On Thursday, May 12, 2022, My Ghana Media, a pro-NDC media house, came out with a story it sourced from, The Herald, another NDC media house, which was about one of the hard-working ministers, Hon. Alan Kyerematen.
Even though the story sought to attack the personality of Alan, in truth, what these NDC media houses actually intended to do was to create division within the NPP so that it will not be possible for the party to break the eight.
The headline loudly proclaimed, “Alan Kyerematen Takes NPP Flagbearers Campaign To Osu Presby Hall,” and it contained attacks on Alan and the 1D1F Initiative. The minister was invited to deliver a speech at a church programme and the NDC sees everything wrong with that. The publication sought to propagate that the address was a national one and should have been delivered at the Ministry of Trade and Industry or the Ministry of Information. It also sought to imply that only the President can deliver talks at the Osu Presbyterian Church Hall. For Alan to do so, indicated his intention to be the next NPP flag bearer. And the publication sought to indicate that holding such a talk outside the ministry’s premises, shows that Alan was using government platform and working hours to campaign.
Members of the Executive arm of government accept invitations to speak on any issue and these are done at venues outside the ministries. The NDC should be aware. The publication then attacked the 1D1F initiative and clearly displayed the opposition, NDC’s stack ignorance of it.
To state that H.E President Nana Akufo-Addo has difficulty speaking directly and specifically to the number of jobs the policy created, (over 200,00 to date), is to admit that the two media houses know next to nothing about this very successful flagship project. The publication went on to state that, “the factories are difficult to create, and attempt to revise the programme had seen existing ones labelled as part of the 1D1F concept where monies would be dolled out to them for investment and expansion…”
To say the factories are difficult to create is to throw dust in the eyes of Ghanaians, since this is not true and there are many factories already established or are being created under the 1D1F. And to say this policy is desperately extended to existing factories so as to beef up the numbers, is to admit that these media houses do not know how to read or how to source information.
Directly sourcing from a statement delivered by the Hon. Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon. Alan Kyerematen on the floor of Parliament, on the One District One Factory Initiative on Wednesday July 21, 2021, I hereby reproduce the following points to educate the NDC and its media. The core principles of the 1D1F Initiative include the following three: 1). 1D1F companies are not State Enterprises but are privately owned companies actively supported by Government. Government support to 1D1F companies includes fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, technical assistance, and extension of infrastructural facilities, including electricity, water, and access roads.
2). 1D1F Companies could either be new companies or existing companies that meet the 1D1F criteria. This is to ensure that existing companies that require strategic support could also benefit from the initiative. And,
3). In selected cases Government may partner a strategic investor under a PPP arrangement to establish a commercial enterprise under the 1D1F initiative. Where Government has an interest in a 1D1F project, the goal would be for Government to offload its interest over time to the private sector.
The publication went on to indicate that Casa de Ropa, a sweet potato processing factory in the Central Region which is under 1D1F had to wait for three years to secure GH¢ 3 million from Ghana Exim Bank. Meanwhile the truth is, Casa de Ropa which was set up fifteen years ago, enrolled under the 1D1F and was able to secure GH¢14.4 million from Exim Bank to boost operations.
The publication in one breath stated that companies under the 1D1F find monies hard to come by, because the banks unduly delay in giving them loans, then in another breath, we are told that some expatriates have collected huge sums from private commercial banks, which were guaranteed by government, and have fled the country. Since My Ghana Media and The Herald were able to mention, Casa de Ropa, even though they spread false information about that company, they must as well mention those expatriates who took our monies and fled the country.
These NDC media houses are bent on creating hostile divisions in the NPP by attacking personalities. At first the attack was on the Vice President, Dr Bawumia, as the NDC trumpeted on roof tops that the fine gentleman was not a good economist, after all.
The NDC when in government awarded a contract, Ghana Retail Payment System Infrastructure, which was to enhance interoperability in mobile money transactions, to Sibton Switch Systems, whose bid was thirty-three times more than the next highest bidder and was going to cost the tax payer $1.2 billion. Gladly this contract was abrogated in 2017 and the Vice President took up the project and fully completed it at the cost of only $4.5 million. With nothing left to hang the Vice President with, the NDC have decided to attack the Trade and Industry Minister and make it appear that the 1D1F Initiative was waste of public funds.
The NDC has started its ugly noises and are out in the opening, spreading falsehood about every good thing the NPP has achieved. To attack the 1D1F Initiative shows how desperate the NDC is, because this is a project which is bringing hope to all, especially the youth. And Parliament is aware that, out of the 278 functioning 1D1F companies, 58 were fully owned by youth groups who had been mobilized by Government and supported with seed funding to establish their own state-of-the-art agro-processing factories in 58 districts, under what is referred to as the Enable Youth 1D1F Initiative supported by African Development Bank (AfDB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Each of these youth groups have between 40 and 48 individuals as shareholders in each company.
Alan Kyerematen is one of the most focused ministers of this republic who can deliver on his promises. His baby, industrialisation, is bearing fruits in this country and in some parts of Africa. The youth have so much hope in him and they know the future is secured with jobs readily available.
An attack on the 1D1F Initiative is an attack on the sovereignty of this country. The only way to add value to our exports is to process them and that can only be possible through 1D1F and the NDC is not too pleased about Ghana, succeeding.
Hon Daniel Dugan
