The declaration by the government of 2020 as “The Year of Roads” by the government and the call on the government to limit the number of canoes fishing along the country’s coast are the trending stories in Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says Ghanaians are witnessing, at first hand, the declaration by the government of 2020 as “The Year of Roads”, as road projects in every region of the country are ongoing.
Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony for the construction of the Essiama-Nkroful-Telekubokazo road, in the Ellembelle constituency, President Akufo-Addo said “it is under my time as President that the road leading to Nkroful (hometown of Kwame Nkrumah) is about to be constructed.
“Indeed, the Essiama-Nkroful-Telekubokazo Road links of Kwame Nkrumah, as well as linking major cocoa growing areas in Anyinase North. It will also provide the shortest route from Esiama through Telekubokazo to Aniben junction to Tarkwa and Prestea Huni Valley Municipal Area”.
Reiterating the comment made by the Chief of Esiama, Nana Enuquagyan II, who described the President a “promise keeper”, the President added that “I am someone who promises and delivers, and that is something I want Ghanaians to know, so they can trust me.”
He said: “I told Ghanaians that this is the year of roads. Ghanaians can testify to this. We are not doing ‘green book’ propaganda roads, we are doing genuine roads on the ground for all to see. All my roads are ‘feeli feeli’ roads, not green book roads.”
The Times reports that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on the last day of his Western Regional tour cut the sod for construction of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation $25 million Takoradi Operational Headquarters.
The President said the office upon completion will provide office space for 400 staff.
He said this signifies the fulfilment of the NPP’s manifesto pledge to make the Western Region the hub of Ghana’s petroleum sector.
The seven-storey office complex will cover over 7,000 square meters of floor space.
“If it was not for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this project would have been at an advanced stage,” the President said.
Once completed, the building will have a 300-seater auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria and a business centre on the ground floor.
The newspaper says that the Director of Environment and Natural Resource Research Initiative (ENRRI), Professor Wisdom Akpalu, has called on the government to limit the number of canoes fishing along the country’s coast to make the sector more sustainable and attractive.
He explained that the current number of over 12,000 canoes in the fishing industry would have to be reduced to at least 9,000 to ease the burden of activities on the sea, especially illegal fishing.
“The move will increase the annual tonnes of fishing as well as help agencies responsible for carrying out development interventions to thoroughly monitor the fisheries sector and the industry for the overall development of the economy,” he said.
Professor Akpalu said this at a stakeholders’ forum held in Accra on Tuesday.
The forum was on the topic “managing capture fisheries in Ghana: challenges and opportunities.”
The Times also says that the Head of the Risk Communication and Social Mobilisation Committee for Ghana’s COVID-19 Response Team, Dr. Dacosta Aboagye, says the impression being created that the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) do not have good negotiation skills as well as a concrete plan for the return of football are not true.
The report noted that Football administrators and aficionados in recent weeks have cast doubts about the leadership capabilities of the Sports Ministry and the Football Association to draw up an action plan to convince and satisfy government quest to ease the restrictions on football activities.
Reacting to this assertion, Dr. Aboagye said it was never true that leaders in the football enterprise lack the plan and the negotiation skills to convince government on the return of football.
“It is never true that leaders in the football enterprise do not have good negotiations skills nor a plan for the return of football. Indeed, the GFA through the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Authority (NSA) have brought up plans for the return of the game, and we the experts are currently guiding them to execute them.”
According to him, Ghana is using the phased approach to easing anti-COVID-19 restrictions, adding that contact sports is one of the high-risk sports that need careful consideration of protocols before players are allowed to go ahead with it.
GIK/APA