ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
This speaks volumes about President Akufo Addo’s determination to fight anyone who dares to fight corruption in his government.
The NDC has been alarmed and appalled by revelations by Martin Amidu about threats of robbery, arson and death on his life following the release of his corruption risk assessment report on the Agyapa scam.
Martin Amidu at this point needs our collective prayer and protection against the vile threats directed at his life, since according to him, the sudden demise of Flt.
Jerry John Rawlings has removed the only protection enjoyed from such threats and wicked plans Ladies and Gentlemen, It is quite sad, that President Akufo-Addo the self-acclaimed ‘incorruptible’ President who rode on the back of anti-corruption campaign to power, is today a fighter of corruption fighters.
Daniel Yao Domelovo for his relentless fight against corruption, the harassment of investigative journalists such as Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Manasseh Azure Awuni, Edward Adeti and other anti-corruption campaigners, and the sad and gruesome murder of Ahmed Suale of Tigre Eye PI fame, casts the most undesirable record of any democratically-elected President who is so determined to dim the torch of accountability.
Distinguished friends, the NDC is deeply concerned about the threats of arson, robbery and assassination on the life of Mr.
We wish to serve notice to President Akufo-Addo and the NPP that the Ghanaian people will not sit down and watch them extend their wickedness to Mr.
Therefore, should anything happen to him, President Akufo-Addo will be held responsible.
Ghanaians will not sit aloof for President Akufo-Addo and his wicked and treacherous hirelings in government to take the life of Mr.
Martin Amidu as they did to the late Ahmed Suale.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the attempt by government to stop Citi FM which conducted this interview from airing same, is in itself a perverse act of corruption and confirms what we have known all along about government’s manipulation of the news.
We call on the GJA and National Media Commission to launch a full scale investigation into this matter as it portends grave danger to press freedom.
We also call on all voices of conscience in moral society, traditional authorities, and Civil Society to rise up and condemn the tyranny and totalitarianism being supervised by President Akufo-Addo.
Under the erstwhile NDC/Mills administration and NDC/Mahama regime, Martin Amidu went about his anti-corruption activities in peace.
Even though we disagreed with him on many issues, neither President Mills nor President John Mahama nor their appointees attempted to interfere with Martin Amidu’s work as citizen vigilante in any way.
Nor was he threatened by anybody.
So why is he being threatened with arson, robbery and death by the NPP now for professionally discharging his statutory duties as Special Prosecutor under the Akufo Addo government who touts themselves as apostles of the democracy.
It is evil to appoint a man as Special Prosecutor and refuse to pay him for two (2) years.
Deliberately, starve his office of basic resources necessary for his work.
And when he indicts you for corruption, threaten him with death.
It is sad that President Akufo Addo and the NPP have sunk this low.
Is it not perplexing that this same Martin Amidu was hailed by President Akufo-Addo and the NPP as an avowed anti-corruption crusader while in opposition?
Didn't they celebrate his appointment as Special Prosecutor to mean the single most important commitment of Akufo-Addo to the fight against corruption in the history of Ghana?
Is it not this same Martin Amidu who was hailed by the NPP as a Citizen Vigilante whose word was the gospel truth in the past?
What has suddenly changed about the man today, that President Akufo-Addo and his surrogates will turn around and vilify him, while branding everything he says as lies?
The Ghanaian people are discerning enough to know that between Martin Amidu and President Akufo-Addo, it is the latter who lied his way into government, and continues to thrive on lies.
Ladies and gentlemen, the corruption risk assessment of the Special Prosecutor has confirmed our long held position, that the stinking Agyapa deal is fraught with cronyism, corruption, greed and potential money laundering.
The mandate agreement violated the Public Procurement law, Public Financial Management Act and the 1992 Constitution, hence null and void.
