We Will Not Cut 1D1F Sod Just To Excite People – National Cordinator
The National Coordinator of the One District One Factory, Gifty Ohene Konadu, has indicated that government will not cut sod to commence construction of projects with the intention of exciting people.
According to her, the Secretariat is carefully working and meeting with financiers to ensure they don’t only cut sods, but also to begin construction of the projects in order to meet the 216 factories target set by government for each district across the country.
“I don’t want to create White Elephants so we will not cut sods just to excite people. At the appropriate time when we have exhausted all the teething problems, we will line up the projects and cut sods to begin construction”, she said.
At a press briefing in Accra on Monday, Mrs. Gifty Ohene Konadu, said the Secretariat is willing to provide services that will fast track the successful implementation of the projects.
She further stated that the Secretariat has so far made engagement with lead investors, providing them with information necessary to put their proposed projects in shape in order to access and meet requirement of the financing institutions.
Touching on land issues, she said the secretariat is constantly in touch with the chiefs to ensure that the lands that are released are not saddled with problems.
“We have had experiences where lands have been released and later when projects spring up people rise up, and issues of ownership come up, then it stops the progress of the project. We are in constant talks with the chiefs to ensure that we exhaust no issues around the lands.”
According to her, the Secretariat is close in concluding on projects that are viable and have met all the necessary requirements.
“These requirements include project viability, large volume job creation foreign earnings, social impact of projects, value addition, and security of supply of raw materials and community acceptability among others”, she stressed.
Ekumfi Pineapple Project
The one district one factory policy was launched on August 25th at Ekumfi, which saw the commencement of the Ekumfi pineapple factory.
The scope of the project covers the setup of processing plant, pack houses, warehousing, storage units, packaging units, and distribution terminals.
According to the National Coordinator, the construction process will take between 6 months to a year to be completed and equipped.
She further stated that “the first phase of the project will engage 1,500 farmers and 250 people who will be employed at the factory. This project provides indirect jobs such support services such as transport, real estate, catering among others.”
Source: Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum/ thePublisher
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