IDIF Yields 232 Industrial Plants Nationwide – Deputy Trades Minister
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industries, Hon Robert Ahomka Lindsay, has disclosed that 232 factories have been established under the One District One Factory’s initiative by the NPP administration under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to him, 45 out of the IDIF benefits are located in Ashanti including the highly automated Kasapreko Distilleries at Tanoso, in Kumasi
Hon. Ahomka Lindsay who was on Wontumi TV/Radio early morning show on Monday hosted by Oheneba Nana Asiedu said the Darko Farms which was for a long time in a moribund state has also been revamped.
“Now the once famous Darko Farms at Ashanti Akropong which used to deal in everything chicken including a large scale sales of one day old chicken has been revamped.” He confirmed
Hon Ahomka Lindsay who lashed at those determined to belittle the impact of the government’s strategic gradual industrialization process through the IDIF said the nay-sayers and cynics have been shamed by the dumbfounding successes chalked so far.
Viewers of Wontumi TV daily series of the showcasing of developments across the length and breadth of the country may have been overwhelmed by the IDIF Facilities sited in almost every Municipal or District which has featured on the programme, Election 2020. It is broadcast simultaneously live on all Wontumi on-line and on-air platforms from Monday to Friday between 4-6 p.m.
“If you want to advance your economy, you create jobs and this is exactly what the government is doing. In fact it would be unreasonable to see a giant establishment in the poultry industry like Darko Farms go underground while we have a huge deficit in terms of unemployment figures,,”
According to the Deputy Minister the government’s agenda on trade has been given a big boost by Ghana hosting of the headquarters of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA).
He said the creation of the AfCTA has provided Ghana with yet another opportunity to trade among the 55 states on the continent.
“The intra-African trade has been provided with a new paradigm which will increase the per-capita income among all African countries with Ghana being the greatest beneficiary because it houses the headquarters.” He noted.
He added that with the AfCTA now in place, “It is going to be duty and quota free for African countries and goods bearing the made in Ghana tag can now be provided a very vast market.”
Hon Ahomka Lindsay reiterated that the NPP believes that the private sector is the engine of growth and to this end, the government expects local traders to take maximum advantage of the new industries like the assembling of vehicles by some of the world ‘s notable automobile companies in the country to broaden the scope of their operations.
He said even though there are new trends in the global trade, the traditional way of buying and selling will continue to drive the medium and small scale sub-sector.
He therefore challenged local entrepreneurs not to abandon their old expertise and skill in managing small or medium scale businesses as they will continue to flourish under the AfCTA protocols
“Ghana is famed for engaging in buying and selling and this is the right time to raise it to another level by exploiting the enormous opportunities being offered by the AfCTA. Our traders should therefore not abandon the old indigenous culture of buying and selling which will always be an integral part of the local economy.”
Hon Ahomka gave the assurance that the government will continue to introduce various policies to promote the growth of the private sector.
“Seventy percent of our economy is controlled by the medium and small scale enterprises and the operators have to be supported to meet the agenda of effectively promoting the made-in-Ghana goods the AfCTA platform .
The AfCTA Brief
The AfCTA is a Single Market (Duty-free Quota free) trading bloc covering the entire African Continent with a total population of 1.3 billion and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of almost US$3trillion.
It has been described as the most significant development in Africa since the establishment of the African Union (AU) (in 1963), it is the world’s largest Free Trade Area, second only to the World Trade Organisation in terms of Member States.
The initial decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area was first taken at a Trade Ministerial Meeting held in Ghana and chaired by Ghana in September 2011.
Late President John Evans Atta Mills formally tabled the motion for the establishment of the AfCTA at the 18th Annual Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the AU in January 2012, at which the decision to establish the AfCTA was officially endorsed.
Ghana played a central role in the actual negotiations of the AfCTA between 2015 and 2018, contributions to the debates at the AfCTA Negotiation Forum.
Ghana was also one of the first countries to sign the AfCTA Agreement and also the first country to ratify the Agreement, under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
It was also the first country to offer to host the AfCTA Secretariat, after the formal signing of the Agreement at the AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2018. Ghana was selected among six other countries which submitted bids to host the Secretariat, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Egypt, E- Swatini and Madagascar.In the final stages Senegal, Ethiopia and Egypt withdrew their bids in favour of Ghana.
Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyeremateng who rallied support for Ghana’s confirmed hosting of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA),has described it as “a major step in the nation’s march towards economic prosperity.”
According to him, the hosting of the AfCTA Secretariat is going to be a game-changer and launching pad for the Ghanaian Private Sector to explore and exploit business opportunities in Africa,” He once told Parliament.
Mr Kyeremateng said “there could not have been a better time than now for Ghana to be hosting the AfCTA Secretariat, particularly at a time when both Ghana and Africa are rising.”.
He noted that in spite of Ghana’s pioneering role in the struggle for independence in Africa and subsequent contributions to the integration of the African continent, it has not had the honour and privilege of hosting any AU Organ.
“The decision for Ghana to host the AfCTA Secretariat is, therefore, a historic one,” the Minister said, adding that the nation could leverage the opportunity to become the new commercial capital of Africa.
Also, the hosting of the AfCTA Headquarters in Ghana will attract major international financial institutions to locate in Ghana, in addition to other international companies doing business in Africa likely to consider Ghana as the preferred location for siting their corporate headquarters.
There would be other benefits as the AfCTA enhancing Government’s current industrial development agenda and contribute to the diversification of the Ghanaian economy; recruitment of many Ghanaian professionals and administrative staff, and opening up of new market opportunities under preferential terms for Ghana producers, as well as Ghana having the opportunity of hosting various regional and continental meeting and other events associated with the AfCTA.
Ghana has already started implementing a Comprehensive Agenda for Industrial Transformation, with some of the interventions being pursued by the Government of Ghana, in line of the Programme of Action to boost intra African Trade.
Currently, 54 out of 55 countries of Africa have so far signed the AfCTA, with 27 countries having ratified the Agreement. The requirement for bringing the Agreement into force was for 22 countries to ratify the Agreement.
In this regard, the on the 30th of May 2019, the AfCTA entered into force one month after 22 countries deposited their Instruments of Ratification with the AU