Ghana’s flagship One District One Factory (1D1F) programme has come under scrutiny after an audit uncovered what officials describe as a fictitious GH¢89.4 million debt linked to the initiative.
The findings were presented to the Parliament of Ghana on March 10, 2026, by the Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, on behalf of the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
According to the statement, the then Ministry of Trade and Industry Ghana in 2024 requested the release of GH¢89.4 million to five commercial banks as the government’s contribution toward interest payments under the 1D1F scheme.
The programme was introduced under former President Nana Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to promote industrialisation by establishing at least one factory in each district.
The Ministry of Finance Ghana processed the request and forwarded it to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department Ghana for payment.
However, auditors from the Ghana Audit Service, working with Ernst & Young (EY) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), later contacted the banks to verify the claims. All five banks reportedly denied being owed any money by the government under the arrangement.
Officials told Parliament that the GH¢89.4 million debt claim appeared to be fictitious and could have resulted in a wrongful payment if the audit had not detected the issue.
The audit also identified another questionable transaction involving a reported GH¢10.5 million payment into a “Buffer Account” at a commercial bank.
When auditors attempted to verify the payment, the bank indicated that it had never received the funds. Investigators also found that the account number provided did not exist within the bank’s system and did not match its account numbering format.
Authorities said the evidence pointed to a completely fictitious account.
Following the findings, the government has announced plans to conduct a full forensic audit of the 1D1F programme.
Mr Ampem noted that the review is necessary given the scale of public funds committed to the initiative. According to him, the government had disbursed about GH¢391 million in interest subsidies for the programme by the end of 2024.
He told Parliament that the investigation will help determine whether similar irregular claims may exist within the programme’s financial records.
