Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen!
Kukrudu!!!
Kukrudu!!!
Kukrudu!!!
I would like to thank the NPP-UK, particularly the Women wing led by the hardworking and energetic women organizer, Patricia A. Boakye (Daakyehemaa) for organizing this conference and inviting me to be a guest of honour and keynote speaker.
As you may be aware, I have been here in the UK for the past few days to attend on one hand the 3rd Ghana Investments and Opportunities Summit (GHIOS) jointly organized by the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre and the Ghana High Commission in the UK and on the other hand, co-chair the 8th UK Ghana Business Council (UKGBC) meeting.
These are important meetings that have produced significant deliverables in the past. For instance, it is through the UKGBC meetings that we are seeing the construction of the Kumasi International Airport, Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange Phase II, the new Tamale Airport terminal, Kejetia Market Phase II and many others.
I also, had the opportunity on the sidelines of these meetings to hold a meeting between Ghana and UK auto investors to chart a course for enhanced investments in the auto industry in Ghana and launched the UK- Ghana Investor group. I am confident these engagements have significant consequential mutual benefits for Ghana and the UK. These events have come at a time when Ghana is gradually working her way back after the economic challenges that we, like other countries have been through recently.
Fellow Patriots, as we gather like this in our colourful blue, white and red dresses and paraphernalia, one thing occupies our mind – how to position our party in a manner that engenders hope, trust and confidence, both in ourselves and the larger Ghanaian community. Seven years ago, we were given a mandate to oversee the governance of our country Ghana through a resounding victory. Four years later, our mandate was renewed.
As has been the mantra of most of us, we seek to do what has not happened in our country before by breaking the eight-year cycle of democratic political rule. We are very much convinced that we will be able to do this, by the grace of God, because of our performance.
In this address, I shall walk you through some of the key milestones we have been able to deliver as a government, unprecedented in many regards in the history of Ghana, while recognizing at the same time there is always room for improvement. We have not had it all rosy and delivered everything that we set out to do from our day of initiation into office. But the setbacks notwithstanding, we have produced a solid track record of achievements.
As those of you in the UK and other European countries are keenly aware, in the last couple of years the whole world has been hit mainly by two major external forces and Ghana has been no exception.
The Covid-19 pandemic affected global supply chains and the response put a burden on public finances. The war between Russia and Ukraine hit fertilizer and grain prices, among others, and increased the prices of commodities back home. Inflation, exchange rate depreciation and debt levels globally hit a 40 year high as countries scrambled to cope with the impact on lives and livelihoods. In Ghana, inflation increased from 12.9% in December 2021 to 54% by December 2022 with an attendant depreciation of the Ghana cedi by 30% in 2022.
These crises (COVID and Russia-Ukraine) came at a time when we were yet to fully recover from some major challenges we inherited. In particular, we inherited excess energy capacity payments resulting from power purchase agreements entered into by the previous government. I said last year, and the World Bank has also recently pointed out the reckless nature and the catastrophic implications of these contracts. Under these PPAs we have been required to pay some $1 billion annually for power we did not consume over the last six years.
The combined effects of these phenomena blighted an economy that grew at an average rate of about 7% between 2017-2019. Our debt became unsustainable, and the government had to undertake a domestic debt restructuring and seek IMF support to stabilize our economy.
These developments have been latched on by our political opponents in an attempt to play down the achievements of our government in the last six years. There has been so much talk from politicians and commentators alike. It is said that Politicians have a habit of talking a lot, but they hardly talk about what they have done.
It is actually better to judge politicians not by what they say but by what they have done to solve our problems when given the opportunity to serve.
So, in this regard, what problems have the NPP government solved or tackled since coming into office? Today I intend to shed some light on this.
Before this however, let us remind ourselves about the state of the economy we inherited in 2017.
