A decision by the government to lease the Komenda Sugar Factory in the Central region to a foreign firm has sparked protests among the people of Komenda and surrounding areas.
The protesters are demanding the reversal of the lease agreement, calling for the factory to return to its original mission of processing locally-grown sugarcane rather than importing raw sugar.
To escalate their protests, the Concerned Citizens of Komenda Traditional Area have planned a major demonstration in the area on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
Consequently, the group has informed the Ghana Police Service of their planned demonstration, which they anticipate to involve over 2,000 protestors.
According to a statement dated August 5, the group indicates that the demonstration aims to oppose the government’s decision to lease the factory to an Indian firm, arguing that the purported lease agreement “lacks proper procedural adherence and stakeholder consultation.”
Trade and Industry Minister, Kobina Tahir Hammond last Wednesday announced that the government was finalising a 20-year renewable lease arrangement with West Africa Agro Limited, an Indian firm, to inject funds into Komenda Sugar Development Company Limited, which has not been operating for about seven years since its commissioning.
According to him, the new company, which would be paying the government $1million annually as rent, is now importing some 550 tonnes of raw sugar and refining it into sulphurless white sugar, with a plan to produce sugarcane sugar in three years.
However, Parliament appears unaware of the new lease arrangement, as some MPs question the rationale for the lease and the importation of raw sugar.
Originally built in 1964, the factory was closed in the 1990s due to mismanagement. It was rebuilt in 2016 with a $35-million Indian Export-Import (EXIM) Bank loan facility and an additional $24 million to bolster the activities of sugarcane outgrowers. It was expected to create some 7,000 jobs.
Operations of the factory halted owing to a plethora of challenges after being commissioned by former President John Dramani Mahama in May 2016.
The facility was left to deteriorate until the government, in November 2019, signed a partnership agreement with a Ghanaian-Indian company; Park Agrotech Ghana Limited, expected which was to pump some $28 million into the project to revive it.
