The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has indicated that the period of stay of his administration has witnessed the fulfilment of a number of promises he made to the Ghanaian people in the run-up to the 2016 elections.

According to President Akufo-Addo, many of the pledges he made to the Ghanaians, prior to the December 2016 elections, were described by his political opponents as lies and impossibilities.

“They told you that Free SHS was a lie. They said I could not restore teacher trainee and nursing trainee allowances. They said the revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme was also impossible.

Nananom, right before your very eyes, and in the eyes of all Ghanaians, I am fulfilling these promises one after the other. Before the end of my tenure in office, I would have fulfilled all of the promises I made to you”, the President said.

“Free SHS is now a reality. In September this year, the Free SHS policy will cover new entrants, in addition to those who will then be in SHS 2. By September 2019, it will cover all students in Senior High Schools across the country. Teacher and nursing trainees are also receiving their allowances. We have also retired a large chunk of the NHIS debt left by my predecessor, and the NHIS is working.”

The President was confident that with the fulfilment of his promises, “Ghanaians will know that I am an honest person who did not deceive them in order to win their votes in 2016.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Friday, 18th May, 2018, when he addressed a durbar of Chiefs and people at Busunya, in the Nkoranza North constituency, on day one of President Akufo-Addo’s 3-day tour of the BrongAhafo Region.

Touching on one of his government’s flagship projects, President Akufo-Addo noted that the Programme for Plating for Food and Jobs has resulted in the BrongAhafo Region receiving 15% of farming inputs of the programme, thus becoming the largest recipient region of inputs for the Programme in the country.

“Last year 200,000 farmers, nationwide, were beneficiaries of the programme. This year, we are increasing the scope to 500,000 farmers. By 2020, one million farmers will be beneficiaries,” he said.

New Regions

On the proposed creation of new regions, President Akufo-Addo noted that the Justice Brobbey Commission, which is inquiring into the need for the creation of new regions, will, by the end of June, present its report.

The President told the gathering that if he receives the recommendations from the Commission, and they are positive, he will send the matter to the Electoral Commission to organise a referendum in the areas of the demand for the creation of new regions.

He explained that the referendum will require that 50% of all those registered in the area of the demand come out to vote, with 80% of those who come out to vote must vote ‘Yes’ for the new region.”

DKM

With 90% of refunds made to victims of DKM and other scams, President Akufo-Addo urged residents of the BrongAhafo Region, and, indeed, all parts of the country to be wary of unlicensed microfinance institutions.

He urged residents to demand from microfinance institutions, into which they intend to deposit monies, their license from the Bank of Ghana before undertaking any transactions with them.

Regional Tours

On the rationale for his regional tours, the President stated that “I cannot stay in Accra and know what going on in the country. If I do not leave my office and come to you in your regions, I will not know what is truly happening on the ground. So, every year, I will visit every region in the country to know what is going on.”

President Akufo-Addo also commissioned the new Techiman Divisional Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service in Techiman, and also cut the sod for the construction of a new District Hospital at Nkoranza.