Deal with hooligans - President to police

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated the commitment of his government towards maintaining the peace and security of the country and urged all law enforcement agencies to deal with fomenters of violence without fear or favour and irrespective of their political affiliation.

Speaking at this year’s Ngmayem Festival, of the Chiefs and people of Manya Krobo, President Akufo-Addo stressed that “the application of the laws of the land will occur, in the words of the judicial oath, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and without recourse to the political, religious or ethnic affiliations of any citizen of the land.”

According to President Akufo-Addo, “when you fall foul of the law, you will be dealt with accordingly, and the law enforcement agencies, including the Judiciary, must ensure this is done.”

President Akufo-Addo’s call comes in the wake of disturbances in Karaga and Sissala West being perpetrated by alleged supporters of the New Patriotic Party.

Addressing the gathering of Chiefs and people of Manya Krobo, the President indicated that the Ngmayem festival is a celebration of Ghana’s farmers, and the abundant harvest of ngma (millet).

He noted that Ghana has the unique potential to feed her growing population, meet the raw material requirements of her processing industries, achieve food security, and compete successfully as a leading supplier to countries around us and beyond.

“Through our flagship programme, Planting for Food and Jobs, we have ensured the provision of improved seeds, the supply of subsidised fertilisers, the provision of dedicated extension services, a marketing strategy and the use of e-Agriculture. Under this Programme, 227.8 hectares of land were cultivated in the major season, and 179.8 hectares for the minor season in Manya Krobo,” he said.

In anticipation of a bumper harvest, the President stated that the National Buffer Stock Company Limited has been resourced to provide ready market for farm produce.

“This will ensure that our farmers are paid minimum guaranteed prices, to make farming a viable venture. Agriculture remains the fuel that powers all our activity in Ghana. We ignore it at our risk. My government will, certainly, not ignore it. I give you my pledge that farmers, food crop farmers, fish farmers and livestock farmers will all have the support and respect they deserve from my government”, he added.

Outlining some of the policies of his administration over the last 10 months, President AKufo-Addo noted that his government has been working to grow Ghana’s economy and open up opportunities for all her citizens.

His government, he said, has started the Free Senior High School programme, guaranteeing secondary education for all of Ghana’s children; and is heralding the revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Government, the President added, has also abolished a number of nuisance taxes which were stifling the growth of the private sector, and introduced a number of policies aimed at formalising the structure of the Ghanaian economy – the National Identification Scheme; the National Digital Property Addressing System; the e-registration system to enhance business registration processes; the paperless system at the port, amongst many other initiatives.

“We are doing all of this because we want to build a Ghana, which looks to the use of its own resources and their proper management as the way to engineer social and economic growth in our country. We want to build an economy that looks past commodities to position our country in the global marketplace. We want to build a Ghana Beyond Aid,” President Akufo-Addo said.