ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
I have also received words of congratulation from my other competitors, Mr.
Ivor Greenstreet, our former 1 st Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Dr.
Papa Kwesi Nduom, Dr.
Edward Mahama, and Mr.
Jacob Osei Yeboah.
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei, who is the returning officer for presidential elections, in fulfilment of her constitutional obligations, has tonight, at 8:54pm, declared me the winner of the 2016 presidential election, with 5,716,026 votes, representing 53.85% of the valid votes cast.
I am grateful to her for the announcement and her words of congratulation.
I thank Almighty God for His grace and favour in granting victory to the NPP and myself in this election.
As His Word says in the Book of Holy Scripture in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
There has never been a more humbling moment in my life, and I thank you, the good people of Ghana, for this massive show of support and the confidence you have reposed in me and my party.
I make this solemn pledge to you today – I will not let you down and will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations.
You are to be commended for the mature, peaceful and orderly manner in which you, once again, exercised your democratic franchise.
The democratic credentials of our nation have been further enhanced by your conduct.
The Electoral Commission, under its new leadership, with Charlotte Osei in the Chair, is to be congratulated for organising this credible election.
She and the Commission have allayed the fears of many about their capacity to conduct a good election.
This election has contributed to strengthening the principles of democratic accountability in our body politic and the Commission will take a considerable part of the credit for that welcome outcome.
Our security services are to be commended for ensuring a generally peaceful conduct of the poll, and doing so in a professional manner.
That is what the nation expects of them.
To members and sympathisers of the great Elephant family, to our illustrious former President of the Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, to our founding members, leading figures, members of Party organs, parliamentary candidates and Members of Parliament, current and past national officers, regional, constituency, electoral area and polling station executives, thousands and thousands of volunteers, polling station agents, Kufuor-era appointees, campaign officials and staff, so ably led by Campaign Manager Peter Mac Manu, and to my running mate, the next Vice President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr.
Mahamudu Bawumia, and his dynamic wife, Samira, I say a big thank you to each and every one of you for your hardwork, commitment and encouragement, and for your belief in me and in my leadership of our party over the last 8 years.
Whilst this occasion would understandably lead to widespread jubilation amongst party supporters, I entreat them to respect the peace and the property and lives of everybody, especially those of our political opponents.
We are the party of the rule of law, and we should act accordingly with magnanimity in our moment of victory.
To the senior citizens of our country who have given me invaluable advice over the years, amongst them, the former President of the Republic, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Kofi Annan, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, the former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen.
Danquah, the Chairman of the NPP’s National Council of Elders, the veteran statesman, C.K.
Tedam, and Captain Kojo Tsikata, erstwhile PNDC member responsible for National Security, I thank you for your counsel and for sharing your wisdom with me, and hope I can continue to count on you during the challenging period ahead of me.
To the numerous priests and imams who have prayed for my soul and who have taken the trouble to intercede with the Almighty on my behalf, amongst them, Cardinal Emeritus Peter Akwasi Sarpong, Rt.
Asante Antwi, Most.
Justice Akrofi, Rt.
Emmanuel Martey, Apostle Opoku Nyinah, Bishop Yinka Sarfo, Pastor Mensa Otabil, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, Rev.
Victor Kusi Boateng, Venerable Hansen Addy, Venerable Joseph Lamptey, Canon Noah Mensah, Canon Antonio Nelson, Rev.
Jonathan Ayittey-Mensah, Very Reverend Emmanuel Kwabena Aryee, the Chief Imam, His Eminence Sheikh Dr.
Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, the Ashanti Region Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haroun, Rev.
Anthony Kwadwo Boakye, Rev.
Isaac Owusu Bempah, Rev.
Ebenezer Adarkwa Yiadom, Rev.
Kofi Amponsah and Prophet Gideon Danso, I am deeply grateful for your spiritual solidarity of which I shall avail myself continuously, now and in the future.
