General News of Monday, 23 October 2017
Source: kasapafmonline.com
2017-10-23
Gifty Ohene Konadu
The Secretariat of the One-District-One-Factory says they are not in hurry to create unnecessary noise among the people cutting sod here and there when preparatory works for the various projects have not been completed.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Accra, Monday, to update the public about the government’s flagship project, National Coordinator, One-District-One-Factory, Gifty Ohene Konadu, said the target of building a factory each in the 216 districts remain intact.
However, the Secretariat will only go ahead to keep the public informed when preparatory works on the various projects are concluded.
“I don’t want to create white elephants so we will not cut sods just to excite the people. At the appropriate time when we have exhausted all the teething problems, we will line up the projects and cut sod to begin construction of the projects”, she noted.
On August 25, 2017, the One-District-One-Factory Secretariat launched it’s first project, a pinneaple processing factory at Ekumfi in the Central Region. The scope of the project covers the setup of a processing plant, pack houses, warehousing, storage units, packaging units and distribution terminals. An outgrower development scheme is also included to ensure constant supply and security of raw materials.
The projects is expected to be completed between six months to a year.
According to Hon. Konadu, she has been able to make noise about the Ekumfi project because all the necessary arrangements including financial cover have been secured, stressing that the Secretariat does not intend to create white elephant factories.
She said the Secretariat has so far engaged with different institutions whose activities are linked in one way or the other to the successful implementation of the government’s policy.
They have also engaged some key Ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Finance, Monitoring and Evaluation and Local Government to seek their support and approval for tax incentives, duty exemptions and related issues conducive for survival of infant industries.
Private sector institutions like AGI, Chamber of Commerce, Private Enterprise Foundation and others have also been consulted to tap into their knowledge and experience, she added.
That aside, Hon. Konadu said the Secretariat has made some engagement with lead investors providing them with information necessary to put their proposed projects in shape in order to access and meet the requirement of the financing institutions.
She noted that the Secretariat seeks to facilitate access to credit for the various projects.
“It must be emphasized that such facilities and it’s related liability are borne by the investors and not government. This implies that the Secretariat and the financing institutions have the responsibility of selecting viable projects that have a significant social impact in creating jobs and adding value to our local resources whilst meeting the demands of debt financiers. Such institutions include Ghana EXIM Bank, GCB Bank, CNBM, Universal Merchant Bank and Access Bank.”
According, following their discussions with the financial institutions, they are getting closer to conclude on projects that are viable and have met all the requirements necessary to access credit.
Some of those projects, she noted, are agro processing factories such as cassava, soya beans, Shea butter, fruit and vegetable processing, rice milling, livestock processing including poultry, piggery, and aqua culture among others.
Other project sectors include; manufacturing of tiles, smock production, bamboo processing, beverage production, waste recycling and many more.
