ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Speaker, we are also taking strict measures to curtail MDAs spending beyond their budgetary allocations and new mechanisms of strict monitoring will be announced by the Minister of Finance in the 2013 budget.
The Ghana Revenue Authority and other agencies have been tasked to help raise tax and non-­‐tax revenues to levels that benefit our emerging Lower Middle-­‐Income Country status.
We will plug the leakages and raise Ghana’s ratio of revenue to GDP from the current meager 16% to above 20%.
Comparative levels with other lower middle income countries are Kenya 24% and Senegal 22%.
Speaker, while we take these difficult measures, our engagement with Development Partners (DPs) through the Consultative Group (CG) process has focused on how to manage the transition to an upper middle-­‐income status in an orderly manner to balance the need for growth with our obligations of reducing poverty and significantly meeting targets set in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
THE PRIVATE SECTOR Mr.
Speaker, partnership with the private sector has brought about accelerated growth and development of the economy.
Ghana improved from the 92nd position in 2009 to the 63rd in 2012 on the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business Index”.
This progress has to be improved during the transition to Middle-­‐Income status and we are in the process of transforming the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) to meet the challenges of the 21st Century Investor.
11 Mr.
Speaker, the government has taken a decisive step to locate private sector coordination under the Office of the President, and designated a Minister of State in the Presidency to coordinate and supervise Private-­‐sector initiatives.
In this effort, government will play a facilitative role for private sector development.
I have already inaugurated the Private Sector Advisory Council under my chairmanship, and decisive steps are underway to deepen the implementation of the Private Sector Development Strategy (PSDS) II, covering all major aspects of private sector development.
We will use Government’s significant procurement power to benefit the Ghanaian Private Sector.
As a policy, I am requesting public officials to give priority to the Ghanaian private sector in goods and services where they are competitive in value, quality and delivery.
ACCELERATING AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION FOR JOB-­‐CREATION Mr.
Speaker, all of our accelerated development efforts have been geared towards giving special advantage to accelerated agricultural and aquaculture development through Modernization.
The process of modernization, involving the use of improved seed varieties, greater access to tractor services and training of peasant and small holder farmers on productivity enhancements, has resulted in dramatic increases in maize, rice and cassava production in the last four years.
These will be expanded with an additional 2,000 tractors, improved seed support and fertilizer subsidies, especially for the poorest farmers.
Total land under irrigation throughout the country will be substantially increased as a result of new initiatives on the Accra Plains and the Savannah zone, under a new World Bank facility on commercial agriculture development.
This will allow for all year round farming and will enhance Ghana’s food security.
Hydroelectric power and irrigation development will receive further boost in the Sissilli-­‐Kulpawn project and the Pwalugu Multi-­‐purpose dam in the Upper East region.
These two projects are expected to bring some 80,000 hectares of land under irrigation in the Northern belt.
A more coherent focus on fisheries and aquaculture development has been initiated, with the designation of a new Ministry for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the imminent establishment of a college of Fisheries planned for Anomabo as a department of the University of Cape Coast.
speaker, our focus is to work towards achieving sustainable production of the historic one million tonnes of cocoa.
The key measures we have identified to accomplish this are the continued payment of at least 70% of the world market price of cocoa to farmers, the distribution of 20 million hybrid cocoa seedlings free of charge over the next several years.
Additionally we will also pursue the continued application of the hi-­‐tech system to increase yield per hectare.
We are also reviewing the current distribution system of subsidized inputs to ensure that these reach the farmers directly.
MANUFACTURING We will marshal the collective effort of all stakeholders to facilitate the emergence and growth of 12 a strong manufacturing sector:-­‐ 1.
By reviewing the tax structure to reduce taxes paid by Ghanaian manufacturers to increase their competitiveness in the national and world market.
Facilitate the establishment of an industrial development fund to provide a ready resource envelope for ailing and struggling manufacturing industries in Ghana.
