ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
This is a consequence of a failed educational system that does not provide them with the requisite skills and a structurally rigid economy that simply cannot generate the large pool of good jobs with good pay.
It will be suicidal on the part of policy makers if they do not act with urgency to address this crucial matter.
The third challenge is a cultural and intellectual one.
It is about our society and its value system.
It is about our individual and collective commitment to Ghana’s wellbeing.
How strong do we live by our values?
And what are these values, really?
We must garner the courage to elevate the operative principles and standards of our society.
After all our daily prayers and finger pointing, why do we allow the paying of bribes to be a tolerable social behavior?
So far we have devalued our values to allow people to get away with it.
It is time to be deliberate in setting a higher bar for ourselves and, especially, for our leaders.
We can succeed if we build a stronger sense of national pride, a greater sense of unity, a stricter sense of responsibility, and a richer sense of genuine ownership among Ghanaians.
In our homes, in our communities, in our workplaces, we must encourage the development of a set of patriotic values that push us to do more; reward creativity and success, and, above all, make the creation of an equitable society of opportunities and aspirations for every Ghanaian, irrespective of the circumstances of birth, the bedrock of our nation building.
We must build and be seen to be building a Ghana for all Ghanaians.
I say this because we need to maintain hope and confidence of our people in the capacity of our democracy to deliver.
Leaders from all fronts of our society should do more to let Ghanaians know that public leadership is a vehicle for the pursuit of the common good and not for self-enrichment.
And, I want to see that paradigm shift in my lifetime.
THE YOUTH BULGE According to Ghana’s 2010 national census, 16.5 million Ghanaians, some 66.65% of the population, were below the age of 30.
Africa, generally, has the youngest population in the world.
If we plan well, the youth bulge will become a demographic dividend.
However, as one writer warns us, “if a large cohort of young people cannot find employment and earn satisfactory income, the youth bulge will become a demographic bomb, because a large mass of frustrated youth is likely to become a potential source of social and political instability.”
(Justin Yifu Lin, former World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics).
That is why I remain absolutely convinced that we should dedicate revenues from our new oil wealth to investing in our youth.
Education and skills training are the most important source of empowering and providing opportunities to the youth.
Currently, at every stage of Ghana’s education, our children are falling out of the system.
Over 60% of those who make it to primary school do not make it to secondary school.
We are conscripting, year after year, a future army of unemployable adults.
This is dangerous Ghana deserves a leadership that thinks of the next generation, not the next election.
This is the reason behind the priority proposal to redefine basic education and make it free and compulsory from Kindergarten to Senior High School.
No child must be denied access to quality education.
For this generation, in the context of mass poverty, the responsibility for ensuring that lies on the state.
Ghana’s problem is essentially the African problem, a producer of primary products and an importer of finished goods.
The structure of our economies has not changed much.
We have merely shifted from importing finished products from the West to importing them more and more from the East.
The share of primary products in total exports from Africa increased from about 72% in 2000 to about 78% in 2011, with crude oil accounting for 51% and 57%, respectively, and the share of manufactured goods declining from 21% to 16% over the same period.
Statistics from other economies tell it better: in 2010, manufacturing contributed to 32.9% of exports from Brazil, 82.7% in Germany, 85.3% in South Korea, and 93.2% in China.
Ghana’s dependency on raw materials has grown even more than the continental average.
In 1928, at the departure of Gordon Guggisberg, the colonial governor responsible for building the nation’s infrastructure to serve the Gold Coast economy, 70% of our foreign exchange earnings were from gold, cocoa and timber.
In 2012, cocoa, gold and oil accounted for 82.2% of total exports.
Currently, the cedi, Ghana’s currency, has been competing with David Moyes, the Manchester United coach, in being the butt of many jokes.
In response, the Central Bank recently announced a series of controversial exchange control measures to save the cedi.
But, beyond having an economy managed by a competent team, the structural weakness of that economy must be fixed to keep the currency predictably stable.
A FUTURE OF FRACKING AND VALUE-ADDITION The philosophy for the future of our economy can be summed up in two words: value addition.
Whether it is in agriculture, tourism, the arts, banking or manufacturing, the goal is to add value to what we do.
The good news is that Ghana, since oil production began in December 2010, has consistently registered some of the highest economic growth rates in the world.
The bad news: it has not been accompanied by a rapid increase of jobs.
The signals are bad enough to wake us up, change course, and travel the road of structural transformation.
10 years ago, it was envisioned that Africa would account for 25% of all US crude oil imports by 2015, registering a ten-percentage point increase in the process.
Today, there are uncertainties over Africa’s future status as a pillar of global energy security.
This is because the centre of gravity of oil production over the next two decades will see significant shifts because of shale gas and tight oil.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is allowing the US and Canada to tap unconventional oil and gas deposits which they could not reach just a few years ago, thereby reducing substantially their dependence on petroleum imports.
