As of September 2022, the One District One Factory initiative (1D1F) has a total of 296 companies captured under the government’s flagship programme.

Lead Officer for 1D1F, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr Kofi Addo, has explained that the companies captured were either in operations, under construction or in the pipeline, adding that the sector had many companies under its radar.

He revealed this during the inauguration of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly’s (TMA) District Implementation Support Team (DIST), which has membership from the Assembly, Ghana Standard Authority, Ghana Drug and Food Authority, Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana National Fire Service, Tema Regional Police Commander, and others.

He said of the number, 125 were in operations, 144 were under construction, and 27 were in the pipelines, noting that those in the pipelines had all their documentation ready to start the construction for the project.

Mr. Addo also revealed that out of the 261 districts in Ghana, the programme had so far covered 52 percent of them and was working to capture the remaining 48 percent.

He stated that the Greater Accra Region had 1D1F projects in 19 districts, of which the Tema Metropolis had two companies benefiting.

The 1D1F was one of ten items on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s industrial promotion agenda, according to Mr. Addo. He also mentioned other items like the Industrial Revitalization Programme, Business Regulatory Reform, Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones, and Strategic Anchor Projects.

He mentioned that the key principles of the 1D1F include private sector drive, explaining that a district could have more than one factory under the programme, and support from the district implementation support team.

He added that an existing company could be captured under the 1D1F programme for expansion or creation of new subsidiaries, just like in the cases of Pharmanova, Everpure and Kasapreko who have expanded to other areas with the help of the initiative.

“When you have people saying we are just bringing old companies under the programme, it is not true, we capture expansions, building of new structures, and totally new companies,” he explained.

The 1D1F Lead Officer added that two districts could also come together to have one company under the programme when they realized that their raw materials and other resources could not support full independent projects.

He said among its objectives were value addition, support for import substitution, support for export, industry support, and opening the country up for economic activities through which jobs would be created.

He said some incentives 1D1F companies received were five years’ corporate tax-free, access to utilities, duty exemption (import duty, VAT, EXIM levy and NHIS levy) for all capital goods being imported for the project.

Mr. Addo also stated that an agreement had been signed with 15 commercial banks, which ensured the capping of interest rates on loans for such companies at 20 percent to ensure stable funding for the project, adding that the government also subsidized 10 percent of the interest rate for companies with majority Ghanaian owned shares.

Mr. Michael Okyere Baafi, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI), on his part, urged Ghanaians to embrace the programme, as it had come to stay as an important way to industrialize the country.

Mr. Baafi said Ghana had got to a stage where it did not have a choice but to industrialize, stressing that industrialization must be a way of life for the people.

He added that “1D1F should be taken like Christianity, it must be a way of life for us, and just like social media it has come to stay.”

Mr. Yohane Amarh Ashitey, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive chairing the inauguration, said he believed in allowing the private sector to lead in industrialization therefore, his resolve to ensure that the 1D1F programme was utilize by many to get more industries in the metropolis in addition to existing ones.

The One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative is the vision of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to change the nature of Ghana’s economy from one that is dependent on import and export of raw materials to one which is focused on manufacturing, value addition, and export of processed goods. These raw materials are largely found in the districts, which would have otherwise gone to waste.

The initiative, as proposed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is private sector led. Government creates the necessary conducive environment for the businesses to access funding from financial institutions and other support services from government agencies to establish factories. Ghanaian entrepreneurs will thus own the companies, operate them and bear all the risks and rewards of the projects.

On August 25, 2017,the President launched the 1D1F programme at Ekumfi in the Central Region. His Excellency, after the launching, cut sod for the commencement of the first factory, a pineapple/ fruit processing factory at Nanabeng in the Central Region of Ghana.

Source: The Independent Ghana