Nana Addo arrives in Bolga
The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his government, God-willing, from January 2017 will focus on making the Upper East Region a major centre for agricultural production.
According to him, with several hectares of arable land available in the Upper East Region, the provision of irrigation facilities, through the ‘one village-one dam policy, would improve the fortunes of the region and its people and make it a potential bread basket for the country.
This, he explained, will make the Upper East Region a growth pole and area of wealth creation, as thousands of jobs will be generated for the teeming unemployed youth in the region.
Addressing a mammoth rally in Bolgatanga on Monday, the NPP flagbearer stated that the party has “a big plan for the development of our country. A plan that is going to bring jobs and prosperity to all parts of Ghana, and in the Upper East Region, agribusiness is going to be our focus.”
He commented: “We are going to create the conditions of year-round farming, if Burkina Faso can do it, then we can also do it in the Upper East Region and create prosperity and jobs for our people.”
With 15 days to the holding of the December 7 elections, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that “the time has come for the Upper East region and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to become one and forge a bond of cooperation and friendship that is going to lead to the development of the Upper East Region and the whole of our country, Ghana.”
In this regard, the NPP flagbearer disclosed that the Accra-Paga Railway line, which has been on the books for several decades, would become reality during his tenure as president.
This railway line would facilitate the haulage of goods from the South to the North, as well as the haulage of iron ore and other mineral reserves in the North.
“The development of our nation that will take place will be unprecedented and will not be captured in books, but will be captured in reality on the ground. We, in Ghana, are living in a country of tremendous resources and wealth. We’re sitting on wealth and yet we are hungry, it’s because of poor governance that we are hungry.
“I am coming to change all of that so that the wealth of our country will benefit each and every one of us,” he assured.
Outlining some of the other policies for the development of the region, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to establishing the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), which would see every constituency receiving the equivalent of $1 million every year to deal with problems of sanitation, roads, electricity and other infrastructural needs of the constituency.
The NHIS, which has been compromised under the leadership of President Mahama, will receive new strength so we can provide healthcare that is affordable and accessible for all Ghanaians.”
Nana Akufo-Addo also reassured nurse trainees of the full restoration of their allowances when he wins the December elections.
The Free SHS policy, he added, will be effectively implemented because “we are determined to secure the future of our country.”
This policy, in addition, will reduce the financial burden of parents who want to provide their children with good education.
“Apart from education of the children, we are going to revive, in full, adult education so that adults who did not have the opportunity to go to school will also benefit from knowledge and education. We want to have a nation where everybody can improve on their lives and circumstances. That is what we are fighting for, and that is why we are going to restore the allowances of teacher trainees,” he added.
He called for the unalloyed support of the people of the Upper East Region to bring into fruition the policies and programmes he has outlined.
“I have come here to ask for your support so that in December the Upper East, for the first time in the history of the 4th Republic, will return the majority of MPs for the NPP and give us a majority of the popular vote in this region,” he added.