Komenda doesn’t need sugar factory but orange factory – Chief

Nana Kweku Fabir Ababio I, the Odikro of Abeyie, a suburb of Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) Constituency of the Central Region, has expressed his dissatisfaction about the establishment of the Komenda Sugar Factory.

According to him, an orange processing plant would have been preferred as orange abounds more in the area than sugar cane. He says if he had been consulted, he would have put that proposal forward.

Nana Kweku Fabir Ababio I made the remarks at a durbar to climax the 25th Yam Festival celebrated by the people of Abeyie. Nana Ababio I further explained that orange is grown on a larger scale by farmers in the area than sugarcane.

However, since there is no orange processing plant, they get rotten, he said. Those who succeed in getting a market for their produce also do not get good prices due to its abundance.

Nana Ababio I, therefore, appealed to government to establish an orange processing plant in the area as the raw material already abounds in the area. The Komenda Sugar Factory was established in the 1960s by the Nkrumah government but became defunct over 30 years ago due to operational challenges.

Government invested $35 million to revive the company. Out of the total investment amount, $24 million came from the Indian Exim Bank as loan. President John Mahama commissioned the Factory in May this year. It is expected to provide 7,300 direct and indirect jobs.

Ghana imports $ 2 million of sugar each year. The establishment of the factory is therefore aimed at decreasing the importation of sugar and also make Ghana a major exporter of the commodity. The factory was closed down for maintenance barely a month after it was commissioned. It is expected to resume operations in October.