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Ghana is rising and the achievements of President John Mahama are “significant” and “palpable,” Communication Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah has said.
He told journalists on Monday, 28 November at the Meet The Press series that despite the “outright lies, fabrications and falsehoods” of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), the evidence for Ghana’s rise was “abundant”.
Dr Boamah said even though the NPP tried, through a “dubious” election petition to “cripple” the Mahama’s administration, “it is undeniable that our dear nation Ghana is rising and the evidence can be gleaned by all.”
For instance, he said, the latest UN Human Development Index has categorised Ghana within the middle human development group ahead of neighbours Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria. “This record is better than what we have achieved in the past.”
Life expectancy, Dr Boamah said, has increased, while infants, under-five, child and maternal mortalities have reduced.
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), he added, “continues to witness exponential growth with key performance indicators like outpatient utilisation claims and active membership … showing very positive growth.”
In the education sector, Dr Boamah said: “Youth literacy has improved and mean year in school increasing. Raw scores at the BECE level have hit an unprecedented level above 500 and over 3000 students attaining this feat which prior to 2014 had never happened. More students are attaining grades A1 to C6 at the WASSCE level.”
On utilities, Dr Boamah said: “Today water is more available than before. From a low of 58 percent in 2008 to an impressive 80 percent of our population have access to clean drinking water. Access to electricity is now 82.5% from around 53% in 2008. Mobile telephony subscription has risen from a little over 11million in 2008 to over 35million and still counting. Data subscription is above 18million.”
On the economy, Dr Boamah said the budget deficit “dropped from a high of 12% in 2012 to 5%” while “inflation is on a downward trend. Our debt sustainability has improved and ratings agency Moody’s has recognised this.”
He said more jobs are being created and Ghana is the 7th least corrupt country in Africa according to Transparency International’s corruption perception index. Also, Ghana is second in Africa for the 2015 Rule of Law Index of the world justice project, he added.
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