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NPP fulfills 14% of 2016 manifesto promises
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has shot down claims by the ruling government that it has achieved 78 per cent of its manifesto promises since assuming office in 2016.
In what it terms a thorough analysis and scrutiny of all 631 promises made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the round up to the 2016 elections, the NDC scored the government 14 per cent in terms of delivery.
“We have discovered that the NPP made 631 promises and not 388 as the Vice President put out and after thorough analysis, combing through documents and what they have told us in Parliament, it will shock you to realise that only 86 out of these 631 promises has been delivered, so, the percentage achieved is 14 per cent and not 78 per cent as they claim,” Member of Parliament of North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa asserted.
In a sector by sector presentation themed, “NPP 2016 manifesto in perspective: claims, deception and reality,” the MP contended that “claims of achieving 78 per cent of their promises is a scam and per what they have done, we are generous to score them an F.”
Vice President, Dr Alhaji Bawumia at a town hall meeting in February this year had indicated that despite inheriting a challenging economy from the NDC, the NPP had tackled the challenges head on, delivering 78 per cent of its manifesto promises.
“In all, we made 388 promises in our manifesto. The most recent validation exercise at the end of January 2019 shows that we had delivered or are delivering on 303 (78 per cent) of the promises and we are on course to do even more,” he declared.
But giving further breakdown of the NDC’s assessment of the manifesto, Mr Okudzeto cited for instance that in the agricultural sector, of the 74 promises made, only 13 had been delivered with 61 (82 per cent), outstanding.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee among others singled out promises on the “one village, one dam” policy, export of horticultural crops, restoring and restocking the Korle Lagoon with fish as well as restoring cocoa production to over one million metric tonnes per annum, where government had failed abysmally.
On the economy, the opposition claimed that the high cost of doing business in the country coupled with botches in maintaining fiscal discipline, achieving double digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth annually, reducing government borrowing among others, has seen the NPP realising only 27 out of 45 promises made in the sector.
The NDC rated sectors like Chieftaincy and Culture, Local Government and Rural Development and Youth and Sports, zero with the others performing dreadfully contrary to promises made in the NPP manifesto.
Mr Ablakwa, described the promises delivered by the NPP as “face-saving theories” insisting that, “Ghanaians measure results and not efforts.”
He thus used the occasion to hint of the NDC 2020 manifesto which would be outdoored in coming days calling on the electorate to count on the party to deliver on its manifesto should they win power in the coming elections.
Meanwhile, the NDC launched a website, www.nppfailedpromises.com, to help Ghanaians fact-check the promises of the NPP government.
Source: Ghanaian Times
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
