Akwamufie (Eastern
Region) 29 October 2002 - A 240-hectare banana plantation belonging to the
Volta River Estate Limited (VREL) at Akrade near Akwamufie had been destroyed
by a severe rainstorm on Saturday.
The damage, which
affected about 80 per cent of the VREL's banana plantation, now, leaves the
company with only 40 hectares at its Akuse farm.
Mr. Van de Broeke,
the General Manager, said this on Monday when the Member of Parliament for
Asuogyaman, Mr. Dwamena Bekoe, visited the farm to inspect the damage. The
General Manager said the company might not be able to export bananas to the
European market for the next two or three years due to the heavy loss.
He estimated that the
company would be losing over one million dollars in export revenue, while it
would have to decide on the fate of its 640 workers.
Mr. Van de Broeke
told the MP that the setback, which is the first in the history of the
company's operation in Ghana, would create a serious financial problem for both
its local and external operations, especially its commitment to its bankers.
He said the
management was in consultation with the local labour union of the company on
the fate of the workers. Mr. Van de Broeke appealed to the government to
immediately come to their aid to help them out of the predicament.
In another
development, a new paper factory located at Ghanakope near Atimpoku was also
hit by the storm destroying equipment worth over 70 million cedis.
The company, which
employs over 60 people, had therefore, been temporarily closed down and the
management appealed also to the government through the MP to come to their aid
to enable it to resume production.
Mr Bekoe, who
sympathised with the two companies over the loss, urged both management and
workers to collaborate to bring back the two companies into production, while
he conveyed their predicament to the authorities.
GRi…/
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