Simiw Chief questions delay in reopening Komenda Sugar Factory, demands jobs for youth

The Chief of Simiw in the Central Region and Adontehene of the Edina Traditional Council, Nana Nguando IV, has questioned the continued delay in reopening the Komenda Sugar Factory, stressing that residents need jobs and economic opportunities rather than repeated promises.

Nana Nguando IV made the appeal at the 2026 Simiw Enyankor Festival, where he called on the government and other stakeholders to urgently address the challenges preventing the factory from returning to full operation.

According to the traditional ruler, the factory has remained inactive for nearly two years, leaving many young people in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) Municipality struggling to find employment.

He said a fully operational Komenda Sugar Factory would create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, provide a ready market for farmers who cultivate sugarcane and stimulate economic activity across the KEEA area.

“When the NDC campaigned, we condemned the NPP’s failure to operationalise the Komenda Sugar Factory which alone could create over 7,000 jobs in this constituency, so that we would not have to import sugar,” Nana Nguando IV said.

“It is getting to two years now and the factory, which is a well-known Mills-Mahama project, remains abandoned. The youth are struggling for jobs.”

He urged President John Mahama to fulfil the government's commitment to revive the facility, noting that the continued inactivity of the factory has become a major concern for residents.

“If the Akufo-Addo government could not operationalise it and we campaigned against them for it, we want to send this message to the President that we are still waiting for the Komenda Sugar Factory to be operationalised,” he added.

The renewed call comes amid growing concerns over the prolonged shutdown of the factory, which was constructed in 2014 and commissioned in 2016 at a reported cost of about US$35 million.

The project was expected to help Ghana reduce its dependence on imported sugar while creating more than 7,000 direct and indirect jobs.

However, successive efforts to restore production have encountered challenges.

Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare told Parliament in February that the factory had been disconnected from the national electricity grid and water supply because of unpaid bills. She also indicated that the facility required refurbishment before it could resume operations.

The government has subsequently indicated that it intends to make the factory operational by the end of 2026, with the involvement of a strategic private investor.

For residents and traditional leaders in KEEA, however, the latest promise must translate into tangible action.

The constituency has strong historical ties to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), particularly through the late former President John Evans Atta Mills and Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. The Komenda Sugar Factory has consequently remained a politically significant project in the area.

A similar call was made in February during a thank-you tour by NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who urged the government to intervene and restore the factory and the jobs it was originally expected to generate.

The renewed demands come as the government seeks private-sector participation to revive the facility.

For Nana Nguando IV and residents of the KEEA area, the priority is clear: the prolonged promises must give way to concrete action, with the Komenda Sugar Factory reopened and placed back into production to provide jobs, support farmers and revive economic activity in the area.