Accra, Dec. 03, GNA – “Men make history and not the other way round. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous and skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better”- Harry S. Truman (The 33rd United States President)
Leadership is all about unlocking people’s potentials to make society a better place to live in. That is exactly what Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the then Flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) set out to do when he convinced Ghanaians to vote him into office in 2016.
He campaigned on free senior high school education, jobs creation, industrialization of the economy and modernisation of the country’s agriculture.
Over the past three years and 11 months, President Akufo-Addo has stayed true to his electoral promises his government has created in excess of two million jobs in both the formal and informal sectors.
The ever-popular Free Senior High School Policy has become a reality. This was rolled out on September 12, 2017 on the campus of the West African Senior High School, Adenta. The policy has benefited 1.2 million students over the period.
The Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), another signature programme of the Akufo-Addo-led Administration has turned Ghana into a net exporter of food stuffs to the West African sub-region, exporting 19 different food items to her neighbouring countries including Northern Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo and Niger. More than one million farmers received subsidised hybrid seeds and seedlings, fertilizers and other farm inputs to increase yields.
The government’s industrialisation agenda under the One-District, One-Factory has resulted in the creation of 76 factories and these are all operational. Another 107 are at different stages of completion.
Four hundred and thirty-four (434) dams are been constructed under the One-Village, One-Dam initiative and of the figure 375, have been completed thus, allowing farmers to get all-year-round water for irrigation, especially in the northern parts of the country.
The Akufo-Addo-led government social interventions and life-impacting policies are saving many lives and livelihoods – the re-introduction of the teacher/nursing trainees’ allowance, youth in entrepreneurship, Nation Building Corps (NaBCo) and Zongo Development Fund had made tremendous impacts on the youth.
Under his watch, 15 ‘nuisance taxes’ have been abolished, lifting a huge burden on importers.
In the area of health, it has introduced Zipline Medical Drone Delivery service thus, enabling health facilities in hard-to-reach areas to receive medicines and blood products within minutes helping to save precious lives.
Three hundred and seven (307) ambulances had been secured to augment the fleet of the Ghana National Ambulance Service to improve emergency healthcare.
Ghana is fast becoming one of the digitised economies in Africa, having introduced a triangular mobile money interoperability, something that allows for seamless transfer of money from one’s bank account to mobile money wallets or e-switch and vice versa..
On March 25, 2020, Ghana became the first country in Africa to introduce Universal QR Code and third in the world after Singapore and India, which enabled merchants/vendors to receive payment instantly from customers.
Again, over seven million households had received their digital addressing plates which facilitate easy location of homes to enhance the delivery of essential services.
Under Akufo-Addo’s first four-year term, six new regions had been created to decentralize the development process.
The year 2020 being declared the “Year of Roads” by the government and with that, over 1,300 roads have either been upgraded, maintained or asphalted whilst six interchanges are under construction.
The other high point is Ghana’s success exit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which has enabled the government to employ 350,000 people into the public sector alone.
Given these tremendous successes chalked just within the first term in office, President Akufo-Addo is asking Ghanaians to extend his mandate by another four years to build on the significant social and economic progress made.
He says a vote for him and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 7, 2020 elections would have been the most important step to stay the comprehensive economic reforms that his administration had taken, to promote fiscal growth, development and prosperity of the nation and its people.
Campaigning across the country, the President points out that the Ghanaian people have over the past three years and eleven months witnessed the far-reaching impact of the policies and programmes carried out by his government, and that by that stellar performance; the electorate should extend his mandate, so that he could “do more” in the next four years.
He has been stressing that the coordinated programme of economic and social development policies implemented by his government, including the flagship Free Senior High School programme, the One District, One Factory initiative, Planting for Food and Jobs, and the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), as well as other developmental schemes, are further proof that the NPP has a clear understanding of how to put the country on the path of progress and prosperity.
“The New Patriotic Party has got the blueprint for the development of Ghana and it is going to be concretized in Akufo-Addo’s second time as President.
“If you believe that the policies of my government have had a positive impact on your lives, and you have not regretted voting for me, I will urge you to continue to have faith in me. In the December elections, let it be four more years for Nana to do more for you.
“If my first four years is satisfactory, then you can imagine how my next term will be. I want you to access my first term. I have not deceived you, I have been truthful with Ghanaians, and I have done my best. I plead with you to extend my mandate, so I can continue to do more for you.”
Riding on the message of leadership of service and making good on promises, protecting Ghana’s progress, and transforming the country’s fortunes through education, technology and industrialization to secure prosperity for all, the President has said his record in office would enable Ghanaians judge who has met their aspirations.
Winning plaudits from experts, supporters and even some critics who have described his record in office as both “sturdy” and “unmatched”, he (President Akufo-Addo) has been consistent with his vision of developing “an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation, through the creative exploitation of our human and natural resources, and operating within a democratic, open and fair society, in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist for all”.
His agenda for a Ghana “beyond aid”, a national plan to transform and wean Ghana of foreign-aid, where every Ghanaian has access to education, training and productive employment, and access to life’s necessities including good health care, water, sanitation and decent housing in line with the Sustainable Development goals (SDGs), also resonates with development partners, as they have been applauding the vision, which they agree would enhance trade and place Ghana as a worthwhile member of the world community.
“It is not right for a country like Ghana, 60 years after independence, to still have its health and education budgets being financed on the basis of the generosity and charity of the European taxpayer. By now we should be able to finance our basic needs ourselves… Why are we where we are? We need to have a mindset that says, ‘Others have done it. We can do it.’”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo formally filed his nomination at the Electoral Commission (EC) on October 6, 2020 to seek another four-year mandate in the December 7, 2020 presidential elections as the candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The President, who turned 76 in March, was acclaimed the NPP’s flagbearer last June when he emerged the only candidate to file for the slot when the party closed its nominations for aspirants.