Some Problems Inherited
Some Problems Inherited
- High unemployment
- Dumsor for 4 years
- a virtually collapsed national health insurance system
- a nearly collapsed national ambulance system,
- freeze on public sector employment,
- an almost collapsed banking sector
- Massive annual increases in utility bills
- High depreciation of the cedi
- Poor Road infrastructure
- Persistent Negative trade balance over three decades
- Low agricultural growth
- Limited financial inclusion
- No functioning address system
- No unique National identity system
- Economy saddled with $1 billion per year in excess capacity payments as a result of PPAs signed between 2012-2016
- Massive revenue leakages at ECG
- No vehicle for the development of Zongos and deprived communities
- Difficulty in obtaining Tax ID numbers and filing taxes
- Sickle cell sufferers had no access to hydroxyurea under NHIS
- Childhood cancers not covered under NHIS
- Unequal access to secondary education and TVET
- Availability of Chalk in schools was a problem
- Low industry growth
- Cancellation of teacher training allowances
- Cancellation of nursing training allowances
- 3-month teacher pay policy
- Many children unable to attend senior high school because of financial burden
- Bureaucracy and corruption in the delivery of public services at Ports, DVLA, Passport office, GRA, etc.
What the NPP has Done about the Problems we Inherited.
Real Sector and Macroeconomy
| Problems Inherited/Faced | What We Have Done So Far | |
| 1 | Low GDP Growth | Overall GDP growth – 2013-2016 Average (3.9%) Overall GDP Growth -2017-2019 Average (7%) Overall GDP growth – 2017-2022 Average (4.9%) Notwithstanding the global economic crisis from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, economic growth under Akufo-Addo is stronger than we inherited. |
| 2 | Declining Agricultural Production | Agric GDP growth – 2013-2016 Average (2.9%) Agric GDP growth – 2017-2022 Average (6%) Implemented the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme. Subsidies for seeds and fertilizer. Significant increase in yields. Maize production increased from 1.8 MT/HA in 2016 to 4.0 MT/HA. Similar for rice (from 2.7MT to 4.5MT) soybean, sorghum and vegetables Notwithstanding the global economic crisis from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, agricultural growth under our government is stronger than we inherited. |
| 3 | Declining and weak industrial growth. Enterprises shutting down: · Anglogold Ashanti · WAMCO · Ghana Publishing . Ghanapost | Industry GDP growth- 2013-2016 Avg (3.3%) Industry GDP growth- 2017-2022 Avg (4.85%) Revival of: · Anglogold Ashanti · WAMCO · Ghana Publishing · Ghanapost Notwithstanding the global economic crisis from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, agricultural growth under our government is stronger than we inherited. |
| 4 | Absence of a Foundry and Machine tooling center | We have established and operationalized the first ever foundry and machine tooling center at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission Facility |
| 5 | High Bank Lending Rates | 2013-2016 Average – 28% 2017-2022 Average – 24% Notwithstanding the global economic crisis from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, bank lending rate under our government are lower than we inherited. |
| 6 | Persistent negative trade balance for over a decade | 2017- 2022 – Positive trade balance for six consecutive years notwithstanding Covid and the Russia Ukraine war! First time this has happened in over 30 years!!! |
| 7 | Rapid exchange rate depreciation | Cumulative depreciation 2008-2016 – 72% Cumulative depreciation 2016-2023 – 62% Notwithstanding the global economic crisis from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, exchange rate depreciation under our government is thus far lower than we inherited. |
| 8 | Gold was a very small proportion of Ghana’s gold reserves. | Bank of Ghana has implemented a gold purchase program to increase Ghana’s forex reserves. Bank of Ghana has increased its gold reserves by 75% since 2021. |
| 9 | Constant pressure on dollar reserves to finance oil imports | Implemented a gold for oil policy to buy gold using cedis and pay for oil imports using gold. The policy has introduced more competition and abolished the use of forward exchange rates in fuel pricing. This has resulted in a reduced fuel prices (and transport fares) and reduced the demand for forex. Has enhanced exchange rate stability. |
