President Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will today present his fourth State of the Nation Address before Parliament, in a fitting climax to an eventful and successful tenure of massive development and hope.
He is expected to address a wide range of issues ranging from the economy, security, education, health, tourism, agriculture, energy, among others, and offer a justification for his “Four more years to do more”.
Economy
It is expected that the President will touch on how his government has prudently managed the economy, with the various fundamentals now pointed in the right direction.
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia last week explained how the Akufo-Addo government has turned around the troubled economy it inherited from the previous Mahama government.
Social stability
Ahead of the 2020 elections, the President is expected to dwell extensively on how he intends to maintain the current stability of the country, by assuring Ghanaians and global interests of free, fair and credible elections in December.
On Tuesday, whilst responding to comments made by former President Mahama that the country is likely to witness chaos, should the EC go ahead to compile a new voters’ register, President Akufo-Addo assured that the peace of the country will be sustained after the elections because “Ghana is bigger than the ambitions of any of us.”
Tourism
The highly successful “Year of Return” is also expected to feature prominently in the President’s address in the light of its potential for industrialisation. As a follow up, the government has launched the “Beyond the Return” initiative to tap into and reap the benefits of the return.
Education
With plans by government to phase out the double-track system of the Free Senior High School programme, the President will certainly touch on the way forward for the biggest ever social intervention in Ghana’s history. He will specifically explain how the government is tackling the infrastructure challenges created by the increased enrolments, and have resulted in the introduction of the double-track system.
The President insists that every Ghanaian child, regardless of the financial circumstances of their parent, must have access to free senior high school education.
Health
Among the various key campaign promises fulfilled by the Akufo-Addo government is the provision of ambulances for all constituencies in the country. This and other massive interventions in the health sector are expected to feature prominently in the address.
Agric
In addition to the Planting for Foods and Jobs initiative, which has seen excellent result, Ghana is set to make billions of dollars from other tree crops, apart from cocoa.
This follows the successful implementation of the Planting for Export and Rural Development initiative. This and other laudable interventions in the agric sector are expected to feature in the address.
Banking sector reform
The President is also expected to touch on the banking sector reforms, which have yielded positive results.
“As at the end of the first quarter of the year, total assets, deposits, loans and advances in the banking industry all saw positive growth, while the banks were well-capitalised, profitable, liquid and stable, with strong prospects for increased financial intermediation,” the 2019 Banking Sector Report of the Bank of Ghana has reported.
“Year of Roads”
The President will further touch on development in the road sector. His government has declared 2020 as the “Year of Roads”, as it seeks to tackle some critical roads which have been major cause of concern for various communities across the country.
