MESSAGE ON THE STATE OF THE NATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC,NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, ON THE OCCASION OF THE STATE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT,ON. THURSDAY, 21ST FEBRUARY, 2019, ACCRA.

Mr Speaker, I am glad to be here with you again in this august House, the
Parliament of our Republic, to perform, for the third time, the pleasant
duty of fulfilling my constitutional obligation, by giving Honourable
Members and the Ghanaian people a message on the state of the nation.
In accordance with protocol and convention, it is good to see that First
Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, Second
Lady Samira Bawumia, Spouse of Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Alberta Ocquaye,
Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, and Justices of the Supreme Court,
Chairperson Nana Otuo Siriboe II, and Members of the Council of State,
Chief of Defence Staff Lt. Gen O.B. Akwa, Inspector General of Police
David Asante Apeatu, and Service Chiefs, are all present. Mr. Speaker, the
House is duly honoured by the welcome attendance of the former
Presidents of the Republic, their Excellencies Jerry John Rawlings and
John Dramani Mahama, former First Lady, Her Excellency Nana Konadu
Agyemang Rawlings, and the Dean and Members of the Diplomatic Corps.
The House should also take note of the passing last year of some
distinguished citizens of our country – Vice President, Kwesi Bekoe
Amissah Arthur; UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan; Senior Minister, J.H
Mensah; Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe; PNDC
Secretary, K.B Asante, and the Poet Laureate, Prof. Atukwei Okai. May
their souls rest and abide in the bosom of the Almighty until the last day
of the Resurrection when we shall all meet again. Amen!
Mr. Speaker, I hope the House will bear with me, as I have a lot to say,
and I may take quite some time.
A month ago, almost to the day, I was in Yendi, fittingly attired as a self-
proclaimed Prince of Dagbon, Prince Abudani, the first of that lineage, to
witness the installation of Yaa-Na Mahama Abukari II as the overlord of
Dagbon.
Thousands of our compatriots were there to share in the joy of the
occasion. It was a ceremony that many had despaired we would ever see,2
but a new Yaa-Na, accepted by the two gates of Abudu and Andani, was
installed on that day.
It brought to an end decades of feuding that laid low the proud and
ancient kingdom of Dagbon. It was a happy day, and it marked the climax
of a long, tortuous journey, and a hard grind on the part of many people
through the years.
Two years ago, when I had the honour to become President of our
country, I decided to summon all the resources of the state and my own
energies, and make a concerted effort through the dedicated, patriotic
Committee of Eminent Chiefs that had been working on the problem for
the past 17 years, to find an acceptable solution. With the blessings of
the Almighty, we have had a breakthrough, and this led to the month-
long series of events that climaxed in the installation on 25th January,
2019.
Mr Speaker, I was not looking to be accorded any special title or accolade,
and I was certainly not looking for praise. I did want to do whatever I
could to make sure that this long running sore, that was such a blight on
Dagbon and Ghana, and which dragged down the development process
in our country, could be resolved, and we could move on.
We had spent enough emotional stress, enough time, enough energy and
enough money on the Dagbon dispute; I wanted that amount of emotion,
that time, that energy and that money to be spent on making Dagbon and
Ghana prosperous.
I am grateful for the hard work and wisdom of the eminent chiefs,
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, the Nayiri, Naa Bohugu Abdulai
Mahami Sheriga, Overlord of Mamprugu, and the Yagbonwura, Tuntumba
Boresa Sulemana Jakpa, Overlord of the Gonja State, all of whom I salute,
and for the support of many people in this House on both sides, and I
pray that we all continue to build on this achievement and midwife the
process until peace becomes part of the fabric of Dagbon.
The Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs intends to use the
momentum of the Dagbon settlement to tackle the other protracted
chieftaincy disputes in the country, hopefully, for resolution.
Mr. Speaker, in order to reinforce and support the process of reconciliation
and the restoration of peace in Dagbon, I have decided that, this year,
the official 62nd Independence Day celebration will be held in Tamale, on
6th March. This will be the first time in our nation’s history that the celebration is being held outside of our national capital of Accra. I am,
very much, looking forward to it.
Mr Speaker, this past week, the grounds of Jubilee House, the seat of our
nation’s presidency, have resounded to a lot of celebrations, as we marked
the handing over ceremonies of the constitutional instruments to the six
new regions in our country. It has taken 18 months of very hard work and
some complicated manoeuvring to get to where we are today.
Again, the requests and agitations for creation of new regions have been
long-standing, and we have somehow never got around to dealing with
them. The first petition for the creation of Oti region, for example, dates
back to 1954. Mr Speaker, it was time to deal with these outstanding
issues so that we could get ahead with the business of developing our
country. The creation of the six new regions opens up the country and
ensures that no one feels cut off from the centre.
Mr Speaker, no corner of this country is being left behind. It is for this
reason that we have created the three development authorities. It is for
this reason that we have re-aligned the national budget to ensure that
every constituency gets the cedi equivalent of $1 million a year for priority
projects.
I am able to state, and every member of this House should be able to
testify, that work is going on in each of the 275 constituencies around the
country. The water and toilet provision segment of the Special
Development Initiatives is taking place in every constituency. We came
into office with a plan, Mr Speaker, and I am happy to say that we are
working and delivering in accordance with that plan.
Mr Speaker, now that the regions are in place, we have the singular
opportunity to avoid the old mistakes of urban planning that have made
some of our towns and cities such unattractive places. The lessons would
seem to show that the political capital does not necessarily have to be the
site of all the institutions, and this would guide us in the setting up of the
new regions. Indeed, when designating the capitals of the new regions,
at the ceremonies at Jubilee House last week, I made it clear that
Government is committed to the equitable distribution of government
structures and institutions across the regions. We will keep to the
commitment.
Mr. Speaker, we have also embarked on another aspect of our ambitious
decentralisation programme, that is the exercise to expand full democracy
to local government. In addition to the creation of thirty-eight (38) Municipal and District Assemblies, and the elevation of twenty-nine (29)
Districts to the status of Municipalities, the Bill for the amendment of
article 55(3) of the Constitution has been gazetted, to pave way for the
direct, popular election, on partisan basis, of Metropolitan, Municipal and
District Chief Executives (MMDCEs). It is expected that a Referendum will
be held on the Bill, alongside the Unit Assembly and District level elections
in 2019. I am calling, respectfully, for a repetition of the bi-partisan
support, that made possible the hugely successful outcomes in the
referenda for the new regions, to ensure the success of the impending
referendum. Furthermore, a multidisciplinary panel of experts is being
assembled to plan, cost, schedule and help implement a roadmap for the
election of MMDCEs. We are committed to devolving more and more
power to the Ghanaian people.
