ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
They allege that their elected representatives and office holders seem more concerned about their "perks" of office than about the welfare of their constituents.
It is important for all of us, Government and Opposition, to join forces and listen to the complaints of our people and fashion responsible responses that will address their genuine problems.
We cannot be complacent in the face of the impatience of the people.
If we are, we stand not only the risk of political apathy and indifference, but creating conditions that could lead to a stormy upheaval.
Speaker, * We have come a long way on the ecoomic front.
Eighteen-year old Ghanaians of today have no knowledge of "kalabule" "gyenabu", "hoarding", "profiteering", "selling above controlled price", the economic vocabulary which characterized the 1970s and early 1980s.
Our newly enfranchised eighteen-year olds must be made aware of our history so that they vote to ensure that never again do we return to such corrupt and exploitative conditions.
================================ page break ===================== We rather introduced new vocabulary to the socio-economic and moral aspects of the country's life-the watchwords of which are probity and accoutability.
Despite what the critics say, we have never departed from our commitment to probity and accountability.
We cannot however deny that this commitment may appear to have waned slightly since the end of the PNDC era.
Speaker, * As we come to the end of our second term in office, we will continue to pursue our vision for Ghana, where there is freedom and justice, equality and equity, progress and development.
We will continue to champion our development agenda to see a Ghana with economic and social infrastructure extended to every part of the country.
We will continue to work for a Ghana where every child completes basic education and as many adults as possible proceed to tertiary and other higher level institutions.
We will continue with our policies to see a Ghana the health of whose population can be taken for granted.
We will continue with measures to ensure a Ghana where the enabling environment is conducive to further stimulate private sector growth and investor confidence.
We will continue with our programmes to create a society of opportunity for all and put within the power of each of us to fulfil our true potential.
To achieve these, we must admit that we have a job to do.
We have problems to confront.
We have an agenda to complete.
That agenda must go even beyond the year 2020-which is the target we have set ourselves in our medium-term vision.
We need to have a vision of what we would like Ghana to look like in the next 50 years.
Indeed in the next 100 years.
We need to lay the foundations for a solid nation-state to bequeath to our children, our children's children and to generations yet unborn.
==================== page break ================================ * Mr.
Speaker, * We could not have turned the country round, nor come this far, without taking some difficult, painful, unpalatable but necessary decisions.
In the process, we have offended some people.
We have upset some people.
We have hurt some people.
To all such person, I say we are sorry.
Consider your personal offence, upset or hurt the small price you have had to pay for the greater collective good.
Friends we have lost, relationships that have been broken, acquaintances that have been shattered must all b considered part of the process.
What is more important is the desire to restore these relationships and hopefully a determination on all sides to do so.
Speaker, * We set out to make a revolution.
Without that revolution, we could not have arrived at the situation we are fortunate to find ourselves in today-with a stable political order and democratic Constitution.
It is said that you cannot fry an egg or they say make an omelette without breaking an egg.
We could not have achieved what we have without stepping on some toes.
Speaker, * WE MUST MAKE COMMON CAUSE TO SECURE THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION.
I pray that God continues to guide each and every one of us in the discharge of our onerous duties.
Thank you and God bless us all.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Copyright Ghana Review International (GRi) 1994 - 2000
j'^nuaniwuti ur Gii/y-.fvw STATEMENT DELIVERED BY HON CYNTHIA MAMLE MORRISON ON THE FLOOR OF PARLIAMENT TO COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2020.
MR SPEAKER, HON MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT The pleasure is mine to be given the opportunity to brief this august House on 2020 International Women's Day (IWD).
International Women's Day, which falls on 8^^ March annually, is a day set aside by the United Nation's globally to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women, past, present and future.
The celebration of IWD is essential in drawing the world's attention to areas requiring further action, and the need to accelerate efforts at achieving gender parity across sectors.
The commemoration of IWD also serves as a call on policy makers and governments around the world to ensure the achievement of gender equality.
MR SPEAKER The history behind this celebration dates back to the 8th of March 1857, when garment workers in New York City marched and demanded improved working conditions and equal rights for women.
Fifty-one years later (March 8, 1908) their sisters in the needle trades in New York marched again, honoring the 1857 march and demanding for their rights to vote, as well as calling for an end to sweatshops and child labour.
In 1910, Clara Zetkin (a German Feminist) proposed that March 8th be proclaimed International Women's Day.
It is against this historic backdrop that, the 8th of March has been earmarked by the United Nations to celebrate women and reflect on progress made to achieve equality.
International Women's Day was first celebrated by the United Nations in 1975.
