Govt rolls out 104 policies — Veep

Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia rendered an account of the government’s 100 days in office yesterday, saying it had succeeded in rolling out 104 policies and programmes aimed at transforming the country.

He said although the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo did not promise to make substantial progress within its first 100 days in office, efforts to steer the country onto the path of progress, growth and prosperity were commendable.

He said the government inherited a very difficult economy and assured the people of Ghana of its ability to cure the challenges that had bedeviled it, even in the face of critics describing that as mission impossible.

Addressing a Town Hall meeting on the government’s performance in its 100 days in office in Accra, Dr Bawumia said per the 104 achievements, it was consequential to say that just like the one district, one factory policy, the government had succeeded in chalking up one achievement every day over the 100-day period.

He said Ghanaians overwhelmingly voted for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 2016 polls at the time when real gross domestic product (GDP) was on the decline, with attendant power crisis, continued depreciation of the cedi against the major international trading currencies, unbridled inflation, high cost of borrowing and a substantial national debt.

Taxes

He was enthused in recounting that the government had succeeded, within the period, in abolishing taxes such as the petroleum levy, kayayei taxes and the five per cent real estate tax and reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) charged on a number of services and goods.

“We have created a lot of fiscal space by capping earmarked funds. We were headed into a ditch before this. We are now replacing more expensive debt with less expensive debt; long-term debt with short-term debt,” he added.

He said inflation had been reduced from 15 per cent to 12 per cent within 100 days, saying the cedi was running before the government came in.

“Now we have arrested it,” he noted.

The free senior high school (SHS) promise, he said, would become a reality in September, while a draft bill for a National Research Fund had been completed.

Fiscal discipline

The government, in its strenuous efforts to restore fiscal discipline and macro stability, had replaced the 17.5 per cent VAT/National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) rate with a flat rate of three per cent for traders and granted capital gains tax exemption on stocks traded on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) or publicly held securities approved by the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), the Vice-President said.

He said the 2017 budget returned Ghana on to the path of fiscal consolidation, with a budget deficit target of 6.5 per cent of GDP.

The government, he explained, created fiscal space by capping of earmarked funds to 25 per cent of government revenue and realigning expenditures to government priorities.

Previously, he said, only two marketing companies were allowed by the previous government to supply premix fuel but added that the current government had opened the market to many oil marketing companies to bring about transparency.

He announced that by July 1, 2017, the sulphur content in the fuel used in the country would be drastically reduced in order to address the respiratory infections that Ghanaians suffered due to the presence of high sulphur in the emissions from vehicles.

He also reported that the government had completed the first draft of the co-ordinated programme of the economic and social development policies, saying that even though it was supposed to be done within two years, it had been done in three months.

Digital address

The Vice-President announced that soon a digital addressing system would be outdoored that would ensure that every house had a digital address to ensure that developmental and revenue generation plans went on smoothly.

To ensure that accomplishment, he said, expression of interest for the procurement and subsequent implementation of a Digital Property Addressing System for Ghana had been issued.

So far, he said, USD$456m had been allocated for the implementation of the one district, one factory project, while the exchange rate had gone down, lending rate reduced, inflation reduced drastically and the planting for food and jobs programme being launched to ensure food security and address youth unemployment.

The government, he said, had capped the price of power and that Ghanaians would not pay more than $0.10 per kilowatt hour for power.

On energy, Dr Bawumia said the government had saved USD$300m by reviewing and prioritising power purchase agreements, adding: “We have saved USD$5m by ensuring uninterrupted power supply.”

From now on, he said, the country would not accept any thermal power and that  the focus was on ensuring the use of renewable energy.

He said for the first time since independence, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire had agreed to collaborate to tackle the volatility of cocoa prices, saying that in view of that, Ghana was going to pay the same price of cocoa as Cote d’Ivoire.

Vice-President Bawumia said the government had fully honoured the debt owed Nigeria by way of gas supply to the country, adding that it was positioning the country to be the destination of choice for many airlines that had left Ghana, as well as attract new ones.

To that end, he said, a draft bill for the New Companies Act to enable companies to be registered in less than 24 hours, instead of the usual three to four weeks, was in the offing and expected to be presented to Parliament when it reconvened.

The government, he said, had awarded a contract for the training of 1,400 teachers in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), while the capitation grant for public basic schools had been increased by 100 per cent.

