Nana speaks today as Minority strikes

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will today deliver his second State of the Nation Address in parliament since he assumed office a little over a year ago.

MPs from the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) are eager to hear how the creation of the factories in the various districts, as promised by the president and the creation of jobs, are being handled.

They also want to know the measures being put in place to ameliorate the suffering of Ghanaians.

NDC MPs for Keta and Ellembele, Richard Quashigah and Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah respectively, said the creation of jobs for the teeming unemployed youth is key to addressing the security situation in the country since idle hands resort to violent acts and vigilantism.

The NDC MP for Keta said that the ‘bomb’ is ticking faster in terms of the high expectation by the teeming youth who are crying for jobs, and said that if the president does not do anything about the sustainable creation of jobs, the anger of the unemployed youth will explode in his face.

He said the president might be interested in boasting about his ability to implement the Free SHS policy in his first year in office, but the implementation had come with huge challenges that could even affect the quality of secondary education in the country.

Mr. Quashigah said that he would like the president to tell Ghanaians how he is dealing with the major challenges that have bedeviled the policy.

Mr Armah Kofi Buah noted that security lapses are becoming a big problem for the government, with an upsurge in weapon crime.

He is expecting the president to talk about concrete plans to deal with the increasing gun crimes in the country.

He said that Ghanaians are also crying over high prices of fuel, and made reference to a demonstration yesterday by a section of Ghanaians in the society who wanted the government to reduce fuel prices since any increase has ripple effects on prices of goods and services.

“I strongly believe that the government can do something about fuel prices at the rate fuel prices are being increased,” Mr Kofi Buah said, stressing that the government can scrap the Special Petroleum Tax, which would definitely bring down fuel prices.

The Ellembele MP, who was the former minister for energy, also wants the president to tell the nation the current level of Ghana’s energy debt and whether the government is adding to it or making efforts to clear the debt.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Effiduase/Asokore, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, said the president ought to talk about the current state of the economy and how some progress had been made.

He said the government must also talk about the successful implementation of the Free SHS in his first year in office, despite the doubts by the opposition NDC.

The NPP MP for Manhyia North, Collins Owusu Amankwah, said President Akufo-Addo must assure Ghanaians of their safety and give his commitment to maintaining peace and order and also assure foreign investors of the security of their investments.