Mr Speaker, the economy is at the heart of all we seek to do, it is the
success of the economy that will guarantee an improvement in the quality
of the life of our people. I believe we are all now agreed that the
fundamentals have to be sound if the economy is to flourish. We have
just concluded a programme with the IMF, and, with continuing discipline,
we shall sign off from the deal in April. This is the seventeenth time Ghana
has had to go to the IMF in the sixty-two years of her independence.
Mr Speaker, we cannot make the progress we all desire unless we are
consistent and disciplined in the management of our economy. The yo-yo
nature of the boom and bust has not helped us achieve our goal of
sustained prosperity, and lift us out of poverty. We have gone through
another round of painful impositions to get to where we are today with
healthy fundamentals.
Mr. Speaker, production in the economy, as measured by real GDP
growth, has picked up very strongly in the last two years. From 3.4% in
2016, real GDP growth increased to 8.1% in 2017. In 2018, provisional
data for the first three quarters indicate a strong real GDP growth of 6.0%,
higher than the annual target of 5.6%. Real GDP growth for 2019 is
forecast at 7.6%. Ghana’s recent GDP growth has placed it amongst the
highest in the world. The fiscal deficit is being brought down from the
7.3% of rebased GDP in 2016 to a provisional 3.9% of GDP at the end of
2018. The debt-to-GDP ratio has declined from the 56.6% of GDP in 2016
to 54.8% at the end of 2018.
Inflation has dropped from 15.4%, at the end of 2016, to 9% in January
this year, the lowest in six years, as announced by the Ghana Statistical
Service last week. Interest rates are declining, and so is the Bank of Ghana Monetary Policy Rate. Our trade balance account, for the first time in more
than a decade, recorded a surplus in 2017, and is expected to remain in
surplus. In May 2018, a US$2 billion Eurobond was issued for 30 and 10
years of US$1 billion each with coupon rates of 8.627% and 7.625%
respectively, and these were the lowest rate and the longest maturity in
our history, signifying confidence in the economy. It comes as no surprise,
therefore, that, today, Ghana is the leading recipient of Foreign Direct
Investment in West Africa.
Mr Speaker, these are good figures, and as we prepare to exit from the
IMF programme in April, we expect the impressive figures and good
performance to continue. We are very much aware that this is not the first
time we have had such a good set of figures, but we are determined to
do things differently this time around; we have imposed on ourselves
fiscal discipline, we are paying off legacy debts and deepening good
governance practices and business confidence is growing. We will
maintain the discipline, and bring progress to our country.
We have decided to institute a legal framework to help with the discipline.
We have passed the Fiscal Responsibility Law, Act 982, capping the deficit
at 5% by law, and some two weeks ago, I inaugurated the Presidential
Fiscal Responsibility Advisory Council, chaired by the eminent, respected
economist, Dr. Paul Acquah, former Governor of the Bank of Ghana and
former Deputy Director of the Africa Department of the IMF, with some
of the finest and most reputable economists of our country as members.
Its purpose is to advise the President on relevant, additional measures
needed to maintain fiscal discipline.
We have done this because we know the temptation to go on a spending
binge will always be there, we know election years will come around and
there will be pressure on government to splurge, and persuasive
arguments will be made that you have to stay in government to be able
to implement your programmes. However, I am bent on running a
responsible administration, mindful of the next generation, and not,
merely, the next election.
In the meantime, our efforts are bearing some fruits, and the world has
taken notice of the improvement in our economic fundamentals. In
September last year, after almost a decade, we received our first
Sovereign Credit rating upgrade from Standard and Poor’s (S&P). This
upgrade saw us move from B minus to B with a stable outlook. In
December 2018, we also hosted the Managing Director of the
International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, a visit that was historical in every sense, as this was the first time that an IMF Managing Director
had ever stepped foot on Ghanaian soil.
Mr Speaker, revenue mobilization poses the biggest challenge in the
management of our economy, with the tax exemption policy in particular
proving to be an achilles heel, and a growing menace to fiscal stability
and revenue generation. In the last eight years, tax exemptions in respect
of import duty, import VAT, import NHIL and domestic VAT have grown
from three hundred and ninety-two million Ghana cedis (GH¢392 million),
that is 0.6% of GDP in 2010, to GH¢4.66 billion, that is 1.6% of GDP in
2018.
These figures do not include exemptions from the payment of corporate
and individual income taxes, concessions on tax rates, petroleum tax
reliefs, customs tax exemptions enjoyed by diplomatic missions, and
waiver of processing charges at the ports.
If we continue at this rate, in less than sixteen years, half of Ghana’s
revenue base will be given away as tax exemptions.
Mr. Speaker, this is not sustainable, and we intend to do something about
it to reverse the trend, by introducing suitable measures that may disrupt
the easy and comfortable arrangements that many have become
accustomed to, but which we have to take to ensure that we have the
firmest of foundations for the economic take-off that has escaped us for
so long.
Mr. Speaker, workers in the public sector begun the year on a good note,
after receiving a 10% increase in their salaries, on top of the 11%
increment of 2018. Forty-one thousand (41,000) workers in the informal
sector were also enrolled onto Tier-3 pensions schemes, with pensioners
seeing an average increment of 11% in their monthly pension incomes,
with the lowest income bracket receiving a 14.7% increment. Last year,
the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) engaged some one hundred and
seven thousand (107,000) youth in various employment modules, with an
additional one hundred and twenty-five thousand (125,000) set to be
engaged this year.
Mr. Speaker, to consolidate further the relations between the social
partners, in the post IMF era, Government will shortly sign a landmark
social partnership agreement with Organised Labour/the Trades Union
Congress, the Ghana Employers’ Association and Government,
represented by the Ministries of Finance and Employment and Labour

Relations, to provide a medium for building a sense of cohesion, trust,
self-management, frank and open discussions to champion the course of
development.
Mr. Speaker, the fight against child labour has chalked some modest
success. Through the implementation of the second phase of the National
Plan of Action (2017-2021), Ghana has been moved up from the Tier-2
Watch List position of the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report to Tier-2 in
2018.
Mr. Speaker, our ports remain important national assets. And we must
manage them to improve trade and to the benefit of all Ghanaians.
Government has introduced reforms at the port to improve efficiency.
