Many are those who have criticized the feasibility of the ‘one District one factory’ project by the New Patriotic Party as stated clearly in their manifesto. Amidst all the incertitude especially by the ruling party, CIEDOM – HOG International Youth Movement has explicated how it will assist to make that project executable should the NPP come to power.

CIEDOM –HOG is a youth empowerment organization with the aim of eliminating graduate unemployment by the year 2024 has added their voice to the campaign manifesto brouhaha. The group which has members within the various tertiary institutions NUGS, USAG SRC etc. and various renowned entrepreneurs as patrons has said they have the strategies and ideas that is capable of fulfilling the NPP’s one district, one factory promise and more.

“A nation like Ghana with an agrarian economy should aim at adding value to its agricultural produce’’. This has been a call from academicians and the ordinary Ghanaian farmer ages ago.   For the NPP to call for one district one factory means they have heard the cries of the good people of Ghana.

The policy is a blessing to the nation and it amazes us to hear others, mostly the incumbent administration, debunking the feasibility and viability of the policy.  We would have wished, as youth empowerment advocates for the policy not necessarily be a political party policy but rather be treated as a national interest agenda.

This is why a group of learned individuals like us are adding a voice to this call. Indeed, it is non-debatable that, the state of Ghana factory hub is in absolute limbo and a great rescue intervention is needed

The one district one factory is a blessing to the nation which is suffering deeply from unemployment to an extent that, Ghana now has Unemployed Graduates’ Association.  This gives a clear indication that the incumbent government has rendered its youth incapacitated.  A nation that graduates an average of 100,000 fresh graduates with only 25% gaining employment needs more than just one district one factory.

Available natural resources and political will can make this achievable. Indeed, Ghana is naturally blessed with each district having natural resources that include huge expanse of arable lands that can be cultivated to produce raw materials to feed processing factories.

In his capacity as the Programs Manager at the Technology Consultancy center- Kumasi in the 1970’s, our life patron; Dr. Kwesi Opoku Debrah toured the whole country to determine the unique natural resources bestowed on the country, and he confirmed that, Ghana has more than enough resources to establish a factory in every district.

In an interview with Dr. Kwesi Opoku-Debrah, the life patron of the group, he had this to say “From the year 2010, I have personally brought various investors into the country most of whom have returned to their various countries after surveying the unfavorable economic climate of this country. I cannot recount the various reasons they gave for their inability to do business in Ghana. A change of systems and policies alone is enough to bring various investors to partner our youth entrepreneurs group to establish businesses in the country.

I am for this policy and calling all Ghanaians mostly the youth who are at the detriment of bad governance from this incumbent administration to rise for change; for the policy has the ability to drastically reduce unemployment, rural urban migration and improve social amenities in our districts”

The Conveners of the group Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin, Michael Chris Tetteh, Owusu Tieku and Eric Okyere Amankwah said as youth entrepreneurs, their various businesses have suffered various devastated challenges under the leadership of this government, some include the high bank interest rates; as government competes with businesses in the domestic borrowing market, high import duties, high taxes, non-incentive business environment and a whole lot of challenges. As a youth movement we have outlined our various fail-proof policies and framework for creating employment. We have met with Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia of the NPP with some of our ideas and his response was very encouraging hence our decision to support the NPP party so they can create the right business atmosphere for us to empower the over 50,000 members of our youth group.  It is not the government alone that can fulfill this promise, it can be achieved through a properly coordinated Public Private Partnership (PPP), but a PPP will only work if the right business atmosphere is created.

The NPP party has men and women who understand business hence speak the same language with us, we are already excited with how we are going to help transform this country with our ideas, that’s why we will encourage all the youth of this country to vote for change.

By Barimah Amoaning Samuel

barimah@entamoty.com