Today in History: 3 ambitious promises by NPP government that have not been fulfilled

For most of these promises, they have been concerns that they have not been fulfilled.

A year ago today, GhanaWeb put the spotlight on three (3) of those ambitious promises that had been made by the president, but had yet to be fulfilled.

Read the full original story as first published by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, below:

Promises and pledges are akin to politicians and with every government, citizens receive a plethora of them, especially in election years.

With a few examples to support this, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo regime has shown that it sometimes takes on the concerns of the ordinary citizens and works with them, but the only problem has been that when it promises, it does not always fulfil them.

In this GhanaWeb listicle, we take a look at some timeline promises made under this administration that have not been accomplished.

Smart devices for every citizen by 2020:

The Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, announced a plan by the government to ensure that all citizens own a smart device.

“I am working with the minister of finance to make sure that hopefully by 2020 we can put a smartphone in the hands of all citizens in this country, even in our rural communities. It should be possible to manufacture and assemble those devices locally.

“So, I’m using this medium to invite those who are interested in partnering with the government to come. Even through the one district one Factory facility, we can set up computer and devices assembly plants in this country, which will supply not just our country, but the entire sub-region as well. That’s an opportunity right there,” she said.

She spoke during the donation of about 200 computers to schools in the Ablekuma West constituency under the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) cyber-laboratory project.

She said this was part of the government’s move to build a digital economy as well as facilitate the teaching and learning of ICT.

Two years have passed since the promise was made but the sector minister made no further comments on this initiative by the government.

Loans to pay rent for youth:

In the lead up to the 2020 General Elections, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) made a number of promises to Ghanaians as it sought another four-year term in office for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Significant among the many promises documented in the party’s 2020 manifesto was to give loans to the youth to pay their rent through the National Rental Assistance Scheme.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia stated unequivocally that the government had sighted the market failure between what tenants want and what landlords also want.

As a solution to the long-standing issue, Dr. Bawumia said the National Rental Assistance Scheme will be handed a seed money of GH¢100 million to set up to advance loans to applicants, but paid directly to landlords to cover rent advance payments.

“Under this scheme, if you have a job, and we can deduct regularly from your income, the National Rental Assistance Scheme will give you a loan to pay your rent allowance.

“But we are paying this not to you but to the landlord and then we will deduct monthly as we normally do,” he said.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia made this known while addressing invited members of the party at the UCC’s New Examinations Centre (NEC) Hall on Saturday, August 22, 2020.

However, since December 2020, the cost of rent in Ghana has shot up with the ordinary Ghanaian having to pay more for rent.

Some workers who live in the capital of Accra have been compelled to rent apartments far away from their offices and often go through the stress of traffic each day, a situation that reduces productivity.

Accra to be cleanest city in Africa:

In 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo pledged that he wanted to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa by the end of his first term.

“The commitment we are making and which I want you all to make with me is that by the time we end our four-year term, Accra is going to be the cleanest city in Africa,” he stated.

The President made the pledge in an address he delivered after he had been installed a chief by the people of Jamestown and the Ngleshie Alata Traditional Council under the title, Nii Kwaku Abladey Okudzeaman I, which means ‘Royal Warrior who champions the welfare of his people’.

It is the second year of the president’s second term and that promise has not been fulfilled.

While Accra cannot be said to be the cleanest city on the continent at the moment, it is worth mentioning that the efforts of the Greater Accra Region Minister, Henry Quartey, in getting discipline restored in the city, cannot be overlooked.

His ‘Let’s Make Greater Accra Work’ has seen to it that pedestrians who use Madina make use of the footbridges built there, clearing the onion market at Agbogbloshie, and he has been working at ensuring that tricycles no longer ply major highways and streets in the capital, among others.