Ahead of the NDC’s super gargantuan rally at Mantse Agbona, James Town, in Accra last Saturday, panelists on Radio Gold’s flagship programme, Alhaji & Alhaji discussed the achievements of the Mills government and analyzed whether it was unprecedented.
Below for readers’ perusal is a summary of the submission made by Deputy
Information Minister, Sammy Okudzeto, which touched on 25 of the unprecedented
achievements of the Mills Government.
1) GDP growth rate of 13.6% (highest in Ghana’s
entire history)
2) Longest sustained single digit inflation (more
than 20 months and now at 8.6%)
3) Highest ever Gross International Reserves and
Foreign Direct Investment
4) 1 million metric tons of cocoa production
5) President signing up to the Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Open Government Partnership
6) Establishing the Public Interest Committee to
oversee the Oil Sector and its independent membership like Mr. Kwame Pianim and
Prof. Addae Mensah
7) 2 new public universities being established at
the same time in the Volta and the Brong Ahafo Regions
8) $3 billion dollar CDB loan: biggest ever loan to
Ghana and any African country from China. This is a loud attestation of the level
of confidence in the Ghanaian
economy
9) Founder’s Day declaration
10) Constitution Review Process successfully
underway
11) Over 60,000 computers and laptops distributed
freely
12) 4 Navy Ships (After more than 32 years of
appeals), over 150 Fire Tenders and Fire Fighting Equipments to the Fire
Service, First ever ultramodern forensic laboratory for the Ghana Police
Service together with hundreds of vehicles and other equipments and massive
retooling and aircrafts for the Army
13) Electricity Expansion: From 54% nationwide
coverage to 72% nationwide coverage under 3 years. (Represents 18% addition in
3 years compared with NPP’s 11% in 8 years). 1,700 communities have therefore
been connected to the national grid
14) Street lights in all regional capitals including
Tema Motorway
15) Meeting all 4 convergence criteria of the West
Africa Monetary Zone
16) Mobile Number Portability (First time in West
Africa)
17) Anti-Corruption:
- Right to Information Bill moves from the Executive to the Legislature
for the
first time
- SFO strengthened with additional powers and
logistics as it becomes EOCO
- Handling of Woyome Case – No
cover up like we saw in the case of Haruna Esseku, Dr. Richard Anane and
what
President Kufuor said in Cape Coast that he will not allow his government to be
embarrassed in fighting corruption. In
sharp contrast; President Mills says when it comes to fighting corruption, “it
doesn’t matter whose ox is gored”
18) 97% approval rating within President Mills’
party the NDC and within the international community as attested by UN
Secretary General, US President, Ivorian President, Chinese President etc.
19) Fastest packaged social interventions in a first
term: in President Mills first year; Free uniforms, Free exercise books, 50%
increase in capitation grant, Elimination of Schools under trees and the
Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme (MASTESS) had been
rolled out as compared to the NPP’s school feeding which was started in 2005,
Capitation Grant in 2005/2006 academic year, Metro Mass in 2003, NYEP in 2006,
Metro Mass Pilot in 2003, Health Insurance in 2004 and LEAP in 2008
20) Wage Bill more than doubles under 3 years (From
about 2 billion Cedis to over 5 billion Cedis) President Mills has therefore
put more money in the pocket of Ghanaian workers who are better off today than
they were.
21) Life Expectancy has shot up by 11 years from 53
years to 64.2 years according to the latest United Nations Human Development
Index
22) Special Funds: Media
Development Fund – 1 million Cedis
Creative Industry Fund – 2 million Cedis
Science, Technology and Innovation Fund – 2 million Cedis
23) Industry receiving phenomenal boost: - Resuscitated the former Akwatia
Diamonds which had collapsed. Now the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Company
Ltd.
- Revamping
of Ayensu Starch Factory
- Revamping Pwalugu Tomato Factory
- Revamping the Cotton Industry
- Establishing a Sheanut Processing Factory at
Buipe
- Aviation industry booming with over 20
international and domestic flights introduced coupled with expansion projects
at the Kotoka Airport and similar plans for domestic airports
24) Establishment of the National Buffer Stock
Company Limited: It has guaranteed ready
market for farmers, ensured stable prices and contributed tremendously to food
security. In 2010 the World Food
Programme relied on the National Buffer
Stock Company for its purchases to address Famine in Niger.
25) Upgrading of the Tamale Regional Hospital which
is helping improve health delivery in the Northern Sector and ensure that UDS
Medical Students go through their education without truncations and relocations
to KATH or KBTH as used to happen in the past. This is in addition to several
polyclinics which have been constructed
in all three Northern Regions.
