Fire ravages palm oil production factory, 3K gallons of palm oil destroyed

A catastrophic fire outbreak has engulfed the YWCA-31st December Palm Oil production factory at Akyem New Tafo, within the Abuakwa North Municipality of Ghana’s Eastern Region.

The inferno, which raged for nearly five hours until quenched by Ghana National Fire Service personnel, left the entire structure reduced to ashes.

The blaze also consumed close to 3000 gallons of palm oil, valued at over 1.2 million cedis, along with all machinery crucial for production.

Additionally, tons of palm kernels and other related products met the same fate, exacerbating the economic toll of the disaster.

The livelihoods of over 100 artisanal female palm producers and labourers have been disrupted by the fire outbreak.

“My son is in university, this is what I do to take care of him. I was at the funeral when they called me that fire has burnt everything here. I have everything so government should help us we don’t have farms, this is what we do to survive,” Mary Mensah, a palm oil producer, lamented while weeping.

Another victim, Bashabirafatu, shared the same plight, “This is what I do to take care of my three children in Senior High School. I am a widow so I have told my children they have to stop school because I have lost all my investments. I don’t know where I am going to get money to help them so we are pleading to government to urgently help us”.

Lydia Annor Blay, one of the most severely affected victims, had been in the midst of production to supply markets abroad when tragedy struck.

“Since the incident happened I have been sick because I lost everything, all my investments have been lost to the fire. I had made the production of about 50 jerricans of a gallon of palm oil for supply to USA all have been burnt. We have widows, and orphans all working here. We went for loans, all have been lost. We appealed to President Akufo-Addo to help us,” Lydia Annor Blay recounted her losses.

Gloria Obeng Peprah, one of the labourers at the scene, said, “I am a pregnant woman but I come here to work, at least I get between GHS50 and sometimes GHS100 a day here. Dozens of labourers come here to work and they all get something to survive on so we are appealing to government to help”.

Established in the 1990s, the YWCA-31st December Palm Oil Production factory served not only the domestic market but also supplied products to Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast and with individual customers in Europe.

Its destruction not only presents immediate economic challenges but also threatens to disrupt the broader palm oil value chain, affecting hundreds of families reliant on this source of income.

In response to the crisis, the Municipal Chief Executive for Abuakwa North, Alhaji Umar Bodinga, who visited the scene with his entourage appealed to the Gratis Foundation and other corporate organizations and agencies to aid in rebuilding the factory to restore livelihoods for the affected individuals.

“Unfortunately the assembly does not have money to rebuild the facility and provide the machinery. We can try and put up the structure but we can’t afford the machinery so we will write the various agencies to help us rebuild the factory urgently else the implications are going to be dire.”

As the victims grapple with the aftermath, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has conducted an impact assessment at the scene.

However, the prospects of substantial relief support for the victims appear bleak, prompting appeals to the government for urgent intervention to facilitate the reconstruction of the oil production facility and restore the affected families’ means of livelihood.