Since the year 1996, a global theme is always proposed by the United Nations to mark the celebrations.
Ghana has adopted the global theme for the commemoration of this year's International Women's Day (IWD) which is "I am Generation Equality: Realizina Women's Rights."
Our campaign themes are: 1.
#EachForEquality and 2.
#EqualWorld=EnabledWorld.
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS “RAISING GHANA TO THE NEXT LEVEL” BY H.E.
JOHN EVANS ATTA MILLS PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 2 Madam Speaker, Vice President, Honourable Members of the House, I have the honour to appear before you this morning to discharge the constitutional mandate given to the President of the Republic of Ghana to annually present a State of the Nation report to Parliament.
Madam Speaker, as with the Presidency, Parliament is also into its third year of its four-year term.
Working together over the past two years has been a rewarding experience and I urge members on both sides of the House to approach the work that lies ahead with a sense of common purpose.
Let our debates and discussions continue to be stimulating and constructive in the interest of a Better Ghana.
Madam Speaker, right behind us, work is progressing on Job 600 to provide offices for our Honourable Members of Parliament.
The on-going work is a statement that slowly but surely we are making progress.
And in this year of action, we will continue to fund the project for it to be completed so that our lawmakers can have functional offices to operate from.
Madam Speaker, last year when Parliament reconvened on the 26th of January, you called on Honourable Members to be time conscious.
I hope the Honourable Members heeded to your call.
In this Action Year, our time consciousness must move notches higher because as the saying goes, “time is money”.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 3 Madam Speaker, my first appearance before you was in February 2009 barely two months upon assumption of office as President.
Even with limited knowledge of the national situation available at the time, I provided a far-sighted view of our nation’s development agenda.
By the time I presented my second State of the Nation address in February 2010, we had a clearer picture of the state of affairs bequeathed to us by the previous administration.
The challenges were indeed more daunting than we had imagined.
That address spelt out measures this Administration was going to take to deal with issues to restore the economy to good health, improve governance of the nation while consolidating and sustaining our democracy.
Madam Speaker, I am happy to report that as a result of prudent policy measures and with understanding and support of Ghanaians, we were able to sustain macroeconomic stability in 2010 with year-on-year inflation declining further from about 16% in 2009 to a single-digit figure of below 9%, the lowest inflation figure in about two decades.
Why do we stress on this historic achievement?
Madam Speaker, inflation is the worst economic nightmare any country can go through.
It breeds economic and financial instability and imposes hardship on the most vulnerable.
To be successful in tackling it is to create conditions for economic growth.
What we achieved for ourselves last year in confronting inflation was therefore notable.
The challenge now is to remain on course.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 4 Many Honourable Members of the House who participate in International conferences both within and outside can confirm the positive view the international community holds of Ghana’s economic progress.
I know the question they often ask you is whether we have the courage and resolve to sustain the economy on this road to growth and prosperity.
My simple answer is yes; this Administration intends to stay the course because there are no short cuts.
Madam Speaker, in addition to the successful efforts at curbing the rate of inflation, we also note with satisfaction that the global economic downturn notwithstanding, Ghana managed to maintain a respectable growth rate in 2010 and is poised to attain a higher level this year.
Indeed, much beyond our own expectations, the World Bank predicts that Ghana would post the highest GDP in the world for the year 2011.
Madam Speaker, in compliance with Article 36 clause 5 of the Constitution, I presented to Parliament last December Government’s Co-ordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies for 2010-2016.
As I note in the preface, the main thrust of this programme is to transform the economy for accelerated growth and job creation.
We aim to achieve this through accelerated human resource development, agricultural mechanization and value-added processing of our national resource endowments on the back of the new oil and gas resources.
One of the highlights of the document is the establishment of Special Development Zones which is an initiative to reduce spatial and income inequality.
The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) which is one of the NDC 2008 manifesto pledges has already commenced work.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 5 Madam Speaker, a donor’s conference is in the offing to commit funds for SADA’s operations.
The additional special zones we propose all of which will be under the Office of the President, will include; a. Western Corridor Development Authority which will subsume the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM); b. Eastern Corridor Development Authority which will have a mandate covering the Volta Region and Afram Plains; c. The Forest Belt Development Authority comprising the forest zones in the Eastern, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions.
Madam Speaker, our development partners have continued to offer development assistance and in some instances indicated their readiness to increase levels of assistance.
We are grateful to them for recognizing the capacity, readiness and democratic integrity of this Administration to be reliable partners.
Madam Speaker, this Government has achieved appreciable success in its effort to diversify the range of development assistance.
