The Minister for Trade and Industry, Hon Kobina Tahir Hammond, has said the Sissala West District in the Upper West is yet to benefit from the One District One Factory (1D1F) policy, because no business promoter has expressed interest in establishing a factory in the District.
According to the Minister, till date no investor has approach the Ministry and expressed in undertaking any investment project in the District.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) as part of its campaign in 2016, promised to ensure they establish a factory in all districts in Ghana.
It is close to seven years since the NPP assumed power, and the Trade and Industry Minister, K.T Hammond told Parliament that the IDIF is a public-private partnership and so far no one has come up with a proposed project in the Sissala West.
He was responding to a question posed by the Member of Parliament for the Constituency, Hon. Mohammed Adams Sukparu.
The MP wanted to know when the Sissala West District will get its share of the factories per the government policy.
“Mr Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what plans the Ministry has to ensure that the people of Sissala West benefit from the 1D1F program?”, he quizzed the Minister.
In his response, the Minister said, “the One District One Factory (1D1F) program is a
demand-driven initiative facilitated by the Government to assist the
private sector to establish at least one manufacturing enterprise in each of the 261 Districts of the country.
“Mr. Speaker, unfortunately to date, no private sector promoter has expressed interest in establishing a 1D1F factory in the Sissala West Municipality. We would entreat the Hon. Member to identify and
encourage a potential 1D1F Business Promoter to invest in the Municipality,” Mr.Hammond said.
But Hon Sukparu said he is disappointed in the Minister’s answers as he failed to explain to the people of Sissala West why the government failed to fulfill its 2016 campaign promises to establish a factory in each of the Districts in the country.
According to him, it was incumbent on the government to provide the enabling environment for the private sector, and wondered if the government was not been deceptive.
He said the Sissala enclave is one of the biggest Maize farming area which serves as a food basket to the nation but could also be raw materials for some factories.
The MP, therefore called on the government to take the initiative to ensure the road network is improved, availability of health facilities and supply of good drinking water to entice investors.
In his considered view, the government’s failure to provide such necessities contributed to the lack of interest by investors to channel their resources into the area.
He spoke to the Media after posing his question in parliament.
Source: sacredmediaonline.com/
