Highlights of President Mahama State of the Nation Address

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The following are the highlights of President John Mahama State of the Nation Address:
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POWER

Following power purchase agreements entered into with several Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and plants that VRA is currently working on,
starting from this year and over the next 5 years, about 3,665 MW of power would be injected into the power transmission grid.

The breakdown includes:

Sunon Asogli (Phase II) – 360MW
Sunon Asogli (Coal fired) – 750MW
CenPower – 350MW
Jacobsen – 360MW
Amandi – 240MW
GE – 1000MW
VRA (T4) – 185MW
VRA (KTPP) – 220MW

As an immediate measure to resolve the current crisis, the Ministry of Power has been authorized to procure and feed into the system, 1,000MW of emergency power. Guarantees are currently being agreed for the following:

Karpower ship (Turkey) 450MW
APR (UAE) 250MW
GE 300MW

The Ministry of Power estimates that this emergency power can be rolled out in months to bring relief to the system while the more permanent plants mentioned previously are being worked on.

Agenda For Transformation

The agenda to transform the structure of the economy and position it as an export-driven rather than an import-focused economy is on course.

Education remains the surest path to victory over ignorance, poverty and inequality. This is self evident in the bold initiatives we continue to take to improve access, affordability, quality and relevance at all levels.

Basic Education

A decade and a half into the new millennium, we are providing, through our Basic Education Programme, equitable access to good quality, child-friendly Universal Basic Education.

This year, we will start with the distribution of ten thousand (10,000) locally produced made-in-Ghana school sandals to pupils in selected deprived districts.

? Six million (6,000,000) textbooks,
? Five hundred thousand (500,000) pieces of school uniforms,
? Fifteen million (15,000,000) exercise books, and
? Thirty thousand (30,000) computers will also be distributed to schools across the country.
Our focus on quality education requires the enhancement of teaching skills. To that end, about one hundred and sixty thousand (160,000) teachers, representing 56 per cent of teachers at the basic education level received career development training.

Another one thousand (1,000) teachers have also undergone In-Service Training in line with the objective of improving the teaching of mathematics and science.
We shall continue with our interventions to improve the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science across the country.

Secondary Education

In fulfillment of the vision to expand access to quality education, construction work is ongoing on the initial 73 Community Day Senior High Schools. Work will begin this year in 50 other locations.

This year, we shall also commence the implementation of a number of interventions under a US$156 million Secondary Education Improvement Programme. The interventions include:

1. Improving facilities and quality of education in 125 existing Secondary
Schools
2. Providing ten thousand, four hundred (10,400) needy students with
scholarships
3. Building the capacity of six thousand, five hundred (6,500)
Mathematics, Science and ICT Teachers and
4. Providing leadership training for heads of second cycle schools

Government will begin the implementation of the Progressively Free Secondary Education Programme at the start of the 2015/2016 academic year in September.

Tertiary

– Government has presented to parliament, a bill for the establishment of a University for Environment and Sustainable Development in the Eastern Region.

– A US$37.5 million Distance Education ICT facility has been established, linking all the 10 regional distance education centres of the University of Ghana.

– Work on the conversion of Polytechnics to Technical Universities will progress with the expected passage of the Technical Universities Bill this year. Take-off date is September 2016.

– Under the Skills Development Fund of the COTVET, over GH?150 million in grants have been provided to five hundred and ten (510) grantees made up of institutions, businesses and associations.

Health
We will this year spend over 3 billion Ghana Cedis on the health sector to confirm the view that a good economy resides in the health of our people.

There are currently several major hospital projects under construction, to deliver approximately six thousand (6,000) new hospital beds to facilitate access to improved health care by 2017.

The hospitals include:

1. A 617-bed University of Ghana Teaching Hospital
2. The 420-bed Ridge Hospital Expansion Project
3. A 104-bed Police Hospital Project
4. The 500-bed Military Hospital Project in Kumasi
5. The Second phase of the Tamale Teaching Hospital Expansion Project
which will add another 400 beds to the existing 400 beds
6. A 160-bed Upper West Regional Hospital
7. A 130-bed Maritime Hospital, Tema
8. The 295-bed Bolgatanga Regional Hospital

This year, 150,000 of the poorest households are to benefit from the LEAP programme.

Sports

Government will this year, put a desirable focus on other sporting disciplines other than football, in order to contribute to their growth and the winning of more international medals and competitions.

Government will also partner with corporate Ghana to support the programmes of the various sporting associations this year including the Swimming Association, which is producing very brilliant and fast swimmers winning medals in international competitions.