Among others, we introduced the paperless operations at the ports and
goods can be cleared within 1 to 3 days. Going forward, we have set
ourselves the goal of making our ports the most competitive in West
Africa. In this regard, some further reforms would soon be announced by
Government to enhance the competitive position of Ghana’s ports.
Ghana may be the toast of the world because of its economy. We have
all accepted that these economic fundamentals are the foundation upon
which our people will become prosperous, but if they are uneducated or
poorly educated, then prosperity will continue to elude them. Mr Speaker,
a sudden injection of oil revenue or a rise or fall in the price of gold or
cocoa can make a dramatic difference to your financial situation, but there
are no shortcuts to having an educated and skilled workforce. We have
no choice but to provide our young people with quality education and
lifelong learning opportunities for every Ghanaian. It is the only way to
ensure prosperity, and to protect our democracy. We are not sparing any
efforts to make education in Ghana of the best quality, and fit for the
needs of the 21st century.
In September 2019, a new standards-based curriculum will be rolled out
from kindergarten to Class 6 in primary schools. This curriculum has
drawn upon the best practices from all over the world, and will focus on
making Ghanaian children confident, innovative, creative-thinking,
digitally-literate, well-rounded, patriotic citizens. Mathematics, Science,
Reading, Writing and Creativity are, therefore, at the heart of this new
curriculum.
Mr Speaker, poverty should not be an excuse for any Ghanaian child not
to reach their full potential. It, therefore, warms my heart that we are now able to say that education in the public sector is free from
Kindergarten to Senior High School, and, that this year, legislation would
be passed to redefine basic education to include Senior High School.
Young people have to have options on which career path they choose,
and I am glad to announce that all is set for the construction of 10 state-
of-the-art Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Centres
this year. For far too long, we have preached about the importance of
TVET without doing very much to demonstrate this importance. We send
or urge young people to go to poorly equipped TVET centres, and we are
surprised that they are not keen. The new TVET centres would be world
class, and attractive to assure young people that they are not being sent
to second best options.
We are also bent on demystifying science, mathematics and technology.
Ten Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) centres
are being built around the country to provide support for the introduction
of STEM into basic education after the completion of a successful pilot
phase. We can be sure, therefore, that Ghana’s young people will be able
to acquire skills that would put them at par with their peers anywhere in
the world. The importance of science, technology and innovation has led
me to appoint a Presidential Advisory Council on Science, Technology and
Innovation (PACSTI) to advise the President on how to infuse the
application of science and technology in the development of our nation,
headed by a distinguished scientist, Prof. Edward Ayensu.
Mr Speaker, we shall bring before Parliament this year, a tertiary
education policy Bill that will bring all the public universities under a
common law, and make the administration of the public universities less
cumbersome.
Mr. Speaker, a well-motivated and remunerated teacher is at the centre
of our quality education and comprehensive teacher policy. This has
started with the upgrading of the initial teacher education certificate to
degree status, and the move to put the teaching profession up there with
other professions in terms of respect and exclusivity. Currently, many of
our teachers, who complete the three-year Diploma in Basic Education
(DBE) at our Colleges of Education, go on, later, to do a two-year top-up
first degree, by distance learning, at the University of Cape Coast. This
means that, in addition to the extra amount of money spent on getting a
degree, it will take them not less than five years to get one. With the
introduction of the 4-year Bachelor of Education degree, teacher trainees
would now obtain their first degree at the end of their schooling. This
ensures that they enter the teaching service as university graduates.
Mr. Speaker, when our children master the connection between science
and their everyday lives, we would reach the stage in Ghana where we
would be rid of the many diseases, borne of filth and poor hygiene, that
are still part of our lives. In pursuing these goals, we need to remind
ourselves repeatedly that health is wealth, and it is only a healthy
population that can make Ghana prosperous.
In May 2018, Ghana won accolades at the World Health Assembly for
having eradicated Trachoma, an eye disease that has plagued us for a
long time. Today, our NHIS is buoyant. Government has paid up the
GH¢1.2 billion arrears we inherited, and brought the operations of the
NHIS back to life. On 19th December, 2018, the introduction of mobile
renewal of membership was launched. Since then, there have been, on
average, seventy thousand (70,000) members renewing their
membership every week, by dialling *929# on any mobile phone
network. Soon, in collaboration with the National Identification Authority,
Ghanaians would be able to register, renew and access health care
services using the Ghana Card. We have to thank Dr. Samuel Annor’s
brief, but productive stewardship as CEO of the National Health Insurance
Authority for that. I wish him well in his retirement.
To deliver healthcare to Ghanaians more efficiently, in 2018, Government
granted financial clearance for the recruitment of eleven thousand, one
hundred and eighteen (11,018) health personnel to increase existing
clinical staff. To augment the efforts of clinical staff, in September, 2018,
the Ministry of Health received further financial clearance to employ
fourteen thousand, five hundred and twenty-four (14,254) Nurse
Assistants (Clinical and Preventive). These nurse assistants belong to the
tranche that passed their exams in 2016 from Government Health Training
Institutions, and have commenced work by 1st February, 2019. The
Ministry of Health is working to obtain financial clearance for the
recruitment of the 2017 and 2018 graduates.
The health delivery system will be significantly strengthened by the
expected arrival in June of 275 ambulances, i.e. one per constituency, to
make treatment of emergency cases more effective. Drone technology
has also been introduced into that system to help deliver essential
medicine, blood and blood products to remote communities.

We still face problems of inadequate infrastructure in our health
establishments. We have problems of numerous structures at various
stages of completion that cannot be finished and brought into use,
because newer structures are being started, and there is no money to
finish the ones started earlier. Mr Speaker, again, this is a long-standing
problem that is a mark of our underdevelopment. We will not ignore or
sweep the problem under the carpet. We are dealing with it, and will
complete them.
Ghana’s hardworking nurses and doctors would do their best, as they have
always done, to make sure we get the best health care, but it behoves on
each one of us to look after ourselves better. Apart from exercising and
taking our regular health check-ups seriously, it is imperative that we eat
healthy diets to prevent diseases that are caused by poor choices of
nutrition.
Mr Speaker, when we are dealing with matters of good health, we must
necessarily move on to shelter and housing. There is an acute shortage
of user-friendly, decent housing for people in middle and low-income
brackets in our country. This is a long-standing problem that gets worse
with each passing day. It is time to tackle the issue and find a resolution.
We are starting with the completion of the many abandoned projects
dotted around the country. A consortium of local banks has raised 51
million dollars to fund the completion of the social housing units started
by the Kufuor administration in 2006 at Koforidua, Tamale and Ho.
