David Allan Paintsil
30 July 2007
Asebu — ABOUT 90 workers of Fruits and Flavours Limited, a lime processing factory situated at Asebu in the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese (AAK) District of the Central Region on Friday defied heavy downpour to stage demonstration against the management of the company for mismanaging the company, leading to the closure of the factory for about a month now.
The aggrieved workers, who gathered as early as 7.30 am at the Asebu Palace Square, marched through the principal street of the town to the residence of the General Manager (GM), Mr. Letsinam Dziedzoave, amidst chanting of war songs and beating of gong-gong.
Clad in red bands, they made several allegations based on mismanagement and conflict of interest against the management of the once buoyant factory in the Region.
Led by the Union Chairman, Mr. Ekow Essel Wilson, the workers resolved that having carefully studied events after almost one month of closure of the factory by court action Officers particularly, the GM had not informed them about the state of the factory and their fate as well, hence, their decision to demonstrate against the General Manager, Mr. Dziedzoave for negligence of the plight of the workers.
The desperate workers have therefore given Mr. Dziedzoave a one-week ultimatum to vacate his residence belonging to the factory or face forceful eviction from the aggrieved workers.
They accused him of conflict of interest because he has siphoned factory's funds to establish a similar factory for himself at Yaayaakwano, near Cape Coast, adding that he as well courted all customers of Fruits and Flavour to his new enterprise putting the one at Asebu at risk of collape.
In their petition entitled, "Total Crisis at Fruits and Flavour Ltd, Asebu," presented to Mr. Dziedzoave, the workers alleged that mismanagement has culminated in total debt of over ¢3.7 billion owed other companies resulting in non-payment of workers salaries for the past 14 months.
They also accused him of supplying some products of the company to one Rose, his niece at Madina, Accra to the tune of ¢460 million, which no payment had been effected.
Some workers said the situation had forced them to withdraw their wards from school as they could not find money to pay school fees of their children in preparatory schools. Others lamented that their landlords have evicted them from their rooms due to their failure to fulfil their rent obligation.
They further indicated that the factory owed citrus farmers to the tune of ¢250 million compelling the farmers in the catchment area to live at the mercy of charity since their livelihood is based on the incomes earned from the sale of lime and citrus.
Again, they told the paper that the company currently owed the VAT Service and Electricity Company, resulting in closure and disconnection of power supply to the factory.
The workers therefore appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to intervene and salvage the factory from total demise in order to save the town from becoming a ghost one.
Reacting to the barrage of allegations shortly after the demonstration, Mr. Dziedzoave denied all the allegations and said he was making efforts to settle a case filed against the company by Immesco Limited, the factory's main sugar supplier for non-payment of sugar it bought from the Tema-based sugar supplying company.
According to him, he had initiated moves to source funds from the Trade and Industry Ministry and was waiting for response from the owner of the company, Francis Doe, to give him the go ahead as the Ministry requested for certain facts about the factory.
"I cannot joke with the lives of 2,000 farmers who have invested in citrus to feed the factory which is producing an under-capacity of 30,000 tonnes of citrus annually due to the absence of citrus to feed the company," he said.
Mr. Dziedzoave said the factory currently produces about 2,000 tonnes annually and that the main problem was financial constraint that has crippled its operation.
He indicated that, bloated product of the newly introduced "Fresh Taste," which cost about ¢100 million a month, added to the pile of debt, claming that the workers were aware of that.
He vehemently denied using company funds to form his own one known as, Grammacelia and Associates, explaining that that factory belonged to a certain seaman by name Lewis Kwaw.
He showed some piled receipts to this reporter to debunk the assertion that his niece was not paying for products supplied to her by the factory.
He therefore advised the 150 workers of the company to exercise restraint while management searched for funds to pay their salaries and debts it owed its customers.
The Chronicle gathered that the factory, which is the main economic pillar in the district, was established in 1929 by British Colonialist under the name "L Rose" to process lime and other citrus products for export.
Currently, the factory produces lime oil and juice for export to Britain.
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