Government says it\u00a0is working hard to\u00a0deliver the Better Ghana it promised Ghanaians ahead of the 2012 elections.<\/p>\n
Responding\u00a0to concerns raised by the #OccupyFlagStaffHouse\u00a0protesters, Deputy Minister of Information and Media relations, Felix Ofosu Kwakye said\u00a0government\u00a0\u00a0will not relent on the promise to deliver a better Ghana, in spite of the current challenges.<\/p>\n
“We shall not relent” until the better Ghana promise is achieved” he added.<\/p>\n
According to him, \u201cGovernment continues to do more to ensure that it overcomes all the issues that militate against the welfare and happiness of Ghanaians.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our conviction that we can together as a people, foster a new conversation about our country, away from the doom, gloom and despondency and hopelessness that some seek to\u00a0 so tenuously foist on this nation,\u201dthe Minister added.<\/p>\n
He said though Ghana has temporal challenges , there is no doubt that the issues discussed at the briefing “clearly show that government is committed to using the mandate for the betterment of the lives of the people”<\/p>\n
A group of Ghanaians took to the streets on July 1, 2014, to protest against the state of affairs in the country. The group also presented a petition to government listing a number of issues they want addressed immediately.<\/p>\n
The Minister in response to the issues raised in the petition outlined a number of projects and decisions undertaken by government to resolve the current economic challenges.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kwakye Ofosu listed a number of projects across different sectors to assure Ghanaians that government is working to deliver a better Ghana.<\/p>\n
Water<\/b><\/p>\n
Commenting on the water situation in the <\/b>country, the Minister revealed that there are dozens of water projects at various stages of completion around the country which will add about 30 million gallons of water per day to the existing stock.<\/p>\n
These include the 3.3 million gallons per day water project in Wa, the Nsawam water project,\u00a0 among others.<\/p>\n
He stated that the beneficiary communities to benefit from the above mentioned water project include, \u201cMedea, Hebron, Abele, Abetifi, Brepong, Tafo, Mpraeso, Oboo, Obomeng, Kotoso, Nkwakaw, among others.<\/p>\n
Mr. Ofosu Kwakye stated that government\u2019s investment in water is not limited to urban areas.<\/b><\/p>\n
He said government is undertaking a number of projects intended to make water available to rural dwellers.<\/p>\n
He said about a quarter of a million people in various communities will have access to potable water when government completes its water project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe project will add a total of 65.3 million gallons of water per day to the existing production capacity and bring total water supply to the greater Accra metropolitan area to some 158.3 million gallons of water per day,<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will ensure that demand for water in the national capital is met by the end of the period\u201d the Minister stated.<\/p>\n
Education <\/b><\/p>\n
Speaking on the strides made in the educational sector, Mr. Kwakye noted that at the basic level alone, enrolment has increased by 829,625 in the last four years owing largely to interventions aimed at guaranteeing access to education for students.<\/p>\n
He further noted that a total of 2064 basic school projects have been under construction since the period under review.<\/p>\n
\u201c432 of these were funded from regular government sources, the remaining 1,632 are being funded by GET Fund\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than half of these projects have been completed and handed over to the educational authorities, \u201cthe Minister said<\/p>\n
According to him, over 1 million exercise books have been distributed since government started the free exercise book intervention.<\/p>\n
In 2013, he stated that \u201csome 32 million exercise books were distributed to over 4 million basic school children school children across the country\u201d<\/p>\n
He decried the number of untrained teachers in the country adding that government is taking measures to increase the number of teachers in the country by enrolling more teachers into the educational sector.<\/p>\n
Health <\/b><\/p>\n
On health, the Minister said government is addressing the health needs of Ghanaians in a comprehensive manner.<\/p>\n
Mr. Ofosu Kwakye said the infrastructure, equipment and personnel needs of the health sector are all receiving urgent attention.<\/p>\n
The Minister cited various projects including the 500 bed Military bed hospital project in Kumasi as measures being undertaken to expand various hospitals in the country.<\/p>\n
He also revealed plans for the construction of a Police hospital which is expected to be expanded to 600 beds.<\/p>\n
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By: Marian Efe Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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