Provide service plots within dedicated industrial zones to be developed in Sekondi Takoradi, Tema, Kumasi and Tamale to support the local manufacturing companies to add value to local products for a strong and viable domestic manufacturing sector.
Speaker, work is ongoing on a $1.2 billion ammonia-­‐urea based fertilizer processing plant with an annual capacity of one million tons in Nyankrom in the Shama District of the Western Region.
This is an initiative between the Ghana and Indian Governments with a potential for boosting trade, jobs creation, and increased agricultural productivity.
TOURISM, CULTURE AND CREATIVE ARTS Mr.
Speaker, our government is committed to using Tourism as an instrument for the full realization of the economic potential of our culture and creative arts.
In this respect: • The newly aligned Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Creative Arts will facilitate the interface between government, implementing bodies in tourism, culture and the creative industries as well as international and civil society partners.
• The National Commission on Culture is being restructured as the government’s lead implementing and advisory body on Culture and Creative Arts; and the Ghana Tourism Authority will be similarly transformed.
• Government will allocate funds to the sector and mainstream the creative arts industry as an integral part of the Ghanaian private sector.
PILLAR THREE: EXPANDING INFRASTRUCTURE Mr.
Speaker, all Ghanaians deserve to live in a country with improved infrastructure, which is inextricably linked to enhancing the quality of life.
The viability of private sector investments hinges on a robust and functional infrastructure of roads, rail, sufficient and efficient energy, stable water supply and a seamless communications and ICT infrastructure.
Speaker, government will use information technology to support infrastructure development, urban renewal, land use management and environmental protection.
Speaker, Ghana was listed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as one of the top ten most dynamic performing countries in ICT-­‐for-­‐development in 2011.
Indeed, telephone subscription in Ghana reached close to 26million as of December 2012, representing more than double the number as of December 2008.
Government will continue with the positive outlook and promote the rapid development of broadband infrastructure to reach all parts of the country to ensure that the improved connectivity provides better access to health care and health information, opportunities for 13 education and training, transportation, protection of environment and management of natural resources, and to support E-­‐govt to create transparency in government.
In pursuit of this, the work on the Eastern Corridor Rural Fibre Optic backbone network project will be accelerated to add 584 kilometres of optic fibre stretching from Ho to Bawku and linking 70 towns enroute to improve the quality of communications services.
With the ICT sector expanding at such a rapid rate, attention will be focused on measures to protect the privacy of the individual and personal data.
We will also develop strategies to counter the growing threats of cyber attacks and other online security concerns and accelerate preparations towards migration from Analogue to Digital Television Transmission.
The Better Ghana ICT Project will be given a major boost this year.
We shall commence the distribution of Four Hundred Thousand (400,000) laptop computers to schools and students.
ROADS I have clear plans for the roads and transport sector, which we will start implementing this year.
These include the introduction of public-­‐private partnership models on commercially viable routes along the Western, Eastern and Central Corridor roads.
Work is soon commencing on the Northern segment of the Eastern Corridor road, stretching from Oti Damanko to Nakpanduri.
This year we expect to bring to a significant point of completion many of the ongoing road projects including the Kpando-­‐ Worawora-­‐ Dambai, Asankragwa-­‐ Enchi, Navrongo-­‐ Tumu and the Achimota-­‐ Ofankor, Madina-­‐ Pantang, Nsawam-­‐ Suhum-­‐Apedwa, La-­‐ Teshie, Dansoman and the Apaaso-­‐ Kintampo roads.
Others are the Sefwi Bekwai-­‐ Eshiem-­‐ Asankragwa, Bomfa Junction-­‐ Asiwa-­‐ Bekwai, Tetteh Quarshie-­‐Madina and the Berekum-­‐ Sampa roads.
We will embark on a regional roads improvement programme that will see significant upgrades in critical road infrastructure in the major agricultural regions and here I make special mention of the Western Region.
Our trunk roads development programmes are also progressing steadily across the country.
