Correspondence from Central Region:

The One District One Warehouse project constructed by the government under the Ministry of Special Development Initiatives (MSDI) at Amobaka in the Upper Denkyira West District has been abandoned and taken over by weeds, snakes, and other reptiles.

The facility completed and ready for use has since been left to destroy as materials and equipment there have begun to rust.

Though the purpose of the project remains unachieved, there were fewer produce within the district to store in the warehouse.

A farmer who pleaded anonymity said they do not produce in bulk to request a storage facility.

He said the farmers were not capable of producing the large quantities of maize, rice, and foodstuffs that needed the storage facility hence its abandonment.

"Though we farm, our produce is sent to the nearest community for sale and that’s the reason we do not store produce here. We have not been given the go-ahead by the Assembly to use the facility as well", he said.

This information was revealed when GhanaWeb paid a visit to inspect the various governmental projects in the area.

Residents have raised concerns about the neglected facility and have appealed to the government through the assembly to ensure the facility achieves its purpose.

Under the MSDI to support the government’s Infrastructure for Poverty
Eradication Programme (IPEP), five districts in the Central region have so far benefited from the one district one warehouse initiative.

These districts are; Upper Denkyira East and West, Assin Central, Efutu, Awutu Senya, and Twifo Atti-Morkwa.

Although the warehouses have been completed and ready for use, residents have no answers as to why the warehouses have been abandoned.

Residents believed that if these warehouses began operations, there would be more job opportunities available for the youth in the community.

Residents also believe that the level of criminal activities will be reduced if the youth are employed.

In an interview with the DCE, Richmond Koduah attributed the situation to the low production of foodstuffs by the farmers in the area.

“The area is unable to produce large quantities of foodstuffs for storage but the facility is not abandoned”, he said.

He said the government had introduced tier two of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) initiative and would ensure the youth take active participation to produce more for the facility to store them for the district.

The youth he mentioned were not available for jobs that required labor due to mining activities which had affected participation in the PFJ projects.