By Stephen Asante
Accra, Jan. 02, GNA – Ghana’s outgoing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Friday, January 03, present his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament
One of the keys issues likely to be highlighted by the President is Ghana’s economy.
The state of the country’s macroeconomic indicators, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, inflation, gross international reserves, policy objectives, job creation and infrastructural development in the various sectors of the economy are expected to be espoused.
The exercise is in accordance with Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution.
“Our economy is rebounding impressively as demonstrated by the remarkable 7.2 percent growth achieved in the third quarter of 2024 with the year’s growth rate projected at 6.8 per cent.
“These achievements are not just numbers or statistics, they are stories of life change and the future made brighter,” the outgoing President noted in his recent New Year Message.
In his penultimate SONA, delivered last year, he indicated that the macroeconomy was much stronger at the end of 2023 than in 2022.
Inflation, which peaked at 54.1 per cent in December 2022 reduced to 23.5 per cent in January 2024.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said real GDP growth for the first three quarters of 2023 averaged 2.8 per cent, higher than the targeted growth rate of 1.5 per cent for 2023.
On the performance of the Cedi, he stated that it had been largely stable since February 2023, with a cumulative depreciation of nine per cent between February and December 2023.
Gross International Reserves reflected a significant buildup of five-point-nine billion dollars (US$5.9 billion), he added.
The President has been touting the significant achievements the nation has chalked under his Administration, noting that some areas, including education, health and infrastructural development had seen considerable growth.
The flagship educational policy, the ‘Free Senior High School (SHS), had, for instance, seen some 5.7 million youth benefitting in the last eight years, according to the Government.
Additionally, the implementation of various programmes such as Capitation Grant, Feeding Grants to Special Schools, BECE registration for pupils in public Junior High Schools, amongst others, have significantly increased access to education at the basic level.
The authorities say the focus of the comprehensive reforms within the sector has been to improve learning outcomes and ensure every child that goes through the education system is equipped with literacy and numeracy skills by the time he or she exits primary six (6).
A National Standardized Test for numeracy and reading skills is now being conducted at primary four (4).
On electricity, the Government says more than two hundred communities had been connected to the national grid, taking the current national electricity access rate to eighty-eight-point-eight-five per cent (88.85 per cent).
The aim is to achieve universal access by connecting an additional four hundred (400) communities to the national grid under the Self-Help Electrification Programme (SHEP).
On roads, six interchanges have so far been constructed and inaugurated, with 13 similar projects ongoing.
“But I will also acknowledge the challenges we have faced. The road has not always been smooth and there have been times of difficulty and sacrifice.
“We have through it all been demonstrable of how the Ghanaian spirit prevailed. The post COVID-19 has really tested us to our limit, but also reminded us of who we are. A people who rise together no matter the odds,” the outgoing President noted in his recent New Year Message.
With an electoral defeat largely procured on the economic difficulties faced by the nation by the National Democratic Congress(NDC) and the fact that the Minister of Finance has stated that the government will be leaving behind a rebounding economy, the President is more likely to tap in that as he constructs a positive and enduring legacy.
GNA