Prez ‘outdoors’ book on achievements in three years
President John Dramani Mahama yesterday gave a run-down of highlights of his three years stewardship, saying that the future of the country is bright.
Advertisement
Captivating his audience at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra, President Mahama catalogued the achievements of his administration in key sectors.
The achievements have been put together in a book titled: “Accounting to the People”
Launching the book, President Mahama said development occurred in time and space and it would be difficult for people at different places to comprehend development projects which might be taking place outside their domain, hence the need for such compilation for posterity.
Since it was not possible for Ghanaians to have a fair idea of what had been accomplished over the period, he said it had become necessary for the government to compile all its major accomplishments since 2013 to provide the needed resource for Ghanaians to have a better grasp of how the country was doing in terms of development.
Upper middle income status
He said the quest to migrate to an upper-middle income status was on course and that the necessary policies and programmes had been instituted to make that vision a reality.
As part of the measures to attain that status, he said his administration had consolidated the home-grown policies that were developed at Senchi and that they had been incorporated into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
He said contrary to views were expressed that the Senchi Consensus had been abandoned, it formed part of the policies and programmes of the government towards enhanced economic development.
Other Trending Stories
Power crisis
On the power crisis, he said there was the need to plan ahead to make sure that the situation that the country currently found itself in did not repeat itself.
Towards that end, he announced that different agreements had been signed with a number of independent power producers (IPPs) that would add a total of 3,500 megawatts of power by 2020.
President Mahama explained that with that quantum of power, there would be sufficient supply for domestic and industrial needs and surplus to be exported.
He said it was estimated that the demand for power was increasing to between 10 and 12 per cent annually and that access to power currently stood at 76 per cent, making Ghana the second highest in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa, to give her people power for their activities.
President Mahama said work on the TICO plant at Aboadze had been completed, while work on the Karpower barge, the AMERI plants, and the Kpone thermal plant were at various stages of completion.
He said the Tema thermal plant was being expanded, while work on the phase two of the Asogli power plant which would add 100 megawatts to the national grid was scheduled to be completed this month.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), he said, was to undergo restructuring under the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC), adding that contrary to what some people were saying that the ECG was to be sold, it would remain a state property.
National emergency call centre
President Mahama bemoaned the abuse of the national emergency call centre by persons who placed prank calls to the centre, thereby defeating its purpose.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to put an end to the practice since the national emergency call centre was supposed to address emergencies and save lives.
The President also announced that the Adomi Bridge connecting the Volta Region to the Eastern Region and Accra which was closed to the public for