“We Will Bring Progress & Prosperity To Ghana” – President Akufo-Addo
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo, has reaffirmed the commitment of his government to bring
progress and prosperity to all parts of the country, in a balanced and
inclusive manner.
Speaking at Ada, at the Asafotufiami Festival, on
Saturday, 4th August, 2018, on the theme, “Mobilising Local Resources
Towards Development and Growth of the Traditional Area”, President
reiterated his belief that a prosperous, confident nation can be built
through the effective exploitation of the country’s human and natural
resources.
In furtherance of this, the President stated that,
over the last nineteen (19) months, his government has worked hard to
ensure a stable macroeconomy, and have, as a result, put in place
measures that are formalizing the economy, reducing the cost of
business, and improving the business environment.
“I know we are not out of the woods yet, but I can
assure you, Nenemei and Naamei, that our nation is on the right path,”
he said.
Mobilising the nation’s resources, he said, has meant
the commencement of the rolling out of flagship policy initiatives such
as the “One-District, One Factory” project, and the programme for
“Planting for Food and Jobs”.
The implementation of the “One District, One Factory”
policy, President Akufo-Addo noted, has meant that thirty-six (36)
factories are at various stages of being operationalized, which will
create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
“The Lan Tianyi Soymilk factory, located at Asutuare,
in Shai Osudoku, has been inaugurated, and is fully functional. I would
urge the Ada East and West District Assemblies, as well as the Ada
Traditional Council, to develop a strategic plan towards exploiting the
vast potentials of the area to ensure residents benefit from their local
resources,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo assured the Chiefs and people of
Ada that Government is in the process of securing the necessary
investment for the development of a modern salt industry, stressing that
the Songhor Lagoon has the potential to produce salt in large-scale and
commercial quantities, from its current status.
On the implementation of the Free SHS policy, the
President stated that it provided 90,000 more children, in 2017, with
the opportunity to gain access to senior high school education in 2017.
With 180,000 more children, representing a 31%
increase, expected to be admitted into the country’s Senior High
Schools, and with Government determined to make sure that “no qualified
Ghanaian child is left behind”, President Akufo-Addo stated that
Government is employing the Double-Intake System to address the deficit.
We are, first of all, going to recruit over eight
thousand (8,000) more teachers in 2018 than we did in 2017. Secondly, we
are going to employ a double track school calendar system for the new
SHS entrants. Let me make it clear that this double-track system is not
going to be applied to all Senior High Schools, but only to those whose
current capacity will be exceeded by the numbers of admitted students.
He assured the Chiefs and people of Ada that
Double-Intake system will not destroy the country’s education, as some
people would want the Ghanaian people to believe.
“On the contrary, this system will reduce class
sizes, it will increase the contact hours between teachers and students,
as well as increase the number of holidays. Every bold, new initiative
that is rolled-out will, perforce, experience hitches and challenges,”
he said.
With the Asafotufiami festival held to mark the
period of harvest, the President encouraged as many farmers as possible
in Ada to join the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs, which is
expected to cover one million farmers by 2020.
On addressing the country’s infrastructural deficit,
President Akufo-Addo stated that his government has embarked on an
ggressive public private partnership programme to attract investment in
the development of both road and railway infrastructure.
“We are hopeful that, with solid private sector
participation, we can develop a modern railway network with strong
production centre linkages and with the potential to connect us to our
neighbours to the north, i.e. Burkina Faso, to the west, i.e. Cote
d’Ivoire, and to the east, i.e. Togo,” he said.
Nonetheless, he assured the Chiefs and people that
roads in Ada are receiving the undivided attention of Government, and
work on all abandoned projects will commence very soon.
President Akufo-Addo appealed for unity amongst the
people of Ada, and urged them to act in unity as one people collectively
to lift up the fortunes of Ada.
“The primary task is yours, and I assure you that
government will stand in full support with you so we deliver progress
and prosperity to all our people,” the President added.
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