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STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS - 2012
”STILL BUILDING A BETTER GHANA”
Part Three
Part Two
Part One
Guinea Worm
Madam Speaker,
The last guinea worm case in Ghana was reported in May 2010 at
Diare in the Northern Region. We have since not heard of any.
In 2012, we will intensify our disease surveillance to make
sure that guinea worm is not re-introduced into Ghana and to
also prepare Ghana for certification by the World Health
Organization as a country free of guinea worm.
ROADS
Madam Speaker,
We continue to make strides in road infrastructural
development. Permit me to highlight a few:
As at January 2009, the Tetteh Quarshie-Madina road was about
30% complete. At the moment it is about 80% complete.
As at January 2009, funds were still being mobilized for the
Madina-Pantang road. This road is now about 45% complete.
The Achimota-Ofankor road is now over 80% complete
The Koforidua bypass has been completed and is in use so has
the Kumasi-Techiman road
The Nsawam bypass, the Nkawkaw bypass, the Oforikrom-Asokwa
bypass, the first phase of the Sogakope-Adidome-Ho-Fume and
the Bamboi-Tinga road are all nearing completion.
Reconstruction of the Asikuma Junction-Hohoe road, the 147
kilometre Fulfulso-Sawla road, the 60-kilometre Assin
Praso-Bekwai road, the Dodi Papaso-Nkwanta road and the
Nkwanta-Oti Damanko road is on course.
Interestingly, on one of my working visits to a road
construction project, one happy resident remarked “wompewei,
nawope den”!
SECURITY, LAW AND ORDER
Madam Speaker,
Because 2012 is an election year, it goes without saying that
our security institutions must be in a state of readiness to
ensure peace and calm before, during, and after the elections.
The Police, Military and other institutions charged with law
enforcement will have the fullest support of Government to act
decisively and fairly.
Our commitment to ensure the safety of Ghanaians is as strong
as ever.
Over the past years there has been a reduction in major crimes
such as armed robbery, car snatching, highway robbery,
narcotics and murder and the law enforcement agents are under
strict instructions to sustain the arrest of narcotic
traffickers and their collaborators.
The Police
Madam Speaker,
We have increased the strength of the Police Service by over
4,000 and at the same time taken steps to modernize its
forensic facilities to assist in crime prevention and
detection.
A large quantity of vehicles, communication gadgets,
bulletproof vests have been provided to boost operational
efficiency of the Police.
Immigration
Madam Speaker,
The Ghana Immigration Service is expected to complete
installation of Digital Border Surveillance System at
strategically selected Border control points.
This around-the-clock monitoring equipment seeks to enhance
border security especially in the face of new sub-regional
threats of religious and ethnic nature.
The Military
Madam Speaker,
The Ghana Armed Forces, in the last three years, is not in the
near-moribund state it used to be before January 2009.
A lot of acquisition has been made in equipment and hardware
for the Navy and the Air Force.
We will leave no stone unturned in our effort to develop a
credible defence system capable of protecting our Oil and Gas
Industry and our territorial integrity as a whole.
Last year, I made the point that the 48 Engineer Regiment will
once again be mainstreamed into the area of road construction
and I must say that I am very much impressed with the good job
the Regiment is doing thus far.
Ayekoo to them!
Prisons Service
Madam Speaker,
This Administration last year commissioned a new medium
security prison at Ankaful; the biggest in West Africa.
Under phase two, the Ankaful prison is expected to be a model
prison which will compare with any worldwide.
The Service is also being provided with the needed logistics
and manpower resources to make it more efficient.
Fire Service
Madam Speaker,
Last year alone, the Service took delivery of 152 new vehicles
to enhance operations.
The scourge of fire outbreaks and resultant loss of lives and
property remain a source of grave concern and we are
determined to reduce it to the barest minimum.
As a way of building capacity, a number of officers and men
last year received training in the, United States, United
Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium.
It goes without saying however that there is a need to enforce
safety regulations and standards and I expect the Fire Service
to be fearless in that respect.
GOVERNANCE
Foreign Policy
Madam Speaker,
Continued protection of the nation’s land and maritime
resources and ensuring good neighbourliness between Ghana and
her neighbours is of priority to this Administration.
