Professor Alexander Bilson-Darku, a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA), has suggested that the decentralisation of the One District One Factory (1D1F) policy will ensure full participation of people at the rural level.
He noted that the people in the district should be supported and assisted to come up with ideas and innovative initiatives for those industries based on the natural resources available in the area.
“The establishment of innovative financing models will support and assist the metropolitan, municipal and districts to be able to finance the factories within their jurisdictions and if they do not have collateral to source the loan that should not be the end of the story,” Prof. Bilson-Darku advised.
As of September this year, a total of 296 companies have been captured under the policy, out of which 125 are in operation and 144 under construction, while 27 are yet to be constructed.
Speaking to selected journalists at an IEA forum on the topic: ‘Development policy perspective-industrialisation in Ghana’, Prof. Bilson-Darku, Editor of the Ghana Policy Journal, stated that the move would encourage ownership and ensure sustainability of the industries and there must be innovative ways of providing credit to the people for them to establish industries.
“The 1D1F is the government’s flagship industrialisation policy aimed at changing the nature of the economy from dependent on import and export of raw materials to focus on manufacturing, value addition and export of processed goods and services.
“The country has over the years developed policies, programmes and social interventions aimed at boosting industrialisation but implementation of the policies, programmes and social interventions has not been the best and must be linked with agricultural productivity anchored on its natural resources.
“The citizenry must also develop taste for what is produced to reduce dependency on foreign goods to propel the progress, growth and development of the local industry since the country is blessed with fertile land, sunshine, rainfall, minerals and discovering new ones,” Prof. Bilson-Darku indicated.
He cited corruption, bad attitude towards work, inability of people to operate effectively and efficiently in the system were the main issues undermining the country’s ability to industrialise and hampering progress, growth and development.
