Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister Kobina Tahir (KT) Hammond has stated that the Covid pandemic and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have had a significant effect on the world’s economies, including Ghana’s.
He said these two issues are unavoidable in any discussion about the economic situation, despite the opposition’s criticism of the President for mentioning them.
Hon. KT Hammond made these remarks while explaining how some of the factories under the One District One Factory (IDIF) initiative were affected by the Covid outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He said these factories are recovering gradually.
He was asked about the performance of the factories on TV3’s Ghana Tonight show with Alfred Ocansey on Wednesday, June 14. The Adansi-Asokwa MP said “They are doing very well, not 100 percent well, not because they are failing or collapsing…[but because] we had Covid and Ukraine.
“My friends from the other aisle [NDC lawmakers] don’t want to hear the President talk about Covid and Russian-Ukraine war but they are an inevitability.
“In any political and economic context, you would have to mention this double whammy of a disaster because they haven’t helped anybody. So in the context of this, some of the [factories] have struggled a bit [but] they are picking up and doing what it takes.”
Mr KT Hammond also said that 126 out of 143 factories under the 1D1F initiative are fully operational.
The 1D1F initiative is the vision of His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to change the nature of Ghana’s economy from one which is dependent on import and export of raw materials to one which is focused on manufacturing, value addition and export of processed goods.
