Some rice farmers at work
PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO has tipped the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ)
programme to help reduce the importation of rice into Ghana.
Last year, through the programme, 785,000 tons of rice was milled.
Speaking at the Results Fair organized by the Ministry of Monitoring
and Evaluation, Tuesday in Accra, he said, “By 2022 our country would be
self-sufficient in the production of rice. We have also had two bumper years of
produce, and, last year, we did not import, unlike in previous years, a single
grain of maize. On the contrary, we are now a net exporter of food stuffs.”
1D1F
Under this component, the president said so far, 181 factories were being
constructed and were at different stages of completion across the country.
“Currently 58 factories, under the scheme, are functioning. Another 26
are under construction, with another 26 pipeline projects set to commence
implementation by the first quarter of 2020. In addition to the implementation
of the automotive policy, with the setting up of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium
Development Corporation (GIADEC) and the Ghana Iron and Steel Development
Corporation (GISDEC), our Industrialisation Agenda will soon be realised,” he
added.
Free SHS
On this he said about 1.2 million students had been enrolled, even
though pundits criticized and described the initiative as impossible.
Restoration of
allowances
“The allowances of nursing and teacher trainees that were scrapped
by the Mahama government have been restored and the 307 ambulances, i.e. One-Ambulance-One-Constituency,
will be commissioned by me on January 28, 2020, for nationwide distribution,”
he added.
Employment created
To date, 100,000 graduates have been employed through the Nation
Builders’ Corps; while 54,892 healthcare workers have been employed; and 66,357
teachers have gotten jobs since the NPP came into office.
He added that the “One-Village-One-Dam” programme, and the Zongo
Development Fund and the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme
(IPEP), were being pursued to stimulate job creation opportunities across the
country.
“We have embraced the application of digital technology in the
delivery of public services, like the paperless system at the ports, the mobile
interoperability system and the national digital addressing property system,”
he added.