Districts with raw materials to have factories by 2020 – 1D1F Coordinator

The National Coordinator of the One-district, One-factory (1D1F) policy initiative, Ms Gifty Ohene Konadu, has given an assurance that every district with raw material will have its own factory by the end of 2020.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Monday, she said some districts which had multiple raw materials would even have more than one factory.

For instance, she said, the Nsawam Adoagyiri District had been identified to get three different factories and indicated that funding for the projects had been secured.

Ms Konadu, therefore, urged Ghanaians to continue to have faith in the government and ignore the unfounded propaganda that the government would not be able to fulfill the promise of establishing factories in all districts.

She stressed President Nana Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fulfill the promise made to the people of Ghana during the 2016 electioneering to implement the one district, one factory policy.

“The promise that Nana Akufo-Addo made is a promise that he is fulfilling and he will continue until all the districts have at least a factory each.

I am hopeful that by 2020 most of the districts, if not all, will have factories,” she said.

No discrimination

Ms Konadu, who is a former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said the President was so passionate about the policy because his interest was to open up all the 254 districts in the country to create employment opportunities.

She said under no circumstance had her outfit discriminated against any investor with a good project proposal on the grounds of race, political affiliation, colour, gender, among others.

“One District, One Factory is a vision of the President that has come to assist Ghana. Everything is working to perfection.

When you submit a proposal, we don’t look at one’s political affiliation or background, race, colour, among others.

This is Ghana and everything that the President is doing is about the interest of Ghana,” she said.

Ms Konadu said the implementation of the private sector-led 1D1F was steadily progressing and expressed optimism that more of the factories would be inaugurated soon.

“When you start with anything, you slow down a bit because you have to take your time to study properly, and once you are good to go, you then move at a faster pace.

I can tell you on authority that most of the investors have received funding and are executing the project to the satisfaction of the funding institutions.

“A lot of the banks have also expressed their readiness to support in this regard.

So, for now, everything is in order and we are moving at a faster pace,” Ms Konadu said.

Support 1D1F

Ms Konadu cautioned politicians who were always criticising the implementation of the 1D1F policy to desist from doing so and instead offer suggestions that would contribute to making the policy a success to inure to the benefit of all.

She said the government would not lose focus on the initiative, which had been accepted by majority of the people.

Ms Konadu said under the policy, the government was to provide the enabling environment, which included the provision of potable water, access road network, electricity and land, for the investors to build the factories, saying those facilities would not only ensure that jobs were created but also profitable and sustainable factories were established.