Our Campaign Promises Coming to Fruition – Ghana VP Dr. Bawumia

by Yoyo Poku

On Wednesday, July 11, 2018, the Ghana Consulate and the Permanent Mission to the U.N. organized a Town Hall meeting for the Ghanaian community in New York City and beyond with H.E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, in attendance.

The meeting was held at the Rose Hill Campus of Fordham University in the Bronx.

During his talk, Dr. Bawumia highlighted numerous changes that his NPP government has initiated and/or are in the pipeline.

These include, but are not limited to, the free senior high school program, among other educational initiatives, the reduction of the unemployment rate of graduates by enrolling them in the Nation Builders Corps, (which seeks to absorb new graduate students into the workforce), restoration of the Teacher and Nursing Training allowances; and implementation of the Zongo project, which seeks to improve quality of life in Zongo communities in Ghana.

The Vice President also outlined measures taken to reduce taxes and to increase the use of technology to facilitate efficiency in running the country. He conceded that thus far, taxes are the largest source of revenue for the government to fund most projects and infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, road development, government employee wages, among other needs.

He quickly added that notwithstanding, the NPP, on its assumption of power, reviewed and abolished or reduced about fifteen different taxes. “Too many taxes impinge negatively on doing business in the country.” he said.

He reminded the audience that the present administration inherited some $73 million dollars of debt that Ghana owed to foreign nationals.

He pointed out that unending bureaucracy and cumbersome barriers and processes at Ghana’s ports have been consolidated to reduce redundancy and bring about more efficiency and transparency in the system.

He said structures are being developed to constantly monitor phases of reforms being employed at the ports.

Dr. Bawumia reiterated the need for a new biometrically based national ID card that would uniquely identify every Ghanaian.

The Vice President anticipates that the ongoing project will be completed within a year, after which Ghanaians in the diaspora will also be registered.

He observed that his government is taking advantage of emerging technologies to aid in several frontal developments that include GPS digital addresses along the length and breadth of Ghana, use of digital drivers’ licenses, an E-visa platform, electronic land title surveys and updates, as well as a sustainable and ef cient mobile-to-mobile banking system.

Currently, over 60 percent of Ghanaians do not have access to a bank account, yet the average Ghanaian possesses a mobile phone.

According to Dr. Bawumia, when fully functional, Ghana will be one of the pioneers to offer mobile-to-mobile banking. “President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s campaign promises are gradually coming to fruition,” emphasized a beaming Vice President.

Present at the event were H.E. Mrs. Martha A.A. Pobee, Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Hon. Prof Gyan Baffour, Minister of Planning, Hon. Mrs. Patricia Appia-gyei, Deputy Minister of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation and other dignitaries.

The Master of Ceremony was Professor (Emeritus) Samuel Amoako, Ghana’s Consul General in New York.

Posted by on Aug 13 2018. Filed under Community News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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