The Kuffuor administration has chalked many laudable successes since assuming office in January 2001. The focus of this write-up however is going to be on the year 2006, which has been no exception from the success story. A gist of the hallmarks for the year has been captured below:
1. The International Finance Corporation rates Ghana as the ninth (9th) in the world and the first in Africa in terms of countries that have reformed over the years in doing business. This was contained in a report it issued in Washington D.C. , on September 6, 2006.
2. The country was the first in Africa to submit to the African Peer Review Mechanism, an attestation of the government’s commitment to accountability and good governance, and the rule of law.
3. For the first time in the nation’s history, Ghana ’s international reserves crossed the two billion dollar ($2 000 000 000) mark as at the end of October, 2006. This translates to three and a half months of import cover. This was made known by Dr. Paul Acquah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana at a press conference of the Monetary Policy Committee of the bank and reported by the Graphic on Tuesday, December 19, 2006.
4. The year under review also saw the introduction of the National Youth in Employment Programme (NYEP). About 1.1 trillion cedis has been approved for the project. The programme is targeted at providing about 155,319 jobs for the unemployed youth in the areas of I.C.T., agri-business, health community protection, etc. The programme was launched by the President on Tuesday, August 3, 2006 at the Kawukudi Park in Accra . The programme has since started in earnest. Reports from most of the regions and districts point to a success in its implementation. According Mr. Mohammed Abdullai Sidik, the Upper West regional liaison officer of the programme, about 4,378 unemployed youth have been employed through the programme. (GNA Report, December 13, 2006).
According to the officer in charge of the Adaklu-Anyigbe district in the Volta region, Mr. Paul Onipanuah Hukporti, 346 youths have been employed in the district alone.
Hon. Frank Bosumtwi and Mr. Asiedu, the District Chief Executive and District Youth Employment Officer respectively of the Birim South District also intimate that about 212 people have so far being engaged in the areas of teaching and sanitation. An extra 150 people have being supported with farm inputs to the tune of about ¢ 90,000,000 (ninety million cedis).
According to Mr. Amofa, the Eastern Regional Employment Officer, an additional 1,700 people will be employed next year in the areas of health care and community protection.
5. For the first time in the history of the country, the Black Stars, the senior national team, qualified for the World Cup in Germany . This greatly boosted the international image of the country. An added impetus to the laurels in sports was the confirmation of the country as the host for the CAN 2008 soccer fiesta.
6. Also in the same year, Ghana became the single largest beneficiary of the U.S Millennium Challenge Account, masking home a whopping $547million. The funds of the account are to be distributed to countries that demonstrate a strong commitment towards good governance, quality health care and education for its people, and sound economic policies that foster entreprise and entreprenuership. For Ghana to benefit speaks volumes about the government’s strides in those regards. Anyway, hear Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State, during the August 1, 2006 compact signing ceremony “President Kufuor, I want to recognize you personally for the instrumental role that you have played in bringing our nations to this historic day. You've made a tremendous contribution to the future success of your people, Mr. President, and I want to thank you for it. But I also just want to add a personal note. I've had the opportunity to work with President Kufuor over the last several years on a host of issues including issues of regional conflict and development. Mr. President, you are one of the best examples of a new Africa in which responsibility counts.”
7. The year 2006 saw a drastic decline in inflation. Inflation as at October was 10.5%. Headline inflation reduced to single level digits in March-April 2006 for the first time in 20 years. The cedi finally gained international recognition with the first euro-cedi bond issued offshore by the AfDB in October 2006. The cedi was stable against the major trading currencies, and lending rates were also low. What again is expected to be chalked, especially by a government that took office at a time when the economy was in shambles, interest rates were sky-rocketing and inflation was at one of its highest ever?
8. Government has introduced the Capitation Grant. With its introduction, basic school admission figures in the 2005/06 academic year soared by 616, 439 pupils over that of the year 20004/05. A major component of Ghana ’s Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education Policy (FCUBE) is the improvement in access, participation and retention of children in school.
The government in a bid to improve access and increase enrolment drive therefore set up the Capitation Grant Scheme whereby every Basic School child receives an amount of thirty thousand cedis (¢30,000.00) This amount should serve to remove the financial barrier created by the levies and more than compensate the schools for any loss of revenue they face as a result. The utilization of the Capitation Grant has been designed to empower the schools to effectively use financial resources to plan and carry out school quality improvement activities. The grant is to serve as an opportunity to help build school level capacity and it is gratifying to note that the general public has shown enthusiasm and embraced this laudable policy with unbridled support.
9. Notable among the feats that were chalked over the past year was the introduction of the school feeding programme which contributed to increased enrolment in schools. Unlike 2005 when the programme was implemented on a pilot basis, 2006 saw its extension to cover about 198,000 pupils in 500 first cycle schools. According to a GNA report posted on Ghanaweb on Thursday, September 28, 2006, about 40 billion cedis was to be expended on the project in 2006. In that report, Mr.Kwame Nuako, Director in charge of monitoring and evaluation noted that the programme was responsible for an average of 25% increase in school enrolment during the last academic year. It also contributed to higher retention and attendance rates in schools that were on the programme.
10. For the second year running since the inception of the 4th Republican Constitution, the budget was read ahead of schedule. This made implementation of most of the targets of the budget possible.
11. As an indication of the government’s commitment to accountability and the deepening of grassroots democracy, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation took the “MEET THE PRESS” encounters to the regions. It touched the base and curtailed the practice where regional ministers moved all the way to Accra instead of facing those really are with them.
12. This year was also the first time that a sitting president unceremoniously made an appearance at the weekly “Meet the Press” to make an appeal to striking workers to resume work whilst negotiations went on. Which President, apart from H.E. John Agyekum Kuffuor will act with such humility?
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