COCOBOD is funding the reshaping, spot improvements and upgrading of gravel roads to bituminous surfaces in cocoa, coffee and sheanut producing areas.
In the course of this year, and under the policy on public private partnerships, feasibility studies will commence on the dualization of the Accra-­‐ Cape Coast-­‐ Takoradi road, and the rehabilitation and expansion of the Accra-­‐ Tema motorway.
New interchanges are also planned for the Tema end of the motorway and the Kasoa-­‐Bawjiase intersection.
Work will commence this year too on a new interchange at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
It is also my hope that the project for the PPP in respect of the multi-­‐carriage Accra-­‐Kumasi Highway will be approved by Parliament for work to commence this year.
RAILWAY 14 Mr.
Speaker, the Government’s plan to revamp and modernize the railway sector is ongoing.
There has been tremendous work in this sector and I recall my meeting with the railway workers at the ‘Bottom Tree’ in Sekondi.
I can confidently say to them today, that as we continue with our railway sector development programme there will be significant signs of improvement within the next three years.
Government believes the private sector has a role to play in the on-­‐going modernization of the rail sector, an example being the rehabilitation of the Accra-­‐Tema, Kumasi-­‐Ejisu, the Accra-­‐ Nsawam and Takoradi-­‐Kojokrom rail networks.
Speaker, as they say in Oseikrom, the Kumasi airport is now busier than Kejetia lorrypark.
That description is a reflection of the brisk business at our airports.
Available data shows that passenger traffic through our International Airport has more than quadrupled in the last 3 years.
Domestic passenger traffic on the other hand has increased ten-­‐fold.
This remarkable progress is putting immense strain on our airport infrastructure, which we continue to expand.
As a matter of priority Government has commissioned the immediate exploration of plans for the construction of a new international airport in Accra, and complementary expansion of the airports in Kumasi, Tamale, Sunyani and Takoradi.
Feasibility studies for the construction of Aerodromes in Ho, Cape Coast, Koforidua, Bolgatanga, would be undertaken this year.
We will commence a feasibility study on the establishment of a new national airline in collaboration with the private sector under a PPP arrangement.
Speaker, as we continue to expand the infrastructure at the Tema and Takoradi ports, we are also focused on the construction of a modern deep seaport in Takoradi.
I have directed the Ministers of Transport and Finance to undertake an investigation of unauthorized fees and charges at our airport and ports which are putting which are putting unbearable hardship on our importers.
HOUSING AND URBAN RENEWAL Mr.
Speaker, one of the areas that I am passionate about is the concept of urban renewal.
I believe that one of the most basic human rights we must guarantee every Ghanaian is the right to a safe, secure and accessible place of convenience.
The pollution of our environment and especially our beachfronts is depressing.
Government will in the next three years work with all stakeholders to ensure that the National Housing Policy document is not only finalized and approved by both Cabinet and Parliament; but also, work feverishly to ensure that relevant legislation is put in place to provide the necessary foundation as well as legal framework for implementation.
Government will this year initiate a pilot scheme to combine social housing with improved sanitation and water supply.
This will particularly concentrate on the dense urban slums where the phenomenon of safe sanitation and waste disposal are very weak.
We will be working to consolidate the various strategies being implemented to bridge the huge housing deficit.
These strategies, which are in themselves opportunities for public-­‐private partnership arrangements, will include the construction of low cost units for lower income groups, rural and social housing for the very poor and mortgage facilities for those who can afford.
15 Mr.
Speaker, I am deeply concerned about how the challenges in the housing sector, have led to exorbitant rents that do not only violate our rent law but also suffocate the average Ghanaian.
I will work hard to address this challenge.
Speaker, water supply is currently precarious in some communities including significant parts of Accra.
This is in spite of the several efforts we have been making to improve the supply of good drinking water, especially to Ghanaians.
It is worth noting however that these efforts are beginning to yield some results.
