The Minority in parliament has described the Akufo-Addo-led government’s flagship One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) policy as a complete failure and waste of resources
According to the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah claims made in the 2023 budget for the promotion and formulation of partnerships with existing and prospective businesses to expand manufacturing plants is an admission of the failure of the government’s flagship industrial programme, One-District-One-Factory (1D1F).
He said after analysing the five key objectives of the policy initiative that was meant to turn around the fortunes of the Ghanaian economy, the verdict is that it has been a complete failure, a waste of resources and called on banks to provide funding support to the 1D1F policy initiative to confirm the disbursement of allocated amounts by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Addressing the media in Accra on Friday, January 13, 2022, the Ellembelle MP further called on the NPP-led government to account to Ghanaian taxpayers for the failed policy initiative, adding that looking at the time remaining for the party in power with the limited number of factories, the policy is not working.
He asserts that the policy has not made any progress in the quest to move the country from an agro-based economy to an even semi-industrialised economy.
Mr Buah said per the research done by the Minority, there has not been even distribution of factories in each district as promised; stating that out of the so-called 296 1D1F factories at various stages of implementation, about 76 are in Accra, 54 in Kumasi whiles majority of the factories are existing factories. He also questioned where the massive employment promised under the 1D1F is.
“Can anybody confirm the value addition promised under this programme and how it has contributed to our GDP?”
Furthermore, the Minority questions where the substitutes of imported goods promised under the programme are; and if anybody can point to one product – rice, sugar or even toothpick that we have succeeded in reducing its import as a result of 1D1F.”
For the increase in foreign exchange earnings, he noted that the least said the better.
