As one of his campaign messages while seeking to be President of Ghana, then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo promised one factory for each of the districts of the country, a policy appropriately dubbed ‘One District One Factory (1D1F)’.
Therefore, upon winning the 2016 elections and assuming power in January 2017, President Akufo-Addo started planning to deliver his campaign promises, apparently based on his timetable.
Thus, on August 25, 2017, he launched the 1D1F programme at EkumfiNanabeng in the Central Region, after which he cut the sod for the commencement of the first factory, one for processing fruits, particularly pineapples, in the town.
The 1D1F initiative seeks to add value to the natural resources of each district and exploit the economic potential of each district based on its comparative advantage; ensure even and spatial spread of industries that would stimulate economic activity in different parts of the country; and create massive employment, particularly for the youth in rural and peri-urban communities, and thereby improve income levels and standards of living, as well as reduce rural-urban migration.
It is also meant to promote exports and increase foreign exchange earnings; and enhance the production of local substitutes for imported goods, thereby conserving scarce foreign exchange.
So far, the government has made attempts to implement the 1D1F policy with some of the factories like the one at Nanabeng being operational, others started and the rest on the drawing board.
It is, therefore, heart-warming that President Akufo-Addo has assured the chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area in the Upper East Region that hisadministration will soon establish a guinea fowl processing factory in Bawku under the government’s 1D1Fpolicy.
This factory is ideal for the traditional area because it is endowed with guinea fowls, which the people, particularly the youth and women, rear and sell for a living.
Since one of the cardinal objectives of 1D1F is to add value to resources of the various districts of the country, it is prudent that the government sites such a factory where the raw material needed for its running is readily available.
The Ghanaian Times hopes to see the factory in existence as promised and soon and so wishes to appeal to the people in the Bawku Traditional Area to plan how they can multiply their efforts in rearing the guinea fowls, which are now going to be purchased in more quantities than they have been producing now.
All the people of the area, whether they gain employment in the factory or not, should see it as belonging to them and as such be vigilant about its operations and check nefarious activities of those who would work there.
They should bear in mind that the factory can create ancillary jobs for others in the areas of guinea fowl rearing and marketing of the factory’s products, for instance.
We also appeal to the government to make sure of avoiding all challenges, including lack of financing, mismanagement, substandard production, thievery and apathy that can stall the factory’s progress and thus kill the hopes of the people.
The Ghanaian Times believes that once both the government and the people play their roles as expected, the guinea fowl factory to be built in Bawku would transform the lives of the people in the area in particular and Ghanaians in general.
