Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has reacted to the government’s decision to lease the Komenda Sugar Factory.

In his view, the move demonstrates their inability to manage the facility. Instead, he advocated for handing it over to the private sector.

His comments follow Trade and Industry Minister K. T. Hammond’s announcement of plans to lease the factory to West African Agro Limited, an Indian-based firm, for a renewable term of 15 to 20 years.

• Read also: Komenda residents to protest leasing of sugar factory to Indian firm

The Minister revealed this during a visit to the factory in Komenda Municipality. He explained that, the lease aims to revitalize the factory’s struggling operations.

Although the government has approved the lease agreement, final details are still pending.

In an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem on Wednesday, Mr Cudjoe argued that the project was under-capitalized from the start.

He revealed the failure of government-sponsored enterprises, attributing it to “just greed.”

The IMANI boss expressed a strong belief in the private sector’s ability to manage such projects better.

Mr. Cudjoe criticized both the NDC and NPP governments, stating, “It was clear from day one that the NDC didn’t do their work well, and the NPP has also collapsed it. We need a full audit before any leasing happens.”

• Read also: Trade Minister clarifies Komenda Sugar Factory lease agreement

He further insisted that the government should not be involved in leasing but rather guarantee a private sector actor to invest.

“The state should not be doing these types of things.”

The IMANI President also said the Komenda Sugar Factory was not over-valued and pointed out that the lack of adequate raw materials contributed to its collapse.