A devastating fire has swept through the YWCA-31st December Palm Oil production factory in Akyem New Tafo, Ghana, causing extensive damage and economic turmoil.
The inferno, lasting nearly five hours before being extinguished by Ghana National Fire Service personnel, razed the entire structure to the ground.
The blaze consumed approximately 3000 gallons of palm oil, valued at over 1.2 million cedis, along with vital production machinery and tons of related products.
This catastrophe has disrupted the livelihoods of over 100 artisanal female palm producers and labourers, leaving them in dire straits.
Victims like Mary Mensah and Bashabirafatu, who relied on the factory for their families’ support, shared heartbreaking stories of loss and uncertainty about their future.
“My son is in university, this is what I do to take care of him. I was at the funeral when they called me that fire has burnt everything here. I have everything so government should help us we don’t have farms, this is what we do to survive,” Mary Mensah, a palm oil producer, lamented while weeping.
“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 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 to government to urgently help us”.
Lydia Annor Blay, who was in the midst of supplying international markets, recounted the devastation of losing everything in the fire.
“Since the incident happened I have been sick because I lost everything, all my investments have been lost to the fire. I had made the production of about 50 jerricans of a gallon of palm oil for supply to USA all have been burnt. We have widows, and orphans all working here. We went for loans, all have been lost. We appealed to President Akufo-Addo to help us,” Lydia Annor Blay recounted her losses.
Gloria Obeng Peprah, a pregnant labourer, emphasised the urgent need for government assistance to help those affected survive this crisis.
“I am a pregnant woman but I come here to work, at least I get between GHS50 and sometimes GHS100 a day here. Dozens of labourers come here to work and they all get something to survive on so we are appealing to government to help”.
The destruction of the factory not only impacts immediate economic challenges but also threatens the broader palm oil value chain, affecting families across the region.
Established in the 1990s, the YWCA-31st December Palm Oil Production factory served not only the domestic market but also supplied products to Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast and with individual customers in Europe.
Its destruction not only presents immediate economic challenges but also threatens to disrupt the broader palm oil value chain, affecting hundreds of families reliant on this source of income.
In response to the crisis, the Municipal Chief Executive for Abuakwa North, Alhaji Umar Bodinga, who visited the scene with his entourage appealed to the Gratis Foundation and other corporate organizations and agencies to aid in rebuilding the factory to restore livelihoods for the affected individuals.
“Unfortunately the assembly does not have money to rebuild the facility and provide the machinery. We can try and put up the structure but we can’t afford the machinery so we will write the various agencies to help us rebuild the factory urgently else the implications are going to be dire.”
In response, local authorities, including the Municipal Chief Executive for Abuakwa North, are appealing to organisations and agencies for support in rebuilding the factory and restoring livelihoods.
The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) has conducted assessments, but substantial relief support remains uncertain, underscoring the critical need for government intervention to aid in reconstruction and help affected families recover.