Worn-out Zanzibar sugar factory halts production

Zanzibar Sugar Factory Limited at Mahonda has been compelled to suspend production because of equipment malfunction resulting from gradual wear and tear.

Speaking during a recent sitting of the Isle’s House of Representatives, Trade, Industry and Marketing deputy minister Thuwaiba Kissasi, revealed that the factory has struggled to produce high-grade sugar since 2008.

During that period it produced over 100 tonnes of sugar, however, the entire output was of a low, unmarketable quality.

The factory has had trouble with its worn out boilers, according to Kissasi, which fail to generate enough heat to dry refined cane sugar manufactured at the facility. This anomaly makes further processing, packaging and storage impossible.

Responding to a question from Ali Salum Haji (Kwahani, CCM), who wanted clarification on production at the factory, the deputy minister explained that the plant uses outdated technology that heavily relies on diesel and fuel wood.

This makes the plant expensive to run, rendering repairs to be a challenge, said Kissasi.

He added that this is the reason the factory’s current owner is looking into buying more modern equipment.

In the meantime, Zanzibar Sugar Limited continues to produce ethanol, which is marketed for use in various industrial and home-based activities.

Responding to inquiry about an ongoing dispute between the factory owner and residents around the Zanzibar Sugar’s cane farms, Kissasi revealed that it was a land-rights issue, where the latter allegedly trespass into the farmland belonging to the factory and work on it without the investor’s permission.

The issue is further exacerbated by acts of sabotage by some residents, who continue to let their livestock graze on factory farms, and have, in multiple occasions, allegedly set the cane farms on fire.

In a related matter, the Trade deputy minister told the Zanzibar’s assembly that his ministry was working to increase the contribution of Zanzibar’s industrial sector to the national economy, which presently sits at an unremarkable 4.1 per cent.

Efforts to scale up the Isle’s contribution to the nation’s GDP are underway, with the Zanzibar government actively seeking investors willing to take over formerly government-owned factories which are now defunct, and turn them into production.

source: the guardian