Government has explained that its ‘one district, one factory’ policy is to ensure that Ghana’s ongoing industrialization drive spreads to every part of the country.
Previously, the majority of manufacturing facilities were constructed in the five largest urban areas, namely Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale.
Documents sighted by BUISINESS GUIDE revealed that government’s implementation plans as well the timelines for the implementation of the first phase of the policy.
Under the new policy, the establishment of factories is expected within the first 100 days of government’s assumption of office.
President Akufo-Addo made the promise mid 2016 during his election campaign, but critics have cast doubts over its viability partly because of government’s tight fiscal constraints and the lack of details on how the plan would be actually implemented.
The new administration has given the go ahead for the implementation of the one district one factory to be managed by the public and private sectors through an organization which will specifically be set up for that purpose.
This implementation body will only serve as promoter and facilitator of the key new policy for ensuring a nationwide spread of industrialization and will not be a direct investor in the resultant industrial projects. Rather, the private sector will provide the investment, although local governments could partner them in this regard if such an investment of public funds is deemed prudent and advantageous.
The organization will have three key objectives.
The new organization is expected to partner other institutions such as the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), providers of mobile money services, cooperatives, Town & Country Planning Department, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), National Board for Small Scale Industries, GRATIS Foundation, Venture Capital Trust Fund, commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, and of course District Assemblies themselves.
It will also partner the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and its subsidiary Ghana Alternative Market, which will provide an exit channel for investors who want to cash in on their investments for hefty profits over time.
Instructively, several projects have already been identified by private sector investors who want to take advantage of the one district one factory policy, and some of them are actually have started securing the requisite equipment for production.
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