CENTRAL Regional Minister, Mr. Kwamena Duncan, has revealed the reason behind the “shutdown” of the Komenda Sugar Factory in spite of the massive hype by the previous administration.
According to the regional minister, he was briefed on a working visit to the place that the factory’s inability to start production as expected was due to the lack of start-up capital and raw materials.
Mr. Duncan made this known during an interaction with the media in Cape Coast to spell out his vision and mission for the region as the new representative of the president in the region.
He hinted that contrary to claims by the previous government that all was well for the factory to set off; there was no indication that the much anticipated expectation of Ghanaians, especially those in the region, to see the factory take off.
The outspoken minister noted that it will take at least a year for the factory to start operation if raw materials and a start-up capital of about GHC16 million are readily available.
The regional minister added that the US$25 million secured for the cultivation of special sugar cane to feed the factory will therefore go a long way in complementing the effort of local farmers within the catchment area.
Touching on his vision for the region, Mr. Duncan stated that sanitation, education and job creation will be his three priorities. He explained that a special taskforce will be set up to go round all the districts in the region to ensure cleanliness with the help of the metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs).
“I will also set up an award scheme to uplift the falling standard of education in the region and make a strong case at the national level since we contribute 3% to the national GDP to push the region from being the fourth poorest to a better position,” he further added.
He also bemoaned the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy in the region, describing it as very “unacceptable” and called for a consented effort in curbing the menace.
“As many as 5,000 cases were recorded last year with about 13,000 being teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19,” he disclosed.
On the forthcoming Independence Day celebration, he indicated that all was set for the celebration to take off smoothly.
He announced that all sectors and units for the parade have been constituted with all the districts ready for the match past.
He, therefore, called on the media and the people of Cape Coast to support him to succeed.
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