acres of land available for sugarcane planting for the plant.

"The loan from the Indian EXIM is still available, so the government has more than just to take that money and to implement the second phase of the project. Once done, this plant will work, "he added.