| 10 | No industrial policy to encourage the setting up of factories | Implemented One District, One FactoryInitiative. Since its inception, 143 companies are in operation under 1D1F. 126 at different stages of completion |
| 11 | No domestic automotive sector for vehicle assembly or manufacturing | – The new Automotive Sector Development Policy has resulted in VW, Sinotruk, Kantanka Group, Toyota, Peugeot, and Nissan, KIA, Hyundai, are all assembling cars in Ghana. – A Ghanaian company is also on course to build a plant for the assembly of Electric Vehicles next year. That will be the first in West Africa |
| 12 | Limited local processing of cocoa | We have increased local processing of cocoa from 20% to 40%. |
| 13 | Ghana not maximizing its Tourism potential | Implementation of the flagship policies of the Year of Return, Beyond the Return and the December Music Festivals has made Ghana a global destination for the black diaspora and other tourists. |
| 14 | COVID-19 exposed Ghana’s vulnerability as a result of the lack of local vaccine manufacturing capacity | – A National Vaccine Institute has been commissioned and a vaccine manufacturing plant is being established to manufacture 600 million doses of vaccines annually for COVID-19, Malaria, tuberculosis and other vaccines. Production will start in 2024. – Ghana would also start the production of anti-snake venom serum this year. – Ghana is the first country in the world to approve the new R21 Malaria Vaccine for children aged between 5 months and 36 months |
| 15 | Unemployment | Created more jobs (2.1m) in six years than any other government since independence. Recruited nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers, teachers, police officers, and many others. Public sector – 1.2 million Private Sector (SSNIT) – 975,000 The records that are available therefore show that notwithstanding the challenges, our government has created more jobs than any government in the fourth republic and probably since independence. |
| Digitalization | ||
| 16 | No unique National Identification system | We have implemented a national Identification system with the Ghanacard. |
| 17 | Access to student loans limited for many students because of the inability to obtain guarantors for the loans Many students could not attend tertiary institutions. | No guarantor student loan policy introduced for students with the Ghanacard |
| 18 | No functional National Address System | We have implemented the Digital Property Address System. No more need to use of landmarks like the blue house or koko seller to provide directions. |
| 19 | Inability to send mobile money from one telco to another | We have implemented mobile money interoperability which allows customers of one telco to transfer mobile money to customers of another telco. |
| 20 | Inability to send money between bank accounts and mobile money wallets | We have implemented interoperability which allows the transfer of funds between bank accounts and mobile money wallets |
| 21 | Majority of adults did not have a bank account. Many people faced difficulties in opening a bank accounts: literacy, referees, etc. | As a result of mobile money interoperability the vast majority of adult Ghanaians now practically have a bank account. To open a bank account today all you need is a Ghanacard and a mobile phone. No filling of forms is needed. Unsecured micro loans are available via mobile money and interest is paid on balances. Ghana is now ranked number one in Africa in terms of access to financial inclusion |
| 22 | Cash dominance in the payment given high cost of Point of Sale Terminals for merchants. | Implemented Africa’s first Universal QR Code payment system with Banks, Telcos and fintechs on one platform |
| 23 | Difficulty of renewing National Health Insurance membership. Long Queues and people sleeping outside NHIA offices | We have made it easy for people to renew their national health insurance membership on their phones without having to spend precious time in long queues. |
| 24 | Difficulty and inconvenience in enrolling for NHIS | We have made it easy for anyone to enrol for NHIS through the “MyNHISAPP” from a mobile device. |
| 25 | Difficulty and inconvenience in buying electricity units from ECG for your meter. Travel to ECG offices Long Queues at ECG Offices | ECG customers can now can easily buy pre-paid electricity units conveniently from wherever you are from your mobile phone even from abroad |