The situation however requires massive investment in new water delivery infrastructure and timely maintenance like the ongoing works at the Kpong headworks.
In the medium to long term, we will seek to devolve authority from centralized urban water management systems to a more decentralized management for efficiency and cost effective delivery.
Speaker, a multi-­‐agency sanitation task force was set-­‐up to coordinate a nation-­‐wide clean-­‐ up exercise from September to December 2012.
This sanitation management effort has helped to address part of the waste disposal problem.
The Task Force experience is now being reviewed in order to engage all the stakeholders, including the District Assemblies, in a more sustained and concerted effort to rid our country of the unsightly rubbish heaps that are threatening the health of our communities.
Speaker, my focus is on waste and sanitation management systems not just waste collection and disposal.
The emphasis will also be on waste recovery and recycling as well as providing incentives to increase private sector participation in the hygiene, sanitation and pollution control sector.
The start of the CONTI project in Accra financed by the US EXIM will see significant improvement in flood control and solid and liquid waste management in the capital city.
MINING Mr.
Speaker, our mining sector needs substantial reform to ensure that we move towards economically and socially sustainable mining.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has been tasked to ensure that mining in Ghana is undertaken responsibly and meets community needs and expectations.
Speaker, mining must create employment that matches its type, provides fair economic returns to the community and protects the environment.
As I recently announced, Government will rigidly enforce the laws of Ghana by addressing the illegal invasion of foreigners in our small-­‐scale mining sector.
This problem has been fully investigated and we have concluded that there is an unacceptable collusion between some Ghanaians and these foreigners to circumvent our laws.
Speaker, a series of decisive measures are underway to purge the system and better regulate small-­‐scale mining, in order to create and sustain employment, for Ghanaians, primarily.
ENERGY AND PETROLEUM Mr.
Speaker, millions of Ghanaians and businesses are today experiencing very erratic and frustrating electricity supply.
It is a situation that I am deeply concerned about, and to which I have devoted considerable energy to solving.
This is especially because compounding the 16 problem of unstable power supply is an equally worrying issue of unreliable water supply to some communities.
The current developments do not reflect the investments and progress we have been making in the area of electricity generation.
What should be our successes and rather augment available generation capacity has unfortunately been undermined by a number of unforeseen developments.
We had made good progress in fixing the damage done to the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO) only to experience a drawback, when nearly 600 kilometres of the pipeline was inundated with seawater.
Speaker, in a frantic effort to pump the seawater out, two of our most experienced engineers lost their lives tragically in an underwater explosion.
Permit me to use this occasion to send my deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
The repercussions of the incapacitated gas pipeline has brought near total darkness to our neighbours in Togo and Benin, and led to the loss of over 250 MW of electricity supply to Ghana.
Speaker, work on the WAGPI is now planned for completion in April 2013.
As President I am adequately aware of the challenges and the extreme discomfort that this is causing to the generality of our people and businesses.
This situation causes me sleepless nights.
We have had to work round the clock to bring many plants into operation earlier than scheduled while we await the restoration of the plants affected by the absence of gas from the WAPCO.
We are expecting the addition of over 500 MW of installed generation capacity this year.
This includes: 132 MW from the Takoradi 3 Thermal Plant by end of February 130 MW from the Bui Hydroelectric Power Project by end of April and increased to 400MW by end of September 2 MW from a Solar Park at Navrongo by end of February With the addition of Takoradi 3 this month, and the first power from Bui in April, our current deficit of about 200 MW at peak, should be sufficiently ameliorated.
While this will give us comfort from the current unpleasant load shedding, the system will still be fragile with a slim margin of redundancy.
Restoration of the WAGPI and Asogli coming back on stream will give us a better margin of comfort.
Work has also started on a 161 kV Tumu-­‐Han-­‐Wa transmission line in the Upper West Region.
