Independent Chairman of the Public Procurement Authority of Ghana (PPA), Prof. Douglas Boateng, says the One-district, One-factory initiative by the Nana Addo led government will not work if measures are not taken to stop the importation of fake, counterfeit and substandard goods into Ghana.

According to Prof. Boateng, it will be impossible for Ghana to get into the industrialization age if we do not clamp down on the importation of fake, counterfeit and substandard goods.

“The One-district, One-factory initiative will not work if don’t manage or do away with the flow of counterfeit products into the country,” he told Kwame Afrifa –Mensah on Happy FM’s ‘Epa Hoa Daben’.

He added that it will be very difficult for an investor to invest in a country where there is a high patronage of fake, counterfeit and substandard products.

“How can an investor use Ghana as an assembly centre for his goods while there is a high taste for fake, counterfeit and substandard goods? We can’t create employment for the youth if we continue with this practice.”

He, however, said that it was important that the country deals with this canker. “It cannot happen overnight, it takes time for such things to change,” Prof. Boateng disclosed.

Prof. Boateng is Africa’s first ever appointed Professor Extraordinary for supply and value chain management.

He is also the author of the yet to be launched Compendium of Supply and Value Chain Management terms.