{"id":347979,"date":"2017-08-25T14:03:23","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T14:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=347979"},"modified":"2017-11-10T14:47:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T14:47:44","slug":"dont-start-another-round-of-collapsed-factories-imani-to-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/08\/dont-start-another-round-of-collapsed-factories-imani-to-govt\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t start another round of collapsed factories – IMANI to gov’t"},"content":{"rendered":"
Policy think tank, IMANI Africa has challenged the Akufo-Addo government to learn from the failure of several factories in the country as it launches its flagship One-District-One-Factory programme today [Friday] with the Ekumfi Pineapple factory.<\/p>\n
When the Mahama government was reviving the Komenda Sugar factory in the Central Region, IMANI raised issues with the viability of the project.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”XGWay0PmFOQvp935dTdJwcYFp05Bh4dx”]At the time, it warned that the $35 million earmarked for the project was not enough and will lead to commissioning challenges.<\/p>\n
It also said that it will take not less than 1,000 hectares of land to produce enough sugar cane to make the project viable.<\/p>\n
IMANI cautioned that the projections\u00a0the factory will make an annual gross sales projections of $20 million dollars were not realistic, and that the investors were merely seeking to justify the under-capitalization of the business, by inflating the cash flow expectations.<\/p>\n
About two weeks ago, the deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka Lindsay said the Komenda Sugar Factory will idle longer than expected, as a myriad of challenges including the lack of raw materials have stalled full operations.<\/p>\n
A recent Citi News report revealed that frustrated sugar cane producers have resorted<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to selling their produce to akpeteshie brewers.<\/p>\n Less than a year after its commissioning, the factory has been shut down, crushing the hopes of sugarcane growers in the region.<\/p>\n