ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Our borders, by land and sea, will remain closed to human traffic until further notice.
Beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs remain closed until further notice.
Fellow Ghanaians, as we work to rid the virus from our shores, let us continue to remember, at all times, that this virus is no respecter of persons, and has wreaked its havoc on every country on the planet.
There are countries that are imposing lockdowns all over again, others are imposing curfews, all in a bid to curb the onset of fresh infections and a second wave.
Let us continue to look out for one another, and remain each other’s keeper.
United, and with one goal in mind, we will emerge victorious in the fight against COVID-19.
Zero active cases must be the ultimate aim.
My rallying cry to you all remains: this too shall pass!
For the Battle is the Lord’s.
I thank you for your attention, and have a good night.
I am speaking to you tonight from Peduase Lodge, after having just completed the last Cabinet Retreat of Government for this year, and I thank you for allowing me into your homes once again It is a little over seven (7) months ago, since I started providing updates on the measures Government was putting in place in response to the novel Coronavirus disease.
I have provided, so far, seventeen (17) updates, which have demonstrated the co-ordinated approach we initiated towards winning the battle against the pandemic.
We can safely say that the benefits are showing.
During my last update, a month ago, we had a total of five hundred and seven (507) active cases.
Forty-five thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight (45,258) persons had recovered, and two hundred and ninety-seven (297) persons had, unfortunately, died.
As at Friday, 16th October, the number of active cases has declined further to three hundred and ninety-eight (398), with forty-six thousand, six hundred and sixty-four (46,664) persons fully recovered from the virus, putting our recovery rate at 98.5%.
Thirteen (13) more deaths have occurred, bringing the total number of deaths, tragically, to three hundred and ten (310), out of a total number of five hundred and ten thousand, and seventy-four (510,074) persons tested.
The rate of death, 0.5%, continues to remain very low.
When you take a close look at the measures some other countries are having to take, including imposing night-time curfews and partial lockdowns, declaring state of emergencies, limiting the numbers of people permitted at public gatherings, and mandatorily fining persons for not wearing masks, all in the bid to contain the secondwave of the virus, we, in Ghana, have been spared all these developments and restrictions.
We must, thus, be doing something right.
In fact, our favourable situation at the moment is thanks to the effectiveness of Government policies, the co-operation of you, the Ghanaian people, and, ultimately, to the grace of God.
The science and data tell us that the trajectory of the virus in Ghana mirrors that of an epidemic with reduced disease activity.
Our daily infection rates are no longer in the hundreds as they were sometime back.
Presently, they are in the tens, averaging twenty-five (25) new cases per day, in the course of last week.
This is in sharp contrast with what is happening in the countries that are experiencing a second wave of infections, where, in some instances, new infections and hospitalizations are, sadly, in the thousands per day.
In spite of our successes, I would like to reiterate that this virus remains something of a mystery, and we should always rather err on the side of caution, and continue to observe the protocols that have brought us to where we are.
As President of the Republic, I assured you of my continuing commitment to limiting and stopping the importation of the virus, containing its spread, providing adequate care for the sick, slowing down community spread, reducing the impact of the virus on social and economic life, and using the opportunity afforded by this pandemic to expand our domestic production capacity, and deepen our self-reliance.
I remain committed to these objectives, and I will not stray from them.
Fellow Ghanaians, we all know that the emergence of the virus on our shores came from abroad, necessitating the closure of our borders, by land, air and sea, in March 2020.
Following the provision of testing facilities, which ensure the speed and accuracy of COVID-19 testing, Kotoka International Airport was reopened on 1 st September 2020.
It has been six (6) weeks since the reopening, and a total of thirty thousand, five hundred and sixty-four (30,564) passengers have been tested, from which ninety-two (92) have tested positive.
All ninety-two (92) are asymptomatic cases, whose status, but for the test, would not have been detected, and would have spread the disease amongst the rest of the population.
I am aware that some are calling for Government to extend the PCR negative test period before boarding the flight from three (3) days to at least five (5) days.
I believe, in the context of the second wave of infections that is engulfing so many countries of Europe and America, that we have to insist on the three (3) day period.
It is better to be safe than sorry.
Indeed, across the country, Government has seen to the expansion of COVID-19 testing facilities, from the initial (2) to sixteen (16), which include those of private sector providers.
Additionally, some hospitals across the country have been equipped with the capacity to test for COVID-19.
We now have more dedicated treatment facilities for dealing with the disease, and have also improved considerably the availability of PPEs for our health workers.
It is reassuring that we no longer have news of shortages or lack of PPEs.
Through a public-private partnership, our nation is the beneficiary of a one hundred (100) bed Infectious Diseases Centre, located at the Ga East Municipal Hospital, with plans in the offing to replicate it in Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale.
