Ghana’s Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid has disclosed that the Akufo-Addo led-government may not be able to fulfill its 1 district 1 factory promise in their first and second term.
According to Mustapha Hamid, it is the hope of the incumbent NPP government that if they are unable to create factories in all the districts as promised, successive governments would complete it.
“…President Akufo-Addo was virtually saying that for this country to improve, it is a country that we can get 1 District 1 factory, and that when he gets the power he will put in place measures to make sure that dream is fulfilled. So he may not in the four years or eight years be able to establish a factory for every district, but whatever it is, even if he is able to do 100 or 200, any successive president can continue with the projects, then [it will mean that] we are moving towards President Akufo-Addo’s Ghana beyond aid agenda,†he stated.
The NPP Government has been criticized in recent times for not being able to construct a single factor after a year in office.
The immediate past Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana Prof. Ernest Aryeetey has described the NPP’s 1 District 1 factory as a policy which cannot be implemented.
According to him, such a policy will not work without the needed infrastructural projects.
"there is a need to have for each district of Ghana, an industrial development plan that will have a focus on transformation of the district economy and a focus on job creation, so, if that job creation, as a result of the plan, is coming through one factory, then so be it."
However, answering to some criticisms of the policy today April 4, 2018, on Asempa FM’s Eko Sii Sen programme, Mustapha Hamid said the Akufo-Addo’s government is doing everything possible to fulfill the 1 District 1 factory promise. He noted that some local banks have promised to support the project by providing financing for entrepreneurs seeking to build these factories in partnership with government.
“In the beginning, it was not as if the entire project was dependent on a Chinese facility. As you can see, apart from the Chinese facility we are talking about, the local EXIM bank, UMB, GCB, Ecobank had all come on board, they were also going to help or complement that Chinese facility. Of course the amount of money coming from China was the largest…but if it fails, I don’t think it has thwarted the vision. The local banks that have promised to partner with the vision are continuing in that process and the vision will continue.â€
“So once some of the firms have passed the screening stage, it means that they are basically ready to hit the ground,†he added.