Government To Roll Out More Interventions To Propel Economy

President John Dramani Mahama says the government will roll out more interventions to propel the sectors of economy that have registered growth. Making reference to basic social indicators of the economy that had revealed that the country was relatively doing better than other West African countries, President Mahama said there was the need to implement the right interventions to consolidate the gains made so far and escalate national transformation and growth. He also said the nation had a good story to tell with regard to the expansion of ports, pharmaceutical industry, investment in sugar and rice production, construction and allied industries. President Mahama was addressing the chiefs and queens of the Asogli State during a courtesy call on them at the end of a three-day presidential retreat for ministers of state and key government officials in Ho last Saturday. He was accompanied by the Vice-President, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur; the Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah; Volta Regional Minister, Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso; General Secretary of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia; Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah and a former Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment for Electronic Communications (GIFEC ), Mr Kofi Attoh. The retreat was to engage ministers and other appointees on issues such as the code of conduct for ministers of state, challenges facing the nation and efforts to solve them. Road fund President Mahama said that an enhanced road fund had been activated for the construction of several roads in the country, including the Juapong-Adidome, Nkwanta-Dambai and Takla-Kpenoe roads in the Volta Region. He also said that payments to the contractors for the Eastern Corridor Road would not delay because the money would be sourced from the Cocoa Roads Fund and from bonds that would be issued by the government at a particular time. President Mahama stated that the town roads for the Ho, Hohoe and Keta municipalities would be resurfaced with asphalt under an urban roads project, adding that there were plans to reconstruct the Accra-Tema Motorway into a six-lane road. He said the Volta Region had a lot of ongoing projects, some of which would be inaugurated in the course of the year. The President called on chiefs to educate their communities on bush fires and urged radio stations to step up education on bush fire prevention, especially during this dry season. In an address, the Agbogbomefia of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, commended the government for the efforts it had made to maintain the prevailing peace in the country and create an attractive environment for investment. He also praised the President for his overtures to ensure lasting peace between the chiefs and people of Nkonya and Alavanyo. Togbe Afede said the efforts to ensure peace, led by the Volta Regional Minister, Ms Ntoso, had created an enabling environment for the paramount chiefs of Nkonya and Alavanyo to visit each other in their bid to promote lasting peace between the traditional areas. The Agbogbomefia acknowledged that the nation was facing difficult times because of pressure on the treasury, but said notwithstanding that, certain projects in the region, such as the regional library and regional theatre which had been abandoned for a long time should be reactivated and completed. He also said the chiefs of Ho had been insulted because of low quality of work being undertaken on the Ho town roads. Development plan On the national 40-year development plan, Togbe Afede said the plan must be ambitious to raise the standard of living, create wealth and be scientific to be able to close the gap between the nation and the developed world. He appealed to all politicians to conduct their campaign for the next general election in a peaceful manner and be circumspect in their public utterances to maintain the nation as a symbol of peace.