Under its first president, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana was one of Africa\u2019s leading countries in industrialisation.<\/p>\n According to historical reports, Kwame Nkrumah\u2019s government established over fifty (50) factories across the length and breadth of the country.<\/p>\n With Nkrumah seeking to make Ghana the hub for Pan-African activities, establishing these companies was meant to ensure dependability on products made in Ghana and Africa instead of Europe.<\/p>\n The companies were also to serve as job creation platforms for the new Ghana and help build the country\u2019s budding economy.<\/p>\n However, over fifty-five years after the Nkrumah government was overthrown, only a handful of these factories are left in operation.<\/p>\n They were either sold by successive governments, diversified into other sectors, or collapsed, with their structures left to rot.<\/p>\n One such company is the Bonsa Tyre Company Limited, which was set up at Bonsa in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality of the Western Region.<\/p>\n The BTCL, which was established in 1963 as part of the import substitution program, was to produce vehicle tyres for the local automobile assembling industry and the mines.<\/p>\n According to a Daily Graphic report in 2021, the factory could produce over 1,500 tyres daily.<\/p>\n The report indicates that the company has been left to rot since 1980 when Firestone Tyres, a global brand, withdrew from the joint venture agreement and sold its 60 percent shares back to the government of Ghana.<\/p>\n SA\/AE<\/p>\n Watch the current state of the company below:<\/b><\/p>\n The Bonsa Tyre Company Limited (BTCL), established by Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, as part of his import substitution program, has been abandoned since 1980. <\/p>\n The factory, which could produce 1,500 tyres per day, was left to deteriorate after Firestone Tyres\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/srvcTiFHHj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 SIKAOFFICIAL\ud83e\udd8d (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) November 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanaweb.com\/imagelib\/pics\/259\/25910997.295.jpg\" "\\"A")
A photo of the Bonsa Tyre Company Limited<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n