I take this opportunity to thank you, members of the Ghanaian media, for your continuing engagement in the public interest of our country.
Your vigilance and activism are now by-words in the consistent efforts our people are making to carve a secure, democratic future for themselves.
Senior journalists like Abdul Malik Kweku Baako, Gina Blay, Egbert Faibille, Ebo Quansah, Ken Kuranchi, Kwami Sefa Kayi, Samuel Atta Mensah and Kwabena Kwakye, amongst others, have set admirable standards of professionalism and ethical conduct which should guide the younger generation.
I want to thank the various observer missions who have assisted us to ensure a credible process for our election.
I thank the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), under the chairmanship of the venerable former Supreme Court judge, Justice V.C.R.A.C Crabbe, for their important work, and that of the observer mission of our regional body, ECOWAS, led by the distinguished Liberian statesman, Dr.
Amos Sawyerr, the observer mission of our continental body, the AU, led by the respected former President of the Republic of Namibia, His Excellency Hifikepunye Pohamba, and the observer mission of the Commonwealth led by the eminent African, the former President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Thabo Mbeki, as well as the strong observer mission from our friends of the European Union, and the National Democratic Institute of the United States of America, led by the former U.S Assistant Secretary of State, the well-known diplomat, Ambassador Johnnie Carson.
They have assured us of the great importance the international community attaches to the growth of Ghanaian democracy.
And to my beautiful wife, my beloved Rebecca, who waged such a great campaign in her own right, my daughters, Gyankroma, Valerie, Dokua, my sister Marigold, my brother Edward, and my entire family, I, firstly, must apologise for taking you on this rollercoaster ride.
I am, however, very grateful for the love and support you have given me, and for standing shoulder to shoulder with me through the years till now.
Long may it so continue.
Let me pause to remember colleagues who fell in the course of our campaign – Adams Mahama, Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey, J.B Danquah Adu, Peter Wiafe Peprah, Abubakar Saddique, Kwabena Boadu, and others.
May their souls continue to rest in perfect peace in the bosom of the Almighty until the last day of the Resurrection when we shall all meet again.
Fellow Ghanaians, you have not elected me to serve one party, but to serve the entire nation.
The President of Ghana is President for every single Ghanaian, without discrimination, malice or ill-will to any ethnic group or political or religious affiliation.
Whether you supported me or not, whether you campaigned for me or not, whether you voted for me or not, I can promise you one thing.
I will do my best to serve your interests, and put our country back on the path of progress and prosperity.
God did not put us on this rich land, a land blessed with an abundance of human and natural resources, to be poor.
I am confident, and I have faith that, with God's guidance and your active help and hardwork, we will move our country forward.
Together, we will change Ghana, and use all the blessings that the Almighty has bestowed on us to bring prosperity to our people and nation in our time.
Together, we will fulfil the destiny of Ghana, the destiny of freedom, justice and prosperity that the ancestors and founders of our nation defined for us.
God bless our homeland Ghana, and make our nation great and strong.
The battle is still the Lord’s.
Onyankopon nhyira mu nyinaa NyÉ”É§mÉ” ajÉ”É” nyÉ› fÉ›É› Mawu nÉ› yira mi Allah i saa muku Albarka Thank you.
I am happy to be back in Koforidua, capital of my home region, the Eastern Region.
I am grateful to Almighty God for yet another opportunity to join you honour our farmers, fishers and, indeed, all actors along the agricultural value chain for their invaluable contribution to our sustenance, and for the development of Mother Ghana.
Recent global events, which have led to a food crisis across the world, call for greater appreciation of what our farmers and fishers, here in Ghana, have done and continue to do for us.
On a daily basis, there are news reports of countries struggling under the combined weight of the forces of the COVID -19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The effects of these forces entail disruption of supply chains, hikes in fuel prices, spiralling inflation and sharp reductions in economic growth.
On the agricultural front, the impact is seen in the shortage and high cost of critical inputs for farming such as fertilizers.