The British government also recently announced support for fracking in Britain and in offshore waters, to ease a reliance on foreign oil and gas.
The energy revolution that fracking brings only adds greater urgency to the need for Africa, which produces nearly 20% of global oil, to prioritise the process of diversifying its economies.
Simply put, the Guggisberg economic model cannot crank us into the future.
We must diversify to remain economically relevant in the 21st century.
It is important to note that the digital revolution has not fundamentally dislodged manufacturing as the main engine of growth and catch up.
The empirical association between the degree of industrialisation and per capita income in developing countries has been re-stated by a recent extensive, corroborative study done by Harvard and MIT scholars, Ricardo Hausmann and Cesar A. Hidalgo ('The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Mapping Paths to Prosperity'], which covered the economies of nearly every nation in the world over the past 60 years.
Their study shows that the path to prosperity is still in building the knowledge and capabilities necessary to manufacture goods and make things.
I believe with a clear policy framework, laced with incentives, the same entrepreneurial spirit that gets our people to travel to China, Germany, Turkey, USA and the UK to buy manufactured goods to sell can be recalibrated for them to import capital inputs that will make us finish the goods back home.
What is required is a leadership committed to this transformation agenda; a leadership that can take society along that must-travel highway.
Just like 57 years ago when Ghana took the lead in the struggle for freedom from colonial rule, today, Ghana has what it takes to be at the forefront of the industrialisation agenda.
By 2030, West Africa is projected to grow to some half a billion people.
This requires economic policies that can weave together our numerous resources with our talents and energy to turn our nation into an economic powerhouse, generating employment for our people.
The strengthening and transformation of ECOWAS into a genuine regional market has to be a major goal of Ghanaian public policy in this decade.
VALUE FOR MONEY To succeed in industrialising Ghana we must show a far greater seriousness in building the nation’s infrastructure, including housing, transport, power, water, irrigation, and ICT.
I believe we could have done much more recently even with the limited resources available.
A major impediment to this is the worrying deficit in value-for-money when it comes to public procurements.
The World Bank and Government of Ghana estimate a funding gap of some US$2 billion per annum to meet Ghana’s infrastructural needs.
Yet, we managed to register a record budget deficit of nearly US$4bn in 2012, which occurred without meeting our spending targets for infrastructural development in that election year.
Two years on, our new Finance Minister is still struggling to plug that fiscal hole instead of spending his vital energies to help transform our economy.
Efficient management of government resources and projects is needed to develop greater confidence in the economy.
As the experiences of the successful countries in Asia and elsewhere have shown, government has a very important and positive role to play in spurring industrialisation and economic transformation.
It needs not be state-owned; it needs rather the vision, commitment and intelligent support of the state.
There is a lot that is right about Ghana and about us, as Ghanaians.
We are enjoying the longest period of stability since 1957.
We are a democratic nation with a God-fearing people proud of their freedoms.
Our country is rich in human and mineral resources.
We can draw on a significant number of educated, hardworking and enterprising people, both at home and abroad.
Ours is a nation with a positive international image on a continent that is finally but slowly being taken seriously.
We are hailed as a model of democracy and stability in our region.
We have a young, dynamic population ready to define their own destiny.
What they want are the opportunities to grow and make it happen.
We must re-imagine what Ghana can be like in the 21st century and re-dedicate ourselves to building that new Ghana.
We can build a United Ghana even in a fiercely competitive democratic environment.
A Ghana where there is tolerance and mutual respect for divergent views, where religious freedom is stoutly championed.
A Ghana where politicians do not exploit our ethnic differences for electoral gains.
A Ghana where rules are obeyed by both leaders and the led.
Our country has everything it needs to progress.
Ghana is ready and so must its leaders be.
I am confident that the future for Ghana is brighter than the dream of 1957 and I know that this century is the era of our manifestation.
• God bless Ghana !
God bless Africa !
God bless us all !
The Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic was constituted on midnight of January 6, 2017, ahead of the official swearing-in of President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo, on Saturday, January 7.
The new Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, who was sworn-in by the Chief Justice, Georgina Wood, urged the 182 new entrants to be actively involved in debates in the House.
"I encourage new entrants to prepare and present statements on any issue of interest.
Apply the Question Time well.
Your brilliant visibility will affect your re-election.
I will meet with leadership on this and seek support of the leading Think Tanks in Ghana to help you deliver.
A comprehensive mentoring process is vital for improved performance," he said during his inaugural speech Read below the full text of Professor Mike Oquaye's inaugural address to the newly constitued Parliament.
INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY RT.
HON.