If President Akufo Addo cannot suspend or prosecute his cousin and finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta, and his acolyte, Charles Adu Boahen as required of him, for their roles in this Agyapa scam due to his glaring complicity in the matter, the least he can and should do, is to stop harassing Martin Amidu and rather, retrieve for the country, the over 240 billion old cedis ($4 million) that his government has illegally paid to African Legal Associates which is owned by his cousin, Gabby Otchere Darko; Databank, which is owned by another cousin of his and finance minister and their foreign collaborators.
We need our money now!
Friends from the media, Ghanaians today are having to deal with one corruption scandal per day, with state-sponsored thievery reaching a crescendo in the final days of the Akufo-Addo government.
Unprecedented culture of state capture has become the mainstay of President Akufo-Addo, as we have witnessed in the case of ‘My Sisters Keepers’ Foundation’, where the daughters of President Akufo-Addo have been hiding behind a so-called charity foundation to extort monies from state Agencies, the capture of A Duty Free Shop and CIP Lounge at the newly-built Terminal 3 at the Kotoka International Airport for the family and friends of President Akufo-Addo and the doling out of GNPC cash to wife of the President under the pretext of charity work, just to mention a few.
Ghanaians today are left in no doubt as to the fact that President Akufo-Addo is the most corrupt President in Ghana’s history, who has been using subterfuge and intimidation to conceal his true nature.
But thank God his cup is now full, as all these latest revelations are signs of the end of his corrupt tenure and the judgement of God against his misrule.
Coming events, they say, cast their shadow, and the defeat of President Akufo-Addo on 7th December, 2020 is increasingly becoming glaring.
No amount of threats or intimidation against political opponents, the media and CSO’s will stop our collective resolve to expose the stinking corruption being supervised by President Akufo-Addo and his family and friends cabal, as the Ghanaian people wait with bated breath to kick him and his corrupt government out of office and restore truth, decency and honesty to the Presidency.
We welcome you to today’s press briefing which will focus on and explain in detail, the Job Creation Agenda of John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress as contained in the Peoples’ Manifesto.
As you may have observed, the good news in the NDC’s 2020 Election Manifesto is resonating with the Ghanaian people all across the country.
This is because, the promises contained in the Peoples’ manifesto, are a product of broad stakeholder consultations and sound research anchored on policies that adequately address the many challenges confronting our nation.
Friends from the media, the NDC’s message of hope that we present to Ghanaians is backed by our solid track-record of delivery.
Today, the Ghanaian people have seen the difference between the two leaders who are gunning for the position of President – President John Dramani Mahama on the one hand, who is being celebrated as a Nation Builder and a man of his word, as against President Akufo-Addo who is fast being swept into oblivion for supervising four years of lawlessness, vindictiveness, divisiveness, deception, corruption, nepotism and unfulfilled promises.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the biggest challenge facing our nation today is undoubtedly, high unemployment.
The NDC is deeply concerned about the high levels of unemployment in the country, which we consider a national security threat, and a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.
The goal of the next NDC/Mahama government is to create shared prosperity for all and not a select few, by creating enough sustainable jobs that pay well enough to avoid the problem of “working poor”, where workers’ wages are so low that they cannot meet the basic necessities of life and remain poor even though they are working.
We are committed to the creation of sustainable jobs for the Ghanaian people because we are fully aware that the youth and people of this country deserve decent employment to be able to afford a decent living for themselves and their families.
This is what informed the theme of the Peoples’ manifesto: “Jobs and Prosperity for All”.
Our vision for jobs, dubbed “Edwumapa”, is a solemn pledge that will focus on creating, ONE (1) MILLION PERMANENT JOBS WITH DECENT WAGES IN FOUR (4) YEARS.
To achieve this, the next NDC/Mahama government will create a minimum of 250,000 sustainable jobs with decent wages every year over the next 4 years.
This will translate into a total of minimum of 1 million sustainable/permanent jobs and not ad hoc jobs in four (4) years.
Distinguish friends from the media, the NDC’s Agenda for jobs will be science-driven, while embracing critical reforms to create job opportunities that hitherto did not exist for our countrymen and women.
EMPLOYMENT REFORMS 1.