| 26 | Leakages in ECG revenue as a result of manual and cash-based operations | Digitalisation of ECG operations and all offices going cashless has plugged leakages and immediately increased revenues from GHC450m to GHC1.25 billion (an increase of 178%). |
| 27 | Bureaucracy and corruption in obtaining a passport | The online passport application processes are helping many people and making it easier to obtain a passport. Revenue has increased from GHC1.1 million in 2017 to GHC56.7million by 2021 |
| 28 | Bureaucracy and corruption in clearing goods at the ports | We digitized process of clearing goods at the ports through the paperless ports program. |
| 29 | Difficulty and bureaucracy in applying for scholarships | Following digitization at the Scholarship Secretariat, everyone is able to apply for scholarship and receive same in the comfort of his or her home via online applications. |
| 30 | Fake insurance certificates and difficulty of checking the validity of insurance for motor vehicles. | We have implemented the digitization Motor Insurance Database which can be accessed simply with any mobile phone by the insured, the police, and the public. |
| 31 | Bureaucracy and difficulty in obtaining a driver’s licence | We have digitized the operations of DVLA and today our citizens have a much more convenient and easy way to acquire their driver’s license and register their vehicles. Revenue increased from GHC71.5m (2013-2016) to 168.4 million (2017-2020, a 135% increase! |
| 32 | Difficulty in finding pharmacies which stock prescribed medicines, prices of medicines and avoiding fake drugs | The first national scale electronic pharmacy platform in Africa has been established. All major pharmacies onboard and the FDA is also part of the system to check fake drugs. Prescriptions can be uploaded, and drugs purchased online for delivery or pick up. |
| 33 | No Wi-Fi access at our senior high schools | We are providing free Wi-Fi to 700 senior high schools, the 46 Colleges of Education, 260 district education offices, and an initial successful pilot of 13 public universities. |
| 34 | Lack of Cyberlabs in public schools | Cyberlabs have been established in 702 public schools and 81 communities between 2017 and 2022 |
| 35 | Difficulty and bureaucracy in accessing government services | We have developed a one-stop shop for government services (Ghana.Gov). The process of on-boarding all government institutions is ongoing. 1018 MMDAs onboarded. On this website you can apply for and obtain various government services from MMDAs. |
| 36 | Very few people (only 4% of the adult population) had Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) | By making the National ID number the TIN number, we have increased the proportion of adults with TIN numbers from 4% in 2016 to 85% now. |
| 37 | Difficulty in collection and payment of property taxes | Implemented a unified digital common property tax platform with a database and addresses of all properties in Ghana. |
| 38 | Fake birth certificates, bureaucracy and corruption at the births and deaths registry | Ongoing Digitization of the births and deaths registry with a link to the Ghana Health Service and NIA (Ghanacard) for a Ghanacard number to be issued to every child from birth. |
| 39 | Football Clubs and Authorities lost revenue from corruption associated with ticketing for football matches | Implemented E-Ticketing for football matches. Major increase in revenue |
| 40 | Filling of Landing and Departure Cards at Kotoka International Airport and long departure processes causing delays for passengers | Through digitization, the filling of landing and departure cards have been abolished. Departure processes have been reduced from 12 steps to 4 |
| 41 | Databases across government not integrated | We have integrated the databases of the NIA with SSNIT, GRA, NHIA, Passport Office, etc. As a result, the Ghanacard number also is your SSNIT number, TIN number, and NHIS number |
| 42 | Banking system was about to collapse | With Banking sector clean-up, we have rescued the banking system and saved the deposits of 4.6 million Ghanaians by spending GHC25 billion. |
| 43 | Rampant corruption in public service delivery | · Digitization: – Ghanacard – Ports – DVLA – Passports – NHIA – Football tickets – Property Taxes – Birth Certificates – Ghana.Gov – Electronic payments through Mobile money interoperability – ECG – Motor Insurance Database – Scholarships |
| 44 | Cocoa beans not traceable to particular farms and unavailability of data on cocoa farms and farmers | The records of all cocoa farms and farmers have been digitalized with unique identities. This means that cocoa beans can be traced to specific farms. Ghana is the first cocoa exporting country to attain this. |
