The delay in naming a strategic investor to help revamp the ailing Komenda Sugar Factory has deepened the woes of the establishment.
Currently, the $60-million factory located at Komenda in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) municipality in the Central Region is wasting away, as it is overgrown with weeds resulting from three years of lying idle. The harsh weather conditions and the salty breeze from the Atlantic Ocean that lies about three kilometres from the factory have triggered rapid corrosion of the metallic parts of machinery at the factory.
During a visit by the Daily Graphic to the factory last Thursday, it was observed that weeds had virtually taken over the premises, making it a haven for rodents and reptiles.
The rusty metallic parts of machines indicated that further delay in putting the factory to use could lead to additional costs in terms of repairs and replacement of those parts. At the cane yard, for instance, the cane table which drops sugar cane into the conveyor belt during processing was rusted.
The cutter, which receives sugar cane from the conveyor belt for processing, and the vaporisation chamber had not been spared, as they were also dusty and lay idle.
When the Daily Graphic got to the site about 12 noon, there was very little human activity going on. Just a few of the core technical staff, comprising agronomists, engineers and mechanics, had gathered for a meeting. Security men were, however, around to protect the property.
Residents concerns
The state of the factory is a major source of worry for residents of the municipality, who have called on the government to expedite action on naming a strategic investor to revamp the dormant factory.
According to them, the dormant state of the factory had robbed many of them of their sources of livelihood, a development which had in turn negatively affected business activities in the area.
They also said the continued neglect of the factory defeated the government’s One-district, One-factory (1D1F) industrialisation policy. One of the residents, Abusuapanyin Ebow Jones, described the state of the factory as an eyesore and called for immediate steps to revamp it.
"The people of KEEA were so happy when the factory was inaugurated by the previous government in 2016 because it created a lot of employment opportunities and brought life to the catchment area.
“The businesses of our youth and women started soaring and we all heaved a sigh of relief, but now we are in sorrow because the factory has been left idle and grasscutters have taken over, instead of human beings. We want
Source: graphic.com.gh
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kankan nyame so if the ndc guys were not smart enough to get raw materials for the production of sugar, what about the npp. That statement was legitimate in the first yr of their administration. pls how long does it take sugar cane to mature. Its past two yrs now and u are still saying ndc did not provide raw materials
That factory will never work! Do you think those sugar importers will allow that? Let's be serious and smart. Those sugar importers pay campaign money to political parties.
How can you build a factory without any source of raw materials. This shows how John Mahama is not fit to be President again.
Oh Ghana my motherland,very sad