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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has criticized the poor management of the Komenda Sugar Factory under the erstwhile John Mahama administration.

The President, in an interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme Thursday morning, refuted some claims by former President John Mahama regarding the factory.

He asked the former President not to blame him for his (Mahama) mismanagement of the factory stressing he collapsed the sugar factory before leaving government.

He noted that a claim by the former President that his government secured a $24 million is ridiculous.

“The money was there before he left office. Why didn’t he access it? The money was there before he left office but in fact, it was going to be difficult to access the money because the factory itself that he had built had collapsed. How are you going to go and tell people you want some more money when the thing that you built is in, itself, on the back fold” he slammed Ex-President Mahama.

“The whole planning of the Komenda Sugar Factory was wrong from the get-go,” he exclaimed, adding that the factory will be up and running by next year February.

''Immediately after its commission on the 30th of May, 2016 , the factory was shut down because of lack of access to raw materials. And soon after the Transaction Advisor who is appointed by the then NDC government, I think it was Pricewaterhouse...came to try and assist the government to sell 70% of the shares in the factory...and all this is happening in the Mahama era. It's not my time. Up and down; up and down, no progress. Why? Because the fundamental issue which has dogged the Komenda Sugar Factory, the absence of plan for supply of raw material makes very, very difficult project'', he elucidated.

He indicated that the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, is reconfiguring the investment to revamp the factory.