One District One Factory Needs Careful Planning

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has urged the Akufo-Addo led government to carefully take lessons from past incidents as it prepares to launch the One District, One Factory (1D1F) Policy.

The body believes that Ghana’s previous industrialisation experience and international best practices would shape the decisions of the initiators of the policy.

In its analysis of the 2019 budget, the Institute stated that “the 1D1F policy needs careful planning in terms of the type of products, factory sizes, locations, ownership, management, and the supply-chain (or raw material base).”

Whiles asserting that the1D1F policy would transform the economy by decreasing importation and creating jobs for the people, IFS admitted that the policy, when carefully planned, would ease the burden of financing.

“To ease the burden of financing the 1D1F policy on the public purse, private- and PPP-funding options should be considered,” they added.

The Akufo-Addo led administration has faced some criticism for the slow pace at which the initiative, a major campaign promise, is being implemented, after announcing in August that only 36 factories had taken off.

Empower Private Sector

Meanwhile, IFS has called on government to empower the private sector to spearhead growth and job creation.

The private sector, according to the Institute, can be empowered by tackling its weakness, poor infrastructure regulatory burden, high taxes, high cost of credit, and the general adverse effects of macroeconomic instability.

“It is important for government to continue to enable the private sector to drive growth and durable job creation, by addressing the numerous bottlenecks mentioned above that continue to inhibit the sector,” the group stressed.

In another development, the IFS has advised government to improve the agricultural sector by scaling up irrigation facilities, extension services, storage and preservation facilities, and marketing facilities.

“To ensure significant creation of jobs and minimize the problem of unemployment and its attendant socio-economic ills, IFS suggested that strong broad-based economic growth, driven by agricultural growth and transformation, industrialization, and the closing of the country’s infrastructure gap, is critically needed.”

Government’s flagship initiative, 1D1F, is set to commence in 254 districts across the country. The first one, a motorcycle assembling plant, was inaugurated in Tamale.

By: Jennifer Avemee