V/R holds first edition of regional town hall meetings

The Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has stated that more lives have been touched through the policies of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in the past two and a half years that has been done in the last 10 years.

He said the government achieved these by putting in place very strong and robust social programmes such as the Free SHS that afforded thousands of young Ghanaians access to secondary education; and the provision of employment to 100,000 young unemployed graduates through the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), among others.

The Information Minister said these when he delivered his keynote address at the first regional edition in the series of the government's town hall meetings held in Ho in the Volta Region on the theme: "Delivering on our promises: a focus on social investments".

Demand for accountability

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the town hall meeting was focused on social programmes in order to fulfil the demand of accountability on the government which is enshrined in the country's Constitution.

He said the "government’s mandate is to deliver change to the people and this is what is being showcased for people to see that the government is not sleeping on the job".

He said the government would deepen local governance to meet the aspirations of the grassroots, adding that the government was poised to build the enabling environment to engender growth and stimulate income levels for the people.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah stated that all Ghanaians should work to support the good governance being rolled out by the government and spread the word that the government was delivering value and it should, therefore, be maintained in the 2020 election.

The regional town hall meeting, the first of its kind in the country, saw all the 18 municipal and district chief executives in the region take turns to present projects undertaken in their areas of jurisdiction during the tenure of the NPP government in the past two and half years.

The projects, some of which have been completed and others at various stages of completion, include CHPS compounds, maternity blocks, classroom blocks, sanitation and toilet facilities, fire stations, police stations, slaughterhouses, staff bungalows, nurses quarters, boreholes, telecommunication mast, recreational centres, among others.

In his welcome address, the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, said the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC) was determined to ensure that all programmes of the government succeeded in the region.

He said the town hall meeting was a high platform to tell the success story of the NPP government to the people.

He catalogued the potential of the Volta Region, especially in the field of agriculture where rice production abounded, and used the opportunity to invite potential investors to patronise the first Volta Regional Investment Fair scheduled to take place in Ho in November this year.

Nurses’ training allowance

The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Alex Kodwo Abban, noted that the government had provided financial clearance for 54,892 nurses, adding that majority of those cleared were outstanding from 2012 to 2016.

The ministry, he said, had launched an electronic platform to facilitate recruitment and placement of staff at health facilities.

He said currently, a total of 57,000 trainees were benefiting from the restoration exercises at a cost of GH¢20,400 per month, adding that 100 per cent of the total commitment, amounting to GH¢210.8 million for the 2017/2018 academic year, had been paid.

He also stated that a GH¢57.8 million warrant had been released for payment for the rest of the month.

The Deputy Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister, Mrs Freda Prempeh, said the government had initiated programmes such as the mentorship and the scholarship, which saw 4,000 girls benefitting. She added that the government had also initiated a vocational skills programme and a 10-year strategic plan to end child marriage.

Mrs Prempeh said, "to achieve a Ghana beyond aid, we must as a matter of urgency pay attention to social protection interventions".

Chiefs and queen mothers from all traditional areas, students from the universities and second-cycle institutions, and a large section of the public from all traditional areas in the region were present to grace the occasion.