President Mahama's Presentation at the IEA Encounter - Indicators

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Created on Thursday, 18 October 2012 00:00

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INDICATOR

% of Deliveries Supervised by a Health Worker:

2008: 41.7

2010 52.2

Incidence of Guinea

2008 501

2010: 0

Number of functional CHPS Zone

2008: 409

2010: 1,675

Within the next four years, we will complete our long-standing grand plan of providing a modern Regional Hospital in each of the ten regions of Ghana.

We shall commence the construction of Regional Hospitals in the Eastern Region at Koforidua and in the Upper East Region at Bolgatanga and complete the Regional hospital project in Wa in the Upper West Region.

We are also committed to upgrading the Central and Volta Regional Hospitals into Teaching Hospitals to service the Medical Schools of the University of Cape Coast and the University of Health and Allied Sciences respectively.

We will establish new District Hospitals in districts without such facilities and more polyclinics in each of the ten regions as well as introduce new infectious diseases management centres.

We shall also continue the construction of both the Schools of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Ghana – Legon and the University of Health and Allied Sciences – Ho. Existing Midwifery and Nurses Training Colleges will be expanded and new colleges established in under-served areas.

It is our aim to improve patient – health worker ratio through the provision of these facilities with the ultimate aim of improving on the long waiting time in our health facilities.

We must salute the efforts of persons living with HIV and applaud the Ghana AIDS Commission on the great job they are doing. Government is supporting the 5-year National Strategic Plan with GHC 150 million, whose goal is virtual elimination of mother to child transmission and expansion of Anti-retroviral medications.

Harmonised Social Protection

Persons with Disability have witnessed the creation of the National Council for Persons with Disability (PWDs) and its related regulations and programmes which include the ongoing ICT Training for five thousand (5,000) people with disability and the use of 2% of the District Assemblies Common Fund to address challenges facing PWDs.

Beneficiaries of the LEAP and their corresponding Seventy – one thousand (71,000) households over the past four years have been integrated into the NHIS. We shall continue to provide the needed social protection to all vulnerable groups including women and children and in some cases men.

We shall continue to empower females through increasing the proportion of female beneficiaries of the Mathematics Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme to not less than 40%, passing the spousal bill, expansion and sustenance of microfinance schemes for women.

The Government of the NDC has made progress on its commitment to appoint many more women to positions of authority in Government. We supported and applauded the appointment of the first female Speaker of Parliament, we appointed the first Chairperson of the National Commission on Civic Education and the first substantive Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice as well as appointing more women to Ministerial, Deputy Ministerial and other Government positions.

We believe that Women have an important role to play in the Governance of our country and are even more committed to having many more women in positions of authority in the next NDC Government.

We are encourages that several more women are contesting the parliamentary elections this year and are optimistic that a good number of them will win their seats and create an expanded pool of female talent from which it will be possible to select appointees to Ministerial and Deputy Ministerial Positions from Parliament.

We have also drafted an affirmative action bill, which is now going through the consultation process and once this is completed it will be finalized for presentation to Cabinet and to Parliament.

The objective of this Bill is to create the legal basis for positive interventions to assist women and other traditionally disadvantaged groups to overcome those disadvantages and achieve their full potential. We have also sent the Property Rights of Spouses Bill and the Intestate Succession (Amendment) Bills to Parliament for their consideration in order to have legislation to assist our women to have the protections they deserve.

My tenure as President will continue to make the working conditions of medical Doctors, Nurses and Health Workers a priority. We will ensure that they are duly motivated to provide the quality health delivery that we all aspire to.

Transparent and Accountable Governance: Our democracy needs to grow beyond the election cycle and my personal conviction is that once elections are held and a leader is chosen, partisan political posturing must give way to a coordinated national agenda.

If we are to truly be one Ghana, then we must begin to work together for the good of Ghana and of all Ghanaians. Therefore as your President, I wish to reiterate my earlier promise that I will hold regular consultations with leaders of the registered opposition political parties, at which meetings critical national issues will be discussed outside the partisan forum of Parliament and the polarized environment of the media.

I believe this is necessary to signal to our supporters that we have a shared vision for ‘A Better Ghana’, despite our disagreements on how to achieve this.

Under my stewardship the various arms of government will be empowered to perform their functions effectively and contribute their quota to national development. This is not mere rhetoric. As you are aware, the Job 600 Office Complex for our MPs is near completion to provide decent office accommodation for our legislators.

As a former MP, I know how the attainment of this singular feat, will transform the law making in this country. This and the allocation of Gh¢50 million for the construction of constituency duty offices for all MPs and establishment of a ‘Democracy Fund 'will greatly enhance the contribution of the Legislature to our quest to make Ghana a better place.

Our decentralisation efforts have been remarkable in moving development investments to the most remote communities, and promoted an active, participatory democracy to the remotest cottage of our country.

Under my leadership during the next term, we will address the thorny issue of fair remuneration for members and leadership of the Assemblies, in tandem with a more aggressive revenue mobilization effort by the Assemblies.

All over the world, a credible legal regime is a pre-requisite for secured investments and economic advancement.

We will support continuous education for the Judiciary to improve the delivery of Justice.

When it is completed, the Court Complex named after the late President John Evans Atta Mills will also improve the conditions under which justice is administered.

It is my fervent belief that these investments in the judicial arm of government will attract additional investment (both local and foreign) to further advance and change course of our country’s economy for the better.

The Fight against Corruption and Narcotics

My brothers and sisters, if there is anything that detracts from the advancement of developing countries around the world, it is corruption.

Under my watch we will give impetus to the fight against corruption through leadership by example. We will take pragmatic steps including the enactment of legislation and enforcement of existing laws.

A comprehensive review of the Criminal Offences Act will be undertaken to define corruption to encompass all corruption-related offences and to cover all offences that fall under the scope of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption;

Regulations under the Public Officers’ Liability Act will be enacted in order to give legal force to the Guidelines on Conflict of Interest and the Code of Conduct for Public Officers prepared by the CHRAJ;

The Financial Administration Tribunal will be established and begin operation within the first year of the next NDC Administration; To guarantee transparency in how our resources are used, the NDC government ratified Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) regulations. The Petroleum Revenue Management Act also passed under this government, has provided an open and transparent system for disclosure and monitoring of petroleum revenues and the Public Interest and Accountability Committee is functioning effectively;

The Accra Redevelopment Policy will be revised to provide a coherent and transparent policy on the acquisition of public lands;

The next NDC Government will immediately implement the Freedom of Information Act once it is passed by Parliament.

In connection with fight against narcotics, we shall make NACOB a security agency and also seek to convert NACOB into an autonomous commission to empower them for a more effective execution of their mandate. We shall spare no effort when it comes to the fight against drugs.

Our commitment is to further resource and strengthen the security agencies with a view to establishing a more stable and peaceful country.

I pledge that under my Presidency, this election will be free fair and transparent, and that Ghana will continue to be the beacon of democracy in Africa.

This pledge has resonated with the entire world.