Dr Sa-ad Iddrisu, a Ghanaian Economist based in the United States of America, is requesting for the Haruna Iddrisu led Minority group in Parliament to summon the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen, to answer questions in Parliament regarding the One District One Factory (1D1F) program of the government.
According to Dr Iddrisu, the Finance Minister Mid-year budget statement that 125 factory have been completed since 2017, is false. He said “The 1D1F, based on available data, is a sham perpetuated by this government on the Ghanaian tax payer. The program is dominated by nonexistent factories. These factories can only be found on paper but cannot be traced to any physical office and employees. In short, the government 1D1F program is dominated by shell/suitcase companies.”
Dr Iddrisu went further to explain that, “A shell/suitcase company is a company/factory that only exists on paper but has no office nor employees. Suitcase companies are mostly set up by people in power with the sole aim of transferring stolen and ill-gotten wealth so as not to get caught, and it seems that is exactly what 1D1F is doing under this current government by Nana Addo. The reason the Minority group in Parliament must dig deeper into the 1D1F program to ensure value for money for the Ghanaian tax payer.”
Dr Iddrisu, also added that available data on government websites shows only 8 factories are operating and not 125 as claimed by the Finance Minister. “Using data from the ministry of trade website, 1D1F official website, ministry of finance website, Ghana Exim bank website, and other several external sources, one can confidently say that not all the 125 factories mentioned in the Mid-year budget are in existence. More than 90% are only existing on paper without any physical factor building nor employees.”
To this reason Dr Iddrisu believes that, “The Minority group in Parliament therefore owes it a duty to Ghanaians to call the appropriate government representative on the 1D1F, the Trade Minister, to answer some questions. The ordinary Ghanaian including myself will be interested to hear from the Trade Minister on question such as: 1. How much of the Ghanaian taxes have been spent on these factories as subsides or other forms of cost? 2.How many actual factories have been completed under the 1D1F program since 2017? 3.In each district/region, what is the physical verifiable address for each completed factory? 4.How many direct and indirect jobs have been created by each of the completed factories since 2017? 5.How much output in quantity/volumes have been produced from each of these factories for domestic and foreign (exports) consumption? 6.In revenue terms, how much has the government raised in taxes (income and corporate taxes) from these completed factories since 2017? 7.In growth terms, what is the output growth from these factories to Ghana’s Gross domestic product (GDP) since 2017? 8.What is the percentage of government ownership in each completed factory?”
Below is the full statement released by Dr Sa-ad Iddrisu
For Immediate Release
08/02/2022
Gov’t 1D1F Is A Sham And The Minority in Parliament Must Summon The Trade Minister For Questioning
The Minority group in Parliament must summon the Trade Minister, Hon. Alan Kyerematen, to answer questions in Parliament regarding the One District One Factory (1D1F) program of the government.
According to the Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, in his Mid-year budget statement on Monday July 25, “Out of 296 1D1F projects undertaken since 2017, 125 are currently operational across the country.” This statement is incorrect according to available data.
The 1D1F, based on available data, is a sham perpetuated by this government on the Ghanaian tax payer. The program is dominated by nonexistent factories. These factories can only be found on papers but cannot be traced to any physical office and employees. In short, the government 1D1F program is dominated by shell/suitcase companies.
A shell/suitcase company is a company/factory that only exists on paper but has no office nor employees. Suitcase companies are mostly set up by people in power with the sole aim of transferring stolen and ill-gotten wealth so as not to get caught, and it seems that is exactly what 1D1F is doing under this current government by H.E. President Nana Addo. The reason the Minority group in Parliament must dig deeper into the 1D1F program to ensure value for money for the Ghanaian tax payer.
Using data from the ministry of trade website, 1D1F official website, ministry of finance website, Ghana Eximbank website, and other several external sources, one can confidently say that not all the 125 factories mentioned in the Mid-year budget are in existence. More than 90% are only existing on paper without any physical factor building nor employees.
Available data seems to suggest that only 8 factories are physically in existence with factory buildings and few workers. These are:
1. $15 million Ekumfi Fruits and Juice Factory in Ekumfi Abor District in the Central Region
2. GHC 12 million Central Oil Mills factory in Denkyira District
3. GHC 10 million CH Global Food processing factory in Krachi East District in Oti region
4. $16 million Weddi Africa Tomato Processing factory in Domefete in Berekum West District of the Bono Region
5. GHC 45 million Bodukwan Multi-Fruit Processing factory in Ashanti region
6. $34 million Starch processing factory in Amantin in Bono East Region
7. GHC 14 million Casa De Ropa Potato in Central Region
8. $30 million Atlantic Life Sciences (Pharmaceutical factory) in Ningo-Prampam
Therefore, the claim by the Finance Minister in the Mid-year budget statement of 2022 alluding to the fact that 125 factories have been completed, is false and a deliberate misrepresentation of reality.
The Minority group in Parliament therefore owes it a duty to Ghanaians to call the appropriate government representative on the 1D1F, the Trade Minister, to answer some questions.
The ordinary Ghanaian including myself will be interested to hear from the Trade Minister on questions such as:
1. How much of the Ghanaian taxes have been spent on these factories as subsides or other forms of cost?
2. How many actual factories have been duly completed under the 1D1F program since 2017?
3. In each district/region, what is the physical verifiable address for each completed factory?
4. How many direct and indirect jobs have been created by each of the completed factories since 2017?
5. How much output in quantity/volumes have been produced from each of these factories for domestic and foreign (exports) consumption?
6. In revenue terms, how much has the government raised in taxes (income and corporate taxes) from these completed factories since 2017?
7. In growth terms, what is the output growth from these factories to Ghana’s Gross domestic product (GDP) since 2017?
8. What is the percentage of government ownership in each completed factory?
These are valuable questions every tax payer in Ghana will be interested to hear answers to from the Trade Minister on the 1D1F program and I hope the Minority group in Parliament will not relent on their duties to the Ghanaian Voter.
Thank you,
Signed
Dr Sa-ad Iddrisu
Economist, Louisiana State Government
U.S.A