On the development of sporting infrastructure, work is progressing speedily on the Cape Coast Stadium and is expected to be completed this year.

Pillar 2 Building A Strong And Resilient Economy

The Ghana EXIM Bank will act as an intermediary between government and exporters, and assist exporters to compete internationally by providing insurance and finance facilities to support their overseas contracts.

In Komenda, in the Central Region, a new sugar factory is under construction to reduce over US$300 million spent on sugar imports.

In addition to the Komenda factory, discussions have been concluded for another sugar estate and factory in the Northern Region.

Put together, the two plants should be able to reduce by more than 80 per cent the import of sugar in the coming years.

This year, an additional 200 poultry farmers will receive financial support as part of the broiler project.

Government has also extended support of GH?51 million, to a number of local pharmaceutical companies to expand their operations, retool their factories and obtain critical certification to enable them meet international export standards.

Securing a Bright Medium Term Prospects

In order to achieve policy certainty and attain broad support for the Home Grown Economic Policies, discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a three year Extended Credit Facility programme are ongoing.

Real Sector Performance ? Agribusiness, Trade And Industry

To ensure food security and to assure our hardworking farmers of appreciable returns on their investments:
– government will distribute 180,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer
– continue with the agriculture mechanization programme to make available in the districts more than 1,000 tractors and other implements including harvesters, threshers, planters and sprayers for use by farmers.

More than GH?120 million has been made available to the rice, poultry, shea, cashew and other agro-processing sub-sectors to boost production. Out of this, the rice production sub-sector alone received GH?22 million.

Our demand for fish outstrips supply by 50%. Government is determined to bridge the 50% deficit through aquaculture development and the expansion of family fish farming across the entire coast and inland water communities.

Government aims to reduce the importation of fish by at least 20% in the short term. Among other measures, Government will, this year, facilitate the acquisition of three thousand (3,000) outboard motors for our fishermen.

A new fisheries cold store has also been completed in New Takoradi for the storage and preservation of fish.

Work is also progressing on the Fish Processing Factory at Elmina.
MASLOC will put together a revolving fund for the benefit of fishmongers along the fishing communities.

The GH?10 Youth Enterprise Support (YES) Initiative, Secretariat has received a total of two thousand and forty-eight (2,048) applications to help applicants work on their own.

Forty-five percent (45%) of the applications are for business start-ups in Agriculture and Agribusiness and 24% to set-up Cottage Industries.
Thirty-one percent (31%) of the applications are however focused on the Services sector.

This is an indication of the enthusiasm of the youth to take advantage of government?s initiative to go into entrepreneurship. The applications are currently been assessed,
as part of Government?s efforts to create more jobs for the youth.

Cocoa

The cocoa industry continues to play a pivotal role in the economy.

– For the 2014/2015 cocoa season, the Ghana Cocoa Board will continue the free fertilizer application (Hi-tech) programme for cocoa farms.

– The Board is also distributing a total of fifty million (50,000,000) improved cocoa seedlings free of charge to farmers.

– Ahead of that, it has recruited four thousand (4,000) people in 87 cocoa growing communities who have planted and are nursing the seedlings.

– Cocobod to unveil a programme to acquire land to engage more young people in cocoa farming.

Markets play an important role in the socio-economic development of the people.

– Reconstruction work on the new Kotukuraba in Cape Coast and Aboabo in Tamale are progressing steadily.

– Work on the Ho Central Market is ongoing and construction of the new Kumasi Central Market will begin soon.

Tourism continues to be a major foreign exchange earner after gold, cocoa and foreign remittances.

We shall continue to strengthen the linkages between hotels, catering and tourism by building capacity through the Hotel Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT).

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EXPANDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GROWTH

While we continue to build more hospitals and schools, other critical sectors such as water, roads, transport, ICT and Telecommunication sectors continue to engage our attention. Development of key infrastructure is not only for job creation but also for general socio-economic transformation.

With the GIIF, we should reduce the funding gap for infrastructure projects considerably and execute projects needed to help drive our desired growth as a lower middle-income country.

Water

– Government has spent in excess of US$1.1 billion on the construction of new water systems, and expansion of some existing ones across the country.

– Over the last two years government reversed significantly the unacceptable hardship many of women and children, especially, go through in their search for water.

Across the length and breadth of the country, various water projects are ongoing and others are at various stages of completion. At the end of this year, 2015, we will be covering 76% of the entire country, both rural and urban areas with good drinking water.

