President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured of Ghana’s readiness to partner any well-meaning entity to industrialise the country for more jobs and economic empowerment under the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
“Our country doesn’t believe in discrimination, be it Ghanaian or foreign business, we are prepared to provide support under our IDIF to grow our local economics,” he said.
The President made the pledge on Friday, when he inaugurated the third phase of KEDA Ghana Ceramics Company at Shama in the Western Region and also cut the sod for the fourth phase of the operational expansion project.
The third and fourth phases will provide 2,000 jobs for the locals in the area and expected to increase to 5,000 in 2022.
The objective of 1D1F, spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, President Akufo-Addo envisioned, was the transformation of the industrial landscape of the country through a deliberate effort of providing incentives to realize the set target,” he said.
He said “Government has thus provided an incentive regime which includes tax waivers on importation of plant and machinery, tax holidays for companies enrolled on the programme, provision of technical support services, and flexible interest regime for the programme.
“The hope is that all the support given to companies will spur them on to be able to create the much needed jobs for the teeming youth in the country, especially within the rural and peri-urban communities.”
One of such companies which had taken up the challenge is KEDA Ceramics Company Ltd.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the expertise of KEDA Ceramics and the reputation for its best qualities had positioned the company to be competitive not only in Ghana but the whole of West Africa.
He emphasised that in 2019, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, KEDA exported 7,156,800 metre square of ceramics amounting to US$22.9 million, which increased to 10,540,800 metre square in 2020 and raked in US$34.8 million.
“The projection for this year’s export is expected in the area of equipment, machinery, construction materials to enhance the operations of the company,” he added.
A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Michael Okyere Baafi, noted that “the success story of KEDA Ceramics is a testament that with a friendly business environment and the appropriate incentives, such as pertains under the 1D1F flagship programme, home grown companies can compete on the global market.”
He said the siting of the factory in the Western Region was a classic example of local enterprises harnessing the available resources to enhance the economic activities of the people within its catchment area.
The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, lauded the company for employing over 2,000 locals to give hope to the unemployed.
The Managing Director of KEDA, Mr Lorry Li, was grateful to the President for the continual support and also demonstrating his personal interest in KEDA and the industrialisation drive for the good people of Ghana.
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, ABOADZE
