Oppong Nkrumah Urges Government to Bring Back 1D1F Initiative

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, made the call during a session in Parliament. He seconded a motion for the House to adopt the Committee's report, citing official data from the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

The Ranking Member drew attention to the impact on the automotive industry, noting that under the 1D1F policy architecture, incentives were provided to automobile companies for local assembly of cars. "You have suspended all of those as part of the reset. And today, the automotive companies are complaining that the incentive is gone," he said.

He argued that the government's decision to scrap 1D1F and replace it with the 24-Hour Economy has yielded no tangible results, nearly two years into the administration. "As we support the motion that this House should adopt this report, our recommendation, our advice includes the fact that this administration should go back to the 1D1F programme," he said.

The Ofoase-Ayirebi MP warned that suspending 1D1F while waiting for a yet-to-materialise alternative is costing the economy dearly. "Every day that we stay without an industrial programme of this nature, which will incentivise the private sector to create more factories and create more jobs, every one of those days, the opportunity cost is hundreds of thousands of young Ghanaians who are sitting at home without jobs," he said.

He cited data from the Ghana Statistical Service, which shows that youth unemployment has risen to approximately 32.4 per cent. "Every day we stay without an industrial policy that we have suspended 1D1F and we are waiting for a 24-hour economy, the youth are out there without jobs," he said.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah stressed that while 1D1F had its challenges, it was at least delivering measurable results through factory creation and industrial expansion. "Within that policy architecture, Mr Speaker, you will recall, incentives were given to automobile companies to locally assemble cars," he said.

While supporting Parliament's adoption of the committee's report, Mr Oppong Nkrumah insisted that industrial transformation must move beyond campaign promises to measurable results that create factories, expand production and provide sustainable employment.

According to the report, at least 150 factories were operational under 1D1F before the programme was suspended. The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) annual progress report for 2024 revealed that these factories were operational under the 1D1F initiative.

Youth Unemployment Rate

The youth unemployment rate in Ghana has risen to approximately 32.4 per cent, as per data from the Ghana Statistical Service.

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah pointed to the impact of suspending 1D1F, stating that the cost of not having an industrial policy is measured in the number of young Ghanaians who remain unemployed.