This is in fulfillment of the prescriptions of the National Water Policy and the work programme of the 2012 Manifesto of the NDC, which seeks to achieve 100% water coverage for our people by 2025.

In fulfillment of the pledge I made during my address last year to complete and deliver a number of major water projects, I am happy to report that on the eve of last year?s Christmas, I recently commissioned Kpong Water Expansion Project and opened the valve to commence the flow of 20 million gallons of water to households and businesses in the northeastern part of Accra.

An additional 20 million gallons is available and scheduled to start flowing at end of this month to achieve the set daily capacity of the plant, which is 40 million gallons of water per day.

. The residents include those living in Adenta, Adjiriganor, Ashaley Botwe, North, East and West Legon, Madina, Haatso and their environs.

Last year, government completed work on the Kpong Intake Rehabilitation Project, which is currently contributing 3.3 million gallons of water per day to the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Water System.

Beneficiary communities include Dodowa, Ningo, Prampram all in the Greater Accra Region and the Akuapem Ridge in the Eastern Region.

Still on the water sector, we also completed the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area Water Supply Project, which has added nine million two hundred thousand (9.2 million) gallons per day to water supply in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. This has improved water supply to an estimated quarter of a million inhabitants.

The beneficiary communities include:
1. Michel Camp, Afienya and surrounding areas
2. Ayitepa, Kponguno, Omankope, Doyumu and surrounding areas
3. Bawalashie, Oyibi, Amanfro and surrounding areas
4. Fafraha, Ayikuma, Abokobi, Pantang and surrounding areas
5. Aperade, Adukrom, Awukugua, Dawu and surrounding areas
7. Akropong, Mamfe, Amanokrom, Tutu and surrounding areas
7. New Senchi, Akrade, Senchi and surrounding areas

The vision to end totally the problems of water shortages has not been limited to the urban parts of the country or to Accra alone. New water systems have been completed and commissioned at Anyinam, Kibi, Osenase, Apedwa and Kwabeng. The Asante Mampong Water Supply Project is also now supplying the inhabitants of Damang, Daaho, Basafour, Besease, Kyeremfaso, Krobo, Mpenya, Dadease, Bonkron, Nsuta, and Beposo with water.

The Nsawam Water Supply Project and the Essakyir Water Project have also been completed.

From the Upper East and Upper West Regions through Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region down to Accra, many more projects are at various stages of completion to bring relief to our people.

One other critical area of focus for Government is housing. The estimated housing deficit for Ghana is 1.7 million. Projects targeting the middle to lower income bracket and giving them an opportunity to own decent homes are being rolled out.

Largely focused in the towns and cities, include:
? A five thousand (5000) affordable housing project, which is underway at Saglemi in the Ningo District of the Greater Accra Region. The first 200 houses should be ready for occupancy by the close of this year.

? 168 housing units with related infrastructure has been completed and handed over to the security services. Work on an additional three hundred and sixty-eight (368) housing units under the second phase of this project has also started.

? Another five thousand (5,000) affordable housing units, branded ?Nyame Dua estates, also in Kpone, is almost 70% complete.

? We have also made considerable progress towards completing a total of four thousand, seven hundred and twenty (4,720) affordable housing units in five regions of the country. These were started in 2006 in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Eastern regions.

This year, we will commence work on the redevelopment of the Accra-Tema Motorway into a six-lane highway with interchanges. Resurfacing works will also take place on roads in North and South Kanda, James Town, Adabraka, Mamprobi, Chorkor, Adenta and Madina.

The 147-kilometre Fufulso-Sawla Road in the Northern Region is almost complete while the Buipe-Tamale road asphalt overlay has been completed. The Nakpanduri-Oti Damanko portion of the Eastern Corridor and I will join the people in that section of the road to cut the sod for commencement of road works.

In the Central Region, work on the Kasoa Interchange, which comes with a major community-upgrading component involving the construction of schools, hospitals and water projects would commence in the coming weeks. This project will remove one of the most frustrating bottlenecks in the country?s road network.

The Kasoa bypass, Mankessim-Abura Dunkwa, Assin-Twifo Praso, Essiam Town roads and the Breman Asikuma-Amanfopong road are but a few of the ongoing works to improve roads in the Region.

In the Eastern region, work has resumed on the Kwafokrom- Apedwa road and will be completed in 12 months. Also to receive renewed attention this year are the Nsawam- Apedwa road, Nsawam-Aburi, the Suhum-Asamankese and Nkawkaw- Atibie roads. The Oterkpolu- Odumase road has also been awarded on contract.

