$24 million loan secured for Komenda Sugar Factory ‘missing’

The $24 million loan secured by the erstwhile Mahama-led administration to assist sugarcane farmers in the Komenda area to produce enough raw materials to feed the sugar factory cannot be found, deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah has revealed.

According to Carlos Ahenkorah, despite assurances by the Mahama administration that the needed funds to make the Komenda Sugar factory a viable one, the NPP administration, since its assumption of office, cannot trace a cent of the said amount.

On September 13, 2016 Former President John Mahama asserted that ‘with the establishment of the Komenda Sugar Factory, government has recently secured a loan of $ 24 million from the Indian Exim Bank to assist sugarcane farmers in the Komenda area to produce enough raw materials to feed the factory.

The former President during the announcement said the move was one that was going to help create nearly 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for residents in and around the Komenda area.

That promise has however failed to materialize as many who looked forward to the roll out of the project remain jobless. This, the deputy Trade Minister and Member of Parliament for Tema West attributes to the unavailability of the $24 million loan secured from the Exim Bank.

Mr. Ahenkorah who was speaking at the Start-up CEOs Convention held in Accra described the factory as the ‘worst form of investment’ anybody could indulge in, adding that the NPP government has outlined measures to put the inactive factory to use.

Carlos Ahenkorah also added that the Akufo-Addo-led administration will soon release a number of stimulus packages to companies in distress in order to save the jobs of several Ghanaians who risk becoming unemployed due to the challenges being faced by the various companies they work for.

According to Mr. Ahenkorah, about 150 companies have been shortlisted to benefit from the said move by government.