Former Minister for Trade and Industry, K.T. Hammond, has expressed surprise and disappointment over the government’s decision to cancel the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) programme.
Speaking in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Hammond questioned the rationale behind the move.
“I don’t understand why the government should cancel it. I don’t know their reason for doing that. If their reason is that the policy has no use, then they don’t understand it.”
He recalled that during their time in government, they had built on a framework set by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, which established factories across districts.
“When we were in government, we said Nkrumah did a lot of factories, and we are not even seeing some of them again,” he noted.
Mr. Hammond explained that 1D1F was designed to encourage private sector investment rather than rely solely on government funding.
“The policy framework allowed individuals or organizations to start factories in the districts. The government’s role was to support these factories by helping them access bank financing. The banks would charge interest, and the government would take half while the factory owners retained the rest,” he said.
He added, “I don’t understand why the government had to cancel it. They just didn’t understand the policy, and instead of seeking explanations, they went ahead to cancel it.”
His remarks come after Mrs. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister of Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, announced that the 1D1F programme, a flagship initiative of the previous NPP government, has been cancelled.
She explained that the ministry would now focus on agro-processing parks under the 24-hour economy policy, aimed at making Ghana’s economy vibrant around the clock.
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