Nsawam Cannery back to life

30/10/2010

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Nsawam Cannery, which became defunct in 1992, as a result of multiple problems, has been reactivated with an initial workforce of 110.
The 31st December Women’s Movement, in an effort to give the company a new lease of life, acquired it in 1995 at the cost of GH¢270, 000 through a bidding process under the Divestiture Implementation Programme.
The cannery was inaugurated yesterday at a mini-durbar of chiefs and people of Nsawam. The ceremony also saw the launch of the first product, pineapple juice.
The former First Lady and President of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, was on hand to perform the inaugural ceremony.
The occasion was also attended by former President Jerry John Rawlings, as well as executive members of the movement and some traditional leaders.
Prominent among the traditional leaders were the Chief of Adoagyiri and Ankobeahene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area, Nana Afutu Dompreh II, and the Aburihene and Akuapem Anafohene, Otobour Djan Kwasi II.
The company intends to introduce other products, including orange juice, spring water, tomato paste and powdered pepper. One hundred and ten youth, mainly from Nsawam, have been employed by the company.
Tracing the reason for the purchase of the Nsawam Cannery, Mrs Rawlings said after helping women to grow crops, the movement decided to buy the Nsawam Cannery in order to process, dry and can the produce to prevent post-harvest losses.
“The decision was to add value to the fruits and vegetables to give them (the women) more money to improve the quality of their lives,” she said.
Mrs Rawlings said the movement purchased the Nsawam Cannery through a competitive bidding by seven companies, which was handled by the World Bank and New Zealand, and indicated that the movement won the bid on merit.
She said after the movement had bought the Nsawam Cannery, “the company was run down, some of the equipment were stolen and other machines cannibalised”.
In spite of that, Mrs Rawlings said, through the “resilience and sheer determination” of the women, they were able to revamp the company.
She said the company was expected to increase its workforce from the current 110 to 2,000 in two years.
She said some of the youth would be employed to work on specialised areas in the cultivation of various fruits and vegetables to feed the manufacturing plant.
Mrs Rawlings expressed the hope that the cannery would “provide jobs and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country”.
Flt Lieutenant Rawlings commended the women for supporting the revamping of the Nsawam Cannery and noted that they had been through “trying times right from the onset”.
The Project Director of the cannery, Nii Okine Adjei, said the reactivating of the company “is to meet the challenges of our day and give back to this great country of ours so that our children would inherit a better Ghana than the Ghana our forefathers bequeathed us”.
Nana Afutu Dompreh II expressed the hope that the cannery would create more jobs and contribute to the socio-economic development of the area.