Info Minister Outlines Government's Achievement
The new Minister for Information and National Orientation, Hon. Steven Asamoah Boateng, last Tuesday took his turn to outlined some achievements chalked up by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in a message he termed� “The Good News in Ghana must Reach Everyone: the True Story of the NPP government and the hard working people of Ghana, Part One”. Hon Asamoah Boateng, who officially assumed office yesterday, was speaking to journalists in Accra ahead of a Meet-the-Press by the Minister for Aviation, Hon. Gloria Akuffo.
The Minister reiterated that “the good news is that as a nation, we have come a long way from a state of this country in January 2001 when the NPP government was given the mandate to govern. We have chosen this particular moment to amplify the good news that is evident for all to see and feel, because of recent muddling deliberately being spread around,” he observed.
He said Ghana's total public debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has decreased from 189 percent in 2000 to 48 percent in 2007. This, he noted, means that resources that previously went to service debts have been freed for the provision of social services.
According to him, interest rates and real interest rates have gone down substantially, bank lending rates that averaged 47 percent in December 2000 have also gone down to about 24 percent.
He noted that in spite of the current increase in the price of crude oil at the world market, year to year inflation in Ghana has dropped from 40.50 percent in 2000 to 13.75 percent at the close of April, 2008.
“Ghana is now counted to have had one of the most successful currency redenominations in the history of the world”, Hon Asamoah Boateng added.
However, the Minister pointed out that Ghana for the first time entered the international capital market and was able to raise $750 million, explaining that “Ghana's bond was oversubscribed to a tune of US$ 3200million”.
He said the significance of Ghana's going to the international capital market is that it is a signal that the economy is strong and stable.
The minister informed the journalists that licensing of credit reference agencies have started in accordance with the Credit Reporting Act, which he said would soon become an important part of the banking system. “This would make it easier for credible applicants to access credit from the lending institutions”.
“Already, we are seeing the fruits of government efforts in this area. Less than a decade ago, many of us had difficulty opening a bank account or getting credit from the bank”, he said
Mr. Asamoah Boateng, touching on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), observed that the scheme covers about 95 percent of diseases in the country and offers free ante-natal and post-natal care for pregnant and nursing mothers as well as ensuring that normal child delivery is free.�� �
He said over 176 health infrastructure projects are on-going throughout the country, including 22 district hospitals, 50 health centers and 26 Community Health and Planning System (CHPS).
“The educational reforms are meant to make education more responsive to the current challenges in the country. The two-year pre-school, six year primary school, three years Junior High School (JHS) and four year Senior High School (SHS) are� meant to make education science and technology based”, he said.
The minister noted that Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) is to benefit the extremely poor who do not have productive capacity in society
These achievements, he said, were not chalked by accident, “various policy mix and programmes made it happened.” “The credit should go not just to the NPP government that led this progress; but to all Ghanaians” he added.
Mr. Asamoah Boateng noted that real incomes and wages have improved substantially in the last eight years, citing the minimum wage which he� lauded,� has gone up to GH�2.25. “It is important to note that while the minimum wage of GH�0.42 was taxable in January 2001; taxation on this was abolished in January 2006”, he concluded