The Saglemi Housing Project, started under the last NDC government, is
also high on our list of priorities this year. The five thousand (5,000) units
it offers would boost our housing numbers. We are, therefore, establishing
the value for money issues surrounding the project in order to reconcile
the number of houses built with the schedule of payments made, and
accelerate delivery.
The 2019 budget made provision for the construction of two hundred
thousand (200,000) housing units, and a database of local and foreign
developers has been created to help make this policy a reality. Land banks
have also been secured in several towns across Ghana where factories,
producing pre-fabricated building materials, can be sited for this huge
construction effort. There are many well-intentioned projects that ended
up pricing out the low-income earners, who were supposed to be their
beneficiaries. We are determined to learn the lessons from past projects.

The Ministry of Finance is working to launch a one billion Ghana cedi
housing fund that would target low-income earners.
Government will continue with the other housing projects for the police,
armed forces and government workers across the country, through
agencies like the State Housing Corporation.
The most exciting news on the housing landscape, though, is the drafting
of plans to regenerate Nima, which holds the dubious title of being Accra’s
first slum. It has, of course, progressed very much since those early days,
even if it has been unable to shake off the urban-slum title. I am a proud
resident of Nima myself, and I am extremely excited that the regeneration
plans will not dislodge or dispossess residents, but would rather transform
Nima into a well-laid out residential area with full amenities. I am looking
forward to it, good work that is being done by the Ministries of Inner City
and Zongo Development and Works and Housing.
Another big problem is that of poor drainage in our towns and cities, which
leads to flooding during the rainy season. Then, there is the serious
problem of sea erosion along the coast that endangers the lives of our
coastal people. It is time to deal with these long-term problems and find
long-lasting solutions, and we are doing just that.
The Odawna Storm Drains in Accra, which have caused many tragedies
over the years, are now being reengineered by a team of experts who will
give it a permanent fix. The Dichemso Drainage System is also on our list
of priorities, and a bid has been put out for experts to transform it into a
more efficient system.
Our ongoing coastal protection projects are proceeding in Adjoa in the
Western Region, Blekusu, New Takoradi phase II (Elmina), Dansoman,
Axim and Dixcove. This year, we will also begin others in Amanful Kumah,
Dansoman phase II, Komenda, Anomabo, Cape Coast, Mensah Guinea,
Ningo Prampram, New Takoradi Phase III, Apam, Kokrobite, Bortianor,
Blekusu Phase II and Aboadze-Shama Phase II, Maritime University,
Nungua, Takoradi, Anyanui and Essipong.
Mr. Speaker, we are putting in place plans to avert the perennial flooding
caused by the spillage of the Bagre dam, which has resulted in the
constant loss of lives and property over the years. In the short-term,
desilting of the White Volta will be undertaken this year, in conjunction
with discussions with the Burkinabes to regulate the flow of the spillage,
and mitigate its impact. The Ministry of Works and Housing will, in the
coming week, receive a report on a feasibility study conducted by the Chinese company, SinoHydro, for the construction of a dam at Pwalugu,
to serve as a receptacle to hold the volume of water spilled from the Bagre
Dam for irrigation purposes, and also for the generation of electricity. This
will be the permanent solution to the Bagre Dam problem. The requisite
approvals will be sought by the Ministry from Cabinet and Parliament to
permit the construction of the Pwalugu Dam.
Mr. Speaker, if there has been any Government that has been on the side
of Persons with Disabilities, it is my Government. We have increased the
share of the District Assemblies Common Fund to Persons with Disabilities
from 2% to 3%, and we have also ensured the implementation of our
pledge of employing 50% of the persons who manage the country’s toll
booths from amongst Persons with Disabilities.
Mr. Speaker, we are continuing with initiatives to improve the Creative
Arts Sector. We have also worked to finalise the Creative Arts Bill, leading
to the setting up of the Creative Arts Fund. For the first time, in 2018,
Government provided support to the Creative Arts Council, and the
Creative Arts Masterclass, to build capacity of Creative Arts practitioners,
has also commenced. The Eastern Regional Theatre has been completed,
and work is currently ongoing towards the construction of the Kumasi
theatre.
Mr Speaker, considering how often Ghana is in the news usually for good
reasons, we have not been able to attract as many visitors to our country
as we should. We are making a special effort from now onwards to attract
tourists into our country. Under the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana
and Feel Ghana campaign, the Ghana Tourism Authority recorded a 20%
growth since its launch to over six hundred thousand visitations to various
tourist sites. The World Bank has approved a US$40 million grant to
support the Tourism Ministry and its agencies to help upgrade tourist
facilities.
In September 2018, in Washington D.C., in front of the Congressional
Black Caucus of the United States Congress, I proclaimed 2019 as the
"Year of Return”, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the arrival of
the first 20 West African slaves in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in what
was to become the United States of America. We intend to use the
symbolism of this “Year of Return” to bring together Africans, persons of
African descent, and all well-wishers and lovers of freedom to strengthen
the commitment to ensuring that the blots on our history, i.e. the
Transatlantic Slave Trade and slavery, never reoccur. In response to this
proclamation, some seventy (70) African-American Hollywood celebrities visited Ghana in December 2018. The year-long campaign, being
coordinated by the Ghana Tourism Authority, is expected to increase
arrivals considerably.
Training across the entire tourism sector is also receiving priority. The
Hospitality Training Institute has been renovated, and re-opened in July
2018 to provide needed training in the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Under a Tourism Attractions Upgrade Project, several tourist sites,
including Elmina Heritage Bay, Axim Fort St. Antonio, Assin Manso Slave
River, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Bunso Arboretum, Kintampo Water
Falls, are undergoing upgrades. A draft Legislative Instrument (LI) on
Sites and Attractions is currently undergoing final stakeholder
consultations. This will ensure world-class standards are set and
maintained at all our tourism sites and attractions.
Mr. Speaker, the greatest attraction of our country is its people. Yes, we
have castles and forts, we have water falls and dramatic mountain ranges,
we have breath-taking beaches, and historical sites that reduce visitors to
strong emotions, but it is the people of Ghana and our welcoming attitude
that are the strongest attraction to visitors. We should never forget that
we all have a responsibility to make visitors to our country feel welcome.
In this “Year of Return”, when we have invited the world to visit, I would
urge each one of us to make a special effort to make a visit to our country
a memorable one. Our music, our foods, our clothes and the
quintessential akwaaba smile will make a visitor to our country come back
again and again.