Biography
Born on March 29, 1944 in Ga Mashie in Accra to a Ghanaian politician, lawyer and independence fighter Edward Akufo-Addo and his wife Adeline, President Akufo-Addo started his basic education at the Government Boys School, Adabraka and at the Rowe Road School at Kinbu, both in Accra.
He continued to the United Kingdom for his secondary education, where he studied for his Ordinary Level and Advanced level examinations at the Lancing College in Sussex from 1957 to 1961.
He returned to Ghana in 1962 where he took a teaching appointment at the Accra Academy Secondary School, before going to the University of Ghana in 1964 to read economics. He graduated in 1967 with Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.
After his stint at the University of Ghana, Mr Akufo-Addo went back to the United Kingdom to study law and was called to the English Bar (Middle Temple) in 1971 and to the Ghana Bar in 1975. He worked in France with a US law firm, Coudert Brothers and with the U.V Campbell Chambers in Accra until he founded his own law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co. in 1979.
Mr Akufo-Addo whose roots in political activism follows a family tradition of prominence in politics and civil service – his father served as the ceremonial president of Ghana from 1970 to 1972, great-uncle J.B. Danquah was a nationalist, and his uncle William Ofori Atta was one of the founding fathers of Ghana. He started active politics in the 1970’s when he served as general secretary of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice (PMFJ) that opposed the plans of the military government in place at the time.
Known for spearheading the fight for human rights, the rule of law, justice, the independence of the Judiciary and media freedoms, and democracy, he joined the NPP in 1992, serving as the member of parliament for the Abuakwa South Constituency in the Eastern region for three consecutive terms from 1996 to 2007.
Mr Akufo-Addo was in 2001 appointed Attorney-General and Minister of Justice under the tenure of President John Agyekum Kufuor, where he spearheaded the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law which criminalized free speech, and also initiated other reforms in the legal processes of the country including the automation of the courts.
In 2003, he was reassigned to the Foreign Ministry as Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister and he was instrumental in brokering peace in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Guinea Bissau, as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council.
Under his stewardship, Ghana was elected a pioneer of the 15-member African Union Peace and Security Council in 2004. That mandate was renewed in 2006 at the AU’s Summit in Khartoum, Sudan. He chaired the AU’s Ministerial Committee that fashioned the Ezulwini Consensus, which defined the Union’s common position on United Nation Reforms, and negotiated the hosting of the AU’s Summit in Accra in 2007.
Also, during his time as Foreign Minister, Ghana was elected a non-permanent member on the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007, during which period he chaired the meeting of the Security Council that took the landmark decision, halting Israel’s massive incursions into Lebanon.
He was instrumental in getting Ghana elected as a member of the UN’s Human Rights Council and its Peace-building Commission.
Mr Akufo-Addo resigned his position in 2007 to contest the NPP’s presidential primaries with 16 other candidates for the 2008 presidential election, a contest he won.
In the December 7, 2008, he won the first round of the country’s presidential election, with 49 percent of the votes cast, but eventually lost the second round of voting to his challenger Prof. Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who beat him narrowly in the polls.
He again secured the mandate of the NPP to lead the party into the 2012 Presidential elections in which he challenged Mr John Mahama of the NDC and six other contestants. He also lost that contest narrowly to the NDC’s candidate, but contested the results of the polls at the Supreme Court, which upheld Mr Mahama’s victory after a prolonged legal battle. He accepted the verdict and urged his supporters to respect the Courts’ decision.
In 2016, Mr Akufo-Addo again got the nod of the NPP to contest the presidential elections as the party’s flag-bearer, facing six other candidates including the then incumbent John Mahama. He won the election with the largest margin of victory for a presidential candidate since 1996.
He was sworn in as president of the Republic on January 7, 2017 at a well-attended ceremony at the Black Star Square where he pledged to deepen the country’s democracy and move it to a higher level of development.
President Akufo-Addo’s tenure in government has been characterized by a massive industrialization drive and forging bilateral relations with countries across the world based on trade and investment.
His government has built a foreign policy that has made a shift from grants to partnerships and self-reliance to move the country to a state beyond Aid.
His government has instituted many policies and programmes that have been geared towards making Ghana’s economy resilient and creating the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and attract foreign direct investments.
Flagship programmes such as the One District, One Factory, the One Village, One Dam, Youth in Agriculture, and Entrepreneurship, have given the needed impetus for harnessing local resources and talents for accelerated development
President Akufo-Addo’s has chalked many successes in his first tenure. However, the implementation of his Free Senior Secondary Education is what has resonated with many a Ghanaian.
“Free SHS is going to be a permanent feature of the educational architecture of our country, and it is going to be a significant tool for the rapid socio-economic development of our nation,” the President asserted nearly a year after the introduction of the policy in September 2017.
Speaking at the 70th Anniversary celebration of the Ghana National College, in Cape Coast on July, 2018, the President explained that he knew no better way to create a society of opportunities and empowerment for every Ghanaian than through education.
Countries, such as the United States of America, Japan, South Korea, Finland, Canada, China, and India, which advanced in the 20th Century achieved their feat, he noted, because they paid great attention to education.
“They paid attention to education and invested in the development of their human capital. Today, the results are obvious, he stated.
“My Government is determined to follow suit, and use education as the spring board for us to get out of our problems. Hence, the introduction of the Free Senior High School policy.”
With the policy, 90,000 more students entered Senior High School than they did in 2016.
In April, 2017, he was appointed as the Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Development Goals Advocate and on July 3, same year, was named the AU’s Gender Champion.
He was also elected by the 57th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as the new Chairman of the Authority in Niamey, Niger in September, 2020.
GNA