The Minority Caucus of the New Patriotic Party in Parliament has rejected key findings in a Special Audit Report on the One District One Factory programme, describing claims of fictitious transactions and fund diversion as inaccurate and unsupported by law.
In a statement issued on March 19, the caucus said while it respects the constitutional mandate of the Auditor General to oversee public spending, it strongly disagrees with parts of the report it believes misrepresent how the programme was designed and implemented.
The group explained that the One District One Factory initiative, launched in 2017 under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, was created to boost industrialisation, reduce unemployment and cut reliance on raw exports. It stressed that the programme was private sector driven, with government providing policy support and financial incentives rather than directly building or operating factories.
According to the Minority, companies under the programme were selected through a structured process involving the Ministry of Trade and Industry and participating financial institutions, with projects spanning new factories and expansions of existing ones across sectors such as agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing.
The statement said a key feature of the programme was an interest subsidy scheme, which allowed banks to lend to beneficiary companies at reduced rates.
However, it noted that in some cases the government did not fully provide the subsidy funds needed to support these loans. As a result, some banks did not disburse credit to the companies.
It argued that this explains why certain firms listed in the audit report did not have outstanding loans, insisting that the absence of debt reflects non disbursement rather than any wrongdoing.
The caucus further rejected claims that payments made to financial institutions were fictitious or intended to divert public funds.
It maintained that all transactions were approved by Parliament and processed through established state financial systems, including the Controller and Accountant General’s Department and the Bank of Ghana.
It has therefore called on Parliament to direct the Ministry of Finance to retract the characterisation of the transactions, and urged the Public Accounts Committee to conduct what it described as a fair and thorough review of the audit findings.
The Minority also wants future special audits to involve prior engagement with implementing agencies to allow for clarification before conclusions are published.
While reaffirming its support for accountability, the caucus cautioned against what it sees as the politicisation of oversight processes, insisting that any assessment of the programme must be based on law, facts and fairness.
Source: metrotvonline.com
