The Minister of Information Hon. Mustapha Hamid was the guest, this week for the NPP's Political show "Delivering on our Promises" hosted by Ekow Vincent Assafuah on Home Base TV, every Tuesday night from 8-10pm.

The Minister elaborated on the structural adjustments that have been done at his Ministry and the progress of the Akufo-Addo government in a year.

Reviving the Information Service Department

He said the Ministry has revived the Information Service Department which was established by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, our first President.

It was almost dead when the NPP party came to power, it had been left unattended to for about 10 years. In 2016, only 10,000 cedis was allocated for its activities.

Hon Mustapha Hamid, went ahead to say that, the Information Service Department (ISD) is relevant to the development of Ghana and as such, we ensured that we paid much attention to the ISD at the District ISD, Regional ISD and National ISDs.

According to the Minister, 181 district Information Officers out of the 216 districts in Ghana are functional today.

The Minister also explained that they have met with all the 181 district officers to educate them on the budget and other pertinent issues concerning the development of our Country. The Ministry then tasked them to provide weekly reports on the progress of work at their various districts.

"We decided not to make the ISD partisan when we assumed power and we have achieved that. We're bent on making governance an everyday matter and not just about going to the people during election years" -- Hon Mustapha Hamid

Ghana Today Magazine by the Information Service Department

On the Ghana Today Magazine, the Minister of Information stated that the Ghana Today magazine issued by the information services department is a major tool in keeping in touch with the people. This magazine was not used for the last 10yrs, the more reason why the erstwhile NDC government resorted to the Green Book which was from the party's structure.

Town Hall Meetings

On Town Hall Meetings, the Minister of Information, Hon Mustapha Hamid stated that the Ministry has organized 100 town hall meetings for 2017 alone, to ask for the challenges at their various districts. The Minister stated that they plan to organise 200 town hall meetings for the year 2018.He stated that the Ministry want people to see their government officials frequently so that they can update them on challenges of their districts and not necessarily just meeting them close to elections, a practice which doesn't promote good governance.

The town hall meeting is the first of its kind in our motherland, introduced by the Ministry of Information. The motive of the town hall meeting is to get feedback from citizens on government policies to allow for corrective actions where need be.

The Establishment of National Call Centre

On the Establishment of National Call Centre, the Minister stated that they plan to set up a National Call centre at the Information Ministry in a few weeks. The National Communication Authority has approved toll-free numbers for all networks. This is to aid Ghanaians call to volunteer information of the happenings across the country to help government address pertinent issues in real time."

The Introduction of Media Monitoring Centre at the Information Ministry

The ministry has also set up the Media Monitoring Centre, to follow the activities of every single media outlet in this Country. This also another innovation geared towards harnessing the processes of information handling across the country.

The team gives early details of issues on radio/tv station and first-hand information of happenings on media houses in Ghana.

He also spoke about the achievements of the Akufo-Addo led administration. Free SHS is a reality today, NHIS has been revamped as promised, the trainees' allowances have been paid, paperless port systems, planting for food and jobs, to mention but a few.

Answering a question on the personality of H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he said, I characterize Nana Addo in 3 seeds;

1. Compassionate

2. Committed

3. Competent

A leader should have these 3 seeds for the development of his/her people.

Nana Addo over the years had had the desire to promote education in Ghana and the social wellbeing of the people, his penchant for fighting corruption continues to be loud. In 2008, Nana Addo went round all African countries to have first-hand information on the development issues and challenges of their countries.

The government is on track and we shall continue to make Ghanaians proud of the overwhelming endorsement in the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, he said.