Economy on path of recovery following critical interventions - President - Economy on path of recovery following critical interventions

The power crisis

With regard to the power crisis, he was pleased to note that things had improved quite a bit, adding, however, that “we are not yet where we should be, particularly with regard to the cost of energy. This is a great threat to the operations of business and the cost of living in the country”.

In that vein, he said, the Minister of Finance, in collaboration with the Minister of Energy, was at an advanced stage of floating a $2.5-billion energy bond to retire the $2.4 billion debt overhang on the energy sector and expressed the hope that the development would attract more investment into the sector and reduce the cost of energy.

“I am much relieved, however, that the supply and distribution have improved and we are working to bring costs down and make energy supply generally more reliable,” he stressed.

One of the tenets of his government, President Nana Akufo-Addo said, the focus was the commitment to inclusive and accountable governance.

He said inclusive governance required wider participation of Ghanaians by broadening the democratic base and that explained the government’s desire to re-organise the system of regional governance.

To that extent, he said, attention was being given to some petitions that had been received regarding the creation of new regions and had been forwarded to the Council of State for advice.

If the response from the council was positive, he said, then the next step would be the establishment of a commission to inquire into the demands and make recommendations on all the factors involved in the creation of those new regions.

“The President is further required to act in accordance with the recommendations of the commission, which would involve a referendum to be organised by the Electoral Commission (EC) in the affected areas to solicit the views of the affected people,” he explained.