Former Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry and New Juaben South MP, Michael Okyere Baafi, has dismissed as misinformation the recent allegations of a fictitious GH¢89.4 million debt under the One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.
Responding to the audit findings presented by Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Ampem Nyarko in Parliament on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Baafi argued that no actual payments were made and no liabilities exist because participating banks never disbursed the loans to entrepreneurs.
He explained that the government’s role was limited to committing to cover a portion of the interest but only after a loan is advanced by the bank.
He noted that since the banks did not disburse any loans in the cases under scrutiny, no interest subsidy payments were triggered or made.
Baafi stressed that when auditors contacted the banks, they naturally denied any government liability because no money had changed hands and no loans had been issued.
“If the money had been disbursed, the banks would have taken receipt of government’s money. They have no basis to claim payment from the government since the loans had not been disbursed, and that is where the problem is,” he said.
He described the audit’s conclusion of a “fictitious debt” as misleading, insisting that the previous administration acted strictly in accordance with legal and procedural guidelines.
“It is a matter of misinformation and they are clearly deceiving the public. Everybody knows that government’s actions are guided by principles. You can’t use your imagination to do things but in accordance with the law,” he stated.
He further maintained that ministry records show zero payments were effected to any banks or beneficiaries under the disputed claims, and accused the current government of deliberately deceiving the public for political gain.
The rebuttal comes hours after the Deputy Finance Minister briefed Parliament on the audit results, which flagged the GH¢89.4 million request from the then Ministry of Trade and Industry as non-existent after all five named commercial banks denied receiving or being owed any funds.
A separate GH¢10.5 million entry linked to a non-existent “Buffer Account” was also highlighted as fabricated.
Nyarko told the House that these irregularities, together with reported GH¢391 million in total 1D1F interest subsidy contributions by end-2024, justify launching a full forensic audit of the flagship programme.