The Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MOTAI), Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has informed Parliament that the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) initiative, a flagship program of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, has been cancelled. She also indicated that there are currently no incentives associated with the program. “Mr. Speaker, I want to draw the House’s attention to the fact that, as of now, there is no policy regarding 1D1F,” she stated in Parliament on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
New game changer
Responding to questions on the floor of the House, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said in the absence of 1D1F, the ministry had ventured into agro-processing parks under the 24-hour economy policy. “The 24-hour economy policy is the new thing on the block and the game changer, which seeks to make Ghana very vibrant irrespective of the minute of the hour or the time of the day. “We are doing agro-parks which seek to be a great game changer, especially in the agro-processing zones, and it is being worked on to ensure we are able to produce around the clock for import substitution, export, foreign exchange, and to create jobs for our teeming youth,” she said.
Question
The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, raised a question regarding the specific incentives and investment promotion packages being implemented to attract private sector investment following the cancellation of the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative. He also inquired about the concrete measures the ministry is taking to mitigate risks for private sector investment in the industrial sector, particularly in less developed districts. “Is the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTAI) considering the establishment of new industrial parks as part of a revised strategy to attract investment?” he asked.
The 1D1F initiative, introduced by the immediate past NPP administration in 2017, aimed to transform Ghana’s economy from one that relies on exporting raw materials and importing finished goods to a model focused on manufacturing, value addition, and exporting processed products.
Investment packages
Answering, the minister said the policy for the 24-hour economy that had all the investment packages and was under review would be brought to the House when it was complete. She said MOTAI remained committed to all industries in Ghana and sought to create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive. She explained that under the policy of a 24-hour economy, all other incentives were available for all industries to take advantage.
Transitional measures
On the question of if any component of projects under the 1D1F initiative had been integrated into the new 24-hour policy, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare answered in the affirmative.
She also responded to a question from by Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, who asked what transitional measures the ministry was thinking of in relation to the cancellation of 1D1F.
Mr Ayariga said Parliament approved taxes worth millions of dollars to various companies that operated under the 1D1F programme.
Answering, Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said MOTAI was in talks with stakeholders and was looking at the fallout from the cancellation of the 1D1F programme.
She said the cancellation of the 1D1F should not be attributed to her and the message of the cancellation of programme could be asked without recourse to her.
“Since I did not cancel the policy, I would not be in a position to give reasons why remedial measures were not given before the cancellation,” she said.
By: Nana Konadu Agyeman