Employment Act As a first step soon after we are ushered into office, we shall pass the first of its kind in our nation’s history, an Employment Act to provide a comprehensive framework for job creation and labour market statistics.
Creating a Three-shift Economy Given Ghana’s small market size of only 31 million people and a per capita income of $2,200, we intend to embark an aggressive promotion of exports, which will lead to a high demand for labour to meet increased production for both domestic consumption and export.
To accommodate this anticipated demand for Ghanaian goods and services, the next NDC Government will create a 3-shift economy, especially in manufacturing and other high-end services, which operates 24 hours non-stop.
Thus, the additional two shifts will be a source of additional employment.
Companies that currently operate 24 hours with only two shifts of 12 hours each in violation of the labour law (which specifies a maximum of 8 hours), will be required to run three shifts and thus create a third stream of jobs.
Decentralise and convert the Labour Office into the National Employment Bureau equipped with state of-the-art facilities and Grant tax-waivers to employers who employ workers through the Bureau.
SOURCES OF AGENDA ONE (1) MILLION JOBS.
Distinguished friends from the media, contrary to claims by our opponents who have failed to deliver on their promises, the NDC has done all the needed research and analysis relative to this massive job creation agenda.
We understand clearly how these jobs will be created and where the jobs will come from.
And Ghanaians can trust H.E John Dramani Mahama and Prof.
Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang to deliver a minimum of one million sustainable jobs when elected.
This we will do by: 1.
Stimulating sustainable Private Sector Jobs Our plan is to stimulate the creation of sustainable jobs by creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.
One of the things we will do to achieve this is to significantly reduce the cost of doing business in Ghana through tax cuts, so that businesses are able to plough back their savings into their businesses, expand and create sustainable jobs.
As we you may be aware, our continuous decline on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index under the Akufo Addo government, is mainly as a result of high tax payments.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and other bodies have had cause to lament the crippling effect of high tax payments on their businesses under this government.
This is why the next NDC/Mahama government will provide tax rebates for businesses such as: A total scraping of the 25% corporate income tax for small businesses A reduction of Corporate Income tax for medium-scale businesses from 25% to 15%.
A two (2) year Corporate Income tax exemption for newly incorporated medium-scale businesses that employ 20 people and above.
A Two (2)-year tax holiday for youth startups and businesses.
Reverse the increment in VAT that the Akufo-Addo government has introduced through the backdoor which has made it impossible for businesses to claim Input Tax Credit/refunds on 5% NHI and GETFUND levies.
Scrap Import Duty on commercial vehicles and vehicles and equipment imported into the country for agriculture, or agribusiness or industrial purposes.
These tax rebates will go a long way to reduce the cost of doing business so that businesses are able to inject the savings into their businesses for the creation of more jobs.
Aside these tax incentives, the next NDC/Mahama government will undertake several productive and transformational initiatives in the private sector to create sustainable jobs with decent wages such as: A) Provide cheap credit to Ghanaian businesses using the Ghana EXIM bank that the erstwhile Mahama government established in the year 2016.
It is sad to note that under President Akufo-Addo, we are witnessing the misuse of Ghana EXIMbank funds to finance some mundane activities such as celebrity endorsement which have no relevance whatsoever to the object of this laudable export-driven fund.
The next NDC/Mahama government will reverse this practice and channel such funds into Ghanaian businesses to promote exports and create sustainable jobs.
B) The Big Push - a $10 billion investment in infrastructure development across the country to close the infrastructure deficit facing the nation.
It is worth mentioning that only local contractors, local architects, local artisans, local materials etc.
will be used under this policy as a way of supporting Ghanaian indigenous businesses.
This will create about 90,000 jobs in the entire construction value chain every year.
C) Agriculture and Agribusinesses for both the domestic and export markets.
Currently, more than 50% of Ghana’s workforce are engaged in Agriculture.
However, Agriculture contributes only a paltry 17% of Ghana’s GDP.
