• Nana Ama Dokua — Deputy Trade and Industry Minister designate
A Deputy Trade and Industry Minister designate, Nana Ama Dokua, has said the decision of China to grow cocoa beans presented Ghana with huge opportunities.
She said China producing cocoa would mean that the citizens would develop a taste for cocoa products which would present Ghana with another market where it could start exporting cocoa beans and cocoa products.
“It is even better for China to be growing cocoa. For a population of over one billion to develop the taste for cocoa is good. If they develop the taste, then eventually, when they try the better cocoa beans from Ghana, I am sure they will start buying from us as well,” she said when she appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament last Friday.
“We all know the history of how cocoa got to Ghana, so if Fernando Po could not stop Ghana from growing cocoa, then we cannot stop any other country from growing it as well.
“What matters is how we are able to make ours better and, fortunately, we have a comparative advantage due to where we are geographically located, right around the meridian and also fall around the equator.
“This gives us the fine aggregate of cocoa that we have here in Ghana which is demanded the most on the world market,” she stated.
Value to cocoa
Nana Dokua pointed out that adding value to the raw cocoa beans would help the country beat off any competition from any other country.
She said that would also help create more jobs for the youth.
“Initially we were exporting the raw cocoa beans and if we were still doing that, then we should have been worried but for some years now, it has been on the President’s agenda to add value to the cocoa and that gives as an advantage as well,” she explained.
One district, one factory
Responding to a question on why some districts still did not have a factory under the one district, one factory (1D1F) initiative, Ms Dokua, said the initiative was private sector-led and that the ministry was just providing the enabling environment for the private sector to be emboldened to invest in it.
“The one district, one factory is private sector-led. It is a revolutionary agenda aimed at targeting industrialisation and development in every part of Ghana and this is supposed to help curb rural-urban migration and help create and maintain our local economies,” she explained.
She said the initiative had helped in adding value to the natural resources that were available in the various districts across the country.
Update on projects
Giving an update on the initiative, she said so far, there were 232 1D1F projects.
“Out of these, 76 of them are operational, 107 of them are at various stages of completion, and 49 are expected to begin construction this year.
“Out of these, we have about 140,000 direct and indirect employment created and we are expecting about 280,000 extra jobs by the time all the 232 projects would be completed,” she stated.
