The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has assured that the Akufo-Addo government is focused on tackling problems, which have come about as a result of the global pandemic.
In an apparent, friendly response to a section of Ghanaians who have taken to social media to complain about rising cost of fuel and other goods such as cement and iron rods, Vice President Bawumia also took to his Facebook page on Thursday morning to acknowledge their concerns and also assured them of government’s commitment to solving problems, which he said has been heightened by the effects of the pandemic on world economies.
“We are four months into our four year mandate. The job of government is to fix problems. This is what we have been doing since 2017,’ Dr. Bawumia wrote on Facebook.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the global economy and caused increases in prices of commodities such as oil, cement and iron rods, as well as overall cost of shipping,” he explained.
Dr. Bawumia, however, expressed optimism about the way forward, adding that the Akufo-Addo government has a track record of fixing problems in the past four years “after inheriting an economy with no bone on the meat.”
“Nevertheless, it is very important to place the performance of our government over the last four years after inheriting an economy with “no meat on the bone,” on record.
“The facts and data speak for themselves.”
Dr. Bawumia then went on to list several problems, which the Akufo-Addo government has fixed or fixing, to demonstrate its ability to overcome the present challenges.
He also assured the citizenry of the government’s commitment to do more for the people.
The list of problems the Akufo-Addo government has fixed, which the Vice President listed, included; social intervention programmes to reduce the suffering of citizens, positive economic indicators, job creation, increased agriculture output, critical infrastructure development, digitisation of the economy to make things easy for people, among others.
Below is the table for the things government is fixing:
Our Record Of Fixing Problems:
We are four months into our four year mandate. The job of government is to fix problems. This is what we have been doing since 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the global economy and caused increases in prices of commodities such as oil, cement and iron rods as well as overall cost of shipping. Nevertheless, it is very important to place the performance of our government over the last four years after inheriting an economy with “no meat on the bone” on record. Ours is a government that listens and cares. The facts and data speak for themselves.
| PROBLEM INHERITED | WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR | |
| 1 | Inflation at 15.4% | Reduced inflation to 10.3% |
| 2 | Average Bank lending rate at 32% | Reduced average bank lending rate to 21% |
| 3 | Massive annual exchange rate depreciation | We have fixed it. We have the lowest depreciation for any first term government since 1992 |
| 4 | Banking system was about to collapse | We have rescued the banking system and saved the deposits of 4.6 million Ghanaians |
| 5 | Persistent deficit in the balance of trade | Recorded a trade surplus for four consecutive years from 2017-2020. First time in more than two decades |
| 6 | Ghana’s sovereign credit rating declined to B- by 2016 | Ghana’s sovereign credit rating upgraded from B- in 2016 to B in 2019. First upgrade in 10 years |
| 7 | Weak food security. Ghana placed 78th on Global food security index | Ghana’s position on the global food security index has improved to 58th |
| 8 | Low and declining agric output | Planting for Food and Jobs has increased food production. It has led to a 71% increase in the national production of maize and 34% in paddy rice.
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| 9 | No pension scheme for cocoa farmers | Introduced a pension scheme for cocoa farmers. The first such scheme since independence. |
| 10 | No governance framework like cocobod for tree crops | Established a Tree Crop Development Authority with a focus on mango, cashew, rubber, oil palm, shea and coconut. |
| 11 | Absence of warehouses for storing crops | Implemented the One District One Warehouse initiative . Over 80 warehouses constructed |
| 12 | No industrial policy to encourage the setting up of factories | Implemented One District, One FactoryInitiative. In four years, 76 companies are in operation under 1D1F. |
| 13 | Weak domestic automotive sector | The new Automotive Sector Development Policy has resulted in VW, Sinotruk, Kantanka Group, and Nissan all assembling vehicles in Ghana. |
| 14 | No integrated aluminium industry for our Bauxite and iron ore resources | established the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and the Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation |
| 15 | Freeze on public sector recruitment | Recruited nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers, teachers, police officers, and many others. At least 750,000 public sector workers recruited. |
| 16 | Graduate unemployment | Established the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO). 100,000 graduates employed |
| 17 | High import duties | Import duties reduced by between 30%-50% |
| 18 | Large annual increases in petroleum prices (24% under previous government). | We have achieved the lowest average annual increase (8.25%) in petroleum prices in the fourth republic |
| 18 | Large annual increases in electricity tariffs | Cumulatively, we reduced electricity tariffs; the only government in the fourth republic to do so. |
| 20 | Anglogold Ashanti shutdown | Anglogold Ashanti has been revived |
| 21 | WAMCO shutdown | WAMCO has been revived |
| 22 | Ghana Publishing Company virtually collapsed | Ghana Publishing Company has been revived |
| 23 | Ghanapost virtually collapsed | Ghanapost has been revived |
| 24 | No national ID system | We have fixed it with the Ghanacard |
| 25 | No National Address system | We have fixed it with the digital address system |
| 26 | No mobile money interoperability. | We have fixed it with the implementation of mobile money interoperability |
| 27 | Too many Ghanaians do not have access to financial services | We have addressed it through allowing mobile wallets to operate like bank accounts |
| 28 | Cash dominance in payment system | Ghana is the first country in Africa to implement a Universal QR Code payment system with interoperability between mobile wallets and bank accounts. . It will reduce cash dominance. |
