Mahama sends delegation to visit affected women of burnt Palm oil factory

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has dispatched a delegation led by Victor Smith, former Ambassador to the UK, to visit the site of the burnt YWCA-31st December Palm Oil Factory in Akyem New Tafo, Eastern Region.

The purpose of the visit is to extend condolences to the affected women and assess the damage caused by the fire outbreak to inform plans for rebuilding the factory if the NDC assumes power in 2025.

The affected women appealed for urgent intervention to restore their livelihoods.

The victims attribute the incident to erratic power outages by the Electricity Company of Ghana.

The YWCA-31st December Palm Oil production factory was engulfed by fire at midnight of April 3, 2024.

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 a funeral when they called me that fire had burnt everything here. I have lost everything, so the government should help us. We don’t have a farm; this is what we do to survive,” Mary Mensah, a palm oil producer, lamented while weeping.

Bashirafatu told Starr News Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah “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 the 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 with the government to urgently help us.”

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

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

Gloria Obeng Peprah, one of the labourers met at the scene said “I am a pregnat woman but I come here to labour, at least I get between GH₵50 sometimes GH₵100 a day here . Dozens of laborers come here to work and they all get something to survive on so we are appealing to the 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 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, has visited the scene with his entourage .

He 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 to the various agencies to help us rebuild the factory urgently; otherwise, 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.