I had the opportunity to follow the parliamentary procedings on Thursday, July 20, 2023, when the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Kobina Tahir Hammond appeared before the Member of Parliament on the floor of the house to answer questions filed by the Honourable Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi, Yusif Sulemana.
When answering the questions, he (K. T. Hammond) repeatedly referred to the Komenda Sugar Factory as an “Albatross” on the neck of the country, which gives me a cause to worrying due to his alleged interest in negotiating to sell state assets anytime he gets the opportunity to serve in the Executive Arm of Government. He may have conceived some plans to sell the factory. Thus, he keeps referring to it as an albatross. Therefore, I call on the Minority Members of Parliament to keep an eagle eye on him not to sell the sugar factory as I envisage.
The minister displayed how clueless and empty he is as far as the sugar factory’s issues are concerned. He made all of us aware that he was not on top of his job.
On the 9th of July, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Komenda Sugar Development Company Limited entered into a ten (10) year management contractual agreement with the West Africa Agrotech Company Limited (WAATCO). He (the Minister) has no knowledge whether the directors of that company are foreigners or Ghanaians. He does not know the amount payable to WAATCO, as stated in the contractual agreement.
He spoke about total overhauling and retooling of the factory, but he could not tell how much was used to carry out that job. There was no such total overhauling and retooling.
I would like to put on a record that an amount of thirty million Ghana Cedis (GhC30,000,000) was used to carry out painting and sandblasting. The funding for this renovation was secured from Prudential Bank under 1D1F. My quick checks at the Minister’s office revealed that the repayment is due, and the bank is chasing the Board of Directors of the Komenda Sugar Development Company Limited for settlement of the loan. Meanwhile, the factory is not operating.
As he was in his usual way of trivialising serious issues due to his jocular behaviour, while he could not answer the questions, he asked Honourable Member for Bole-Bamboi not to open the pandora’s box. Is the pandora’s box revealing about the drillship he allegedly sold, and the money got missing, or the sugarcane on the 125-acre nursery farms which Mr. Alan Kyerematen sold to the Akpeteshie Distillers and Mim Cashew & Agricultural Products Ltd? I wonder how a Minister of State could display such unbridled jocularness, cluelessness, and arrogance on the floor of the August House when sensitive issues are being discussed. He must be told that he is in charge of a very important ministry that requires seriousness.
Enough of deception. The good people of Komenda and the Central Region deserve better.
I shall be back.
Signed
RANSFORD CHATMAN VANNI-AMOAH
(Former Member/ Secretary – Komenda Sugar Management Board)
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