Mr Speaker, but there are things that many of us do that would put off
any visitor from visiting our country, no matter how attractive the
geography or the history might be. I refer, especially, to some of our
sanitation habits.
Mr Speaker, public resources must be channelled into ventures that
generate wealth, and not spent on avoidable expenditures. The cost of
clearing and cleaning up our cities and towns after those who litter has
become prohibitive. The littering habit seems to be more predominant in
the cities and urban areas, and, mercifully, largely absent in the villages.
Last year, I reiterated before you my pledge of improving sanitation in the
country, and making Accra the cleanest city in Africa, by the end of my
term. There has been a significant improvement in sanitation, even
though, I acknowledge, more can be done. However, this is currently the
state of play. We have witnessed an increase in the coverage of solid waste management, from 16.6% to 53%, and, over the course of last
year, thirty-five thousand, eight hundred and sixty-two (35,862)
household toilets were built, as opposed to one thousand, six hundred
and ninety-eight (1,698) in 2016. We will intensify efforts at making Accra
a clean city.
In 2019, apart from continuing with educating and sensitizing people, we
intend to use the bye-laws to enforce cleanliness. The Ministry of Justice
and the Ministry of Sanitation are working together to try sanitation
offences. Persons who litter would be tried and punished, and so would
those who steal litter bins from our streets.
We are launching a National Sanitation Brigade to help us carry this out,
and, through this vehicle, we will not only keep our towns and cities clean,
but will also provide jobs for our young people. Once waste is properly
and efficiently managed, we then can explore how to use the waste
collected to advance the economy of our nation.
A cursory look around our cities and towns would show us that plastic filth
is our biggest problem. We intend to solve this problem through the
internationally recognized priorities of waste: reduction first, followed by
reuse, recycle, recovery and, lastly, disposal, which is to be avoided
whenever possible.
Government has prepared a Plastics Management Policy, with the
overarching aim of meeting the challenges of comprehensive plastics
management. About 82% of Ghana’s plastics waste could be readily
recovered and recycled with existing technologies into value-addition
products in high demand locally and within the West African region.
A vibrant recycling industry in Ghana could recover nearly one million
tonnes of waste plastics from the environment and landfills annually, to
be recycled into basic-need products valued at GH¢2 billion per year,
creating many jobs across the economy. Currently, extensive discussions
are being concluded with investors on the most sustainable options
available to rid Ghana of this plastic filth menace.
Mr Speaker, we are also tackling the problem of electronic waste head on.
On August 20, 2018, I launched the National E-waste Program to mark
the commencement of two key provisions of the Hazardous and Electronic
Waste Control and Management Act, Act 917.

These provisions empower the External Service Provider (SGS) to verify,
assess and collect the advance recycle eco fee on all electrical and
electronic equipment from all exporting countries, and also to establish a
state-of-the-art recycling facility at Agbogbloshie, whose construction will
begin in April. Not only would we solve the problem of waste disposal in
an environmentally-friendly manner, setting up the recycling facility will
lead to the creation of over twenty thousand (20,000) direct jobs, through
the establishment of associated holding centres in each regional capital
and collection centres in each district.
Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate that, in 2019, we still have to revisit this
topic, but, open defecation cannot be a characteristic of a country that is
working to be transformed economically, and to be counted amongst the
developed nations of the world. That is why it is absolutely imperative
that we make a success of our One House-One-Toilet Policy.
The Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Programme is being
implemented in over four thousand, five hundred (4,500) communities in
one hundred and thirty (130) districts to achieve Open Defecation Free
(ODF) Communities.
Mr. Speaker, affordable and reliable energy is absolutely critical to
realising our vision of economic transformation. I am happy to announce
that gas production tripled during the year, from 100 to 300 million cubic
feet per day. The Ministry of Energy is undertaking steps to remove the
transmission bottlenecks, to ensure that Ghanaian gas can reach power
plants located in the eastern part of the country, and I am confident that,
by August this year, the situation would have been fully remedied to
ensure Ghana uses locally produced gas for the bulk of its thermal power
generation, saving substantial amounts of foreign exchange on imported
fuels.
Government is committed to achieving an electricity generation mix that
ensures diversity and security of energy supply. For this reason, we will
continue to promote the deployment of renewable energy in line with our
policy target of 10% renewables in the energy mix from the current 1%.
Another justification for renewable energy is that, in spite of Ghana’s
excess electricity generation capacity, we can still not achieve our
universal access target because there are many Ghanaian communities,
especially those on islands and lake sides, that cannot be reached through
the national grid. For example, there are currently two hundred (200)  island and two thousand (2,000) lake side communities that require mini-
grids from renewable sources to meet their energy needs.
To reduce government’s expenditure on utilities, and also promote the
use of solar power for government and public buildings, the Ministry of
Energy initiated the Solar Rooftop Programme. The Ministry is leading by
example with the installation of a 65-kilowatt solar rooftop system at its
premises.
Jubilee House will also be powered, as from August this year, by solar
energy, as an example to other public institutions. In fact, government’s
target is to install up to 200 megawatts of distributed solar power by 2030
in both residential and non-residential facilities in order to reduce
Government’s liabilities to ECG (PDS Ghana Ltd).
Renewable energy has also become a necessary addition to our energy
sector because it has increasingly become cheaper, and is key to the
implementation of our international obligations under Sustainable
Development Goal 7, on access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable
energy, as well as Sustainable Development Goal 13, on urgent action to
combat climate change.
There has been good news with the recent announcement by Aker Energy
of one of the biggest oil finds in Africa. Mr Speaker, this has led me to
think that an NPP government must be good for Ghana. After many, many
years of our looking and almost giving up, it took an NPP government to
discover oil in 2007. In eight years of NDC administration, 13 oil block
deals were signed, and not a single one was developed. The first one
signed in 2017, under my government, which was Aker, has led to the
second biggest oil discovery in Africa. Enough to make a believer of
anyone, I might say.
Mr Speaker, there is no avoiding the fact that the oil industry,
unfortunately, has a reputation for corruption. Since the discovery of oil
in our country, there has been heightened anxiety among the people that
we do not fall into the same trap of the oil money benefitting individual
officials to the detriment of the state and the general public.
On the fight against corruption in the oil industry, and to aid transparency,
we have established a National Register of Contracts on which all the
Petroleum Agreements signed by the Government have been published.
This provides a platform for citizens to scrutinize the oil contracts signed
by government, and accords with the international call for contract
transparency.

