Ransford Chatman Vanni-Amoah, the former Secretary of the Komenda Sugar Project Management Board, has accused the Minister for Works and Housing, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, of misleading the public regarding the operational status of the Komenda Sugar Factory.
According to him, the minister deliberately lied to the Chiefs of the Komenda Traditional Area that there was nothing before Parliament as far as the Komenda Sugar Factory was concerned.
In a press release dated April 15, 2024, Vanni-Amoah refuted claims that the Minority in Parliament is obstructing the factory’s operation by opposing tax waivers for the importation of semi-processed sugar.
“I want to unequivocally state that he deliberately lied to the Chiefs of Komenda Traditional Area. There is nothing before Parliament as far as the Komenda Sugar Factory is concerned.
“Although there is no request for tax waivers before Parliament the government’s decision to import semi-processed is economically nonsensical and would impoverish the local farmers and the youth as that strategy is contrary to the rationale behind that factory’s establishment of import substitution,” he stated.
Vanni-Amoah questioned the government’s commitment to the factory, including inquiries about the previous administration’s development of a nursery plantation, a management contract with West Africa Agro-Tech Company Limited (WAATCO), and monthly payments to WAATCO for management services.
“1. Is he aware that the previous administration developed a 125-acre nursery plantation in which the seed canes ought to be transplanted onto 10,000 acres by February 2017 but his government sold the overgrown sugarcanes on that 125 acres to ‘akpeteshie’ distillers due to his insensitive government’s unwillingness to operationalise the factory?
2. Is he also aware that his government has signed a contractual agreement with West Africa Agro-Tech Company Limited (WAATCO) to manage the factory on behalf of the Government of Ghana for 10 years?
3. Is he aware that WAATCO is paid US$50,000 every month for management services?
4. Has K. T. Hammond informed him that he wants to lease the factory to WAATCO?” the statement added.
He also accused the NPP government of having no intention to operationalise the factory, alleging financial loss to the state due to negligence and inefficiency.
Vanni-Amoah maintains that the Komenda Sugar Factory is still viable for operations.
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