President Nana Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday threw a subtle jab at the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), asking them to “open your eyes” to see the factories his New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration is building under the flagship One District One Factory (1D1F) policy to industrialize the country.
Delivering a message on the State of the Nation (SoNA) address in the first session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic, President Akufo-Addo mentioned the efforts that the government was making to build more factories to ensure accelerated economic growth but the NDC MP started making mockery of the 1D1F initiative, forcing the President to throw the jab.
Indutrialization Agenda
“We are determined to make our own things and the Akufo-Addo administration will continue the agenda of rapid industrialization with the aim of transforming the structure of the Ghanaian economy from one dependent on the production of raw materials to a value-added industrialized economy.
“Under the One District One Factory Policy, 232 projects are at various stages of completion. This includes 76 operating 1D1F companies, while 112, including five medium-sized agro-processing factories and 63 common user facilities are under construction,” the President stated.
The moment the President made the statement the minority NDC responded with sarcasm and the President fired back retorting, “Open your eyes, you will see them.”
Petition Verdict
The President in his first public comment on the Presidential Election Petition filed by former President John Dramani Mahama to challenge his (Akufo-Addo) 2020 victory described the judgment as “well-reasoned.”
“I am particularly delighted at this message, the first of my second term, the validity of which was unanimously upheld last week in a well-reasoned and excellent ruling by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by the Chief Justice on March 4, 2021,” the President stated amid cheers (Majority) and jeers (Minority) from the MPs.
Agyapa Returns
President Akufo-Addo also said that the government had not abandoned the controversial Agyapa Royalties transaction, which then Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu cited as reason for his resignation from office late last year.
The government decided to consolidate all the country’s potential mineral income in a fund to be largely managed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Agyapa Royalties, done through the establishment of Agyapa Minerals Limited which was 100 per cent owned by Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978), which was also 100 per cent owned by government.
The arrangement triggered heated debate, compelling the President to direct the Ministry of Finance to put it on hold.
President Akufo-Addo made it clear yesterday that the government was preparing to come back to engage Parliament once again on the steps it intended to take on the future of the Agyapa transaction to ensure it became a reality for the good of the country.
“The government will come back to engage the House on the steps it intends to take on the future of the Agyapa transaction,” he said.
Ghana Card
He said that all National ID Card (Ghana Card) numbers were going to be used as Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) and SSNIT numbers as part of the measures towards formalizing the economy which had not seen significant shift for many years.
“Mr. Speaker, for the first time, we have enrolled 15.5 million people onto the National ID card system (the Ghana card), and we will complete the process this year. From April 1, and this is not an April Fools’ prank, all National ID numbers will become Tax Identification Numbers. In so doing, the number of people registered by GRA for tax purposes will increase from the current three million to 15.5 million.
“I should recall that at the end of 2016, only 750,000 people had TIN. The increase to 15.5 million in just four years is simply phenomenal. Similarly, from the second quarter of this year, all National ID numbers will also become SSNIT numbers. This will increase the number of people on the SSNIT database from four million to 15.5 million! The National ID numbers will also become NHIS numbers. Very soon we will link the National ID to all SIM cards, bank accounts, births and death registry, DVLA and passports,” he said.
Digital Addressing
The President said that “through the implementation of the Digital Property Addressing System, every location in Ghana had a digital address. The process of affixing unique property address plates for some 7.5 million properties in all 16 regions had also started.
“Mr. Speaker, for the first time in Ghana, more than 70% of the population has access to financial services either through a bank account or a mobile money account. We have been able to do so through the implementation of mobile money interoperability (between bank accounts and mobile wallets), with Ghana as the first and only country in Africa to have done so.
“It is, therefore, not surprising that Ghana is the fastest growing mobile money market in Africa. Furthermore, our successful introduction of the Universal QR (Quick Response) Code for payments across banks, telcos, fintechs and merchants will propel Ghana to be amongst the first countries in Africa (if not the first) to move towards a largely cashless economy, when fully rolled out across the country with the support of the Bank of Ghana.
“Mr. Speaker, we have also digitized the operations of many government institutions including the ports, NHIS, DVLA, GRA and the Passport Office. One of the most dramatic examples of this development has been the ability of SSNIT to pay pensions within 10 days of application, as opposed to the endless delays of the past,” he said.
Agenda 111
President Akufo-Addo further reiterated his government’s commitment towards the construction of regional hospitals in all the newly created regions and districts without hospitals, an initiative his administration had termed Agenda 111 which when delivered would become the biggest healthcare investment in the country’s history.
“Construction of some hospitals has commenced and will continue without interruption. Agenda 111 is the largest infrastructural development in our history and will lead to Ghana becoming a centre of medical excellence and a centre of medical tourism.
“The government will continue to invest in the health sector and continue to recruit more health workers. An electronic medical record system is currently underway, following its implementation in key health facilities. Upper East, Upper West and Bono regions will go live on the e-health system in five days,” the President said.
He said “My government found the resources to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic because we are good managers of the economy and we are good protectors of the public purse,” the President said.
4More4Nana
The President assured that he would not let those who fought for him for his second term using the mantra 4More4Nana during the campaign to be in vain.
“In spite of the considerable challenges we were confronted with, and the setbacks we encountered, we were confident our record in office would put us in good stead before the electorate and earn us a second term in office, which it did.
“It means that the reason for which the Ghanaian people went to the polls on December 7– that is to seek improvement in their living standards and the rapid transformation of the economy – must continue in earnest,” he said.
Consensus Building
President Akufo-Addo reiterated his resolve to work with the legislature to better the wellbeing of the people.
He lauded the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who he described as his senior in Parliament.
“Let me use this opportunity to congratulate once again the Speaker of Parliament, the Right Honourable Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, on becoming speaker of the Eighth Parliament. His has been a distinguished career.
“Having entered the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic in 1993 and I came to meet him in the Second Parliament in 1997,” the President added.
He outlined some of the different roles that Mr. Bagbin had played during his close to three decades as NDC MP including becoming Majority Leader and a Minister of State.
“It is wholly appropriate that at such a crucial period in the history of our country, my senior in Parliament and I should work together for the wellbeing of the Ghanaian people,” the President said.
Side Attraction
President Akufo-Addo got a taste of the rough-and-tumble Parliament when he was heckled by opposition lawmakers during his delivery.
Yesterday, while presenting his message, MPs from the NDC screamed intermittently and sang portions of the national anthem, saying “…and help us to resist oppressors rule, with all our will and might forever more,” amidst other shouts.
Their NPP counterparts from the majority side also screamed, “Nana, you do all,” thereby turning the place to a shouting march.
Heckling is common in Parliament, and when President Akufo-Addo was interrupted several times by the opposition MPs, he shrugged it off and remarked to them that people wanting to see his industrialization projects ought to open their eyes.
By Ernest Kofi Adu