The Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has criticized the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) for selling off factories built by Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, Annoh-Dompreh, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, alleged that this move by the NDC government led to the collapse of the country’s industrial base.
“Nkrumah built over 300 industries [factories]… I don’t need to tell them; history is clear. I will not tell you that. At whose instance were all these factories sold like tomatoes?” Annoh-Dompreh asked.
In March 2024, former Speaker of Parliament Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye also accused the PNDC era and NDC governments of deliberately dismantling the country’s industrial base.
In a write-up, Prof. Oquaye referenced Ghana’s vibrant manufacturing sector in 1981, stating, “As of 31st December 1981, Ghana had its entire industrial base from 1957 intact.”
However, he alleged that this changed drastically under PNDC and NDC rule, led by the late Jerry John Rawlings.
According to the professor, “Between 1981 and 2001, over 350 state-owned enterprises collapsed under the so-called divestiture program. Yes! The entire industrial base of this country was wiped out by the NDC administration.”
To support his claim, Prof. Oquaye listed several thriving state-owned industries and corporations that existed in the late 1970s, providing jobs nationwide.
By 2001, he asserted, the NDC had “either collapsed or sold everything to themselves,” offloading key assets such as Ghana’s sole cement manufacturer, Ghacem, and the historic Abosso Glass Factory.
“I have every reason to dislike that party. Ghana is suffering due to that useless party led by John Mahama,” he intimated.
He added that by the time the NDC was removed from office in 2001, they had either collapsed or sold nearly all state-owned industries. The factories included:
Ghacem Cement (Shares sold to Norwegians)
Kwame Nkrumah Catering Rest Houses (Sold by NDC)
Nsawam Cannery (Sold to the 31st December Women’s Movement)
Kanda GNTC (Sold by NDC)
Atlantic Hotel (Sold by NDC)
Meridian Hotel (Sold by NDC)
Star Hotels (Sold by NDC)
Abosso Glass Factory (Sold by NDC)
Continental Hotel (Golden Tulip, Sold by NDC)
West Africa Mills Company
Tema Steel Company
Ghana Agro-Food Company (formerly TFCC)
GIHOC Bottling (became The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Ltd.)
Gliksen W/A Company (Sold by NDC)
Ghana Oil Palm Development Company (Sold in 1995)