Other achievements of the government within its first 100 days, he said, included the hiring of 1,200 agricultural extension officers to support the implementation of the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme, the reduction of fertilizer prices by 50 per cent, the importation of 300,000 metric tonnes of fertilizers,  the highest import since 2007; the establishment of a safety audit unit at the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to conduct safety audits across tourist sites and the formation of the Creative Arts Council.

Some others initiatives of the government in its 100 days in office, he said, involved the launch of a presidential museum at the Christianborg Castle, the halting of the issuance of fishing licences to stop over-fishing, the training of watch dog committees along the coast to fight the menace of light fishing, the stepping up of national awareness, in collaboration with the media and civil society, of the negative impacts of illegal mining and halting the issuance of special permits for timber logging.

In view of the importance attached to the environment, Dr Bawumia said, the government had suspended the issuance of small-scale mining licences to restructure the sector and also developed a five-year Multilateral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP) to improve the management of small-scale mining.

Other key interventions in that sector, he said, included identifying prospective areas for small-scale mining, surveillance over water bodies using drones, the establishment of a central processing plant for gold processing, the introduction of medium-scale licences, where Ghanaians ought to own at least 51 per cent, and a ban on small-scale mining in or near water bodies.

Zongo and Inner City Development

On Zongo and Inner City Development, Dr Bawumia said the government had completed the draft bill for the historic Zongo Development Fund and made an allocation of GHc219 million into the fund.

Also, he said for the first time in the history of the country, the government had established a Ministry of Zongo and Inner City Development and appointed a minister to focus on the needs and infrastructural demands of Zongos around the country.

Accountability achievements

To ensure accountability, he said, policy approval had been given to establish the Office of the Special Prosecutor and that work on the draft bill was in progress.

He recounted that when the government took office, state prosecutors had been on strike since November 2016, a development which had crippled the justice system, noting that the Attorney-General’s Office had successfully negotiated with the state attorneys, who had since resumed work. The government had also successfully freed up the A-G's account that the courts had garnisheed.

Vice-President Bawumia also said with satisfaction that all allowances due soldiers in the various missions abroad had been fully paid and that in all USD$39 million in arrears had been cleared, while peacekeeping allowance for those who go on peacekeeping missions had been increased from $31 to $35.

The country, he said, successfully participated in the ECOMOG operations in The Gambia and the restoration of democracy in that country, while helping to ensure peace and stability.

Gender and Social Protection

The government of Nana Akufo-Addo, he said, had also established the first government adult shelter to support victims of human trafficking.

He said there was shelter for victims of domestic abuse, but the latest was the first ever shelter dedicated to victims of human trafficking, in addition to the establishment of a revolving GH?500,000 human trafficking fund.

The Vice-President said budgetary allocation had been made to expand the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme to cover more beneficiaries from 213,000 to 350,000 households, adding that the allocation would cater for households which had been captured but not catered for.

Special initiatives

As part of efforts to ensure the uniform development of the country, he said, draft bills had been completed for the establishment of three development authorities for the northern, southern and coastal areas of the country.

Also, the clearing of silt in the major drains in Accra which stalled due to arrears owed to contractors had recommenced, he said, adding that funding had been secured for two major rural electrification projects to extend electricity to over 800 communities.

Dr Bawumia said there was no allocation to the railway sector in the 2016 budget, but in 2017, GH?518 million had been allocated to the sector and that the Ghana Railway Company was now generating enough revenue to pay its salaries.

He said the government had also reduced the cost of nursing training admission forms from GH?160 to GH?100, which would cover all processes leading to admission.

Additionally, he said, nursing training allowance had been restored, while financial clearance was being secured to employ 181 doctors who completed their housemanship seven months ago.

He announced that terms of reference had been completed to enable the selection of auditors on a competitive basis to undertake a forensic audit of the fire outbreak at the Central Medical Stores in Tema in January 2016.

Stimulus package for industry

By way of stimulating private sector growth, the government, he said, had also allocated GH?220 million to support distress but viable companies around the country

He said an intervention had also been made to ensure the reopening of Rider Steel Company which was closed in October 2016 because of a dispute over electricity tariffs, a measure that had helped to save about 400 jobs

The process of issuing national identification cards had begun and a technical committee report had been submitted, the Vice-President said.

 

Also, he said, contracts had been awarded for an information management system for the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General and for a case management system for the Judicial Service of Ghana, adding that the software was currently being installed, while an e-procurement system for use by the Public Procurement Authority was in the offing.

Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia rendered an account of the government’s 100 days in office yesterday, saying it had succeeded in rolling out 104 policies and programmes aimed at transforming the country.

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