In as much as we currently have no patients at the isolation centres, I express the gratitude of the nation, once again, to private and religious bodies, who provided their facilities to support the fight.
These laudable efforts have manifested the collective will of the majority of Ghanaians to rally together, irrespective of ethnic, religious or partisan political considerations, to help win this fight.
It is important for me to stress that the cost of providing for the care of most persons stricken with the virus is being borne by Government, ensuring that persons who tested positive, and were in need of healthcare, received it promptly.
The strategic, controlled, progressive, safe easing of restrictions continues, with its over-arching objective being to restore our lives and economy back to normal.
SHS 2 and JHS 2 students are back in school, as are some students in tertiary institutions and colleges.
Indeed, the academic year for new and continuing University students will commence from January 2021.
Football, the passion of the nation, will return in two-weeks; private burials, still, with a maximum of one hundred (100) persons, are being performed; and the limit on the numbers of persons who can attend conferences, workshops, and award events, has been lifted, subject to the strict adherence of Covid-19 protocols.
On the economic front, according to the Bank of Ghana, the Ghanaian economy is recovering faster than initially anticipated.
Consumer confidence is bouncing back strongly, and is today above pre-lockdown levels.
Business confidence has also increased, reflecting the improving macroeconomic conditions, stability in the exchange rate, lower input prices, moderation in lending rates, and positive industry prospects.
Consumer spending, industrial consumption of electricity, and construction activities have all reached pre-lockdown levels, whilst tourist arrivals and port harbour activity are gradually edging upwards.
So, I urge all of you, my fellow Ghanaians, to continue to comply with the strict hygiene, mask-wearing and social distancing protocols that have become part of our daily routines.
This is the surest way by which we can defeat the virus, and avoid a second wave of infections.
The outlook on our battle against COVID-19 remains optimistic, for which we thank God and you, the Ghanaian people.
It is important that we maintain this positive position, especially with a few weeks to the holding of the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections.
I have said before, let us continue to look out for one another, and remain each other’s keeper, and I am confident that, by doing so, we will emerge victorious in the fight against COVID-19.
Zero active cases must be the goal, and I have no doubt that, together, and with the help of God, this too shall pass, for the Battle is still the Lord’s.
May God bless us all and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.
Fellow Ghanaians, good evening, and thank you, once again, for letting me into your homes.
Three weeks ago, I delivered Update No.18 on the measures being taken by Government to stem the tide of COVID-19 on our shores.
I indicated that the number of recorded active cases, that is persons with the virus, was in decline, with the statistics pointing to the fact that we were on the path towards defeating the virus.Our nation, in the weeks prior to that address, had become accustomed to this downward slide of active cases.
In recent weeks,however, we have observed a gradual change in the trajectory of the virus, with an increase in active cases from the three hundred and ninety-eight (398) cases recordedthree weeks ago, to one thousand, one hundred and thirty-nine (1,139)active cases, as at Friday, 6 th November 2020.
The total number of deaths now stands at three hundred and twenty (320), a great majority of them, still, with underlying illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic liver disease, and asthma.
The number of daily infectionsison the rise, from an average of twenty-five (25) new cases per day then, to an average of over one hundred and thirty (130) new cases per day in the course of the last two weeks.
In Greater Accra, with the exception of two (2) districts, all districts have reported cases.
In contrast, we have only seen a cluster of cases in the other regions from only a handful of districts.
These figures, obviously,give cause for concern, in view of what is happening in Europe and America, following the outbreak of a second wave of infections that is engulfing so many other countries.
An analysis of the active case data suggests that the Greater Accra Region accounts for some seventy-five percent (75%), with Ashanti, Bono, Eastern, and Western being responsible for sixteen percent (16%) of active cases.
The remaining eleven (11) Regions make up four percent (4%) of the cases, with arrivals at Kotoka International Airport responsible for the other five percent (5%).
Scientists at the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens,at the University of Ghana, Legon, collaborating with the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research,who are studying the genetic make-up of the virusin Ghana, have established that the virus has not changed.
Our observation, however, is that a reduction in compliance with the preventive protocols account for the increase in infections.
Fellow Ghanaians, it appears that we are letting our guard down.
Now more than ever, we have to adhere to mask wearing, handwashing, the use of sanitizers, andsocial distancing protocols that have become a part of our daily routines, and which has ensured that we do not impose, all over again, the restrictions we are seeing in other parts of the world.
In order to help arrest this new threat of rising infections, Government is going to reaffirm the steps that have served us well so far.
We are enhancing the measures of tracing, testing and treatment, i.e.
the 3Ts.
In addition to this, we will continue to limit the importation of the virus, embark on the strategic,controlled easing of public gatherings, enhance public education and information, and continue to provide relief and support to individuals, families and businesses.
