Minimum of 80,000 jobs to be created by end of 2017 under 1D1F – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for support from Ghanaians as his government rolls out its flagship ‘One-District, One-Factory’ policy.

President Akufo-Addo on Friday cut sod for the construction of the Ekumfi Pineapple Factory in Ekumfi in the Central Region to mark the start of a nationwide rollout of the policy.

Addressing a gathering of chiefs and people of Ekumfi as well as an audience made up of ministers of state, President Akufo-Addo said by the close of 2017, 51 factories will be at various stages of construction.

That will translate into a minimum of 80, 000 direct and indirect jobs, he said.

President Akufo-Addo said while numerous business proposals for factories have been received by the ‘One-District, One-Factory’ secretariat, funds have also been secured for equipment and facilities.

He said $2 billion, for instance, has been secured from China for the purpose.

Commending the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and other entities for the implementation of the policy, the president said $314 million has been leveraged from local financial institutions for the programme.

“It is now clear that this programme is destined to succeed,” he stressed. President Akufo-Addo stated that “the time has come to bring prosperity to all Ghanaians”.