…As He Presents Evidence-Based State Of The Nation Address

To the shock and disappointment of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs), President John Mahama yesterday presented what he termed 2015 ‘evidence-based’ State of the Nation Address (SONA) in parliament.

In the first of its kind and apparently providing evidence to the opposition MPs who often claim the President is not truthful about the state of the nation, President Mahama invited persons who are beneficiaries of some of his projects to Parliament as evidence of what he has achieved.

Not only were the NPP MPs silent in surprise at the sterling performance of President Mahama, they also forced to put up some wry smiles as towns in their various constituencies had their turns for mention among the areas where road works and other developmental projects were being carried out.

The performance of President Mahama, as enumerated in this year’s SONA, observers indicate, makes it an election-winning presentation that can secure him a first-round victory in this year’s polls.

A well-composed President Mahama started with a tribute to the late J.B. Danquah Adu, with a call for a minute’s silence in his honor.

This was followed by the novelty State-of-the-Nation Address that saw beneficiaries of various government projects standing up to the cheers of the audience as the President announced how their lives had been changed by one project or another.
One of such beneficiaries was Naomi Appiahkorang, a pupil teacher at Kyebi Primary School and mother of three, who has benefitted from the Kyebi water project, prior to which she had to travel a distance to get water with all the health risks.
42 year-old LEAP beneficiary from Limpopo in Pusiga, Zenabu Sumaila, has invested her LEAP money into pig rearing to support her family, after losing her husband.
Awenemi Apongyanga, a widow, used loom to weave traditional cloth and due to the difficulties, her children skipped school to hustle for extra money to support the family. However, she now has a weaving machine and is producing more materials for smock makers, thereby enhancing the livelihood of her family.
Besides those examples, President Mahama enumerated many road projects across the nation, especially the re-asphalting of roads in the urban areas, observing that, “people went to work on rough roads and returned from work only to see the roads asphalted”.

He mentioned the Terminal III Airport project that is expected to make Ghana the preferred transit point for travelers, as some of the projects earmarked for this year. The Kumasi Airport is on course to become an International Airport as work progresses on the project.

Work would also be completed on the Ho aerodrome to transform it into an airport to accommodate more airlines.

On sports, President Mahama mentioned the completion of the Cape Coast Stadium project as one of the achievements chalked this year, disclosing that, drawings for the New Edubiase Stadium had been completed awaiting the beginning of construction works. The Black Stars 2nd place at the CANAF in 2015 and the Black Queens gold medal at the All Africa Games also came up for mention.
In the area of disability, he announced that the Ghana Society for the Physically Challenged (GSPD) is being supported to secure a modern chalk molding plant to create employment and supply quality chalk to the Ghana Education Service (GES). This is in addition to the increase in the Disability Grant from 2% to 3%, representing a 50% increase on what Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are receiving. Some PWDs are also benefitting from funds and support in animal husbandry.

The health sector also enjoyed from significant investment with government removing Value Added Tax (VAT) on raw materials imported by pharmaceutical companies. Companies such as Tobinco Pharmaceutical Company Ltd and Ernest Chemists benefitted from government support and Mr. Samuel Amo Tobin, was in parliament as a testament of such support. Additionally, an amount of 2 billion dollars was invested in health infrastructure, equipment and human resource.

The Ho Regional Hospital is on line to be upgraded into a teaching hospital to meet the growing health needs.

In education, enrolment in universities increased by 6.6% whilst the polytechnics witnessed an increase of 8.3%.