Komenda: Residents threaten protest against proposed lease of Sugar Factory

Government has declared its intention to lease the Komenda Sugar Development Company Limited to an Indian-based firm, West Africa Agro Limited, for a renewable term of 15 to 20 years.

This, is what residents of the town have vowed to protest against, insisting they want the company to be fully owned by the State.

Trade and Industry Minister, Kobina Tahir (K.T.) Hammond, has indicated that government intends to give out the company to a private firm to revive its operation to meet domestic demand.

He made the declaration during a working visit to the site Thursday, August 01, 2024. This followed the National Democratic Congress’ flag bearer’s promise to the Central Regional House of Chiefs of his intentions to revive the company if re-elected.

But the residents have said they will stage a protest against the government if it doesn’t rescind the decision.

Samuel Awudzirato, Convenor for Concerned Residents of Komenda, has expressed concerns over the implications on local sugarcane farmers if the company is leased to a private investor.

“But I can give you a hint, there will be a demonstration very soon. That I can assure you. We demand that the government doesn’t lease the factory to any entity. The factory is 100% owned by the government. We don’t want the factory to be leased to any company.

“We want the factory to be reverted to the production of sugar, through sugar cane, and not just importing the raw sugar from India and refining it to white sugar.

“That process only takes about 20% of the whole production, which means that we have taken out over 10,000 farmers from the whole value chain, which is going to cause serious problems. And so, we demand that they don’t give it to any entity and revert to the old system of crushing sugar cane to produce sugar,” he told Accra-based CitiNews Friday, August 02, 2024.

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has also disclosed its intention to summon the Trade and Industry Minister, K.T. Hammond to the House to respond to some questions on the proposed lease.

The Komenda Sugar Development Company Limited, also known as the Komenda Sugar Factory, was established in 1964 but halted operations for an extended period.

In 2016, the previous NDC government secured a $35 million loan from the Indian Export-Import Bank, followed by an additional $24 million investment to revamp the operations of the factory.

Source:onuaonline.com