Trade and Industry Minister-designate, John Alan Kojo Kyerematen, says the one district, one factory policy, which was championed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the campaign is feasible.
According to him, the policy would be a major source of transformation of the country’s economy.
However, he said the policy will not be a substitute for the existing policy framework in the industrial sector.
Rather, he said it will complement efforts at growing the country’s industrial sector.
He made these observations when he appeared before the 25-member Parliamentary Appointment Committee for vetting.
The former cabinet minister in the erstwhile Kufuor administration answering questions outlined a number of benefits the country will derive as a result of the policy.
The policy, he explained, will be a strategic partnership with the private sector with a close collaboration with the district assemblies.
For a country reeling under a strangling unemployment rate, Alan Kyerematen said the policy’s first target will be to ameliorate the unemployment situation in the country.
The policy, he reiterated, will provide massive employment to the teeming youth.
With 216 districts in the country, at least a total of 216 factories are expected to be put up across the country, each one depending on the raw materials available in the district.
He stated that another key component of the policy is to add value to the various raw materials grown at the various districts in the countries.
The country has for a long time been exporting raw materials, particularly cocoa, but the minister said the objective was to add value to key raw materials that will be produced across the country.
This, he noted, will help in boosting growth of the country’s economy.
When he was asked how the policy will be executed, the trade minister-designate said his ministry will establish a technical support group and then interface with the various district assemblies to find out the various growth potential across the country.
He was quick to add however, that the starting point of the policy will be to look at existing companies in the various districts and support them to become a district enterprise.
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