| 45 | Hospitals and clinics not digitized and network. Manual folders used across departments and hospitals | Digitization and networking of all hospitals underway. Completed 147 hospitals so far (including all teaching and regional hospitals). No manual folders required anymore in these hospitals. No missing folders. |
| 46 | Difficulties in the procurement of pre-mix fuel by fishermen | We have completed the processes towards the digitalization of the process of obtaining pre-mix fuel at the landing beaches. The first 50 digitized pre-mix fuel dispensers will be launched by July 2023 with the goal to cover all landing beaches by the end of next year. |
| 47 | Threat to Ghana’s banking and financial system from cyber-attacks. | Following the Cybersecurity Information security Directive in 2018, The Bank of Ghana has commissioned a world class Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC). All banks are connected to the FICSOC and receive real time security alerts, intelligence, traffic analysis etc. This is the first of its kind owned and operated within a central bank in Africa |
| 48 | High costs and inefficiency associated with the manual execution of tasks in the judicial system | Government launched an e-justice system in 2019, a paperless court system. Cases would be able to be filed electronically and the progress of such cases can be easily tracked. The platform automatically assigns cases to courts and judges, a move away from manual assignments |
| 49 | Inadequate vehicle to track the progress of government projects. | Government has completed work on an enhanced digital Delivery Tracker which has recently been updated and improved to track the progress of projects and programs across ministries, departments and agencies. Will be launched next month. This will be the first of its kind since |
| Infrastructure | ||
| 50 | Roads | Constructed more roads than any other government in the fourth republic |
| 51 | Airports | Kumasi, Tamale airports constructed, and Sunyani Airport rehabilitated. |
| 52 | Interchanges | Constructed more interchanges than any other government in the fourth republic |
| 53 | Railways | Constructed more railways than any other government in the fourth republic: – Achimota- Nsawam – Accra-Tema Rehabilitation – Kojokrom-Tarkwa – Kojokrom-Manso (94%) – Tema-Mpakadan (98%) |
| 54 | Poor Rural telephony | 2009-2016 – 78 sites installed. 2017-2022 – 1008 sites installed and an additional 503 in progress |
| 55 | Inadequate structures Classrooms | Constructed more classrooms (basic, STEM and secondary schools) than any other government in the fourth republic: Total Classrooms: 5,411 Number of Seats – 252,470 |
| 56 | Senior High Schools | – 747 structures completed. – 31 E-Blocks (Community Day Schools) have been completed since 2017 compared to 29 as at the end of 2016. Building STEM schools for the first time in our history. 6 operational (Abomosu, Kpasenkpe, Awaso, Bosumtwe Girls, Accra Senior High Stem center and TVET school in ACCRA) and 4 under construction |
| 57 | Public Libraries | Constructed more public libraries than any other government in Ghana’s history. Increased the number of public libraries from 61 in 2017 to 115 in 2022 (Increase by 88%). |
| 58 | Weak Technical and Vocational Skills Development | – The upgrading and modernization of all the – erstwhile 34 National Vocational and Technical Institutes (NVTI’s) – – Constructing thirty-two (32) State of the Art TVET Centres Project |
| 59 | Burden of fees for many in accessing TVET education | Government has implemented free TVET policy. Ghana TVET Service Established, similar to the Ghana Education Service |
| 60 | Inadequate NCA licensed Fibre Optic Cable | Constructed more NCA licensed fibre optic cable than any other government in the fourth republic (93% of total) · 2009-2016- 488km · 2017-2022– 6,758 km |
| 61 | Inadequate Fish Landing Sites and Fishing Harbours | Constructed more fish landing sites than any government in the fourth republic: – Axim – Dixcove – Moree – Mumford – Winneba – Senya Breku – Gomoa Feteh – Teshie – Keta – Osu – Ekumfi – Mfantseman Completed Elmina Fishing Harbour |