MICHAEL AARON OQUAYE SPEAKER OF THE 7 TH PARLIAMENT OF THE FOURTH REPUBLIC I ntroduction Your Ladyship the Chief Justice, My Lords Spiritual and temporal, Hon.
Members of Parliament-Elect, Your Excellencies, Nananom, Nii mei, Naamei, Political Parties R epresentatives, Press Corp, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
In the first place I thank the Almighty God for the great favour He has reposed in me.
I thank the entire leadership of my Party including the President-elect, the Vice President-elect and the MPs for their support.
I also have to thank the Clerk of Parliament for guiding the House up to this time.
His priceless guidance will further be valued in future It is a great honour to be nominated and elected as Speaker of this Honourable House.
I see my presence here as a home-coming albeit with a greater responsibility.
I am grateful to all who reposed resounding trust in me to make this possible.
I pray to the Almighty God that I shall su ccessfully travel the path pursued by various Speakers and begun by the legal luminary Rt.
Quist also from my hometown Osu, Accra.
I wish to congratulate all of you Hon.
Members for winning your seats.
It is a unique opportunity to serve our dear nation.
I look forward to maximizing the opportunities for every member to contribute.
I trust the experienced ones will mentor the up-coming.
Those who sit in front should please learn to look behind them to allow others to contribute and remember that whereas they cannot normally see from the back of their heads I have been placed on this platform so that everyone can catch my eye.
I intend to be fair to all and therefore seek your understanding in advance.
I encourage new entrants to prepare and present statements on any issue of interest.
Your brilliant visibility will affect yo ur re-election.
A comprehensive mentoring process is vital for improved performance.
I need to remind the new MPs that t he highly procedural nature of P arliament calls for an equally high level of commitment to the rules and procedures of the institution.
Serious learning will therefore have to be undertaken to sharpen your competencies in order to function optimally.
To the majority, let me remin d you that we have a two-party P arliament heavily dominated by you.
There is however the need to be guided by high ethical consideration so that we do not relapse into ultra majoritarianism, a symptom of the tyranny of the majority.
We will encourage healthy debates.
To the minority, even though most parliamentary business is organized on majoritarian principle, the time-honored rights of minority to open, frank, fair and honest debate so as to make your case and offer constructive alternatives will be respected under my stewardship.
Both the majority and the minority must be guided by the mandate given to the government to build a vibrant society anchored on the principles of fairness and equality of opportunities.
The promotion of good governance requires a parliament that can effectively perform the three cardinal functions of representation , oversight regarding the executive and law making.
Our ability to control public ex penditure will be good service to our people.
Ghanaians everywhere are looking up to P arliament and government for the solutions to the problems that confron t them on daily basis.
Our people expect us to help fix the economy, provide jobs for the unemployed, improve access and quality of education, hea lth care and generally give them hope.
This P arliament is for the people of Ghana and they want us to be honest accountable and responsive to their needs.
I ask for cooperation from all and sundry to make our stewardship a success.
Challenges T he Fourth Republic Parliament has been seeking to re-establish its role as a key public institution T he challen ges have been myriad.
During the dark days after independence a nytime a coup occurred Parliament was dissolved while the Executive continued, even if in a different shape.
This instability has affected the development of Parliament.
When Parliament reconvened in 1993 after several years of military rule , for example, only one member had been an MP before.
Hence institutional memory was negligible.
Strides have since been made and we congratulate all those who have helped the process of restoration of the idea l s, beliefs and values of Parliamentary democracy in the Fourth Republic .
Nevertheless, a huge task still remains ahead of us and I trust we shall rise to the occasion.
Standing Orders Parliament operates by Rules and Procedures called the ‘Standing Orders” .
Incidentally, in Parliament itself it is generally agreed that there is the need to revise the rules as a whole.
Committees have been set up to revise these rules but for over a decade, the process has stalled.
Sometimes proceedings become jerky in the House as leaders and members recall conflicting experience s from memory.
I am committed to completing this lingering exercise and I will take this up with the leadership soon.
In this connection, there is another issue to tackle - rulings of Speakers in the past will be captured to serve as guidance and precedents for smooth operation of the House.
The Indian example, is thorough, published together as “Rulings from the Chair”.
I will make copies of the full series available so that we should have Ghanaian precedents well recorded for posterity.
This is how institutions grow scientifically, systematically and with responsibility Private Members Bills The controversy relating to private members bills should be resolved.
It is tragic that current ly, it appears to us that Members of Parliament cannot initiate legislation independent of the Executive.
Article 108 of the Constitution provides that once a bill has financial implications, it can only be introduced by the Executive.
The narrow view has been taken that every bill has financial implications including the paper on which it is printed and the Clerks who work on it who are paid by government.
Hence only governments can initiate legislation.
This should change.
We learnt th e practice from the UK Parliament.
The principle was that the Commons would not give to the King/Queen, monies that the Crown had not asked for.