We have also passed the General Petroleum Regulations, which provide
for the disclosure of beneficial ownership information of companies
operating in Ghana’s oil and gas industry. This will ensure that people do
not hide in the shadows to appropriate oil blocks to themselves, at the
expense of the citizens of Ghana. The interest of major oil companies in
Ghana has become dramatic. Today, oil companies such as the American
giant, ExxonMobil, and the Norwegian conglomerate, Aker, have signed
petroleum exploration agreements with Ghana. Through the launch of the
“GHANA OIL AND GAS LICENSING ROUNDS 2018”, the bidding process
for the allocation of new petroleum rights to prospective investors, the
first such exercise in our history, other global players such as BP, China
National Offshore Oil Corporation, and Total have expressed interest in
coming to Ghana.
Mr Speaker, be it in the oil industry or manufacturing or retail, every day
demonstrates the urgent need for our own businesses to develop and
flourish. We have put in place the mechanisms to train young
entrepreneurs and to help established businesses with a stimulus package
to expand their companies.
Under the Presidential Support programme, one thousand, three hundred
and fifty (1,350) start-ups and small businesses have benefitted from a
special government business support programme. Beneficiaries received
between ten thousand (GH¢10,000) and one hundred thousand Ghana
cedis (GH¢100,000) each, at a special interest rate of 10%, instead of the
average prevailing market rate of 26%.
This is designed to help grow and expand their businesses, and will create
about thirty thousand (30,000) direct jobs. Eighteen thousand (18,000)
jobs have already been created under this programme. This is the first
time in Ghana’s history that there has been a deliberate, systematic and
coherent national support for start-ups and small businesses.
Businesses, which benefitted, included agribusiness and agro-processing,
information communication and technology, tourism and recreation,
sanitation and waste management, health, food and beverages, green
and ecological businesses, sports and real estate
Already established businesses are also receiving help, with an amount of
two hundred and thirty million Ghana cedis (GH¢230 million) being
disbursed among sixteen (16) companies under the stimulus package.
This has led to the creation of eight thousand, five hundred (8,500) to ten
thousand (10,000) direct and indirect jobs.

Proof, if some were needed that we are getting something right, and
generating the right atmosphere to attract foreign business, has come
with the announcement that three major international automobile
manufacturers, Volkswagen, Nissan and Sinotruck have signed MOUs to
establish assembling plants in our country. Renault is also conducting
feasibility studies on establishing an assembly plant in Ghana, as is
Toyota. We will outdoor, in March, the National Automotive Policy spelling
out the terms, conditions and incentive package for participating in
Ghana’s new automobile industry, which will also apply to indigenous car
assembly companies.
Mr Speaker, our local textile industry has been struggling for years, and
many textile companies have, indeed, gone under. We have decided to
give it a major stimulus to help put it on a strong footing. The local textile
industry has, therefore, been granted a zero-rated VAT on the supply of
locally-made textiles for a period of three years. We have put in place a
tax stamp regime for both locally manufactured and imported textiles to
address the challenge of pirated designs and logos in the textile trade.
The Tema Port has been designated as a Single-Entry Corridor for the
importation of textile prints, with a textile taskforce in place to ensure
effective compliance, and reduce, if not eliminate, smuggling of imported
textiles. A new textile import management system has been instituted,
also, to control imports of textiles.
Mr. Speaker, the “One-District-One-Factory” policy has taken off, and 79
factories under the scheme are at various stages of operation or
construction. Another 35 are going through credit appraisal. All told, there
is a lot of activity going on under the scheme, and it has awoken the
interest of young people to go into manufacturing business. Under the
Rural Enterprises Programme, funded by the African Development Bank
and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, 50 small-scale
processing factories will be established by the end of the year in 50
districts across the country, particularly in areas where there is evidence
of significant post-harvest losses. These will be owned and managed by
organized youth groups, with technical support from the Ministry of Trade
and Industry.
Mr Speaker, small and medium scale enterprises form the base of
businesses in our country, and financing has been the bane of their
operations. MASLOC was established in 2006 to meet a critical need by
providing the type of small-scale loans needed by these small-scale
enterprises at reasonable rates. Sadly, MASLOC was undermined by base political considerations and endemic corruption, and the centre was
almost run down completely.
I am glad to report that MASLOC has been revamped, and is getting back
to do what it was set up to do. There has been strict adherence to credit
procedures and prudent management of the credit recovery process.
These have resulted in a recovery rate of 89% of loans administered
under a pilot scheme introduced in 2017.
MASLOC was given an amount of thirty-five million Ghana cedis (GH¢35
million) in October 2018 for disbursement. This is the first time an amount
of such magnitude has been given to the Centre outside of an election
year. Of the thirty-five million Ghana cedis that were received, the Centre
has disbursed twenty million, five hundred and sixty-three thousand, one
hundred Ghana cedis (GH¢20,563,100), with fourteen million, three
hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred Ghana cedis
(GH¢14,317,200) to be disbursed for pending applications, which have
been approved. So far, 87% of the monies disbursed have gone to
women, i.e. to twenty-four thousand, five hundred and eighty-two
(24,582) women. The 2016 NPP Manifesto promised to allocate 50% of
MASLOC funds to women, and we have surpassed this promise.
It has obviously been noticed that interesting things are happening at the
successfully restructured MASLOC, and that is why the Centre was
allocated an amount of two hundred million Ghana cedis (GH¢ 200 million)
in the 2019 budget. Such an amount is unprecedented in the history of
MASLOC. In 2019, MASLOC will give increased attention to youth start-up
businesses in vegetable farming, poultry, piggery and fish farming.
Mr Speaker, the incidence of bad governance methods that almost
collapsed MASLOC has, unfortunately, affected the running of many
businesses generally and the financial sector in particular. The banking
sector has gone through what can only be described as a traumatic
upheaval.
Again, Mr Speaker the woes of the banking sector have also been a case
of long-standing bad practices that we, previously, had been unable or
unwilling to deal with, which we are now having to deal with in the most
painful manner. The clean-up has cost the national treasury GH¢12.7
billion, money we can ill afford, but which was necessary to sanitise the
sector, minimise job losses, and protect deposits of one million, one
hundred and forty-seven thousand, three hundred and sixty-six
(1,147,366) Ghanaians and their businesses and the people they employed. The banking sector has emerged stronger from these
developments, and inspired confidence in it. In all this, I have been
anxious that our local banks are helped and given as much support as
possible, which has been done, but l will not be on the side of criminal
behaviour if that is discovered. I would urge that we are all patient for the
investigations to be made in a calm manner.
