The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole Bamboi, Yussif Sulemana, has accused the government of causing financial loss to the state by importing semi-processed sugar for refining at the Komenda Sugar Factory in the Central Region.
The MP said that Parliament approved an amount of $24 million in 2016 for the cultivation of sugarcane to provide adequate raw materials for the factory, but the government failed to draw down the funds, rendering the factory defunct.
Speaking to journalists after the Minister for Trade and Industry, KT Hammond, answered questions about the factory in Parliament, Sulemana said that the government has denied young people job opportunities by failing to put the factory to use.
“Today, you are importing semi-processed sugar. Isn’t that a loss for us? Parliament approved the facility and asked that you should draw down the funds. You arrogantly refused to draw down the money. Today, we are unable to give the needed resources for the farmers to be able to cultivate the sugarcane,” he said.
“So, what you are now doing is to import semi-processed sugar. What you are doing is denying the people a source of livelihood. What you are doing is that you are denying people the needed jobs that we had wanted to create for them,” he underscored.