Other projects are the Kpando-­‐Kadjebi Transmission Project, a new 330KV transmission line from Aboadze–Prestea-­‐Kumasi-­‐ Tamale-­‐ Bolgatanga among others.
Speaker, Government’s overall objective for the energy sector is to ensure reliable, stable and progressively cheap power for economic development in the country and the wider West African region.
Ultimately developing and bringing on stream our own gas potential will guarantee affordable power to support the acceleration in growth of our economy.
Gas from our Western field provides us with enough flexibilities and cost-­‐efficient ways of additional power generation.
This project will receive my personal attention.
Work is progressing steadily on the Gas Infrastructure 17 Project at Atuabo in the Elemebelle district of the Western Region.
When completed by the end of this year, it will put us on track to achieve the planned expansion of 5,000 MW capacity of power generation by 2016.
Government will continue during the year, to support the utility companies to carry out distribution system improvement projects and increase electricity access to all parts of the country under the ‘Energy for All’ programme to ensure universal access by 2016.
Speaker, we are progressing steadily in the area of renewable energy, by installing Solar systems for remote Public Institutions and Community Lighting in off-­‐grid communities.
In addition, Government will implement pilot mini-­‐grid electrification for lakeside and island communities.
The private sector has shown considerable interest in investing in the renewable energy sector.
Government will ensure that the feed-­‐in-­‐tariff is published to encourage these private investors Mr.
Speaker, we will commence the distribution of over twenty thousand solar lanterns to replace kerosene lanterns and reduce indoor air pollution in remote rural homes.
This intervention forms part of government’s efforts to protect the vulnerable in our society and to ensure that they have alternative and affordable sources of energy.
Speaker, the GNPC through joint ventures continue to explore the hydrocarbon potential of our sedimentary basins.
As part of measures to promote local content and participation in the petroleum industry, an Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) with support from the Jubilee Partners will be fully operational this year.
The centre will be located in the Western Region to facilitate the training of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to be properly positioned to take advantage of the oil and gas industry.
We will proceed with local content legislation to ensure Ghanaian participation in this blessing of nature God has bestowed on us.
We will implement local content in a manner that is a win-­‐win for Ghana and our foreign partners in Ghana’s growing oil and gas industry.
Speaker, this year we will start a restructuring of TOR to restore it to its former glory as the most efficient refinery on the west coast of Africa.
We will carry this out with strategic partners who are willing to invest in a PPP with the Government of Ghana.
The Bulk Oil Storage Company (BOST) will be reorganized to play its role in strategic storage and distribution of petroleum products.
Speaker, security for oil and gas continues to be a major priority.
The Navy, Airforce and Army have been retooled to establish a safe and secure corridor for our oil and gas installations.
We will continue to provide security for both onshore and offshore oil and gas infrastructure against disruptive threats and theft while putting in place anti-­‐piracy infrastructure.
The completion of the Vessel Tracking and Monitoring System being installed by the Ghana Maritime Authority will allow us to use radar to identify unauthorized vessels that enter our territorial waters.
18 We will place emphasis on integrating community groups into protection arrangements thereby supporting employment growth even as we undertake a comprehensive assessment of risks to our maritime assets including downstream and onshore facilities such as pipelines.
PILLAR FOUR: TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNANCE Mr.
Speaker, Ghana continues to exhibit strong leadership in democratic governance, which makes us the envy of many nations.
As noted earlier, we have just come out of an historic election which witnessed progressive reforms including the use of a biometric voters register and biometric verification for voting which has been acclaimed by both domestic and international observers as free, fair and transparent.
Government will continue to support the Electoral Commission by providing it with the needed resources to carry out its programmes and reforms.
The independence of the judiciary would be upheld and we would work to improve conditions of work of the judiciary.
We will work with the Judicial Council to continue the process of providing new and more modern court rooms and provide the instruments and equipment to facilitate the work of the judges.
Speaker, Government will continue to partner with community-­‐based organisations and civil society especially in the areas of public service reform and delivery.