The former Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed is alleging that the One District One Factory policy by the government is fraud.
The “One District One Factory” initiative is a key component of the industrial transformation agenda of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government.
President Akufo-Addo launched the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative in 2017 to transform Ghana’s economy from one that relies on the export of raw materials and the import of finished goods to a manufacturing-focused economy that emphasizes value addition and the export of processed goods. Key raw materials for this production are often found in the districts designated for potential production and would have otherwise gone to waste
In an interview with Starr Today, Mr. Ibrahim Murtala disclosed that foreign companies under the 1D1F are supposed to pay import duties in a sum of 350 million dollars as tax of which they have been excluded.
“The 1D1F is the most fraudulent, thievery, outright robbery that this government is seeking to perpetrate on the people of this country. We are giving tax exemption to foreign companies at a total amount of 350 million dollars. These are import duties that these foreign companies are supposed to pay to the state. And we’re saying, don’t pay. We’ll give it to you.”
Meanwhile, the state is going for a loan whilst the foreign companies have not done the needful. He added. “we are going to beg for a 100-million-dollar loan. Does it even make sense?
Ibrahim Murtala further explains that according to the One District One Factory policy document, for you to enjoy the tax exemptions, you must show proof of the number of jobs you will be going to create. But in this case, companies have not shown that.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Jasmine Adjei Anyetei