That is to say, the country uses more than half (more than 50%) of its total workforce to produce just 17.3% of its wealth.
What this means is that, majority of our population are wallowing in abject poverty.
The vision of the NDC is to rapidly transform Agriculture through modernization and mechanization, with key focus on agribusiness as a means of creating sustainable jobs to liberate our people from poverty.
Our policies in this area will be anchored on: Increasing local production of cereal crops, starchy staple legumes, vegetables and other food products, through Agric mechanization and modernization, predicated on the reintroduction of Agric Mechanization Centers (AMSEC).
increasing the local processing of our local produce into secondary products through agribusinesses.
We will create Agro-production and processing zones in all major crop-producing areas across the country to provide farming/production, processing and marketing assistance to farmers in these zones.
Credit to promote Agriculture & Agribusiness We will restructure rural credit and the Ghana Eximbank to improve credit to strategic agriculture and agribusiness activities.
Additionally, we will incentivize the financial sector to devote a sizable amount of credit to agriculture and agribusiness.
The medium-term effect of these policies will place Ghana on the path of self-sufficiency in the production of commodities and the possibility of excess for export, stimulate economic growth and create opportunities for sustainable jobs in the agric/agribusiness value chain.
This, we will do, with special focus on the establishment of strategic factories for the processing of tree crops such as cocoa, cashew, Shea, Palm and rubber.
This value-addition activity will help boost the income of farmers, increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings and create thousands of sustainable jobs for Ghanaians through industrialization.
D) Pharmaceuticals for domestic and export market.
Another area of focus for the NDC’s Jobs Agenda is the Pharmaceutical industry.
Under the erstwhile NDC/Mahama government, the NDC supported local pharmaceutical companies with a stimulus package of $27 million in an effort to boost the local pharmaceutical industry to increase its market share.
Ghanaian Indigenous Pharmaceutical Companies such as, Entrance Pharmaceuticals (Tobinco) was given US$6m, Ernest Chemists US$10m, Dannex US$3m, Danadams GHC$7m and Kinapharma GHC9.152m.
This stimulus helped to increase local production of pharmaceuticals and created sustainable jobs for many.
As part of our job creation agenda, the next NDC Government will increase support to the local pharmaceutical industry by undertaking the following: Roll out a Pharmaceutical Industry Financial and Technical Support Programme to expand the existing infrastructure and introduce modern technology into their operations to improve production.
We will also assist local pharmaceutical companies to secure licences to produce generic drugs for the local and sub-regional markets and prioritize the procurement of Made-in-Ghana drugs for the Ghana Health Service.
This we project will create thousands of sustainable jobs for Ghanaians over a period of four (4) years.
E) Light Manufacturing (apparels, accessories, gold processing, etc.)
Friends from the media, the next NDC/Mahama government intends to create thousands sustainable jobs through light manufacturing.
For instance, with regards to strategic minerals like gold, we intend to develop a national policy to restructure the small-scale mining sector as follows: Set up a Gold Board (GOLDBOD) for the small-scale mining sector, to provide mining support services to the sector, ranging from concession viability, health, safety and efficiency in mining operations, equipment financing and mining input, research and standardization, gold recovery optimization as well as post-mining, and land reclamation services.
In doing this, we shall compel small-scale miners to undertake skills training in land reclamation techniques as a required component of their operations to minimize their adverse environmental impacts.
We shall also put a ban on the export of unrefined gold produced by the small-scale mining companies in Ghana, and establish gold refineries in gold producing regions of the country in conjunction with the private sector to refine our gold for exports.
This will create thousands of jobs for the teeming unemployed youth in the mining sector, while protecting our environment, especially, our water bodies and forest reserves from further degradation.
SOURCES OF SECTOR JOBS Friends from the media, the difference between the NDC’s one million Jobs Agenda as against the phantom jobs that President Akufo-Addo and the NPP are touting as having provided for Ghanaian youth is that, the Agenda One Million Jobs of the NDC as we earlier indicated is the product of broad consultations and sound research by an astute team who have led stellar careers, created jobs before and who understand the underpinnings of employment creation and labour economics.