And, while I am on the subject of rogue activities in the banking sector, it
is probably the time to mention the MenzGold debacle. This is a tragic
phenomenon that appears to have occurred in plain sight, and affected a
lot of people, in spite of warnings from official institutions. As the
authorities try to unravel the intricacies of what happened, I admonish all
Ghanaians to learn the necessary lessons for the future, even as State
institutions work to bring a resolution to the matter, and those who are
seen to have indulged in criminal activities, are brought to justice. Last
week, I inaugurated the Presidential Financial Stability Advisory Council,
an inter-institutional consultative coordination body, which groups
together all the regulators of our financial system, and whose purpose is
to advise the President on the measures to be taken to preserve the
stability of the financial system. The existence of such a body would have
forestalled the emergence of the Menzgold saga, and will make it difficult,
in future, for any such scheme to get off the ground.
Mr Speaker, during times like these of banking and business upheavals,
agriculture appears even more attractive. It is more predictable and the
soil and plants and animals far more reliable than sharp figures. The past
two years have shown that, when a government takes deliberate
measures to support agriculture, it pays healthy dividends.
There has been food and for the first time in a long while, we had more
than we needed. It was not that long ago that Ghana was in the
humiliating position of having to import maize from her landlocked
Sahelian neighbours and plantain from Cote d’Ivoire. Thanks to the
programme for “Planting for Food and Jobs”, admirably organised by that
outstanding Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, this House
stands informed, that, in 2018, exports of food crops such as cassava,
rice, yellow and white maize, soya, plantain, cowpea and yam were made
FROM Ghana to Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire in considerable
quantities. We had a bumper harvest of produce, and, last year, we did
not import a single grain of maize.
Based on the successes chalked in 2017 and then in 2018, the Ministry
took giant strides to scale up the Planting for Food and Jobs Campaign in 2019, and to introduce new modules of the programme. Four of such new
modules are the Greenhouse Villages programme, the Planting for Export
and Rural Development (PERD) programme, the Rearing for Food and
Jobs (RFJ) campaign and Mechanisation Centers programme.
We are hoping that the success will lead to a fundamental change in
attitudes towards farming practices, and the sector will be truly
transformed. Bumper harvests and increased food production in general
would be the norm, and not a surprise once in a while. Extension services
will be expanded, and our farmers will have the confidence to know that
theirs is a worthwhile business from which they can and will get healthy
remuneration and respect.
Mr Speaker, this year the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Development plans to implement a flagship programme - “Aquaculture
for Food and Jobs” (AFJ) – complementary to the “Planting for Food
and Jobs” initiative – to reinvigorate and boost the aquaculture industry.
Priority will be given to youth entrepreneurs, distressed farmers, second
cycle and public institutions to set up and operate fish farms across the
country.
The programme will offer participating individuals and groups the
requisite inputs, such as cages, fingerlings, fish feed and training, to be
able to establish their own farms. The AFJ will be implemented for three
years, from 2019 to 2021, in collaboration with the Nation Builders Corps
(NABCO) and the School Feeding Programme. It is expected to create
seven thousand (7,000) jobs, and add an extra thirty-three thousand, six
hundred and twenty-eight (33,628) metric tonnes of fish to our domestic
fish production. Piloting of the AFJ has already started at the James Camp
Prison.
For traditional fishing, Government will collaborate with the private sector
to facilitate the provision of five thousand (5,000) outboard motors and
fifty-five thousand, two hundred and fifty (55,250) bales of prescribed
fishing gears through the fisheries associations. To promote the effective
and efficient distribution of premix fuel, we will continue to use the premix
fuel tracking system, and audit landing beaches, measures which have
ensured that, since November 2018, there has been no report of premix
diversion, a marked improvement from the past.
To modernize the fisheries sector, US$185 million of loan money has been
earmarked for the construction of twelve (12) landing sites and two (2)
fishing harbours in some selected fishing communities in the country. Phase I will kick off in March at Axim, Mumford, Winneba and
Teshie. Recently, I cut the sod to commence work at the Jamestown
Harbour Complex, which, like the development of Elmina Fishing Harbour,
is part of our plans for the fishing sector in 2019.
Mr Speaker, as is well known, our lands and water bodies have been under
extreme pressure for some time. Farming lands have been destroyed, and
rivers that used to provide safe drinking water and fish turned into toxic
water bodies.
This is why we placed the ban on all small-scale mining, so we could find
ways to deal with the illegal mining, or galamsey, as it is popularly called.
The ban on small scale mining has now been lifted, but not on galamsey.
Some of our water bodies have shown remarkable signs of rejuvenation.
River Ankobra, for example, looks restored to life; indeed, some fish have
even been seen in the Ankobra for the first time in a long while. But the
battle against galamsey is nowhere near being won yet, and I appeal to
all citizens to be part of the battle to keep our lands and water bodies
safe.
As I have said on several occasions, this government cannot be against
mining. It bears repeating that, with the Almighty having blessed our land
with so many precious minerals, mining, inevitably, will be part of our
lives. That is why I had the pleasure of reopening the AngloGold Obuasi
Mine, on 22nd January, 2019, which had remained effectively closed since
2014, in fulfilment of a campaign pledge I made to the people of Obuasi
on 15th July, 2016. In order to help Anglogold Ashanti secure the needed
investment for this project, Government provided a number of fiscal
incentives, and guaranteed the stability of the project against changes in
the legal environment, especially in the early years of the mine’s
operations. The fiscal arrangements made this time has provided a more
equitable balance between the interests of Government and the investors.
With an estimated two thousand, five hundred (2,500) jobs to be created,
Obuasi is being brought back to life again, and, this time around, under
the new management of AngloGold Ashanti, the development of Obuasi
will reflect the wealth its soil produces, like its counterparts in other mining
cities around the world.
Mr. Speaker, we intend, also, to mine, at long last, our bauxite deposits
in order to establish an integrated aluminium industry in Ghana. The
Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, a statutory
corporation, has been set up, with the support of Parliament, to spearhead
Government’s commitment to create an integrated aluminium industry.

Since its formation, the leadership of the corporation has been working
tirelessly with transaction advisors and other stakeholders to ensure the
objective of achieving an integrated aluminium industry is executed in a
timely manner. A request for proposal is ready to be sent out to the
market by the end of this month. This request will solicit proposals from
investors interested in partnering government to develop various
components of the integrated aluminium industry in Ghana.
Taking cognisance of the fact that achieving an integrated aluminium
industry agenda requires the uninterrupted and competitive supply of
power to the industry, Government is in the process of negotiating special
arrangements to supply power at internationally competitive rates. This
arrangement is expected to be approved by Cabinet and, subsequently,
hopefully, by Parliament soon.