To this end, I have instructed the release of additional logistics, including vehicles, to the Ghana Health Service in order to help beef up contact tracing, and the supervision and monitoring of asymptomatic cases being managed from home.
We are also employing the use of technology to augment our contact tracing efforts, as well as the supervision and monitoring of home care cases.
With the imposition of stringent testing measures at the airport, we have, so far, been able to detect one hundred and seventy-two (172)positive cases amongst some fifty-four thousand (54,000) arriving international passengers.
The airport authorities will continue to demand that passengers arriving in the country should be in possession of a seventy-two (72)-hour old negative PCR test, and we will continue to sanction airlines that flout this directive.
The health authorities will intensify the follow-up process of arriving passengers, even when they have tested negative to help ensure we have ruled out any possible infection that may have occurred during the period of embarkation and disembarkation.
In the area of testing, I have tasked the Ministry of Health, through the Ghana Health Service, to liaise with all laboratories and testing facilities across the country to ensure that reporting procedures are ironed out and adhered to.
In as much as our hospitalisation rates are very low, care for the sick and the provision of treatment remain an important aspect of our strategy.
To this end, the one hundred-bed Ghana Infectious Diseases Centre, located at the Ga East Hospital, will be opened in the next few days, under the management of the Ghana Health Service.
The provision of adequate medicines, equipment, and personal protective equipment to enable health workers attend to home-based patients has also been guaranteed.
As you know, Government, in trying to mitigate against the effects of the pandemic, put in place a number of measures to cushion ordinary Ghanaians and businesses.
Government has extended the policy of free access to water for all households across the country until December, as well as fully absorbing electricity bills for one million active lifeline customers for the same period.
The Communication Service Tax has also been reduced from nine percent to five percent, effective September 2020.
I am happy to announce that the incentive package for health workers has been extended to the end of the year.
This means that all health workers will pay no income taxes for the months of October, November and December.
Again, all frontline health workers, as defined by the Ministry of Health, will continue to receive the additional allowance of fifty percent (50%) of their basic salary per month, for the months of October, November and December.
Fellow Ghanaians, with a month to the conduct of the 7 th December presidential and parliamentary elections, there would, obviously, be an intensification of political party activities in all parts of the country, with itsaccompanying human contact.Nevertheless, I encourage political party leaders and supporters, at the very at least, to wear the mask at all times at these gatherings.
This task is not only for the leaders of our political parties.
All of us, inthe Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, public sector, security agencies, private sector, civil society, professional and trade associations, religious bodies, traditional authorities and ordinary citizens, must do what we can, in this period, to help minimise disease transmission.
Furthermore, I urge management of organisations operating in confined, indoor spaces, such as workplaces and supermarkets, to ensure the continued adherence to all COVID-19 protocols at all times.
I have seen at first-hand how, in some regions of our country, some residents are abandoning, altogether, the protocols, such as the wearing of masks, put in place to defeat the virus.
Indeed, the high compliance rate with mask wearing of persons surveyed by the Ghana Health Service in some selected areas of Accra, for example, to which I referred optimistically in Update No.15, has, according to a new survey by the same Service, fallen alarmingly, from 44.3% to 5%.
This is not acceptable, as the enhanced hygiene and mask wearing protocols must now be central features of our lives, and they must continue to remain so for some time to come, until we see to the elimination of the virus from our country.
Let me reiterate my admonition from a few weeks ago.
Severe sanctions exist in our laws for persons who want to continue to disregard these protocols, and for those who want to endanger the rest of the population through their actions and negligence.
The law enforcement agencies will, where necessary, apply these measures without fear or favour.
Fellow Ghanaians, I am appealing to all of you to be even more disciplined in your adherence to the personal hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing measures.
We cannot afford, at this critical moment, to throw caution to the wind, and destroy the incredible amount of work undertaken by Government, health officials, heroic frontline health workers, and members of the security agencies, in bringing us this far.
It is very clear that the more we adhere to the protocols, the quicker we defeat the virus.
Fellow Ghanaians, this too shall pass!
For the Battle is Still the Lord’s!!
I thank you for your attention, and good night.
Vice President, Second Lady, Greater Accra Regional Minister, National Chief Imam, Ulama, Members of the National Council of Zongo Chiefs, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Jama, Fellow Ghanaians, Salam Alaikum!
For the second year in a row, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to celebrate the Eid virtually from the premises of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
We have to thank GBC for making this possible.
Nevertheless, we thank the Almighty God for giving us life, and giving us the opportunity, once again, to come together for the celebration of Eid ul-Fitr, 2021.
