330 enterprises to be established under REDP

Accra, Oct. 29, GNA- Under the government's newly instituted Rural Enterprises Development Programme (REDP), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) is assisting all the 110 districts in the country to establish three commercially viable, flagship enterprises in each district.

Within the next three to five years, 330 of such enterprises would have been established in the country, the Minister for Trade, Industry and PSI announced in Parliament on Wednesday.

The Minister, Mr Allan Kyeremanteng was responding to a question by Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, MP for Lawra-Nandom on behalf of Mr. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, MP for Fanteakwa, about the ministry's plans for the development of the large clay deposit at Abompe in the Fanteakwa constituency.

He said currently, representatives from the ministry in conjunction with the district assemblies are distilling the 330 potential projects from District Economic Plans, prepared by the districts with the guidance of the ministry.

"The ministry has already organised sensitization seminars to explain the project implementation arrangements to participating districts," he said.

"An important next step will be district workshops to achieve consensus on the final selection of the three projects to be implemented by each district."

Touching on the Fanteakwa clay deposit, the Minister said when the REDP project gets to consensus level, the Fanteakwa District Assembly will have the chance to put the clay deposit forward as one of the potential projects for consideration.

Mr. Kyeremanteng said the REDP is a programme designed for the private sector to partner with the district assemblies to develop rural industries, adding that the enterprises established would be owned by the districts, the private sector and by district-based trusts to be soon established.

Responding to a question by Mr. John Mahama, MP for Bole -Bamboi on the possibility of having a PSI on clay, the Minister said there is a laid down criteria for making a particular resource a PSI, which include the export and job creation potential of the resource as well as its value added, multiplying effect and utilization potential.