| 62 | Health Facilities | – Completed 10 polyclinics in the central region – completion of 5 polyclinics in the Greater Accra region – Completion of the rehabilitation of Tamale Teaching hospital Phase II – Completion of Bekwai District Hospital – Completion of University of Ghana Medical Centre Phase II – Construction of 13 district hospitals – 6 Drone delivery centers – – Ongoing construction of hospitals under Agenda 111. – Comprising 101 district hospitals – 3 psychiatric hospitals – 7 regional hospitals – – The largest health infrastructure since independence |
| 63 | Energy Sector | – Constructed several Transmission lines, substations and Bulk Supply Point. – 2331 communities connected to electricity grid between 2017-2022 – Ghana has also started the exploration of oil in the Voltain Basin (Northern and Sannah regions for now) following very promising seismic data. |
| 64 | Access to Toilet facilities | Increased the proportion of the population with access to toilet facilities from 33% to 59% |
| 65 | Sports Facilities | Astroturfs – largest number in history. At the end of 2016 Ghana had only 3 astroturfs. Today we have over 80! 10 Multipurpose sports stadia being constructed |
| 66 | Zongo Infrastructure | Under the Zongo Development Fund, over 400 infrastructure projects completed in zongo communities. Largest in history |
| 67 | Vehicles and Equipment for security services | Provided more equipment (vehicles, ammunition, etc) to security services than any other government in the fourth republic |
| 68 | Inadequate courts and accommodation for judiciary | Constructing 120 courts and 150 bungalows for judiciary. The largest such in the fourth republic. 80 courts completed. |
| 69 | Uneven economic development across and within the various economic zones in the country | Established the Development Authorities: Coastal, Middle Belt and Northern Development Authorities under the one constituency one million dollars program. 1,609 Projects have been completed so far. – Northern – 304 – Middle Belt- 345 – Coastal -129 – Ministry of SDI- 831 |
| 70 | Absence of warehouses for storing crops | Implemented the One District One Warehouse initiative. 80 warehouses constructed |
| Others | ||
| 71 | No Right to Information Law | Right to Information Law Passed |
| 72 | It had long been advocated that new regions were needed to deepen decentralization | Six new regions have been created – Oti, Ahafo, Bono East, Savannah, North East and Western North. |
| 73 | Persistent Examination Leakages in BECE and WACSSE exams | The implementation of a policy of serialization of exam questions has eliminated leakages for BECE examinations and same will be done for WACSSE exams. |
| 74 | Large number of students unable to access senior high school education. No gender parity | Government has implemented free SHS. Enrolment has increased by 75% and there is now virtual gender parity. Enrolment has increased from 800,000 to 1.4 million. |
| 75 | Poor Performance with Aggregate Passes in CORE WASSCE subjects (average) | 2015- 41% 2022 – 64% – significant improvement |
| 76 | Low National Proficiency in English Language for basic students | 2015- 2% 2022- 38% – significant improvement |
| Alleviation of Suffering | ||
| 77 | Large annual increases in electricity tariffs | The electricity tariffs over the last six years have seen the lowest increase for any six year period over last thirty years! Free electricity for lifeline users for a year during COVID-19 50% reduction in reduction tariffs for all other consumers during COVID-19 |
| 78 | Large number of nuisance taxes | Abolished or reduced 15 separate taxes |
| 79 | Many students had difficulty paying BECE and WASSCE fees | Registration fees of BECE and WASSCE abolished. GHC 250 million released over last 5 years |
| 80 | Five years of Dumsor | No Dumsor for the last 6 years (except for temporary outages) |
| 81 | Teacher training allowances cancelled | Teacher training allowances have been restored. GHC 770 million released over last 5 years |
| 82 | Nursing training allowances cancelled | Nursing training allowances have been restored. GHC 860 million released over last 5 years |
| 83 | Limited availability of scholarships | Scholarships increased by 70% |
| 84 | Difficulty in access to medicines and blood by remote areas | Introduced drones in the delivery of critical medicine, vaccines and blood to people in remote parts of the country. Ghana has now the largest medical drone delivery service in the world. There are six Zipline Distribution Centres in Omenako, Mpanya, Vobsi, Sefwi Wiawso, Kete Krachi and Anum. |
| 85 | No pensions for cocoa farmers | A cocoa farmer pension scheme has been began and implementation has started through a pilot. |