In Ashanti Region, work on the Sofoline Interchange would be completed this year. Last year I commissioned the Assin Praso- Bekwai Road, which came with a two-lane bridge over the Pra River. I also inspected some 20km of Kumasi town roads, which have been upgraded.

Another 40km of Kumasi roads will be upgraded this year. Other major projects ongoing in the region include Bomfa Junction- Asiwa-Bekwai, Bekwai-Ampaha-Asiwa, Kumawu-Timaate- Drobonso and Agyenkwaso-Anomabu-Gyadem roads.

In the Brong Ahafo Region, the Nsawkaw-Namase section of the Wenchi-Sampa Road, Berekum-Sampa, Atebubu-KwameDanso-Kwadwokrom, Goaso-Kukuom Junction, Prang-Kintampo, Kintampo- Abease and Dormaa Ahenkro-Nkrankwanta roads are receiving attention.

Under the Feeder roads, we have the following:

ASHANTI REGION
Bitumen Surfacing of Ataase Nkwanta-Owusukrom Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Manfo-Subriso-Fanti Feeeder Road

CENTRAL REGION
Bitumen Surfacing Of Camp-Adjoum Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Of Brofuyedur-Odoo Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Of Nkwanta ? Mempesem Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Jamra ? Adandan Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Of Ekwamoase ? Ofabil Feeder Road

EASTERN REGION
Bitume Surfacing Of Noyem ? Winso ? Amuana ?Praso Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Of Mangoase ? Kukua Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Of Chia-Brenase-Ofoase Feeder Road

WESTERN REGION
Bitumen Surfacing Of Akim Sekyere ? Abekoase Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Juaboso-Dadieso Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Anto Dompem-Daboase Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Edwenase ? Atobiase

VOLTA REGION
Bitumen surfacing of Dapaa Jn.- Pampawie-Ahamansu Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Lekanti-Nanankor Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Aburubuwa-Obanda Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Dodi Papaase-Mensahkrom-Asuboi Feeder Road

BRONG AHAFO REGION
Bitumen Surfacing of Dadiesoaba-Twabidi Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Dormaa Ahenkro-Baabianiha Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing AND Rehabilitation of Antwirifo-Danyame Feeder Road
Rehabillitation of Asuadei Jn. -Asuadei Feeder Road

Under Urban Roads, the following roads have been earmarked.

ASHANTI REGION
Rehabilitation of Selected Roads in New Edubiase
Rehabilitation of Bekwai Town Roads

BRONG AHAFO REGION
Rehabilitation of Dormaa Ahenkro Town Roads
Construction of Goaso Town Roads

CENTRAL REGION
Rehabilitation of Dunkwa Town Roads

WESTERN REGION
Rehabilitation of Sefwi Wiawso Town Roads
Rehabilitation of Daboase Town Roads

EASTERN REGION
Rehabilitation of Suhum Town Roads
Partial Construction of Kyebi Town Roads
Construction of Selected Roads in Asamankese

The following highways are to be constructed under the cocoa roads.

ASHANTI REGION
Upgrading of New Edubiase – Anomabo Road
Upgrading of Amantia – Obuasewa Road
Partial Reconstruction of Obuasi Jn – Dunkwa – Ayanfuri Road

BRONG AHAFO REGION
Upgrading of Gambia No.2 – Kyeremasu
Partial Reconstruction of Tepa Jn. – Goaso Road
Upgrading of Kofibadukrom Junction – Kofibadukrom

CENTRAL REGION
Upgrading of Dunkwa – Twifo Praso – Assin Fosu

WESTERN REGION
Upgrading of Akontombra – Sefwi Wiawso
Upgrading of Daboase – Atieku Road
Upgradng of Enchi – Dadieso Road
Upgrading of Akontombra – Bodi Road
Rehabilitation of Anyinabrem – Sui – Bodi Junction Road
Upgrading of Adwofua – Oseikojokrom Road

VOLTA REGION
Upgrading of Kete – Krachi – Buya
Upgrading of Shia Honuta Kpedze Road

EASTERN REGION
Partial Reconstruction of Suhum-Asamankese
Partial Reconstruction of Adieso – Asamankese
Partial Reconstruction of Nsawam (Adieso) – Asamankese
Partial Reconstruction of Osenase – Akwatia
Partial Reconstruction of Apedwa – Kyebi – Bunso
Partial Reconstruction of Koforidua – Bunso

Mr. Speaker, a number of feeder roads have been selected under the second phase of the cocoa roads. Under this phase, the following will be constructed.

