President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that his administration will continue to implement prudent fiscal measures to quicken the pace of fiscal consolidation.

He told Parliament during the presentation of his last State of the Nation Address (SoNA) in his first term on Tuesday January 5 that in March this year, the Minister for Finance will go to Parliament to provide further details on the measures to be taken to restore the country to the path of economic recovery from the effect of the coronavirus.

“Government, in four years, has recorded a number of significant milestones in our quest to formalise and modernise the Ghanaian economy,” he said.

“We believe it is the fairest and fastest way to achieve our goals. The National Identity Card rollout, the National Digital Property Addressing System, the interoperability of mobile money transactions, the introduction of the paperless operations at the port, e-business registration system, and access to digital financial services are all part of the drive to formalise our economy, and enhance its productivity.

“For years, there had been unhappiness and, sometimes, agitation on the subject of the geographic delineation of regions in the country. In the particular case of what was to become the Oti region, their demand for a new region stretched back to more than sixty (60) years. We decided that we needed to resolve these matters to be able to bring governance nearer to the people.

“The constitutional process for the creation of new regions was put in place, and, after the petitions and stakeholder consultations, the people in the identified areas had the opportunity to vote in historic referenda.

“There were overwhelming approvals for the “Yes” vote in the referenda held in forty-seven (47) districts, across four existing regions. This led to the creation of six (6) new regions, and we now have sixteen (16) instead of the ten (10) regions that existed at the start of my administration.

“Four years ago, it sounded recklessly optimistic, but Free SHS and Free TVET are now entrenched parts of our educational setup. In a few years’ time, we can guarantee that the basic education for the workforce in our country would be at the secondary level. It is a transformational step we have taken, which should quicken the pace of development all round, and give us confidence in our future.

“In 2017, it appeared to some like the same old refrain when we said farmers and agriculture would get the highest priority. But we can see the difference it makes when a government treats farmers with respect, and spends resources and expertise on agriculture.”