| 86 | Childhood cancers not covered by NHIS. Treatments very expensive | Four Childhood cancers covering 85% of childhood cancers are now been covered by the NHIS |
| 87 | Hydroxyurea, a very effective drug for sickle cell sufferers was not covered by the NHIS. It is expensive | NHIA has announced that Hydroxyurea is now covered by the NHIS |
| 88 | COVID-19 Pandemic | Ghana has been acknowledged internationally as one of the best countries in the world in the management of COVID-19. Many lives and livelihoods were protected |
| 89 | Delays in receipt of SSNIT pension after application | SSNIT pension can now be received within 10 days of application |
| 90 | Limited availability of LEAP program | Government has expanded the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme by 53% |
| 91 | Inadequacy of the Capitation grant for basic education | Government has Doubled the capitation grant |
| 92 | Burden of utility bills payment for tertiary students | Government has abolished utility bills for tertiary students |
| 93 | Large average annual increases in electricity tariffs | 2013-2016 – average annual increase of 41.3% 2017-2023 – average annual increase of 9.2% (excluding free electricity for lifeline and 50% reduction for others during COVID) |
| 94 | Two-year rent advance demanded by landlords denying access to rental accommodation to many | Introduced the National Rental Assistance Scheme to provide loans to renters |
| 95 | Teachers were being paid 3-months arrears for 2-3 years worked | Government has abolished the 3-month arrears policy for teachers who had worked 2-3 years |
| 96 | Burden of market tolls for kayayei | Government has also abolished market tolls for kayayei |
| 97 | Stagnant peacekeeping allowances for soldiers | Government has increased the allowances for peacekeeping soldiers from $30 to $35 |
| 98 | Share of DACF for persons with disabilities stuck at 2% | Government has increased the share of the DACF to persons with disabilities by 50% |
| 99 | Many communities practicing open defecation | The massive investment in water and sanitation facilities in many rural and deprived communities by government has resulted in over 5400 communities being declared open defecation free (ODF) |
| 100 | Infant Mortality/1000 live births Under Five Mortality/1000 live births | 2016 – 37.9 2021 – 32.6 2016 – 53 2021 – 44 |
| 101 | Persistent Examination Leakages in BECE and WACSSE exams | The implementation of a policy of serialization of exam questions has eliminated leakages for BECE examinations and same will be done for WACSSE exams. |
| 102 | Large number of students unable to access senior high school education. No gender parity | Government has implemented free SHS. Enrolment has increased by 75% and there is now virtual gender parity. Enrolment has increased from 800,000 to 1.4 million |
Ladies and Gentlemen, when you look at this tall list of achievements, one cannot but admit that they are monumental! Let nobody tell you that we don’t have a message for 2024! I must hasten to add that this does not mean we have done everything we intended to do or ought to have done. There is clearly a lot more to do and we will work hard to do more.
As Vice President, I have had the honour and privilege, thanks to the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to be given the opportunity to initiate and or oversee the implementation of many of these problem-solving policy initiatives I have mentioned. These include but are not limited to:
- The Ghanacard
- The Use of the Ghanacard Number as a Tax Identification Number (TIN), SSNIT Number, National Health Insurance Number
- Digital Property Address System
- Mobile Money Interoperabilty
- Paperless Ports
- Ghana.Gov
- No Guarantor student loans with Ghanacard
- Universal QRCode Payment System
- Registration for and renewal of NHIS membership on the phone
- One Constituency One ambulance
- Agenda 111
- Digitalization of ECG operations
- Digitalized Passport Applications
- E-Pharmacy
- Sinohydro Barter Agreement
- Zipline Drones for medical delivery
- Digitalization at the scholarship secretariat
- Unified digital common property tax platform
- Online filing and payment of taxes at the GRA
- Digitalization at the births and births registry
- Digitalization of football ticket sales
- Provision of Hydroyurea under NHIS for Sickle Cell Patients
- Zongo Development Fund
- Development Authorities
- Bank of Ghana Gold Purchase Program
- Gold for Oil Policy
- Abolishing the filling of embarkation and disembarkation cards at the airport
- And a few more.