ASHANTI
Bitumen Surfacing of Dawusaso-Ayiem-Dawenase Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Abodom-Dotom-Subriso Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Subriso Jn.-Subriso Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Amanchia-Tetrem Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Nfensi-Asakraka-Nkontomire-Nerebehi Feeder Road Phase 1
Bitumen Surfacing of Anyinasuso-Abonsuaso-Nyameadom-Danyame Feeder Road Phase 1

EASTERN
Rehabilitation of Anyinabrem-Amagyei Jn. Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Railway Station-Subresu Feeder Road
Spot Improvement of Moffram-Apinto Feeder Road
Spot Improvement of Atiakwama Nkwanta-Camp Nkwanta Feeder Road
Spot Improvement of Odumasi-Ayirebi Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Akoase-Subriso-Ntronang Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Larbikrom-Badukrom Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Tweapease-Behenese Jn. Feeder Road
Spot Improvement Kwaboanta Jn-Amarko Brekumanso Jn.Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Akoase-Akadewaso Feeder Road
Improvement of Anwiaso-Congo-Adeikrom-Akim Manso Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Anfaso-K Anumah Feeder Road

WESTERN
Bitumen Surfacing of Georgekrom Jn.-Georgekrom-New Brekum Feeder Road
Spot Improvement of Kakabo Jn.-Kakabo Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Juaboso Nkwanta-Bonsu Nkwanta Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Adabokrom-Camp 15 Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Asawinso-Mile 81 Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Anyinase-Kwesikrom Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Owusukrom Jn.-Owusukrom Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Kwasuo-Gyankufa Feeder Road and Others
Rehabilitation of JohnKrom-Attakrom Feeder Road and Others

BRONG AHAFO
Rehabilitation Akrodei Kanchiamoa Feeder Road
Rehabilitation of Asumura Tipokrom Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Bopa Fordjourkrom Feeder Road Phase 1
Upgrading of Yamfo-Asuadei-Ansin Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Sankore-Abuom-Nankete Feeder Road

CENTRAL
Bitumen Surfacing of Afranse-Nyarkrom Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Buabin-Brentuokrom-Bretuokrom Jn.Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing Nyarkrom-Bobikuma Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Diaso-Asamang Feeder Road
Bitumen Surfacing of Nkwantanum-Asaman Feeder Road

Phase II of the Highways and Urban roads would also be awarded by April this year.

Transport

Government has embarked on a programme to expand facilities and address the growing needs of our maritime business community and neighbouring landlocked countries.

MARITIME
Among other things the Ghana Maritime Authority has installed a Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS), while work is also almost complete on the development of the Takoradi Logistics Platform to provide warehousing facilities for the oil and gas industry.

VOLTA LAKE
To improve transportation on the Volta Lake, three units of 50-seater high-speed passenger ferries have been procured and delivered to Akosombo for assembling while the construction of a 1-unit modular passenger/cargo ferry has also been completed and ready for shipment. The ferries will be in operation by the second quarter of next year.

KIA
Massive investment continues to be made to further develop and upgrade the country?s aviation infrastructure. Increasing volumes of passengers and cargo, have exacted a toll on the country?s only international airport, the Kotoka International Airport and stretched it to its limit. Last year over forty thousand flights were recorded at our airports. In the same period total passenger throughput stood at over 2.5 million compared with a little over 1.3 million in 2009. This represents an almost 100% increase.

Phase two of the project will involve an ultra-modern terminal building and further extension of the runway to accommodate bigger aircrafts.

RAILWAY
Government is committed to the redevelopment of the railway industry in line with the recently completed Ghana Railway Master Plan. The plan entails the reconstruction and modernization of the existing rail network to be followed by the extension of rail lines to other regions.

Other projects that are being developed by the Ghana Railway Development Authority include the reconstruction of the Accra to Nsawam and the Kumasi ? Ejisu suburban.

To provide the Ghanaian public with greater options and flexibility in road transport, public transportation is being improved through the acquisition of a total of four hundred and ninety (490) buses to strengthen the operations of two public transport companies namely the Metro Mass Transit and the Intercity STC and the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has since September last year commenced the enforcement of non-registration of vehicles without seat belts and compulsory installation of same. This is a key step towards ensuring the safety of passengers and the reduction in casualties during road accidents.