| 29 | Difficulty of renewing National Health Insurance membership | Fixed it. We have made it easy for people to renew their national health insurance membership on their phones without having to spend precious time in long queues. |
| 30 | Difficulty and inconvenience in buying electricity units from ECG for your meter | Fixed it. ECG customers can now can easily buy pre-paid electricity units conveniently from wherever you are from your mobile phone. |
| 31 | Difficulty and bureaucracy in obtaining a passport | Fixed it. The online passport application processes are helping many people and making it easier to obtain a passport. |
| 32 | Bureaucracy and corruption in clearing goods at the ports | Fixed it through the digitized process of paperless ports. |
| 33 | Difficulty and bureaucracy in applying for scholarships | Fixed it. Following digitization at the Scholarship Secretariat, everyone is able to apply for scholarship and receive same in the comfort of his or her home via online applications. |
| 34 | Manual motor insurance database | We have implemented the digitization Motor Insurance Database which can be accessed simply with any mobile phone by the insured, the police, and the public. |
| 35 | Bureaucracy and difficulty in obtaining a drivers licence | We have digitized the operations of DVLA and today our citizens have a much more convenient and easy way to acquire their driver’s license and register their vehicles. |
| 36 | Manual and inefficient processes in our hospitals | We have started automation of our hospitals. |
| 37 | No wifi access at our senior high schools and public universities | We are providing free Wifi to all 722 senior high schools, the 46 Colleges of Education, 260 district education offices, and an initial successful pilot of 13 public universities. |
| 38 | Difficulty and bureaucracy in accessing government services | We have developed a one-stop shop for government services (Ghana.Gov). The process of on-boarding all government institutions is ongoing. On this website you can apply for and obtain various government services from MMDAs. |
| 39 | Very few people had Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) | By making the National ID number the TIN number, we have increased the number of people with TIN numbers from 750,000 in 2016 to 15.5 million |
| 40 | Narrow base of potential SSNIT contributors | By making the National ID number the SSNIT number, we have increased the number of people with SSNIT numbers from 3 million to 15.5 million |
| 41 | Large number of nuisance taxes | Abolished or reduced 15 separate taxes |
| 42 | Many students had difficulty paying BECE and WASSCE fees | Fixed it. Registration fees of BECE and WASSCE abolished |
| 43 | Teacher training allowances cancelled | Teacher training allowances have been restored |
| 44 | Nursing training allowances cancelled | Nursing training allowances have been restored |
| 45 | Limited availability of scholarships | Scholarships increased by 70% |
| 46 | Limited availability of ambulances | One Constituency one ambulance policy has been implemented.
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| 47 | Difficulty in access to medicines and blood by remote areas | Introduced drones in the delivery of critical medicine, vaccines and blood to people in remote parts of the country. Ghana has now the largest medical drone delivery service in the world. |
| 48 | Delays in receipt of SSNIT pension after application | SSNIT pension can now be received within 10 days of application |
| 49 | Limited availability of school feeding program across many schools | Government has expanded school feeding by 78% |
| 50 | Limited availability of LEAP program | Government has expanded the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme by 53% |
| 51 | Inadequacy of the Capitation grant for basic education | Government has Doubled the capitation grant |
| 52 | Burden of utility bills payment for tertiary students | Government has abolished utility bills for tertiary students |
| 53 | Teachers were being paid 3-months arrears for 2-3 years worked | Government has abolished the 3-month arrears policy for teachers who had worked 2-3 years |
| 54 | Burden of post graduate medical training fees on students | Government has abolished the fees for post graduate medical training |
| 55 | Burden of market tolls for kayayei | Government has also abolished market tolls for kayayei |
| 56 | No development vehicle for Zongo and inner city communities | Established the Zongo Development Fund to address the needs of Zongo and innercity communities. |
| 57 | Stagnant peacekeeping allowances for soldiers | Government has increased the allowances for peacekeeping soldiers from $30 to $35
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| 58 | Share of DACF for persons with disabilities stuck at 2% | Government has increased the share of the DACF to persons with disabilities by 50% |
| 59 | Problems with water access during the dry season in the 5 northern regions | Government has implemented one village one dam and constructed over 400 dams under one village one dam |
| 60 | Many communities practicing open defecation | The massive investment in water and sanitation facilities in many rural and deprived communities by government has resulted in over 5400 communities being declared open defecation free (ODF) |
| 61 | Cholera outbreaks | Not a single case of cholera in Ghana in the last four years. |
| 62 | Underfunding of anti-corruption institutions | Government has significantly improved the financing of governance and anti-corruption MDAs like the Ministry of Justice and Office of the Attorney General, NCCE, CHRAJ, EOCO etc. |
| 63 | Long running chieftaincy dispute in Dagbon | Fixed it. Dagbon chieftaincy dispute resolved |
| 64 | Poor Roads | Government has made a very large investment in the road sector. The largest for any first term government in the fourth republic. Work is ongoing on many roads across the country |
| 65 | Power sector challenges | Work is ongoing to resolve the remaining challenges |
| 66 | Poor health Infrastructure | Being addressed and will be enhanced by the Agenda 111 project of building district, regional and psychiatric hospitals, more Zipline drone centres, infectious disease centres, etc. |
| 67 | Illegal Mining (Galamsey) | We are fixing it |
| 68 | Inadequate equipment, vehicles and logistics for security services | Very significant provision of equipment, vehicles and logistics has been made for our security services |
| 69 | Parents problem of paying fees for TVET students | Government has implemented free TVET |
| 70 | Parents problem of paying fees for SHS students | Government has implemented free SHS |