D-Day: High expectations as Parliament hosts Akufo-Addo for 2018 SONA

The President is set to deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament this morning, in fulfilment of Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution.

At 10:00 am today, Nana Akufo-Addo will present a sector-by-sector account of the general health of the country and outline policies and programmes to facilitate the country’s socio-economic development.

He will also outline strategies to deal with challenges that his administration encountered in the implementation of critical policies.

The sectors that are expected to be covered in the address include education, agriculture, energy and health.

President Akufo-Addo is expected to give an update on the implementation of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy and the restoration of the teachers and nurses training allowances.

For agriculture, the President is expected to focus implementation of his government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs Programme.

Furthermore, power generation and the cost of electricity are also expected to feature prominently when he touches on the energy sector.

The sustainability of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in terms of financial commitments to clear arrears owed service providers and contractors might be a focus in the health sector.

The President is also likely to touch on other flagship policies such as the One-District, One-Factory and the One-Village, One-Dam.

President will be making a case for his government’s commitment to creating jobs when he launches a National Youth Authority(NYA) training program set to provide 3,000 digital jobs for the youth ahead of the SONA.

The program is 12-weeks online digital marketing and entrepreneurship training spread across all 10 regions.

Each region has an average of 300 slots for youths aged between 18 and 35 years with a basic appreciation of internet and social media.

Expectations

Some Ghanaians have told Joy News they are looking forward to hearing the President talk about corruption, while others have mentioned rising insecurity as their major concern.

Security expert, Dr Kwesi Aning, has said he expects security to be crucial in President Nana Akufo-Addo’s second State of the Nation Address.

He said it is security that creates the enabling environment for whatever development programmes the government had to be able to take-off.

His comments follow rising instances of violence and attacks in parts of the country.

Some vehicle spare parts dealers at Abossey-Okai in Accra have complained about the ‘nuisance taxes’ which the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) government promised to cancel.

They say they do not feel the impact of the cancellation since the cost of importing the vehicle parts is still high.

These spare parts dealers rallied significant support for the NPP in the run-up to the 2016 elections that brought Akufo-Addo to the Flagstaff House.

For prominent legal practitioner, Professor Kwaku Asare, the SONA must “address the plight of terminal LLB graduates and the arrogance of the unruly GLC.”

Meanwhile, a Deputy Information Minister says the President’s Address to Parliament Thursday will be heavy on jobs and the economy.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will also make definite comments on some of the major social intervention programmes the government is executing already.

The President delivered his first State of the Nation Address on February 21, 2017 barely two months after assuming the reins of government.

In that address, he said the government would put in place policies that will deliver sustainable growth and cut out corruption.

Source:Myjoyonline