Convener for the Concerned Citizens of Komenda Traditional Area Samuel Awudza has explained that their upcoming demonstration is not limited to Komenda residents alone but includes over forty-eight Civil Society organizations, including the Economic Freedom Fighters, along with other individuals who are mobilizing to join them.
The Concerned Citizens of the Komenda Traditional Area have notified the Ghana Police Service of their plan to hold a demonstration in Accra on September 17, 2024, protesting the lease of the Komenda Sugar Factory to an Indian firm.
Initially set for August 13, 2024, in Komenda, the protest was rescheduled to Accra, where participants will demand the reversal of the lease, insisting that the factory should focus on processing locally grown sugarcane rather than importing raw sugar. The group claims that the lease was finalized without proper procedural adherence or stakeholder consultation.
Speaking to Happy Kasiebo, he highlighted that around 99% of demonstrators are from Accra, not Komenda, underscoring that the Komenda Sugar Factory is a national asset. However he mentioned that five buses from Komenda will transport demonstrators to Accra.
Mr. Awudzah stressed that while they have no objection to another entity taking over the factory since it would create employment opportunities for locals, their concern lies in the fact that the Indian firm operating the factory is importing raw sugar for refining. This, he argued, undermines the factory’s original purpose, which was to create jobs for local farmers and others.
He pointed out that what initially seemed like a joke has now become serious, with the government importing 1,000 tons of brown sugar from India to refine into white sugar.
He explained that refining brown sugar into white sugar only represents about 5% of the entire sugar production process. Although the Komenda Sugar Factory is supposed to generate between 5,000 and 7,000 jobs, the current workforce consists of only about 13 Indian employees, and the factory recently suspended operations after running for just a month.