Ranking Member of the Trade and Industry Committee of Parliament and Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Mr. Michael Okyere Baafi, has cautioned that the John Mahama administration is allegedly plotting to cancel President Akufo-Addo’s One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
He warned that any attempt to scrap the policy would have significant financial implications for the state and severely damage investor confidence in the Ghanaian economy.
According to Mr. Okyere Baafi, the Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr. Mahama Ayariga’s recent call for an independent audit into the 1D1F programme forms part of a broader strategy to discredit the policy and justify its cancellation.
Mr. Ayariga’s call for an audit stems from his belief that tax exemptions granted to some factories were misapplied, while certain factories reportedly do not exist. He has challenged the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to provide evidence of all operational 1D1F factories.
Responding to these claims at a press briefing, Mr. Okyere Baafi—who served as Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry under the Akufo-Addo administration—stated that as of the time the NPP left office, 196 factories under the 1D1F initiative were operational, creating about 700,000 direct and indirect jobs. He added that an additional 70 factories were at advanced stages of completion.
He further noted that the Enable Youth Initiative empowered hundreds of young people in agribusiness and agro-processing across selected districts, municipalities, and metropolitan areas, with funding support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“The evidence abounds,” he said. “Go to Akontombra, Sagnarigu, Assin Dompim, and other parts of the country. The Common User Facility that established rice mills for farmers and other processing plants has created thousands of jobs along the value chain.”
Mr. Okyere Baafi clarified that the 1D1F policy was never designed to create 100 percent government-owned businesses. Instead, it sought to provide an enabling environment and funding support to viable private enterprises with the aim of stimulating industrial growth and job creation.
He explained that both greenfield and brownfield businesses were evaluated based on the strength of their proposals and financial viability. Qualified companies were linked to participating financial institutions, which reviewed their applications and provided loans to those that passed the viability assessment.
“The government guaranteed these loans and paid 50 percent of the interest to ease financial pressure on the companies and empower them to create more employment opportunities. These companies are still repaying their loans. If you cancel the policy, the government will bear the responsibility of settling the outstanding loans,” he cautioned.
Mr. Okyere Baafi added that any move to cancel the 1D1F policy under the pretext of an independent audit would erode investor confidence, as both local and foreign investors would fear policy reversals whenever there is a change of government.
“I’m telling you, the NDC’s 24-Hour Economy is dead at birth. They simply want to discredit the 1D1F policy, which has created sustainable jobs,” he said.
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