President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given assurance that his government will in the coming days, showcase all its achievements in the last seven years in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
In line with this, he said the government will, in March this year, launch a Performance Tracker that will provide details of all projects, their progress and their location to indicate that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has done more in providing infrastructure than any other government since it took office in 2017.
Presenting his penultimate message on the State of the Nation (SONA) to Parliament yesterday, in accordance with article 67 of Ghana’s constitution, President Akufo-Addo explained that the performance tracker will help bring more accountability to the people.
It will be recalled that during last year’s SONA, the president presented a fat book with the details of road projects his government has constructed around the country to all Members of Parliament (MPs) to verify at their own leisure.
President Akufo-Addo said the government is taking the accountability to a higher level this year with the performance tracker so the general public can personally check with their phones, the status of the projects and even make a physical inspection if they wish to do so.
This, he added, will also help put a stop to the circulation of fake images as government projects.
“This government, after all, is the Digitalisation Government, and the man who has led the entire digitalisation process these past seven years, my indefatigable Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Dr Digitalisation, the NPP’s excellent presidential candidate for the 2024 election, is coming up with what will allow everyone and anyone to check on every project being undertaken by the government without having to listen to the President’s message on the State of the Nation.
“Mr Speaker, if you want to check on roads, classroom blocks or CHPs compounds or Agenda 111 hospitals, or bridges, or science laboratories, or water projects, or sanitation projects, or landing sites and harbours, and other infrastructural projects, or whatever this government used your tax money to execute, the key to your query is right there on your phone. Mr Speaker, the Performance Tracker will be formally launched in March.
“I am able to recommend the Performance Tracker in the sure knowledge that the Akufo-Addo Government has done more in education in terms of student enrolment, teacher training and employment, provision of infrastructure, than any government; we have similarly done more in health, agriculture, security, roads, railways, tourism, digitalisation than any other Government. Thanks to the Performance Tracker, the President no longer has to go through lists, and I have the confidence to say that every performance indicator used shows we have done more in these seven (7) years than in any of the eight (8) years under the NDC,” he added.
Modernising economy
President Akufo-Addo said his government took the decision, as the NPP promised, to modernize and formalise the economy through digitalisation.
“In this regard, we have embarked on one of the most far-reaching digitalisation exercises in Africa. Up from the figure of nine hundred thousand (900,000), which we inherited when we came into office in 2017, we have, thus far, enrolled 17.6 million on the Ghanacard, and, therefore, provided unique biometric identity to the majority of Ghanaians. We have also implemented a digital property address system with unique addresses for all properties in Ghana.
“Furthermore, through the implementation of mobile money interoperability, we have also provided access to financial services for adult Ghanaians through mobile money accounts that are interoperable with bank accounts.
“Ghana is now ranked number one in Africa in terms of access to financial inclusion.
“We have digitalised the provision of public services at the ports, DVLA, NHIS, GRA, Births and Deaths, Registrar of Companies, ECG, Ghana Water, amongst others. Ghana is ranked number one in West Africa and number seven in Africa in e-Governance.
“We have also implemented the use of drones in the delivery of medicines, blood and vaccines, and Ghana currently runs the world’s largest medical drone delivery service.
“We have also networked all teaching, regional and district hospitals and patient records can easily be accessed in these hospitals without the need for a folder.
“Ghana is making giant strides in the area of digitalisation, thereby improving transparency, accountability and efficiency in the public sector, and accelerating the growth of our economy. We are definitely going to be part of the digital revolution that is sweeping the world,” President Akufo-Addo pointed out.