It is important to note that many of the transformational policy initiatives that we have introduced since 2017 are being done for the first time since independence and most have benefited women! What is interesting is that because many of them have not been done before, many people shackled by a mindset of impossibility have argued that they are not possible, but we made them possible.
Examples include:
- The introduction Zipline Drones for medical supplies
- The announcement that Ghana was the first African country to implement Mobile money Interoperability between bank accounts and mobile wallets.
- The announcement that Ghana was the first African country to implement a Universal QR Code payment system
- The announcement that the Ghanacard to be used as a travel document for passengers traveling to Ghana from abroad
- No guarantor student loan policy with the Ghanacard
- The announcement that mobile money interoperability will make it possible for all adult Ghanaians to have a bank account
- The Free SHS policy
- The Free TVET policy
- The Digital Property Address System –
- Sinohydro Bauxite barter agreement
- One constituency one ambulance
- Zongo Development Fund
- Gold for oil program
- Creation of 2.1 million jobs in the last six years
- Construction of the Elmina Fishing Harbour
All these initiatives were pooh-pooed as impossible, but we stayed focused and made them possible. We are dealing politically with people with shackled mindsets who always think in terms of things being impossible to do. When you try to move the country forward with new ideas, they mask their ignorance by mocking you, ridiculing you and calling you a liar. But in the process, they only expose their lack of understanding of the issues. My response to them is to stay focused, not get angry but rather make it happen! That is the best victory you can have over the naysayers! Make what they think is impossible possible!
What we have been able to accomplish so far shows that it is possible for Ghana to achieve many things that some believe to be impossible. With what we have done and continue doing in the wake of the global challenges, the outcome, thus far, points to an auspicious future.
We have been able to stay afloat the stormy global economic developments and kept our lights on without any threat of dumsor. We have been able to ensure all year-round availability of diesel and petrol and no single Ghanaian had to queue for these essential products. We have never rationed food in our markets as a result of the global challenges. And not a single government flagship social intervention programme, be it free SHS or free TVET, school feeding programme, teacher and nursing trainee allowances, and so on was truncated.
But rather, we have been able to introduce innovative ideas such as the Gold-4-Oil policy to get our exchange rate fairly stabilized and reduced fuel prices from a litre at about 23 cedis to about 12 cedis and reduced transport fares. Inflation rate has consequentially dropped from 54% to 45% and is estimated to end the year at around 25%. The growth prospects of our economy are high and we have absolute trust and confidence that out mitigating measures will lead to a rebound in the economy to higher performances recorded in the pre-Covid era soon.
It is possible if we put our minds to it. We need to break the shackles of impossibility and embrace the mindset of possibility.
Ladies and Gentlemen, by the Grace of God:
- It is possible for Ghana to become an advanced and advanced modern nation based on systems and data. Data and technology are the new engines of growth.
- It is possible for Ghana to have food security through application of technology to commercial farming
- It is possible for Ghana to be the hub for and lead Africa in digitalization and innovation with over 90% internet penetration
- It is possible to mmaximize the benefits from our natural resources like gold and lithium
- It is possible for Ghana to become an industrialized nation.
- It is possible to create more jobs for the youth to reduce unemployment
- It is possible to eempower the local business sector, including startups and SMEs to drive investment and growth in Ghana
- It is possible to ssustainably stabilize the macroeconomy, have low interest rates and reduce the cost of living
- It is possible to have accessible energy security with renewables.
- It is possible to eliminate or minimize corruption in the public sector
- It is possible to have a golden age of investment in the creative arts, tourism and sports.
- It is possible to build an inclusive education system for with a focus on STEM, AI, Robotics and skills development
IT IS POSSIBLE!
IT IS POSSIBLE!
IT IS POSSIBLE!
Thank you for your attention!
God bless you and
God Bless our homeland Ghana