The crack team that was assembled by the NDC’s Flag-bearer and Ghana’s incoming President, John Dramani Mahama to come out with a comprehensive policy on Job Creation, conducted a Human Resource Gap (HR Gap) Analysis of Ghana’s Public sector.
The result of this analysis confirmed that Ghana’s public sector is not operating at optimum level across all facets of the public service, when juxtaposed with international or globally accepted standards.
For instance, the HR Gap Analysis revealed that the Ghana Police Service requires a total of 35,020 additional personnel to enable the service operate at the optimal internationally required ratio of one Police Officer to 450 Civilians.
What this means is that, the Ghana Police Service currently has an additional 35,020 vacancies that needs to be filled.
Similarly, our analysis of the Educational Management Information System (EMIS) data analysis revealed 98,650 vacancies in the Ghana Education Service.
This fact is corroborated by ample anecdotal evidence of lack of teachers and teaching staff in so many schools across the country.
That of the Ghana Health Service is 76,795 vacancies, while the Ghana National Fire Service has 30,136 vacancies.
The analysis further revealed that the Ghana Immigration Service has an additional manpower deficit of 3,522, while the Ghana Prison Service needs an additional 7,925 personnel to enable it function optimally.
Also, the HR gap analysis revealed that the Local Government Service which is responsible for coordinating government’s decentralization agenda of taking development to the doorsteps of Ghanaians, has a total additional staff need of about 11,208, while the Forestry Commission, another State Agency which is responsible for the regulation of the utilization of forest and wildlife resources is also in need of over 1,200 new staff to effectively coordinate its conservation and management activities across the country.
The next NDC government is committed to creating sustainable jobs with decent wages in the Public sector by filling these vacancies over a period of four (4) years to enable our state institutions operate at optimal levels.
Additionally, the next NDC administration will roll out an effective Environmental Health Inspection programme that will engage about 25,400 staff, to help in public education on Preventive Health.
The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) will also receive the needed boost in terms of personnel and resources as we intend to recruit additional 5,642 staff for that critical state Agency.
Also we shall establish Regional IT hubs which will engage 2,000 youth with IT background to provide ICT training to other young people across the country.
Again, under the General Revenue Enhancement Initiative, the next NDC government will engage 30,000 young people to augment the revenue generation activities of the state.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the net effect of the Public Sector HR Gap Analysis on job creation is that, the next NDC government will create a minimum of GH200,000 additional, decent and well-paid public sector jobs.
This is a scientific job creation model backed by needs assessment and global best practice, and we are totally committed to it.
The rationale is to ensure that we conform to internationally acceptable standards while guaranteeing productivity within the public sector.
Promoting Skills development for sustainable jobs.
Friends from the media, aside our one million jobs agenda, the next NDC/Mahama government shall aggressively pursue skills development programs to equip our human resource capital with employable skills as a means of addressing the high unemployment malaise confronting this country.
Our Skills development program will be anchored on.
Free Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) The next NDC government in January 2021 shall introduce Free Technical and Vocational Education at both the Secondary and Tertiary levels.
It is important to state that currently, there is no Free TVET at the tertiary level (Polytechnic/Technical Universities).
Even at the Senior High School (SHS) level, majority of TVET schools like NVTI are not benefiting from the free SHS policy.
This policy will ensure that any Ghanaian who is desirous of pursuing a vocational or technical course gets the opportunity to do so without paying a pessewa at the secondary school level to the tertiary level.
National Apprenticeship Program The next NDC/Mahama shall also roll out a National Apprenticeship Program that will create many sustainable jobs for Ghanaians.
Under this policy, any Ghanaian desirous to learn a craft will be enrolled into a training program as an apprentice under a registered master-craftsperson for free by government.
These apprentices will be paid stipends to support their feeding, transportation among others, and they will be given a certificate upon the successful completion of their program.