The delegation was led by Victor Smith, former Ambassador to the UK
Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has dispatched a delegation led by Victor Smith, former Ambassador to the UK, to visit the positioning of the burnt YWCA-31st December Palm Oil Factory in Akyem New Tafo, Eastern Region.
The objective of the visit is to lengthen condolences to the affected women and assess the harm brought on by the hearth outbreak to inform plans for rebuilding the factory if the NDC assumes energy in 2025.
The affected women appealed for pressing intervention to restore their livelihoods.
The victims attribute the incident to erratic energy outages by the Electricity Company of Ghana.
The YWCA-31st December Palm Oil manufacturing factory was engulfed by hearth at midnight of April 3, 2024.
The inferno, which raged for practically 5 hours till quenched by Ghana National Fire Service personnel, left the complete construction decreased to ashes.
The blaze additionally consumed shut to 3000 gallons of palm oil, valued at over 1.2 million cedis, together with all equipment essential for manufacturing.
Additionally, tons of palm kernels and different associated merchandise met the identical destiny, exacerbating the financial toll of the catastrophe.
The livelihoods of over 100 artisanal feminine palm producers and labourers have been disrupted by the hearth outbreak.
“My son is in university; this is what I do to take care of him. I was at a funeral when they called me that fire had burnt everything here. I have lost everything, so the government should help us. We don’t have a farm; this is what we do to survive,” Mary Mensah, a palm oil producer, lamented whereas weeping.
Bashirafatu advised Starr News Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah “This is what I do to take care of my three children in Senior High School. I am a widow so I have told my children they have to stop the school because I have lost all my investments I don’t know where I am going to get money to help them so we are pleading with the government to urgently help us.”
Lydia Annor Blay, one of probably the most severely affected victims, had been within the midst of manufacturing to provide European markets when tragedy struck.
“Since the incident happened, I have been sick because I lost everything all my investments — to the fire. I had produced about 50 jerricans of gallon of palm oil for supply to USA all have been burnt. We have widows, orphans all working here. We went for loans all have been lost. We appeal to president Akufo-Addo to help us,” Lydia Annor Blay recounted her losses.
Gloria Obeng Peprah, one of the labourers met on the scene stated “I am a pregnat woman but I come here to labour, at least I get between GH₵50 sometimes GH₵100 a day here . Dozens of laborers come here to work and they all get something to survive on so we are appealing to the government to help.”
Established within the 1990s, the YWCA-31st December Palm Oil Production factory served not solely the home market but in addition provided merchandise to Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast and particular person clients in Europe.
Its destruction not solely presents rapid financial challenges but in addition threatens to disrupt the broader palm oil worth chain, affecting tons of of households reliant on this supply of earnings.
In response to the disaster, the Municipal Chief Executive for Abuakwa North, Alhaji Umar Bodinga, has visited the scene along with his entourage .
He appealed to the Gratis Foundation and different company organizations and companies to support in rebuilding the factory to restore livelihoods for the affected people.
“Unfortunately, the meeting doesn’t have cash to rebuild the ability and supply the equipment. We can try to put up the construction, however we will’t afford the equipment, so we are going to write to the varied companies to assist us rebuild the factory urgently; in any other case, the implications are going to be dire.”
As the victims grapple with the aftermath, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has performed an influence evaluation on the scene.
However, the prospects of substantial aid assist for the victims seem bleak, prompting appeals to the federal government for pressing intervention to facilitate the reconstruction of the oil manufacturing facility and restore the affected households’ means of livelihood.
