Ghana’s flagship industrialisation initiative, One District One Factory (1D1F) programme, has been rocked by revelations of what has been described as a fictitious GH¢89.4 million debt.
The findings were presented to Parliament on Monday, March 10, 2026, by Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem on behalf of Cassiel Ato Forson.
According to the statement, the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2024 had requested GH¢89.4 million to be released to five commercial banks as the government’s contribution toward interest payments under the 1D1F scheme. The Ministry of Finance subsequently forwarded the request to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for disbursement.
However, auditors from the Ghana Audit Service, working alongside international firms Ernst & Young and PwC, discovered that all five banks denied being owed any money under the programme.
“According to the auditors, the said GH¢89.4 million debt was fictitious,” the statement told Parliament. “Without the audit intervention, a whopping GH¢89.4 million of hard-earned public money could have been disbursed to settle this non-existent liability.”
The audit also flagged another suspicious transaction involving a reported GH¢10.5 million payment into a so-called “Buffer Account” at a commercial bank. Upon verification, auditors found that the bank had never received such funds and that the account number did not exist within its records.
“The evidence from the audit pointed to a completely fictitious account,” the statement added.
The government has now announced plans to subject the entire One District One Factory programme to a full forensic audit. Deputy Minister Ampem stressed the importance of the review, noting that about GH¢391 million in interest subsidies had already been disbursed for the programme by the end of 2024.
“Mr Speaker, only God knows how much of taxpayers’ money has been lost to similar fictitious claims,” he said.
