General News of Thursday, 8 February 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-02-08
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will present his second State of the Nation Address today
The President is set to deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament this morning, in fulfilment of Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution.
This will be Nana Akufo-Addo’s second Address and he is expected to itemise sector by sector the general health of the country and outline policies and programmes to facilitate the country’s socio-economic development in his second State of the Nation Address.
He will also outline strategies to deal with challenges that his administration encountered in the implementation of critical policies.
The sectors that are expected to be covered in the address include education, agriculture, energy and health.
President Akufo-Addo is expected to give an update on the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) education policy and the restoration of the teachers and nurses training allowances.
For agriculture, the President is expected to focus implementation of his government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs Programme.
Furthermore, power generation and the cost of electricity are also expected to feature prominently in the energy sector exposition.
The sustainability of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in terms of financial commitments to clear arrears owed service providers and contractors might be a focus in the health sector.
The President is also likely to touch on other flagship policies such as the One-District, One-Factory and the One-Village, One-Dam.
Expectations
Some Ghanaians have Joy News they are looking forward to hearing the President talk about corruption, while others have mentioned rising insecurity as among their major concerns.
Security expert, Dr Kwesi Aning, has said he expects security to be crucial in President Nana Akufo-Addo’s second State of the Nation Address.
He said it is security that creates the enabling environment for whatever development programmes the government had to be able to take-off.
Some vehicle spare parts dealers at Abossey-Okai in Accra have complained about ‘nuisance taxes’ the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) government promised to cancel.
The spare parts dealers rallied significant support for the NPP in the run up to the 2016 elections that brought Akufo-Addo to the Flagstaff House.
For prominent legal practitioner, Professor Kwaku Asare, the SONA must “address the plight of terminal LLB graduates and the arrogance of the unruly GLC.”
Meanwhile, a Deputy Information Minister says the President’s Address to Parliament Thursday will be heavy on jobs and the economy.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will also make definite comments on some of the major social intervention programmes the government is executing already.