[ 2021-03-10 ]

Time for litigation over, let’s unite - President
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Tuesday,
urged Ghanaians to put the challenges of the
General Election and the Covid-19 pandemic behind
and forge ahead as one people for the common good
of the nation.








Delivering his first State of the Nation Address
(SONA) to Parliament in Accra, following his
reelection, the President outlined the successes
of his first term, including macroeconomic
stability, with gains in food production,
infrastructure, employment generation and energy.

Ghana, he said, was in good health and remained
attractive to investors, despite the ravages of
the pandemic.

“Yes, we are reeling from the effects of
COVID-19, but I am confident that, with the
progress of the vaccination programme, we will
recover quickly, and work towards putting our
nation back onto the path of progress and
prosperity, he said.

More so, the unanimous affirmation of his victory
by the Supreme Court had positioned the country
for greater accomplishments.

“The Supreme Court last week determined the
challenge to the validity of the 2020 presidential
election, and affirmed its validity in a unanimous
decision,” he stated.

“The Court has spoken. It is time for all of us
to move on, and, in a united manner, confront the
problems of a post-COVID Ghana.

“Now is the time for each and every one of us,
irrespective of our political affiliations, to
unite, join hands, stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and
work hard to place Ghana where she deserves to
be,” he said to applause of members the majority
side in Parliament, amid the waving of white
handkerchiefs.

The macro-economic and other indicators, he noted,
pointed to a resilient economy until the COVID-19
pandemic hit hard.

He explained that between 2017 and the first
quarter of 2020, the Government had made
considerable gains in the management of the
national economy – an annual average GDP growth
of seven percent, single digit inflation, a stable
exchange rate, strong foreign exchange reserves
buffer, reduced fiscal deficits with three
consecutive years of primary surpluses, markedly
reduced lending rates, and appreciable job
creation.

However, the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic
wrought challenges on those gains, necessitating
government intervention that appeared detrimental
to the nation’s much sought-after fiscal
stability.

“That is why government did not hesitate to
institute measures to protect lives and
livelihoods, even if it was, to the temporary,
detriment to our much sought-after fiscal
stability.

The revenue shortfall as a result of the pandemic
is estimated at more than 13 billion Ghana cedis.

“My Government found the resources to cushion
the impact of the pandemic because we are good
managers of the economy, and we are good
protectors of the public purse,” the President
declared to cheers from his side of the House.

President Akufo-Addo gave an overview of the
performance of his government in the areas of
infrastructure development, education, water and
sanitation, housing, health, railway development,
environment, security, energy, monetary policy,
transport, among others.

He also mentioned the flagship programmes -
Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and
Jobs, the one-Village-One-Dam initiative,
One-District-One-Warehouse policy, establishment
of greenhouse villages, revitalization of the
cocoa rehabilitation programme, and the
reactivation the aquaculture industry.

Ghana, he said excitedly, did not experience food
shortage during the lockdown and thereafter.

The President pointed out that the pandemic had
brought to the fore the need for home grown
solutions to the developmental needs of the
nation, commending the Ghanaian industrial spirit
and innovation in crisis times.

The pandemic, he emphasised, had exposed the need
to expedite the process of moving Ghana to a
situation beyond aid.

“That is why Government has developed and is
currently implementing the GH¢100 billion Ghana
CARES ‘Obaatampa’ Programme to transform,
revitalise and modernise our economy, and return
it to high and sustained growth for the next three
years,” the President explained.

He expressed the hope that the nation would
rebound to prosperity and with a more inclusive
society, saying, “Soon, things will work for all
in Ghana, and then we will fulfill our true
potential as the Black Star of Africa.”

He renewed his pledge to Ghanaians to remain
uncompromisingly committed to strengthening the
institutions of democracy, and managing public
resources with integrity, fairness, openness and
accountability.

The Government would continue to open itself to
public scrutiny, he stated, recalling
interventions such as the repeal of the Criminal
Libel Law and the introduction of the Public
Procurement Law to protect the public purse under
former President Kufuor.

Under his administration the government has
established the Office of Special Prosecutor, and
in 2019 enacted the Right to Information Act.

Funding to accountability institutions of state,
such as CHRAJ, EOCO, the Judiciary and the Auditor
General had been significantly improved.

“Indeed, the institutions of our nation, whether
the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary, are
working,” the President declared, and urged the
people in charge of governance institutions to do
their work with professionalism and good faith.

The President reiterated his message to Ghanaians
to keep to the core values of integrity,
sovereignty, a common ethos, discipline, and
shared values and be masters “of our own
destiny, where we mobilise our own resources for
the future.

“Furthermore, the nation must break the shackles
of the ‘Guggisberg’ colonial economy and a
mind-set of dependency, bailouts and extraction.

“It is an economy where we look past commodities
to position ourselves in a global marketplace. It
is a country where we focus on trade, not aid, a
hand-up, not a hand-out. It is a country with a
strong private sector. It is a country that
recognises the connectedness of its people and
economy to those of its neighbours.

“This requires a forward-looking vision for our
country, enabling us to confront our challenges
and embrace our opportunities, not one fastened in
the rear-view mirror. It is a Ghana beyond aid.

“Mr. Speaker, I remain wholly committed to the
fulfillment of this vision,” the President
concluded.

Source - GNA

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