Ghana is a country with an impressive track record on
fostering international peace and we will stay on that path.
This administration will conduct our foreign relations on the
basis of national respect and good neighbourliness.
We believe in using the tools of diplomacy and existing
bilateral and multilateral structures in resolving questions
of boundary disputes.
To this end, I have tasked the Ministry of Lands and Natural
Resources to coordinate the activities of the Ghana Boundary
Commission in pursuit of delineating the outer limits of the
continental shelf of Ghana beyond 200 nautical miles (M) which
is currently at the United Nations Commission on the Limits of
the Continental Shelf (CLCS).
I have also instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
intensify its activities in ensuring the security and welfare
of our many countrymen/women and youth all over the world.
We have consular and moral responsibility for them all.
Youth and Sports
Madam Speaker,
On the youth front; through the Better Ghana Caravan Project
we are focusing on activities in the priority areas of
employable skills, Youth Health and Sexuality education, drug
use and substance abuse education, conflict prevention,
management and resolution.
In sports, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which had
suspended the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) lifted the ban
last August paving the way for Ghana’s participation in the
upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.
Ghana is to play host to the second ECOWAS Games in June this
year.
At the 10th All Africa Games held in Maputo, Mozambique in
September last year, Team Ghana put up the best performance
ever by winning 19 medals.
The National U-23 male football team and their U-20 female
counterparts won gold and silver respectively at the Games.
On behalf of the people of Ghana, I once again congratulate
our gallant sportsmen and women on their fine achievements
In the course of last year, the Senior National Football team,
the Black Stars was rated 14th in the FIFA world ranking and
1st in Africa.
That has so far been Ghana’s best ranking in world football.
The Black Stars did not lift the African Cup as anticipated;
better luck to all of us next time.
Parliament
Madam Speaker,
I am assured that the Job 600 project will surely be completed
this year and ready for your occupation next year.
I am confident that I will be the first President to address
you at a time when you will be working from the comfort of
your new offices.
This year, I hope to work with Honourable members to review
three initiatives that I announced will be instituted in the
course of my Presidency.
These are the assignment of National Service personnel as
Research Assistants to MPs; the construction of constituency
duty offices for Honourable members; and the establishment of
an MPs’ Constituency Development Fund separate and apart from
the District Assemblies Common Fund.
Together, we will work to find solutions to the challenges
that have impacted negatively on the agenda of the Executive
and the Legislature to work in tandem to broaden the frontiers
of our democratic dispensation.
Constitutional Review Commission
Madam Speaker,
Last year, I noted in my address that the work of the
Constitutional Review Commission was on schedule.
I also noted that all governance reforms must ultimately take
their ethos from the Constitution Review Process.
I still stand by this Resolve!
I am happy to report that the Commission has since presented
its Report to me ahead of schedule and I have identified a
Technical Implementation Committee to assist Cabinet develop
the white paper and begin with the implementation of the
recommendations without delay.
Madam Speaker, I hope that this House will join me in thanking
the Chairman and members of Commission for a job well done.
Corruption
Madam Speaker,
Let me state here and now that I remain undaunted by attempts
to thwart the fight against corruption by legal and technical
means.
I do not care whose ox is gored when it comes to the fight
against corruption and neither will I be off-tracked by all
the sideline comments that are being made to befuddle the
hardcore issues.
The “Cocaine” Commission
Madam Speaker,
The fate of the abortive Ghana@50 Commission prosecutions
stayed my hand in going the route of appointing a Presidential
Commission to re-open investigations into the disappearance of
cocaine from the Police vault as well as the 77 parcels of
cocaine that got mysteriously missing from the MV Benjamin
that I announced in my Address last year.
We have since identified what went wrong with the Ghana@50
Commission and we will address it and definitely begin the
cocaine investigations this year.
Indeed, as I speak, the National Security has in its custody a
very key player in the case of the 77 parcels of supposedly
missing cocaine.
I have also received a report from the BNI on the results of
the investigations into the cocaine which got missing from
police vaults.
I intend to get to the bottom of the matter, and I will!!!
Under my watch, Ghana will continue to be an unattractive
destination for the illicit drug trade and I feel no pain for
those who are no longer benefiting from the trade.
