The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi in the Eastern Region, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has called on the NDC government to return to the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative, describing it as the most practical path to industrial job creation for Ghanaian youth.
Speaking during parliamentary debate on government policy, the former Information Minister cast doubt on the delivery of the NDC’s flagship 24-Hour Economy program, warning that “time is running out” on its promise.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah argued that nearly two years into the administration, the much-publicized “1:3:3 formula” one job, three people, three shifts has not materialized.
“Mister Speaker, this government is almost two years in office. And in these two years they have appropriated about six hundred and fifty billion Ghana cedis. Almost two years on, you cannot find one government agency that is applying one, three, three. For all the stories that we were told… at the end of the day it is not delivering on what was promised.”
Citing the National Development Planning Commission’s report, he noted that 151 factories were operating under the 1D1F program as of the end of 2024, contrasting that with the absence of concrete delivery under the 24-Hour Economy.
He criticized the government for scrapping 1D1F and replacing it with the 24-Hour Economy, which he said has so far produced only policy documents and talk of a “24-hour economy market” and “private sector incentives.
“The bill that was passed did not provide for all of the items in the shifts that were spoken about,” he added.
The Ofoase Ayirebi MP pressed government to revive the 1D1F initiative, launched in 2017 to establish factories in each of Ghana’s 261 districts to boost manufacturing, agro-processing, and jobs. “We want to encourage the government to please bring all of the other policy documents because we’re almost two years into their administration.”
Oppong Nkrumah stressed that Ghanaians expect tangible job creation, not just policy rhetoric.
Source: metrotvonline.com
