Welcome back, Komenda Sugar Factory
President John Dramani Mahama yesterday cut the sod for the commencement of work to revive the Komenda Sugar Factory in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality of the Central Region.
The sugar factory, which offered employment to the community and others from far and near, was established by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, and became defunct in the 1980s as a result of inadequate funding and bad policies.
The Indian government, through its Exim-Bank, is expected to release some $35 million for the project.
Even though the revival is a fulfilment of a campaign promise President Mahama made during the 2012 general election, it is expected to provide direct jobs to 400 people and 2000 out-grower farmers. This makes it a commendable effort.
It is commendable because the country’s problem of unemployment is no secret. Therefore, a project such as this, which is to provide employment, is most welcome.
Furthermore, the factory is to produce high quality sugar for both domestic consumption and export, and this would cut down on the importation of sugar, and Ghana stands to benefit a lot by way of saving some much needed foreign exchange.
The case of the sugar factory is not an isolated one. Examples abound in factories and industries established during the Nkrumah era which had been left to rot as a result of mismanagement and the lack of a maintenance culture .
The list include the Ghana Shoe Factory, the Ghana Jute Factory, Match Factory at Kade and the Ghana Glass Factory at Aboso. Others are the Tarkwa Gold Processing Factory, Meat Processing Factory in Bolgatanga, Akasanoma Radio Factory and the Paper Processing Factory.
The demise of these factories deprived many of their jobs and brought untold hardships on the economy because Ghana now has to use its scarce foreign exchange to import shoes, cocoa sacks, matches, glass, toilet rolls and even tooth picks, to the detriment of the economy. The effects on the livelihood of Ghanaians and the economy are there for us to see today.
Currently dotted across the country are silos that were started during the First Republic but abandoned when the military adventurists overthrew the Nkrumah government in 1966. Many of the industries set up under the Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC) have gone to waste. That is why we commend the government for the effort being made to revive some of the industries. We note that the shoe factory in Kumasi has been given to the Ghana Armed Forces, which has brought that industry back on its feet.
In order to improve the country’s economy, the effort at reviving the sugar factory should be replicated in other areas where such projects have been left to rot.
While at it, the paper believes that history should be our guiding principle to ensure that we do not crucify again the factory that we are resurrecting. This means that we must ensure that a team of competent staff is put at the helm of affairs to guarantee the proper management of the factory when work eventually begins.
It will be a big shame, if we allow the fresh start we are making to go to waste again.
