Opinions of Saturday, 18 January 2014

Columnist: Darkwah, Joel Ayim

President Mahama’s Public Forum

The President of the Republic of Ghana met journalist last week to let us know what his government has been doing and where they are heading to. From the four-paged speech he read to the media, I have carefully arranged them for all to see what our leaders have been doing so far. As a loyal Ghanaian, let me know what you think. Has our leadership performed well? And do they have a good vision for us as a country?

Read and share your views.

Achievements in 2013
1. Government placed a moratorium on new award of new projects to reduce the deficit
2. Continuous implementation of the single spine salary structure,
3. Improved ministerial responsibility and accountability by having ministers sign performance contracts
4. Installation of pre-paid meters in government offices and bungalows to reduce
5. Progress in resolving a number chieftaincy disputes.
6. Decisive measures taken to deal with illegal mining.
7. In Parliament, Government has acted quickly to present and support many important but long-delayed bills, including the Right To Information Bill.
8. Government re-committed itself to the fight against corruption, by and monitoring strong anti-corruption initiatives.
9. Load-shedding - that resulted in many days of power outages, has been curtailed.

Challenges in 2013
1. Fire outbreaks
2. Eight-month-long election petition hearing evidenced by slow growth, postponed investment decisions, and delay of release of pledged donor funds.
3. Industrial strike actions
4. A wage bill that continues to exert pressure on the budget

Agenda for 2014
1. Focus on implementing policies that generate jobs, especially for our youth.
2. In the area of education, government has laid some strong and steady foundations for the construction of a good number of senior high schools.

BY: JOEL AYIM DARKWAH.