Some economists have advised the Government to refine its flagship One District-One Factory (1D1F) initiative to reduce its import dependency.
They noted that the 1D1F initiative, envisioned by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, had the potential to change the economy from being import dependent to a manufacturing, value addition and export-oriented and must be implemented that way.
They said when done well, it could help strengthen the local currency (the Cedi), reduce the exchange rate challenges, and create more jobs to improve the well-being of Ghanaians.
Dr Patrick Asuming, an Economist, said: \u201cOn paper, 1D1F should help, but we\u2019ve been having that for six years now, and we still haven\u2019t seen a substantial transformation of our import and exports so in that sense, I think, more needs to be done.\u201d
He observed that though the economy had been growing: \u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s been largely a jobless group. We\u2019ve not been creating a lot of jobs, and the unemployment situation doesn\u2019t seem to be improving.\u201d
The Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) recommended that the strategy behind the initiative be revised, and said: \u201cYou cannot be doing 1D1F on the back of Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) and still be importing fertilizer.\u201d
Dr Asuming explained that the exchange rate difficulties would not be solved by the measures that the government had put out, unless steps were taken to address the fundamental and structural challenges facing the economy.
Dr John Kwakye, the Director of Research of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) also said, there was the need for the government to review the financial model of the 1D1F to ensure value for money for investments into the initiative.
He said: \u201cBy now I expected the government to have reduced some of the funding going into some specific flagship programmes because it’s clear that they are not sustainable to fund them all.\u201d
\u201cWe import almost everything we consume, and this is because of our weak industrial base, and I had expected the Veep [Vice President] to talk about transforming the economy to a self-sufficient one.\u201d
Dr Kwakye said this during a media engagement after the Vice President\u2019s lecture on the state of the economy.
Admitting the current economic hardship, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President, said: \u201cIn the midst of the current economic challenges we face, we are putting in place the key pillars for the economic transformation of Ghana.\u201d
He said the government was: \u201cCommitted to working with you to build a country in which every young person can hope, and aspire, and reach his or her fullest potential, right here in Ghana.\u201d
The Vice President indicated that government\u2019s flagship programmes in education, health, agriculture, industry, and digital transformation initiatives, entrepreneurship and youth employment were all aimed at transforming the economy and to better the lives of Ghanaians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n