More accountability needed for ID1F – Ellembelle MP

Ranking Member on the Committee of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has described the One District One Factory (1D1F), one of the flagship initiatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)-led government, as leaving much to be desired, questioning what happened to all the employment promised.

The Ranking Member who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle Constituency in the Western Region explained that the assertion made in this year’s budget by the government for the promotion and formulation of partnerships with existing and prospective businesses to expand manufacturing plants is an admission that all did not go well with the 1D1F industrialisation agenda.

According to him, the project has been a complete waste of resources, and he is, therefore, calling on banks providing funding support to the 1D1F policy initiative to confirm the disbursement of allocated amounts by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

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-industrialized economy.

Addressing Journalists in Accra, Mr. Buah pointed out that, per research done by the Minority, there has not been an 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, while the majority of the factories are existing factories.

He also questioned where the massive employment promised under 1D1F are.

“Can anybody confirm the value addition promised under this programme and how it has contributed to our GDP?

Where are the substituted imported goods promised under the programme? Can anybody point to one product – rice, sugar, or even toothpick that we have succeeded in reducing its import as a result of 1D1F?” the MP for Ellembelle enquired.