<\/p>\n
PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addo yesterday revealed his administration is bent on growing the country\u2019s economy once again and bringing prosperity to Ghanaians.<\/p>\n
According to him, the government remains alive to its responsibilities to Ghanaians despite the difficulties of the time, intimating this will only happen \u201cwhen we continue to invest in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur children will continue to be educated and equipped to run a modern and digitised economy. The Free SHS and Free TVET are the best vehicles we have devised to take us to the realisation of our goal of an educated and skilled workforce,\u201d the President stated.<\/p>\n
The statement was delivered in fulfilment of Article 67 of the Constitution which requires that the President, at the beginning of each session and before dissolution of Parliament, should present to Parliament a message on the State of the Nation (SONA).<\/p>\n
President Akufo-Addo said the NPP administration came into office with a plan to build a resilient economy and set the country on the path to prosperity.<\/p>\n
Pre-COVID<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe were on course, and our performance between 2017 and the beginning of 2020 demonstrates we were making rapid progress. Indeed, in 2017, 2018 and 2019, we recorded average annual GDP growth rates of 7%, making us one of the fastest growing economies in the world,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n He continued that, \u201cWe grew the economy from the cedi equivalent of $54 billion at the end of 2016 to the cedi equivalent of $72 billion in 2020, a 33% increase. Then COVID-19 arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not something that anyone could have planned for, and the consequences are there for us all to see around the world. The big and established economies of the world have been knocked off their planned trajectory. Countries, where budget deficits were unknown and prohibited by law, suddenly had to accept huge deficits to underwrite social cohesion,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n President Akufo-Addo said the economic devastation of COVID-19 has since the beginning of this year, been further aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has worsened the economic outlook of the entire world.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, in Ghana, have not escaped this development, and the consequences are being felt in the rising living costs at our markets and at fuel stations. The terrible events in Ukraine have a direct impact on our lives here in Ghana. Mr. Speaker, 30% of our wheat flour and fertiliser imports come from Russia; 60% of iron rods and other metal sheets are imported from Ukraine; and almost 20% of Ghana\u2019s manganese is shipped to Ukraine,\u201d he disclosed.<\/p>\n But the President said his administration had managed to ensure that \u201cfuel supplies have not been disrupted, unlike in several other parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe TVET institutions are being upgraded and equipped to enable them train the increasing number of children that we want to attract to that sector to meet the modern needs of our economy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, I will be commissioning some of the 34 refurbished National Vocational and Technical Institutes (NVTI\u2019s) across the country. The refurbishment comprised the construction, rehabilitation and equipping of laboratories, workshops, additional classrooms, hostels, and administrative offices,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n President Akufo-Addo continued that within the next few months, the construction of five technical colleges would begin in various parts of the country, noting that three technical institutes would be upgraded to tertiary status.<\/p>\n \u201cThe initial phase for the construction of nine TVET campuses will commence next month in Bosomtwe, Akyem Awisa, Boako, Kenyasi, Patuda, Dambai, Larabanga, Guabuliga and Tolibri. These campuses will have academic facilities, workshops, laboratories, hostels and staff accommodation, and provide further access for training,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He again indicated that the government was in the process of securing financing for the construction of five STEM universities in five new regions, and mentioned them as Western North, Savannah, North East, Ahafo and Oti regions.<\/p>\n \u201cSteps are also being taken to turn the planned Bunso campus of the University of Environment and Sustainable Development into a stand-alone, independent university focused on the study of Engineering. Construction of this campus is set to begin within the next three months,\u201d he disclosed.<\/p>\n BY Ernest Kofi Adu & Charles Takyi Boadu<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addo yesterday revealed his administration is bent on growing the country\u2019s economy once again and bringing prosperity to Ghanaians. According to him, the government remains alive to its responsibilities to Ghanaians despite the difficulties of the time, intimating this will only happen \u201cwhen we continue to invest in the future.\u201d \u201cOur children will continue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1040767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[2437,1963,274],"class_list":["post-1040766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bounce","tag-economy","tag-nana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1040766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1040766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1040766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1040766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1040766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}