President Akufo-Addo’s tours gave him close view of developments – Oppong Nkrumah
The Information Ministry has explained that President Akufo-Addo's regional tours were to afford him first-hand information on on-going projects.
Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told a press briefing in Accra on Monday, October 14, 2019, that the President's tour in the Bono, Ashanti and Eastern regions gave him the opportunity to witness progress of government projects.
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“The president tour in the Bono, Ashanti and Eastern Regions afforded him the opportunity to witness at first hand the progress of work in these regions on his administration's flagship programmes. The tour also afforded him an opportunity to hear directly from other citizens, interest groups and traditional rulers who gave him valuable insights of what they make of his administration's delivery so far and what more we've got to focus on before the year is over,” he said.
Oppong Nkrumah also raised key issues that hit the attention of the president on his tour, including education, infrastructure, and agriculture.
Education
He said on education, "The president was impressed with the delivery of the free senior high school programme and was particularly happy to see all three streams - Form 1, 2 and 3 now benefit from the programme."
He also said that about 1.2 billion Ghanaians would be benefiting from this programme, adding that the President had the opportunity to meet with many students across the three regions.
Planting for food and jobs
According to the minister, all the areas he visited particularly requested government intervention to cover other crops like cashew, a request he said was very dominant in the Bono region.
Oppong Nkrumah added that the President has shown his commitment to ensuring that his team in parliament will push the passage of the Tree Crops Bill in parliament this October, to allow all necessary institutional support for cashew and other tree crops to be fully rolled out.
Infrastructure
The Information Minister said the President had the opportunity to meet with ministers, contractors working on key projects such as roads, warehouses, youth development, and the rehabilitation of the Sunyani airport, as well as educational institutions.
He said the president urged the ministers to ensure the prompt payment of all owed. The President will next visit the Greater Accra and Volta regions, the two outstanding regions he is yet to visit in his most recent tours.