On my part, I thank the Almighty for granting me and my party, the New Patriotic Party, victory in the 2020 election, so that we can continue with our agenda of transforming our country for the benefit of all.
I also thank the Muslim community in Ghana for the continued support for our programme of transformation.
Insha Allah, I shall continue to work with you and for you for the peace, progress, and prosperity of our country.
Jama'ah, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the National Chief Imam, Shaykh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, for his exemplary leadership not only of the Muslim flock, but also of our country generally.
“He or she who does not show gratitude to humans cannot show gratitude to God” so says the Prophet Muhammad ( Sallallahu Allayhi Wa’Salam ).
The National Chief Imam is the very epitome of tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
He continues to make our country the envy of the world for its religious tolerance.
His inter and intra religious co-operation is amazing, and sets a good tone for the peaceful existence among the Christian and Moslem communities in our country, for which we owe him a great debt of gratitude.
National Chief Imam, Ulama, Jama, Fellow Ghanaians, on this Eid ul-Fitr day, it is worth reminding ourselves that our National Constitution guarantees freedom of worship for all its citizens.
Article 21 (c) states that all persons shall have the right and freedom “to practice any religion and to manifest such practice.”
It is also probably worth pointing out that religious tolerance in our country did not emerge from formal law enforcement or from the Constitution for that matter.
It is one of the admirable features of the Ghanaian that we have always had respect for each other’s belief systems.
We should be proud that our national Constitution simply reinforces these characteristics, and it should, therefore, be easy for us to uphold these basic and fundamental tenets that hold us together.
The boarding schools in our country have traditionally served as the training grounds in learning about each other, about tolerance and losing the fear of the unknown.
That is where young Ghanaians learn to eat each other’s food, that is where they learn the songs and dances of the different parts of the country, that is where they learn about each other’s religions and that is where lifelong friendships are forged.
These schools must necessarily have rules and regulations that enable them to function.
It would be a strange child that did not find some school rules irksome and then look back on them with fond nostalgia in later life.
Throughout the years, the schools have, by and large, managed to find a reasonable, balanced atmosphere to enable our young people to flourish, and this has served us well.
The schools have evolved and adapted their practices to suit the times, and I would urge that we do not turn them into the places to fight ideological and religious battles.
Our young people deserve a peaceful atmosphere to be able to deal with the many challenges of studying and acquiring knowledge.
Parents, certainly, must have a keen interest in the schools into whose care they entrust their children.
But, may I plead with all of us that we keep to the tolerance that has served us so well in matters of religion.
I am happy to state that, in the specific case of the incident at one of our greatest schools, Wesley Girls High School, which has given rise to the recent discourse on religion, the authorities, i.e., the Ministry of Education, under its new Minister, Hon.
Dr Yaw Adutwum, Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, the leaders of the Christian and Muslim Communities, and the leadership of the School, are engaged in solemn discussions about the way forward, and I am very hopeful that a satisfactory solution will be found for one and all.
I am a proud adherent of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia political tradition, which inspired the creation of the United Party that was woven together by a multiplicity of ethnicities and belief systems, including the Moslem Association Party (MAP).
During this Fourth Republic, whenever the NPP has had the privilege to govern this country, we have tried to demonstrate the beauty of the Christian and Muslim leadership mix at the helm of affairs.
From John Agyekum Kufuor to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, this blend has proven to be a blessing for the fortunes and forward movement of our country.
National Chief Imam, Ulama, Jama'ah, to ensure that we build an inclusive society that creates opportunity for all, I promised to establish the Zongo Development Fund.
We lived up to our promise.
Today, the Zongo Development Fund continues to pursue an aggressive policy of development in Zongo communities across the country, and we shall not relent until we even out the development equation between Zongo communities and other communities of our country.
Under the operations of the Fund and the erstwhile Ministry of Inner-City and Zongo Development, we have delivered impressive development projects in the Zongo communities and tackled, in particular, the problem of formal education.
Along with other Ghanaian children, Moslem children are now assured of basic education up to secondary school level to prepare them better for life.
Please ignore the sad falsehood being propagated that we have given up on the Zongo development agenda.
The reality on the ground shows, clearly, we are on track.
The Zongo Development Fund, which has been the instrument for the transformation of Zongo communities, led by the hard-working Sulemana Arafat, is as vibrant as ever and focused on the Zongo Transformation Agenda.
Indeed, the Ministry has now been brought directly under the supervision of the Presidency, which is going to have the former Member of Parliament for Offinso South, Hon.
Ben Abdallah, as its Co-ordinator.
Together with my Vice President, your own Alhaji Dr.
Mahamudu Bawumia, we will guide its work, and ensure the highest standards of commitment from its operatives.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has brought to us, like to the rest of the world, many challenges in the running of the economy, which has entailed some temporary difficulties.