Six promises in Akufo-Addo's second term inaugural speech

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been sworn into office for a second term as President of Ghana. In his inaugural speech delivered Thursday in Parliament, President Akufo-Addo gave an indication of what he hopes to achieve over the next four years.

In his address, the President said he hopes to complete some infrastructure projects including the provision of roads within a year while others such as establishing a strong economy did not come with any timelines.

Graphic Online takes a look at six of the promises he made in his inaugural address [Jan 7, 2021].

1. Establishing a strong economy

President Akufo-Addo said establishing a strong economy will be the main preoccupation of his second term.

He said a strong economy will generate jobs for young people and enhance living standards to the levels Ghanaians expect.

He said: "Today, our economy, even in the face of the global pandemic of COVID-19, continues to show resilience and a much faster rate of recovery than originally envisaged, and was, indeed, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in 2020. Ghana remains one of the most attractive destinations on the continent for foreign direct investment, with the presence in the country of some of the world’s largest conglomerates attesting to this fact. Establishing a strong economy, undergoing structural transformation to value-added activities, which will generate jobs for our young people and enhance their living standards, will be the main preoccupation of my second term".

2. Nationwide electrification

According to data from the World Bank (2018), 82.4 percent of the Ghanaian population have access to electricity.

President Akufo-Addo has assured that by the end of his second term the entire country will be connected to electricity.

"The remaining fifteen per cent (15%) of our communities without electricity would be covered by the end of my second term," the President assured.

3. Constructing district hospitals

It is unclear how many district hospitals have been completed since the President in April 2020 promised to build more than 90 new hospitals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Akufo-Addo in the last year of his first term promised a large investment in new medical facilities in 88 districts in Ghana that were without hospitals, as well as an additional six regional hospitals.

In his inaugural address January 7, 2021, the President stated that all the district hospitals will be completed within a year.

He said: We have already begun constructing hospitals in the remaining districts that do not have one – a process which will be completed within a year.

4. Providing potable water

President Akufo-Addo stated that the percentage of Ghanaians without access to potable water is to reduce significantly, following the commencement of work on a number of water supply projects across all parts of the country.

These include a $125million project funded by the World Bank which aims to provide 550,000 people in low-income urban communities of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) with improved sanitation and water supply services.

The project will also improve coordination between key agencies and strengthen the capacity and performance of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies by reducing Non-Revenue Water, improving wastewater management, addressing issues of pollution, climate change and translating development plans into focused actions. The Government of Ghana will replicate the successful GAMA SWP approaches in Kumasi, and further expand services to targeted beneficiaries. Overall, some of the key results include providing 250,000 people with household toilets; 200,000 people with institutional sanitation facilities; and 500,000 people with improved water services.

5. Housing

In April 2019, Ghana's Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea stated that the country's housing deficit had gone past two million.

To deal with this and many other challenges in Ghana's housing sector the President promised to tackle the problem with vigour in his next term [Jan 7, 2021 to Jan 6, 2025].

"The majority of our people live in unacceptable housing, and we shall tackle the problem with vigour," he said.

6. Roads

The President said he will not renege on his mantra to make all roads in the country motorable in 2021

He said the rigorous construction of roads that ensued last year will continue in his second term.

"Last year was the year for construction of roads, this year is another year for road construction", he said.

Earlier in 2020, the President declared it as a 'Year of Roads' and said roads are critical in the development of any nation.