FLASHBACK: 5 Ghanaian factories that could have transformed the economy

Ghana's first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, constructed several factories to boost the country's manufacturing and export avenues.

These factories include Akosombo Textiles Limited, the Aboso Glass Factory, the Bonsa Tyre Factory, the GIHOC Fibre Products Company, and the Wenchi Tomato Factory.

In a bid to make Ghana attain a sustainable middle-income status and become self-sufficient, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah constructed factories to boost manufacturing and export avenues. However, these initiatives have been left to rot in many parts of the country.

GhanaWeb Business shed light on some of these factories that could have boosted Ghana's economic status but failed due to a lack of proper management, politics and others.

Akosombo Textiles Limited

The textile manufacturer was established by Cha Group in 1967. It was a major producer of Real Wax and African Fancy Prints.

The Ghanaian-owned company was established to reduce the importation of foreign textiles into the country.

The Aboso Glass Factory

The Aboso Glass Factory was once a vibrant company manufacturing and supplying bottles for the beverage industry.

The company, first set up by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, employed hundreds of people from Aboso, Tarkwa, and other neighbouring communities but was handed over to the Togolese opposition leader, Mr. Gilcrist Olympio in the early 90s.

Olympio subsequently changed the name of the factory to Tropical Glass Factory and resumed production. Though Olympio's administration managed to install heavy machinery at the factory to boost production, it could still not live up to expectations due to heavy indebtedness to its creditors.

The company is said to owe the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) several billion cedis for power consumed, compelling the latter to disconnect the power supply to the company and aggravate its plight.

The company was put on the divestiture list in 2003.

Bonsa Tyre Factory

The Bonsa Tyre Factory is another one that has suffered a fate similar to that of the Aboso Glass Factory. The company that used to manufacture the popular Firestone wheel tyres has also collapsed, with the government showing no concern.

Also established by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and strategically sited at Bonsa in Tarkwa, near the large rubber plantations where the requisite raw material could easily be tapped to feed the factory.

The people of Tarkwa and Bonsa have also been agitating for the re-opening of the company for years now, but nothing has come out of their protest.

The GIHOC Fibre Products Company

The GIHOC Fibre Products Company was set up in 1962 by Dr. Nkrumah to manufacture sacks to export cocoa beans and other agricultural produce such as maize. It was also producing shopping bags and money sacks for the carriage of coins by the banks.

As the only company manufacturing such products, the factory was one of the best in the country until it started facing difficulties in the mid-1980s. It was later shut down in 1991.

Wenchi Tomato Factory

The Wenchi Tomato Factory was established under Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to help manage the wastage during a bumper tomato harvest.

Unfortunately, the factory was shut down some years after Dr. Nkrumah's overthrow. The factory remained closed for many years but was later sold to a private company, Afriquid Company Limited. The factory has since been left dormant.

This story was first published on October 26, 2019 by GhanaWeb