Significant rises in fuel prices, globally, have contributed to rising prices of food stuffs across the globe, and Ghana is no exception.
In response to the impact of the challenges to general food security, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, rallied World Leaders to a Food Systems Summit in September 2021 in which I participated, on the sidelines of the meeting of the General Assembly, to strategise on how to mitigate the growing threat to food systems.
The emphasis, at the Summit, was to help avert extreme poverty and looming hunger, as specified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals I and II, respectively.
It was a call to action by all countries to prioritise agriculture, and recommit to the transformation of food systems to build resilience and ensure sustainable food security.
In this respect, I find the theme for this year’s Farmers’ Day Celebration, “ Accelerating Agricultural Development Through Value Addition ”, most appropriate and timely.
Value addition, as a means of accelerating the development of agriculture, is one of the logical strategies for ensuring food security, and rightly so.
I say this because of the perennial problem of post-harvest losses experienced in most countries, including Ghana.
Since 2017, strategic interventions in the agriculture sector have emphasised value addition through the implementation of the One-District-One-Factory flagship programme by Government.
It is instructive to note that one hundred and seventy-two (172) of the two hundred and ninety-six (296) factories to be established under the programme are agro-based, processing the rapidly increasing farm output of our farmers.
Clearly, it is evident that Ghana has been put firmly on the track of value addition.
Government appreciates fully that value addition is the one of the best ways to unlocking the huge potential of Ghana’s agriculture.
Current developments in the country have reinforced the need to direct greater attention to promoting value addition.
As a country, it is important to draw on very hard lessons from the impact of external factors on our food systems.
Food prices in urban centres are unacceptably high.
However, it is equally true that some internal factors are also contributing to the high prices.
Government continues to evaluate the situation for appropriate action to be taken.
Indeed, in July 2022, Cabinet set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee with the brief to intervene directly in the foodstuff market, by buying food at the farmgate, and transporting it for sale at urban centres.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture started a pilot food market in November, by arranging for traders to bring food items, such as plantain, yam and rice, direct to Accra from the production areas for direct sale to civil servants and the general public.
The market has been so well patronised that it has been extended to four other locations within Greater Accra, and is being rolled out in Kumasi, Koforidua and Takoradi urban centres.
This is to enable consumers access to foodstuffs at affordable prices.
Chairperson, agriculture will continue to remain a top priority of my government.
The massive investments made in the sector attest to this fact.
The positive narrative about Government’s support to the agriculture sector is that, unlike several other countries, Ghana is better prepared, and has demonstrated resilience to the current adversities threatening to destabilise our food systems.
This has been possible because of the sound, pragmatic policies and programmes rolled out at the inception of my stewardship.
Our flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), with its focus on improving farm productivity, through the use of technology on farms, has succeeded in increasing our food security, and opened up new opportunities for diversifying our agricultural exports by promoting six (6) tree crops for future substantial foreign exchange earnings.
In 2016, Government inherited production levels of 1.7 million metric tonnes of maize and six hundred and sixty-five thousand metric tons of rice (665,000).
Under the PFJ, maize production reached 3.4 million tonnes by 2021 and rice to 1.2 million metric tonnes.
The credit must go to our gallant farmers, fishers and value chain actors who embraced the PFJ policies, and leveraged the opportunities created by the enabling environment for agricultural development.
By design, PFJ has targeted other sectors under agriculture with promising results.
Under its Rearing for Food Jobs module, some one hundred and thirty-four thousand, four hundred (134,400) birds and small ruminants were distributed to one thousand, two hundred and fifty-four (1,254) beneficiaries in 2022 alone.
In addition, nine hundred thousand (900,000) broiler day old chicks (chicken), together with nine hundred metric tons of feed and vaccines, have been contracted out for supply to farmers next year.
Still under the livestock sector, Government has released GH¢15.6 million as payment of compensation to two hundred and eighty (280) farms affected by the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza.
