President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the Komenda Sugar Factory that was built by the Mahama administration was not functioning when he came into office as President of Ghana.
Mr Akufo-Addo wondered why the factory was not being operationalised if it was that important for the previous administration.
Asked about the way forward for the factory while speaking on Eagle FM in Cape Coast on Monday, October 18 as part of his tour of the Central Region, he said the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen had been working hard to get the factory operationalised.
“We are told by him that that is not his way of looking at things he will build the roof, and once the roof has been built then he will come down and then lay the foundation. You know that a house that is built this will collapse, just as Komenda collapsed
“The way forward is what Alan Kyerematen, the very dynamic and energetic Minister of Trade and Industry has been trying to do. First of all, our inheritance, a lot of money has gone into the Komenda initiative. It is important for us and yet nothing is happening, it was a stands still when we came into office.”
His comments come just four days after former President Mahama replied his critics who claim he built the Sugar Factory without providing raw materials to feed it.
Mr Mahama said there was an arrangement in place to provide raw materials for the factory.
The 2020 presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) stated that he studied economics in School hence, was fully aware that a factory could not be established without making raw materials for it.
He explained that the Indian government had asked for the factory to be built and later apply for funds to support the production of raw materials.
The Akufo-Addo administration accused Mr Mahama of establishing the factory with making plans for raw materials.
But speaking Cape FM on Friday, October 15, Mr Mahama said “When this government came they said the sugar wasn’t their priority and so they abandoned the 26million dollars the Indian government asked them to apply for.
“They didn’t apply and so they left it and the factory is just there…Do you think I am a fool to build a factory and I won’t make provisions for raw materials? I am not that foolish, I read economics and so I knew what the vision was.”
The $35 million factory, built from an Indian EXIM Bank facility, has not worked since its commissioning in 2016.
The factory was revamped to revive the local production of sugar, thereby reducing the importation of the commodity.