This has become even more necessary in view of the road accident statistics gathered between January and September 2014, which showed that 10,061 road traffic crashes were recorded in the country involving 15,600 vehicles. A staggering 1,441 deaths and 8,802 injuries were recorded.

ICT and Telecommunication

In furtherance of the commitment of Government to use the medium of ICT to promote an all-inclusive information and knowledge society to benefit underserved and un-served communities, Government continued to promote the Community Information Centre concept.

In 2014 utilizing part of the savings from a Value-for-Money Audit of the e-Government Platform Project, we commenced the construction of 20 enhanced Community Information Centres in all the ten regions.

The centres are located in Keta, Battor, Techiman Krobo, Twifo Atti-Morkwa, Bodi, Effiduase, Glefe, Pantang Presby Cluster of Schools, Drobonso, Asuogyaman, Lambussie, Nandom, Welembelle, Sagnarigu, Pusiga, Nalerigu, Kpetoe, Talensi, Ofoase, Lassia-Tuolu. Ten (10) of these have been completed and ready for commissioning.

Transparent & Accountable Governance

Good governance, transparency and the fight against corruption form an integral part of the Agenda for Transformation. The country?s progress in this area has been improved

Decentralization and Local Governance

Ghana has made significant progress towards achieving full decentralization, despite the challenges with fiscal decentralization.

Government resolve to address the sanitation challenge has led to the creation of a comprehensive environmental sanitation programme, which has three components ? National Sanitation Day, Composting and Recycling and Waste Separation.

District Assembly Elections

District Assembly elections scheduled to take place next week are an illustration of how far Ghana has come as a nation in the quest to build an open, democratic, tolerant and responsible society.

Parliament

Work on the e-Parliament component of the US$97million e-Transform Ghana project to begin to allow for a paperless flow of information and enhance the operations and activities of the House.

Enhancing Rule of Law and Justice

In the next 18 months a total of US$5million would be disbursed for the e-Justice project with the sole objective of assisting in the speedy and efficient delivery of justice.
This project also covers the Attorney General?s Department.

Combating Corruption

Mr. Speaker,
Corruption is a canker that continues to plague our society.

The National Anti-corruption Action Plan and Strategy will provide strategic policy guidance from the highest level of government to MDAs and other implementing partners as well as assist CHRAJ and the NDPC in monitoring the implementation of NACAP.

Government will continue to strengthen the integration of the Ghana Integrated and Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) with the Human Resource and Management Information System (HRMIS) to eliminate institutional weaknesses, which allow criminal elements to perpetrate pay roll fraud.

The Minister for Justice and Attorney General would also ensure that the Witness Protection Bill and a Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill are laid before the House to adequately deal with illicit enrichment and trading in influence that were also identified as lacking in our criminal legislation.

Foreign Relations

– The country continue to provide peacekeeping support and are working with ECOWAS to consolidate peace and democracy in Mali.
– Ghana will also continue to work within the multilateral international arena to join other nations of the world in fashioning out the successor to the millennium development goals.

– We will also work with ECOWAS and our neighbor Burkina Faso to facilitate a peaceful transition to culminate in free and fair election later this year.

– We shall work together with our partners in the region to ensure safety and security. In doing so we acknowledge, our neighbours- Togo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cote D?Ivoire and Guinea- are preparing for crucial elections.

Security Agencies

– The programme of retooling and reequipping the armed forces and the other security services with the appropriate instruments and platforms to enable them carry out their constitutional mandate will continue.

– Vehicles, helicopters, aircrafts, armoured personnel carriers, and other ordinance are being procured to enhance the capacity of the forces both internally and externally.

In fulfillment of the NDC?s 2012 manifesto promise to strengthen the fight against narcotics, government has assigned a seasoned investigator and principled intelligence chief, William K. Aboah, the task of restructuring the Narcotics Control Board into a Commission.

Religious Tolerance

Mr. Speaker,
Ghana has enjoyed a long history of religious tolerance. From the period of the Trans-Saharan trade, the 2 major world religions and African traditional religion have coexisted peacefully in this land.

It is wrong under our constitution for Muslim students to be compelled to attend church services or for Christian students to be compelled to attend Muslim congregational prayers. It is also wrong to prevent Muslim women from wearing the ?hijab? or Nuns from wearing their habits to work or to school.

Heads of institution must note this for strict compliance. Appropriate sanctions would be taken against any head of institution who act contrary to the constitutional provisions.

Political Relations

To enhance rapprochement and political harmony, the country will continue to dialogue and build bridges with the leadership and membership of other political parties.

GNA

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