There is also support for disease surveillance, public awareness creation, capacity building and the procurement of motorbikes for operational activities to enhance early detection, prevention and disease management.
As part of institutional strengthening for the Veterinary Services Directorate, five hundred and fifty (550) veterinary officers and allied staff have been recruited this year alone.
Chairperson, the achievements of my government include the promotion of selected tree crops to diversify export earnings from the sector.
For more than a century, Ghana has relied heavily on cocoa for foreign exchange earnings, whilst the potential for several other tree crops remains untapped.
By an Act of Parliament, the Tree Crop Development Authority was established in 2020, to coordinate and promote the development of six tree crops, namely cashew, rubber, oil palm, coconut, mango and shea.
At maturity, these selected crops will have the combined potential of generating annually an additional twelve billion dollars ($12 billion) to supplement the annual two billion dollars ($2 billion) from cocoa.
Since the launch of the Tree Crop Development programme in 2018, several nurseries have been established with the participation of private sector.
The Ministry, through the Tree Crops Development Authority (TCDA), facilitated the provision of 2.7 million improved seedlings to some eleven thousand, one hundred (11,100) farmers during 2022 cropping season.
I commend the District Assemblies for their participation in this effort, and I continue to urge our chiefs, land owners and prospective investors to leverage the opportunities created in the tree crop sub-sector.
Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and other partners have facilitated the smooth introduction and enhancement of major interventions such as the National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme, Hand Pollination Programme, Mass Pruning Exercise, Cocoa Diseases and Pests Control Programme, the Subsidised Fertilizer Distribution Programme, amongst others.
I have been reliably informed that, two years after we re-launched the National Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme in the Western North Region, a total farm area of fifty-six thousand, three hundred and forty-three (56,343) hectares have been fully treated across the cocoa growing regions, as of 30 th September 2022.
As a result of the success of the programme, thousands of farmers, who had abandoned their cocoa farms due to the devastating effect of the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease, have returned, and are active again in the cocoa business.
It is important to underscore that these interventions brought back smiles on the faces of our cherished farmers, and also provided employment to some twenty-seven thousand (27,000) youth in scheme areas, that is one thousand, three hundred and sixty-one (1,361) as technical assistants; one thousand, eight hundred and forty-five (1,845) as disease spotters; and twenty-three thousand, nine hundred and thirteen (23,913) as farm hands.
Chairperson, in 2019, Government began the implementation of the Cocoa Management System (CMS) to help establish a credible database on Ghana’s cocoa.
The integrated cocoa farmer database, which includes the development of a software data system, a census of all cocoa farmers in Ghana as well as mapping of all farms, will ensure, for the first time, the availability of accurate information on land size, geographic locations, population and record of cocoa farmers and farms in Ghana.
I am happy to announce, again, that the CMS is ready, setting in motion the processes of rolling out fully the much-anticipated cocoa farmers pension scheme.
The mandatory pension scheme, which takes effect in the current 2022/23 crop season, will provide a decent pension for cocoa farmers after a minimum of five (5) years contribution.
It is important to mention that that the Living Income Differential (LID) pricing mechanism, being spearheaded by Cote d’ Ivoire and Ghana, the two biggest global producers of cocoa, through the Cote d’ Ivoire-Ghana Cocoa Initiative , is progressing despite seeming obstacles from some of our international trading partners.
I want to assure our farmers that everything possible is being done to see to the full implementation of the scheme to cushion them against price volatility, and also guarantee sustainable livelihoods for them.
Fellow Ghanaians, the sustainability of the cocoa sector is contingent also on how effectively we are able to fight the devasting effects of the illegal mining menace.
All of us, farmers and citizens, have a collective responsibility to bring this environmental canker to a halt if we do not want to ruin the inheritance our forefathers bequeathed us.
Other interventions implemented by my government, which are critical for accelerated development of the country, include the following: Greenhouse Training Centres Three greenhouse training centres, with attached commercial units at Dawhenya, Akumadan and Bawjiase for training youth in high-quality vegetable production, have been constructed.
