FLASHBACK: 5 Ghanaian factories from Nkrumah's era that could have transformed the economy

Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, initiated a number of factories to boost manufacturing and export avenues for the country.

These factories include Akosombo Textiles Limited, The Aboso Glass Factory, Bonsa Tyre Factory, The GIHOC Fibre Products Company, and Wenchi Tomato Factory.

Read the full story originally published on October 26, 2019 by GhanaWeb

In a bid to make Ghana attain middle-income status, Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, initiated a number of factories to boost manufacturing and export avenues but have since been left to rot in many parts of the country.

GhanaWeb takes a look at some of the potential factories that could have boosted Ghana’s economic status but failed due to a lack of management and other financial issues.

Akosombo Textiles Limited

The textile manufacturer was established by Cha Group in 1967. It was a major producer of Real Wax and African Fancy Prints.

The Ghanaian-owned company was established an aim of reducing the importation of foreign textiles into the country. It produced real wax and African prints with 100% cotton.

The Aboso Glass Factory

The Aboso Glass Factory was once a vibrant company manufacturing and supplying bottles for the beverage industry.

The company, which was first set up by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah employed hundreds of people from Aboso, Tarkwa, and other neighbouring communities but was handed over to the Togolese opposition leader, Mr. Gilcrist Olympio in the early 1990s.

Olympio subsequently changed the name of the factory to Tropical Glass Factory and resumed production. Though Olympio's administration, managed to install heavy machinery at the factory to boost production, it could still not live up to expectations due to heavy indebtedness to its creditors.

The company is said to still owe the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) several billion of cedis for power consumed, compelling the latter to disconnect the power supply to the company, and therefore aggravating its plight.

The company was put on the divestiture list in 2003.

Bonsa Tyre Factory

Bonsa Tyre Factory is another factory that has suffered a similar fate as that of the Aboso Glass Factory. The company, which was used to manufacture the popular Firestone wheel tires, also collapsed with the successive government's apparently showing no concern.

Also established by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and strategically sited at Bonsa in Tarkwa near the large rubber plantations where the requisite raw material could easily be tapped to feed the factory.

The people of Tarkwa and Bonsa have been agitating for the re-opening of the company for years now, but nothing has come out of their protest.

The GIHOC Fibre Products Company

The GIHOC Fibre Products Company was set up in 1962 by Dr. Nkrumah to manufacture sacks for the export of cocoa beans and other agricultural produce such as maize.

It was also producing shopping bags and money sacks for the carriage of coins by the banks. As the only company manufacturing such products, the factory was one of the best in the country until it started facing difficulties in the mid-1980s.

It was later shut down in 1991.

Wenchi Tomato Factory

The Wenchi Tomato Factory was established under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with the aim to help manage the situation of wastage when there was a bumper tomato harvest at the time.

Unfortunately, the factory was shut down some years after Dr. Nkrumah’s overthrow in 1966. The factory remained closed for many years but was later sold to a private company known as Afriquid Company Limited.

The factory has been since been left dormant.

MA

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