Concerns been raised as to why the Suame Foundry project, initiated by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) in 1984, as a joint venture by the Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG) (49%), and the then Social Security Bank (SSB) now SG-SSB (51 %), to facilitate the easy operations of artisans from the Suame Magazine, has collapsed in spite of the heavy investment The Foundry, which had three departments, namely, Fabrication Shop, Machine Shop and Foundry, was established to help in the manufacture of simple implements like cutlasses for agriculture and tools for mechanics of the Suame Magazine, and also serve as a pivotal plant for the manufacture of motor vehicles locally. However, the project is almost at the verge of collapse, in spite of attempts by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to revamp it in 2006, having acquired the premises for the association from Kowus Motors, at the cost of GH¢870,000, according to Nana Oppong Mensah, immediate past Chairman of the GNAG. The concerned artisans are calling for a probe into the alleged mismanagement of the project by the Ashanti Regional branch of the GNAG. The aggrieved artisans, the majority of who are shareholders of the Suame Foundry Limited, are questioning the whereabouts of machines and equipment, including a lathe machine donated by the then Chairman of the PNDC, Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings, which were at a point in time evacuated from the Foundry by the GNAG executives, to give occupancy to Zoomlion Company Ghana Limited. They want the executives of the association to answer a few questions as to who owned the company now, and make public details of the Memorandum of Understanding for the takeover of the premises by Mahindra Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the renowned Mahindra & Mahindra Group of India, for the establishment of a US$6 billion tractor assembly plant. They also want to know what went into the negotiations for Mahindra Company to take over the premises, and the type of agreement entered into, and what informed the selection of members of the Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG) at Suame Magazine in Kumasi for a trip to India under a month's trainers' training programme in Mumbai, India, to train the rest of their counterparts for the effective take-off of the plant. The aggrieved artisans believed some of the equipment and vehicles had been sold, but Nana Oppong, says every single item was intact. He has as well denied allegations of any financial misappropriations and managerial inefficiency, adding that a number of the issues being raised by the artisans occurred during the previous administration. The founder and first ever National Chairman of the Association, Mr. Akwasi Abayie, who is also the Regional Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has declined to comment on the state of affairs at the Suame Magazine, which is currently manned by an interim management committee. He disclosed that no dividend had ever been paid to shareholders since the inception of the foundry in the early 1980's. Source: The Chronicle