These vegetables are sold to high end shops such as Palace Mall, Shoprite, Starbite, KFC and Burger King in Tema, Accra and Kumasi.
To date some five hundred and thirty-seven (537) youth have been trained, with three hundred and forty (340) of them having received internship training in Israel.
Irrigation Since 2017, substantial investments have been directed to the construction and rehabilitation of twelve (12) irrigation schemes for which six (6) are ninety percent (90%) complete, five are between forty five percent (45%) to seventy percent (70%) complete, and Pwalugu dam currently at five percent (5%) completion.
Together, these irrigation projects will make available thirty-one thousand, four hundred and fifteen (31,415) hectares of land for all year-round crop production when completed.
Warehouses Measures taken by Government to address other major marketing problems in the agriculture sector include construction of eighty (80) warehouses of one thousand metric ton (1,000MT) capacity each for food storage, and to reduce post-harvest losses.
Sixty-five (65) of eighty (80) have been fully completed, handed over and currently in use.
The remaining are all at advanced stages of completion, ranging from seventy percent (70%) to ninety percent (90%).
Mechanization To accelerate the process of agricultural modernization, my government, through various bilateral arrangements, has imported assorted agricultural machinery including tractors, power tillers, planters, threshers, combine harvesters and hand-held equipment for smallholder farmers at a total value of sixty-seven million United States dollars ($67 million).
These farm equipment and machinery are being sold at subsidised rates to farmers and other investors.
Currently, I am happy to report that processes have been concluded towards the establishment of a Tractor Assembly Plant in Ghana.
This will go a long way to reduce cost of tractors, improve access to tractor parts and create jobs.
Agriculture Financing To promote and increase investment in agriculture, Government established the Ghana Incentive Based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending Scheme (GIRSAL) in 2018.
A little more than three years on, GIRSAL has provided some three hundred and forty-seven million cedis (GH¢347 million) of guarantees, covering loans of some seven hundred and twelve million cedis (GH¢712 million) to some one hundred (100) agribusinesses.
These businesses are engaged in sale of agricultural inputs, direct production, aggregation, processing, marketing and exports.
The guarantees have contributed to lower interest rates for borrowers.
To boost further financing for agribusinesses, Government has established the Development Bank of Ghana, capitalised, initially, at seven hundred and fifty million euros (€750 million), which will prioritise agriculture in its activities.
Ghana Cares Under the Cares Obaatampa programme, provision has also been made to enhance access to affordable financing for agribusinesses.
A fifty percent (50%) interest rate subsidy is provided to agribusinesses in selected value chains, namely rice, maize, soya bean, tomato, and poultry.
This complements the Outgrower and Value Chain Fund, which was established eleven (11) years ago to provide medium to long-term financing at significantly reduced interest rates.
Under the Savanah Investment Project, two million dollars ($2 million) is also earmarked to provide credit to poultry value chain actors, especially those in processing.
YouStart programme Government has launched the YouStart programme to provide training, entrepreneurial skills and financial support to entrepreneurial youth within the age bracket of 18 to 40 years, to help them start, build and grow their businesses.
The YouStart will be a very important vehicle for equipping the youth to enter into agro-based businesses such as input distribution, marketing and value addition, leveraging on digital technology.
I use the opportunity to encourage the District Assemblies and faith-based organizations to support the youth to take advantage of the programme.
Chairperson, the overwhelming evidence points to an impressive performance of Government in pursuit of its agricultural modernisation and transformation agenda.
From an average of 3.8% in the 5-year period from 2012 to 2016, average annual growth nearly doubled to 6.3% in the period 2017 to 2021.
In the most recent years, the sector growth increased strongly from 4.7% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020 and 8.4% in 2021 – the highest annual performance in the Fourth Republic.
This sterling performance compares with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s (CAADP) benchmark target of 6% growth of agriculture for the attainment of national food security.