The same model is being pursued for the exploitation of our iron ore
deposits, which, together with our considerable manganese deposits, can
enable us found a steel industry to serve our country and the region.
A data centre, the first of its kind, now exists at the Minerals Commission,
which will allow prospective investors and partners to access every
information regarding the bauxite deposits and the aluminium industry.
The Minerals Commission is in the course of creating an equivalent data
centre for our iron ore deposits.
Mr Speaker, the security services are at the forefront of keeping us and
our nation safe. Let me pay homage to the men and women of the
services for the sterling work that they do. The Ghana Armed Forces, in
collaboration with other security agencies, have been in Operations CALM
LIFE, COWLEG, HALT, CONQUERED, FIST, GONGON, CITADEL, AHODWO
and VANGUARD. Ayekoo to you men and women of the Armed Forces.
Ghana is proud of you. Your hard work is contributing to making our
nation a safe place.
I would like to mention the improvements that have been registered in
dealing with nomadic herdsmen. The Ghana Armed Forces assisted the
National Security to embark on OPERATION ROADSTAR, and as a result
a 40-cre cattle ranch has been constructed to accommodate over six
thousand (6,000) cattle at Wawase, in Afram Plains, and reducing,
considerably, the tensions in the area with the nomadic herdsmen. There
are plans to replicate these ranches in other parts of the country.
Government is pleased to have fulfilled its promise to the Military
Personnel by increasing the United Nations Peacekeeping Troops contribution allowances from Thirty United State Dollars (USD 30.00) to
Thirty-Five United State Dollars (USD35.00) per soldier per day. And as
promised, we will continue to pay the troops regularly at the operational
areas.
We will continue to modernize and provide the equipment needed by the
Military to help them carry out their mandate effectively. Tomorrow, I will
be presenting to the Ghana Armed Forces 50 ANKAI Buses, the first
tranche of the 138 Staff and Operational Vehicles of various categories,
and 26 dispatch motorcycles. This year, we will provide the Army with 30
Otokar Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), and 6 Fast Patrol Boats for the
Navy.
We will also provide improved training facilities by transforming the
Military Academy into a World Class Institution, and expand the housing
project from six 16 flats to 44, and begin constructing 160 2-bedroom
apartments across the country. This year, we will also complete and
commission the 500-bed Military Hospital in the Ashanti Region, and begin
the third phase of this project.
Mr. Speaker, the amendment of LI 1332, which is seeking to change the
length of service of the men and women of the other ranks of the Ghana
Armed Forces from 25 to 30 years and the associated career progression
plan, has been reviewed, laid and passed by Parliament, and will be
implemented this year as planned.
Mr Speaker, it is the police that we the ordinary citizens have to deal with
in our everyday lives. It is, therefore, not surprising that, often, the police
come in for a lot of criticism from the people.
Mr Speaker, as is the case with many of our institutions, things had
deteriorated for a long time, and we had come to accept the abnormal as
normal. We have been busy this past year supplying the police with
equipment, cars, motorbikes, drones and other vital policing equipment.
Financial clearance has been given, and they are in the process of
recruiting up to four thousand (4,000) men and women into the service.
That is a first, gradually we are increasing the police numbers, and the
service too is waking up to its responsibilities and offering more training
to their officers. I look forward to a better trained, better equipped and
happier police service that has the respect and cooperation of the people.
Mr Speaker, we need this well-trained police service if we are to abide by
the rule of law. I am aware of the frustration of many at the delays in the justice delivery system, which are the result of a multiplicity of factors,
which we are trying to address.
And this must be the appropriate time and place to mention the abysmal
state of the lower courts around our country. Many people must have
seen on television the barely concealed outrage of the Chief Justice, as
she has been going around examining the courts. It is obvious that most
of the lower courts are not fit for purpose, and we must provide suitable
structures for our law courts. Discussions on how to raise the money are
currently ongoing, and I am optimistic that a solution will be found.
Mr Speaker, I am pleased to note that there appears to have been a
marked change in the Ministry of Justice. No longer do we have people
bringing frivolous claims against the State because they know the case
will not be defended, and they will get judgement debts. I believe the
word is now out that every claim against the government will be
vigorously defended, and the State will no longer be the soft touch it used
to be for people to get suspiciously large judgement debts awarded to
them.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to state that, as you know, Parliament has
virtually completed its deliberations on the Right To Information Bill, and
that, any moment from now, the nation will hear the news of its long,
anticipated passage. I will, happily, assent to it as soon as it is brought to
my table.
Mr Speaker, we all await the Special Prosecutor to start his work. It is in
everybody’s interest that we know that any accusations of corruption in
public office will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted, if the prima
facie evidence is there. This should be an essential feature of the
governance culture of our country. For myself, I know the Special
Prosecutor to be a responsible public official, who will act when he is
ready.
Mr Speaker, Ghana remains an active player in international affairs,
especially in the region of West Africa and on the continent of Africa.
Ghana’s voice is loud and clear on issues at international fora. Good
neighbourliness underpins our foreign policy and we try to be at peace
with all. I have been intimately involved in trying to find a resolution to
the difficulties in Togo, and we hope that they are coming to an end.
Mr Speaker, communications inside and with the outside are critical for
the modern existence of any nation. Our roads, inside the country and those leading out to our neighbouring countries, have been in a dreadful
state for a long time. Everybody has by now heard about the
arrangements we have made with the Chinese company, Sinohydro, and
it is a matter of great relief to me that I am able to say that work will now
be starting on the roads that have been designated to be part of that
project. It is worth stating that we are very much aware that there are
many more roads that do not come under the SinoHydro deal, which are
also in a bad way and we continue to seek ways to build a road network
worthy of our nation.
I am glad to be able to report that the Accra to Tema railway service has
started running on the refurbished line. The opening of the Accra/Nsawam
line has been postponed, because sand winners have undermined the
ground underneath the track near Pokuase. It is now being repaired, and
the service will start hopefully by the end of February.
If we want the railways to work, we would all have to take an interest in
and stop the activities of encroachers on the railway lands. The
rehabilitation of the narrow-gauge line will continue from Nsawam to
Koforidua. Work is continuing on the rehabilitation of the Kojokrom to
Tarkwa section of the Western line, whilst work on the standard gauge
section from Kojokrom to Manso is ongoing.
Apart from all the investment being made, the government is committing
an extra one billion US dollars to the development of the new railway
network. Five hundred million dollars ($500 mi