But over the years the British Parliament has developed means of allowing private members to introduce legislation.
Recent studies I have made show that t here are a number of pro cedures whereby Private Members may initiate bills Certainly, the Executive cannot sit asid e while Parliament alone passes laws which impose obligations which the Executive cannot meet.
We shall broaden our horizon in the lawmaking process to benefit our people.
If a Private Members Bill seeks to make a law that will tighten the strangle- hold on corruption, how can that per se be a charge on the public purse?
How will a law that protects our women, children and persons with disability better per se be a charge on public funds?
I do not see how laws which protect our environment, improve upon our tax collection be inimical to the public purse?
Indeed if Parliament should introduce a law which will enha nce the collection of revenue by the GRA, we shall be contributing to the public purse not a liability regarding same.
The introduction of Private Members Bills will release the best of the innermost capacities of Hon.
Members, broaden the horizons of the Members and gain the respect of the populace.
Members, I challenge you to help improve our laws on elections.
We have a lot to learn from others, including Kenya who learnt the hard way after brutal post-election civil war.
To sanitize the system, they enacted “The Electoral Offences Act”.
We should copy and improve upon it.
Let me give you few example s .
Why should our law allow any two adults who are registered to vote, to stand in for a person whose age or nationality is in doubt?
Why should just any two people be allowed to do this?
If you do not stand in loco parentis , how do you tell the age of a person you hardly know?
We shall define only a small category of persons who can give guarantee.
They should swear to an affidavit verifying the truth and should be jailed for 5 years if caught in falsehood .
Will this not be a deterrent?
Those who steal ballot boxes, those found with ballot papers and who commit other electoral offences should be jailed for 5 years.
This House can introduce such law to help save this Republic and that will not be a charge on the consolidated fund.
Committee System The capacity and scope of the Committee s of Parliament deserve attention.
The Committee is the workshop of Parliament.
When Committees are weak, Parliament is seriously dented.
Bi-partisanship is the hallmark.
Not only should Committees be sharp in their routine tasks, but also, they should exercise singular initiative in enquiring into all matters of public interest from Arch a eology to Zoology.
This inquisitorial power of Parliament will be applied to its logical conclusion.
The Committees should be fully equipped to work.
The Committees are closely related to the powers of Parliament as a House of Inquisition.
In England, in 2012, the Committee on Education in the House of Commons quickly sprang into action when poor Advanced level examination results rocked the nation.
It was a pleasure to read the entire proceedings and the effect it had on the British System.
Parliament can act proactively, responsively and with appropriate capacity on issues relating to health, education, agriculture , oil etc.
This development should take place to enhance the capacity of the institution and good governance as a whole.
It will enable Parliament to help in the fight against corruption and thereby protect the public purse.
I urge Honourable Members that no work of CHRAJ, a Presidential Commission or others sh ould est op Parliament in the exercise of its inquisitorial powers.
Deference may only be given to cases pending before Courts of competent jurisdiction We should look forward t o the day when Parliament as a House of I nquisition will develop capacity akin to a Senatorial Enquiry in the USA where every topmost state official can be summoned and questioned in the interest of the state.
We can enhance our system and serve our people better.
Boycotts and Walkout s T hese have become too fashionable in our system.
I trust this House will develop systems of accommodation, tolerance and openness that will minimize this practice to the barest minimum.
We should commission a study to document all such boycotts and walkouts; how long each lasted; reasons for staging them; and make an assessment of their impact on the growth and development of democracy in Ghana.
Some recommendations on how to forestall such boycotts and walkouts as well as their management when they do occur , I believe w ould be sponsored by our partners in due course.
Record Keeping Our library, record keeping process and related activities need modernization.
Parliament today does not keep any record whatsoever of how individuals vote.
This is in sharp contrast with the US system and other jurisdictions which have detailed record of all Senate voting.
President Obama ’ s Voting Record became an issue and an asset in his victory.
Both President-elect Nana Akufo- Addo and President Mahama , though very successful former MPs, had no such record to show in their presidential bid of 2012 and 2016 It would have been interesting and most useful to have such record.
How did they vote on issues relating to gender, children, environment, rights of persons with disability etc?
Such matters enhance the politics of issues and devalue the politics of vituperation.
The record-keeping system has several advantages: i) Sharpens the responsibilities of individual members as they build a record for their future political career; ii) Makes legislators aware that they are being critically watched; iii) It highlights issues and makes MPs respond to specific issues; iiii) It is an avenue towards promoting Private Members Bills in the Legislature; v) It helps the assessment of MPs generally through specific data collection This is the Parliament that Ghanaians want to see as we enhance the parameters of democracy in our dear nation.
Parliamentarians and Their Constituents A question worth asking is: what do constituents expect from MPs?