Justice
Madam Speaker,
In many of these matters that reflect negatively on
governance, the Judiciary as the institution of state with the
mandate to dispense justice, and the Executive with the
mandate to implement the law, must act as partners engaged in
a collective effort to rid the country of corruption, drugs
and other harmful activities.
Any perception that the Judiciary is on the side of wrongdoers
undermines democracy and the institutions of democracy.
Whilst urging our Honourable Justices to live up to their
noble calling of independent arbiters, I would also like to
remind them that they are an arm of government and that they
have as much responsibility as the other arms of government in
ridding the society of criminal elements, thereby ensuring
justice for the citizenry and other persons.
The 2012 Elections
Madam Speaker,
There are four critical matters that should engage our
attention in this Election Year.
The first is the Judiciary’s role in the settlement of
election disputes.
The ability of the judiciary to settle election disputes
expeditiously will be a big plus for the forward march of our
democracy.
The second matter is the role of the media in the elections.
Polarized or not; aligned or not; biased or not; the Ghanaian
media has a responsibility to work to preserve Ghana’s
democracy.
Speaking for myself, I have confidence in the ability of my
brothers and sisters in the media to rise to the occasion.
On the perception of polarization, alignment and bias,
however, the media has to speak for itself through its deeds.
The third matter has to do with the state of industrial
relations in an election year.
It is often the case that in election years, labour demands
escalate to such an extent that they do not only create
industrial tension but also ultimately prove economically very
costly to the nation.
My appeal to the tripartite partners in labour negotiations
this year is for them to have an eye on the national interest
and to ensure that they create the kind of labour environment
that will engender peaceful elections and post-election
stability in the country.
The fourth is in relation to chieftaincy disputes and ethnic
conflict.
We have had our fair share of these problems in parts of the
country. In some instances they have resulted in loss of lives
and destruction to property.
The Security Services have been tasked to be proactive in
dealing with those who for reasons of political expediency may
want to escalate chieftaincy or ethnic tensions.
Madam Speaker,
Whatever be the case, we expect this year’s elections to be
free and fair, free from fear, transparent and with the
results acceptable to and accepted by all.
We as Government will do all in our power to support the
Electoral Commission to ensure these.
And whatever the security challenges we will not be found
wanting.
The sovereign will of the people will reign supreme!
Conclusion
Madam Speaker,
I have always preached peace and I am happy the leadership of
political parties are responding to the clarion call I have
sounded over the years.
I am also glad that those who did not see the need to pray for
peace are now praying for peace.
I hope however that we show proof of genuine commitment to
peace by our utterances and actions.
Let us all remember that the stability we enjoy as a country
can turn instantly to brittleness if we fail to be circumspect
and if we fail to hold in check those who may want to hold the
country to ransom.
Madam Speaker,
This Government is intent on continuing with the pace of
development right until the election period.
It is true that we will have to campaign at some point in time
but I promise you this will not be at the expense of pushing
the Better Ghana Agenda.
We will also not sacrifice the gains we have made on the
economic front on the altar of election year politics.
Ghana must grow; and Ghana will only grow if we take bold and
courageous decisions!
Madam Speaker,
Our common yearning to see Ghana moving forward binds us as
one people.
Even as we seek to promote our respective political
ideologies, we must be willing to synthesize the best ideas
from both sides of the House for the advancement of the
country.
We must all be willing to put aside unnecessary partisanship
and keep in mind the big picture of how to sustain together
our middle-income status through sustainable economic
development.
That will be the multi-party democracy dividend for which we
all continue to toil in the name of Mother Ghana.
Madam Speaker,
Many Honourable Members of the House have been through a
hectic period of campaigning towards Constituency primaries.
Whether you won or lost, you remain MPs and I will treasure
your input at all times.
Do not forget there is still a lot of work to be done here in
the House.
I wish Members on both sides a fruitful session and may all
that we do help in building a Better Ghana.
Let us always bear in mind that as a people, we have much more
common ground than we make it seem.
Therefore let us build on the things that unite us.
Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity granted me, and
look forward with a lot of optimism to being back here in this
august house next year to deliver the State of the Nation
Address.
God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and
strong.
I thank you for your kind attention.
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