Kobina Tahir (KT) Hammond, Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, has warned that any discussion of the economy, whether local or global, must include the detrimental effects of the Covid epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on world economies.
Although the opposition MPs in Ghana do not want to hear the President link the Covid outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine war to the country’s current economic problems, as stated by him, he claimed that these two issues cannot be left out of the discussion about why the economy is struggling.
He said this while claiming that some of the One District One Factory (IDIF) initiative’s factories had been badly impacted by the Covid epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. However, he stated that these factories are gradually expanding.
The Adansi-Asokwa Member of Parliament commented in response to a query on the factories’ performance: “To answer your question they are doing very well, not to say they are doing 100 percent well, not 100 percent because they are collapsing or falling out…[but because] we had Covid and Ukraine”
“My friends from the other aisle [NDC lawmakers] don’t want to hear the President talk about Covid and Russian-Ukraine war but they are an inevitability.
“In any political and economic context, you would have to mention this double whammy of a disaster because they haven’t helped anybody. So in the context of this, some of the [factories] have struggled a bit [but] they are picking up and doing what it takes.”
KT Hammond
KT Hammond added that 126 of the 143 factories covered by the 1D1F project are up and running.
His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has a vision known as the 1D1F initiative to transform Ghana’s economy from one that is reliant on the import and sale of raw materials to one that is centered on manufacturing, value addition, and export of processed goods.
“Several factories including the Atlantic LifeSciences Ltd have been commissioned under the initiative by the President”, he said.
Parliament Responsible for 1D1F Setback
The One-District One-Factory Initiative’s challenges are being attributed by Minister of Trade and Industry Kobina Tahir Hammond to Parliament.
He claimed that the legislative branch of the government had neglected to take action on some of the incentives that needed to be approved to support these factories.
“Let me tell you, horror of horrors, part of the problem also emanates from the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana. Remember I am a senior member of the august House. So, if I say that some of the problems are from there, I know what I am talking about.
“The applications have been made through the Ministry [of Trade and Industry]. The Ministry handed these applications to the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry handed a good chunk of these to Parliament and for two years now, Parliament hasn’t been able to sit.”
KT Hammond
He mentioned the import waivers promised factories under the policy as one of the first incentives under the initiative that Parliament failed to approve.
He expressed worry that even the Finance Committee has not decided on the matter let alone to be tabled before plenary. “That’s the difficulty. As many as a 100 of these issues are still pending in Parliament. So, you see the difficulty?”, he questioned.
The Adansi Asokwa Member of Parliament stated that if the Parliament had taken action to provide these industries these waivers, all the factories would have been more financially feasible. He further said that some of the plants would have been operating normally if not for the Covid-19 outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine war, but he noticed that most of them have managed to survive.
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