The National Coordinator of the ‘One District, One Factory’ secretariat Mrs Gifty Ohene-Konadu has rejected claims by the main opposition National Democratic congress(NDC) suggesting that the governing NPP wants to steal credit for the Ekumfi Pineapple factory, incorporated in the government’s flagship industrialization programme(‘One District, One Factory’).
According to her, she’s taken aback by the cheap propaganda of the main opposition claiming credit for the yet to be established factory in the Central region.
“I’m really scandalized by these lies; and why this cheap propaganda? To the best of my knowledge the acres of pineapple farms which is going to feed the factory we’re yet to establish is for an individual? He’s huge acres of pineapple farms at both Ekumfi and Gomoa, and decided to come onboard so that he can add value to his project. The government’s major interest is to see the factory come to fruition and likewise the building others in each of the 216 districts in the country. There is no need for this propaganda. We don’t care whether the entrepreneur is an NDC or NPP. This policy is mainly government’s commitment to promote massive industrialization drive in the country, through the government’s flagship industrialisation programme(‘One District, One Factory’),” she told host Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM Wednesday.
According to her, it has no other interest apart from securing relief for the people through the creation of jobs, especially in the local areas.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Friday, August, 25, 2017 cut sod for the construction of a pineapple factory in the Ekumfi district of the Central region.
The commissioning will also be the formal launch of the implementation of the 1-district-1-factory policy which the ruling party believes will give impetus to the industrialization drive of the country.
But the former NDC government is claiming credit for the establishment of that pineapple factory in Ekumfi district.
According to a former Deputy Trade Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Murtala Mohammed, the Mahama administration laid the necessary foundation for the take off of the factory since 2013 while they were in office.
“As a matter of fact in 2013, it was done between CEDECOM and CEDECOM is Central Regional Development Corporation. This is something that was established, you can likened it to SADA, which is meant to provide jobs and alleviate poverty in the Central region. And it was done in conjunction with JICA. JICA actually provided the funding for the plantation of about 1.2 million organic sugarloaf pineapple. And the money was about GHS 1.2 million for the production of sugarloaf. This is situated in a community called Essarkyir in the Ekumfi district. CEDECOM had the funding from JICA and it was about GHS 1.2 million which was to start the production of pineapples. One, the purpose of it was to engage the people to reduce poverty.
“Now all these things were done the funding was provided by JICA. President Mahama’s administration, and I remember at that time, it was Hon Nii Lante who went in the commissioning. Hon. Nii Lante was then the Deputy Trade Minister and you have Hon. Sarpong who was then the Regional Minister, Hon. Abeiku who was the MP at that time. The land was secured by CEDECOM through the Regional Coordinating Council, the District and the Chiefs. Now the plantation of the pineapples to the funding was provided by JICA. So there is nothing the NPP government has provided in this. Why should they claim credit for something they haven’t done? he questioned in an interview Tuesday.