During my visits to Japan and China in September last year, we received pledges of substantial support especially towards infrastructural development.
A special team has been working to ensure urgent follow up actions because as the old saying goes – we must strike while the iron is hot.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 6 Madam Speaker, the quantum of funding for infrastructure development that should be available to the economy following our visits to the Far East, appears to have caused a stir among those who think the economy of Ghana is too small to absorb such substantial investments as if we are destined to remain a small economy.
Let us have confidence in ourselves.
Madam Speaker, I have had occasion to state that too much has passed us by as a nation and we need to move as fast as we can; of course at calculated speed.
Past failures seem to have created a mentality that has restricted national ambition.
It is time for this country to think big and think positive.
Of course we should not raise unrealistic expectations or set our sights too high but there is nothing wrong in being ambitious and daring.
Madam Speaker, on our visit to the Far East last September we carried with us our blueprint for the rehabilitation and expansion of rail network in Ghana.
We also had our blueprint for roads covering the Eastern Corridor spanning Ho all the way to Nkwanta, Kadjebi, Worawora, Yendi and beyond.
We had the blueprint for the Western corridor stretching from Elubo through Enchi, Juaboso and all the way to Wa in the Upper West Region and beyond.
These and other extensive road projects envisaged in the oil enclave namely Takoradi, Mpataba, Bonyere and elsewhere and economic roads in Tarkwa and Bogoso etc.
are a statement of intent on where this Administration wants Ghana to be within the foreseeable future.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 7 Madam Speaker, Agreements covering these projects will be laid before the House shortly and I count on the ready support of Honourable Members so that we can get going because as the old adage goes : Time and Tide wait for no man.
MIDDLE-INCOME STATUS Madam Speaker, following the rebasing of the economic indices of our nation, we are now at least in theory – a middle- income economy.
I use the phrase in theory advisedly because when we compare the levels of development in other middle-income countries it would seem we have a lot of catching-up to do.
The substantial investments we secure will take us closer to the levels achieved by other middle-income countries in road and rail construction, in the oil and gas industry, education, health, provision of water, electricity and even waste management.
The provisional results of the 2010 census put Ghana’s population at a little over 24million compared to the 2000 population figure of around 18 million.
While awaiting the final figures for the 2010 census, it is clear that we have a lot of planning to do to raise living standards commensurate with our middle-income status.
Madam Speaker, the year 2010 certainly ended on a high, with the pumping of our oil in commercial quantities.
As we join the ranks of oil-producing countries and thank the Almighty for the many gifts he has bestowed upon this nation, I assure Ghanaians that this Government will account for every pesewa of the oil revenue.
Madam Speaker, I know that the majority of Ghanaians accept that the policies and priorities of this government are in the right direction.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 8 I am also aware of the expectations for Government to act to lessen the economic burden especially following the increases in prices of some petroleum products.
A social democratic Government such as ours gains nothing politically by increasing petroleum prices.
It is our duty however to find a real and lasting solution to the TOR debt even as we watch with some trepidation, the rising crude oil prices on the world market.
I am not interested in interminable arguments over the issue of the TOR debt.
What I know is that the debt must be settled for the sake of a healthy, sustainable economy and for the sake of ensuring that we can adequately cater for our development needs.
Madam Speaker, this Administration has been bold and courageous in taking steps toward the implementation of the single spine salary regime.
The new salary structure goes a long way in bringing equity and improvement in salaries especially in the public sector.
My appreciation goes to the leadership of organized labour and its rank and file for the patience and maturity they continue to show at various stages of implementation.
Negotiations on a new minimum wage have been completed and the result is likely to influence collective bargaining negotiations.
My appeal is for moderation in wage demands because large wage bills means less money for investment in needed infrastructure and provision of social amenities.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 9 GOVERNANCE Madam Speaker, in the sphere of governance ,the Constitution Review Commission has since its inauguration last year employed a consultations strategy which is geared towards ensuring that Ghanaians within and outside the country get the opportunity to make inputs into the review process.
I am informed that it has targeted the 1st – 5th March for the National Constitutional Conference that will finalize the amendment proposal to the Constitution.
Our objective is therefore on course.
Madam Speaker, It is the intention of Government to ensure that relevant completed and on-going policy reforms will be duly merged with the constitution review exercise to ensure a product that is holistic and reflective of our common heritage as Ghanaians.
These other initiatives include the new Decentralization Policy Framework; the proposals from the Presidential Committee on Emoluments; and the revised legislation on the Oil and Gas Sector.
In that vein, I will urge Honourable Members to join in sustaining the review process by encouraging a “yes” vote at any referendum that may be required and by supporting the passage of any amendment bills that come before the House.
