Professor Gyampo punches holes in Akufo-Addo's State of the Nation Address

Professor Ransford Gyampo, a Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana has done a scholarly critique of President Akufo-Addo’s final State of the Nation address of his first term.

Professor Gyampo in the piece which he shared on social media handles identified some flaws in the statement read by President Akufo-Addo on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, January 5, 2020.

In his speech, President Akufo-Addo said that owing to the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative implemented by the government, food is in abundance in the country.

This claim of the president is not entirely true according to Professor Gyampo.

Prof. Gyampo states that with prices of staple food still on the high and local poultry farmers struggling, it is disingenuous for the president to make the above-stated claim.

“It cannot be entirely accurate that there is abundance of food supply in Ghana. There are serious poultry issues and the price of basic food staples haven’t gone down. A simple survey of food prices among ordinary Ghanaian respondents will point to this”.

President Akufo-Addo also said that his administration has transformed the economy from what it inherited.

But Gyampo avers that while it is appropriate for the government to credit itself for managing the economy well, it cannot overlook it's addition to the nation's debt stock since assuming power.

“Also, we cannot talk about our economy doing well without at least admitting the huge debt burden of about 297 billion heaped on the ordinary innocent people of Ghana now and the future”.

In July 2017, President Akufo-Addo profoundly said that he will put his presidency on the line to end illegal mining.

Fast forward to 2020 and President Akufo-Addo is now calling for a national discourse on galamsey.

This new directive by the president, according to Professor Gyampo marks a departure from the earlier resolve to end the canker.

“We do not need a national conversation about illegal mining. It appears the President sounded wavering in his commitment to fighting galamsey. His comments on this doesn’t support his earlier decisive posturing of wanting to put his Presidency on the line in the fight against illegal mining. The disastrous effects of illegal mining on our water bodies, and on the very sources of human livelihood in Ghana, are unquantifiable, and the quest to maintain political power, should not be enough to make any regime relent in fighting it”.