Deputy Minister says next year will be better

Elmina, Dec. 24, GNA - The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Joseph Samuel Annan, has said there would be smiles on the faces of Ghanaians next year because the economy would be better.

He said this year had been a difficult year because the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration inherited an economy which was in shambles and this had taken President John Atta Mills and his team a hectic time in trying to fix it.

Dr. Annan said this when he addressed the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) Municipal Assembly's ordinary session as the Member of Parliament for the area.

He said despite the difficulties, the government had been able to fulfil some of its promises and this includes the allocation of 30% of its budget to education, "one of the highest in the whole of the sub-region". Dr. Annan said the Ministry of Education would soon start the rehabilitation of all the 25 science resource centres in the country. "The programme for the distribution of school uniforms and 42 million exercise books for school children in deprived areas are also on course." Dr. Annan called for discipline, timeliness, commitment, transparency and accountability from Ghanaians to help facilitate a "better Ghana" for all.

On the development of the KEEA municipality, Dr. Annan said the government was sourcing investment and partnership for the area and that soon the Coca Cola Bottling Company would build a plant there to generate employment for the youth. He stressed the need for the shift system to be abolished for school children to have the right contact hours for teaching and learning and appealed to all stakeholders to make the interest of the municipality first to ensure its development.

Reverend Mrs Veronica Essuman-Nelson, the Municipal Chief Executive, expressed concern about the low educational standards in the municipality and appealed to the educational sub-committee of the assembly to work towards redeeming standards. She said a list of schools conducted under trees and dilapidated buildings have been submitted to the GETFund for action and was optimistic that they will soon be addressed.

She expressed gratitude to Gouda city in the Netherlands of which it has Sister-City relationship with for its numerous assistances to the municipality and that recently it gave a power generator that could light the whole municipality. 24 Dec 09