Madam Speaker, the performance of the Electoral Commission in the District level elections has been a matter of public concern especially with the next Presidential and Parliamentary elections around the corner.
I hope what happened in the District level elections was a one-time mishap and for the 2012 elections the EC will live up to its acclaimed reputation as one of the best in the world.
Government will continue to support the EC and ensure that we come out of the 2012 election with additional high flying democratic credentials.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 10 WOMEN AND GOVERNANCE Madam Speaker, we indicated our general acceptance of the objectives of the 2004 “Women’s Manifesto for Ghana” which are based on the achievement of the gender equality and equity in national development in our own Manifesto of 2008.
This year, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs will work with the sponsors of the Women’s Manifesto and other stakeholders to incorporate its key demands in a revised “Affirmative Action for Women” which we hope to finalise by the end of the year.
ENERGY Madam Speaker, I have already made reference to the commissioning of oil from the Jubilee field.
It is important to conclude the passage of the Petroleum Commission Bill which is before Parliament in order to give legal backing to issues of local content and participation in the petroleum sector.
Madam Speaker, this Government remains committed to providing adequate and reliable supply of energy to households and industry.
The supply of natural gas from Nigeria through the West Africa Gas pipeline project commenced in March last year.
This fuels two 100 megawatts gas turbines of the VRA as well as the Ho Asogli Thermal Plant.
Last year, the Aboadze to Volta transmission line was synchronized to the National Grid.
The construction of a 132 megawatts thermal power station in Takoradi also began last year and is scheduled for completion at the end of this year.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 11 In the course of this year, we will be seeking Parliamentary approval for financing arrangements for the Takoradi International Company for the expansion of their capacity from 220 to 330 megawatts.
High capacity new power transformers have been installed in Kumasi, Ho, Anekpe, Techiman and Takoradi to increase transmission capacity and ensure reliable supply at these stations.
The ECG is also undertaking construction of primary substations in Accra, Tema and Kumasi.
Over the past two years 705 towns have been connected to the national electricity grid.
As part of the continuous exercise of extending electricity to rural communities, in 2011, more communities especially in the, Western, Volta, Central, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions will be connected to the national electricity grid to close the regional distribution gap.
AGRICULTURE Madam Speaker, modernization of agriculture, enhanced food security and creating job opportunities along the entire agricultural value chain are priorities of this Administration.
There have been notable increases of maize, rice, sorghum, plantain and yam production.
The goal of this Administration to make locally produced food more abundant and affordable is on course.
The implementation plan for the National Irrigation Policy will be completed and launched during 2011.
The first phase of the Accra Plains Irrigation Project, covering an area of about 5000 hectares will be implemented to promote double and where possible, triple cropping of vegetables and cereals.
The Youth in Agriculture Programme has chalked some degree of success and its scope will be expanded this year.
The National Buffer Stock Company will this year improve its storage capacity of 34,000 metric tonnes to at least 60,000 State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 12 metric tonnes.
The Company will also acquire a modern rice mill to enhance the processing of local paddy rice.
The Export Development Investment Fund (EDIF) will be converted to the Export Development and Agriculture Investment Fund (EDAIF).
This will enable the Agency to support entrepreneurs and investors with needed credit in the agricultural sector as well.
FISHERIES COLLEGE In fulfillment of a promise in our manifesto, the Ministry of Agriculture will collaborate with the University of Cape Coast to establish a Fisheries College at Anomabu in the Central Region.
The satellite campus is expected to train professional technicians who will help to modernize Ghana’s fishing industry.
HEALTH Madam Speaker, in order to achieve the health related MDGs by 2015, Government will continue to concentrate on improving health outcomes by targeting resources towards the health of women and children, and prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will continue to provide financial risk protection against the cost of basic quality health care for all citizens in Ghana.
Madam Speaker, even though there are geographical hotspots in the country, we have continued to reduce our national HIV/AIDS prevalence rate which currently stands at 1.9% and we aim to achieve virtual elimination of mother to child HIV transmission within the next 5 years.
Ghanaians will be happy to note that we are on the verge of once again eradicating the guinea worm disease in Ghana.
State of the Nation 2011 | Raising Ghana To The Next Level 13 Since May 2010, when the last case was reported, we have not seen any case of guinea worm in Ghana.
Madam Speaker, in the area of health infrastructure, the construction works on District Hospitals will continue.
Regional Hospitals and staff housing at Wa, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tema will commence.
Other projects include the ongoing refurbishment of the Tamale Teaching Hospital and the expansion of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine centres at the Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.