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1D1F: PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO COMMISSIONS GH¢6.2 MILLION SHOE MANUFACTURING FACTORY
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Wednesday, 6th October 2021, commissioned ‘Shoe Fabriek Ltd.’, the GH¢6.2 million shoe manufacturing company operating under Government’s 1-District-1-Factory initiative.
The state-of-the-art factory is fitted with the requisite infrastructure and equipment capable of producing 800 pairs of high-quality shoes, including security boots, school shoes and casual shoes for men, women, and children, per day.
According to the promoters of the project, the siting of the factory in the Akuapem North District is going to create jobs for the residents, which will help reduce rural-urban migration.
Shoe Fabriek has, so far, created jobs for one hundred and forty-four (144) people in the district, and is a classic example of the import substitution programme being implemented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, as part of the 1D1F Initiative.
President Akufo-Addo congratulated the promoters of the factory, Michael Asare Bediako, Opoku Benson and Salomey Gyamfi, for supporting the industrial transformation agenda of his administration.
Whilst encouraging Ghanaians institutions, such as schools, to patronize made in Ghana shoes from this factory, the President expressed gratitude to the traditional authorities and the residents of the community for their unflinching support to the company, and advised the workers to put in their best to ensure sustained growth of the company.
As of September 2021, 278 1D1F projects are at various stages of implementation under the 1D1F Initiative. Out of this number, 104 are currently in operation, 150 are under construction and 24 are at the mobilization stage. one hundred and sixty-five (165) out of the 278 are new projects representing 60% whilst 113 companies are existing projects being supported, representing 40%.
In promoting the 1D1F initiative, the Akufo-Addo Government is seeking to address the youth unemployment challenge, by attracting private sector investments into the development activities of these communities.
Adukrom-Nkurakan Road 30% complete
The President also inspected ongoing work on the reconstruction of Nkurakan – Adukrom – Trom Junction Road. This bituminous road has not seen any major intervention for a very long, as such the road is narrow and in poor condition.
The road was awarded on 23rd December 2020 to Messrs. General Construction & Development Limited, with work commencing on 19th July, 2023.
It is expected that, when the road is completed, it will bring relief to both motorists and pedestrians. It will reduce vehicle operating cost and reduce travelling time and facilitate the movement of goods and services. It will also serve as alternative link to Koforidua, the regional capital when coming from Mamfe.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
