The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reaffirmed the commitment of his government to bring progress and prosperity to all parts of the country, in a balanced and inclusive manner.
Speaking at Ada, at the Asafotufiami Festival, on Saturday, 4th August, 2018, on the theme, “Mobilising Local Resources Towards Development and Growth of the Traditional Area”, President reiterated his belief that a prosperous, confident nation can be built through the effective exploitation of the country’s human and natural resources.
In furtherance of this, the President stated that, over the last nineteen (19) months, his government has worked hard to ensure a stable macroeconomy, and have, as a result, put in place measures that are formalizing the economy, reducing the cost of business, and improving the business environment.
“I know we are not out of the woods yet, but I can assure you, Nenemei and Naamei, that our nation is on the right path,” he said.
Mobilising the nation’s resources, he said, has meant the commencement of the rolling out of flagship policy initiatives such as the “One-District, One Factory” project, and the programme for “Planting for Food and Jobs”.
The implementation of the “One District, One Factory” policy, President Akufo-Addo noted, has meant that thirty-six (36) factories are at various stages of being operationalized, which will create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
“The Lan Tianyi Soymilk factory, located at Asutuare, in Shai Osudoku, has been inaugurated, and is fully functional. I would urge the Ada East and West District Assemblies, as well as the Ada Traditional Council, to develop a strategic plan towards exploiting the vast potentials of the area to ensure residents benefit from their local resources,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo assured the Chiefs and people of Ada that Government is in the process of securing the necessary investment for the development of a modern salt industry, stressing that the Songhor Lagoon has the potential to produce salt in large-scale and commercial quantities, from its current status.
On the implementation of the Free SHS policy, the President stated that it provided 90,000 more children, in 2017, with the opportunity to gain access to senior high school education in 2017.
With 180,000 more children, representing a 31% increase, expected to be admitted into the country’s Senior High Schools, and with Government determined to make sure that “no qualified Ghanaian child is left behind”, President Akufo-Addo stated that Government is employing the Double-Intake System to address the deficit.
We are, first of all, going to recruit over eight thousand (8,000) more teachers in 2018 than we did in 2017. Secondly, we are going to employ a double track school calendar system for the new SHS entrants. Let me make it clear that this double-track system is not going to be applied to all Senior High Schools, but only to those whose current capacity will be exceeded by the numbers of admitted students.
He assured the Chiefs and people of Ada that Double-Intake system will not destroy the country’s education, as some people would want the Ghanaian people to believe.
“On the contrary, this system will reduce class sizes, it will increase the contact hours between teachers and students, as well as increase the number of holidays. Every bold, new initiative that is rolled-out will, perforce, experience hitches and challenges,” he said.
With the Asafotufiami festival held to mark the period of harvest, the President encouraged as many farmers as possible in Ada to join the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs, which is expected to cover one million farmers by 2020.
On addressing the country’s infrastructural deficit, President Akufo-Addo stated that his government has embarked on an ggressive public private partnership programme to attract investment in the development of both road and railway infrastructure.
“We are hopeful that, with solid private sector participation, we can develop a modern railway network with strong production centre linkages and with the potential to connect us to our neighbours to the north, i.e. Burkina Faso, to the west, i.e. Cote d’Ivoire, and to the east, i.e. Togo,” he said.
Nonetheless, he assured the Chiefs and people that roads in Ada are receiving the undivided attention of Government, and work on all abandoned projects will commence very soon.
President Akufo-Addo appealed for unity amongst the people of Ada, and urged them to act in unity as one people collectively to lift up the fortunes of Ada.
“The primary task is yours, and I assure you that government will stand in full support with you so we deliver progress and prosperity to all our people,” the President added.
