President Akufo-Addo will today deliver his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament amidst high expectations from Ghanaians.
Article 67 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution requires that: “The President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before the dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation.”
Akufo-Addo, who assumed office on January 7, 2017 is Ghana’s fifth president of the Fourth Republic.
He is expected to reveal to Ghanaians through their representatives in Parliament the “true state” of the nation his government inherited from the John Mahama administration.
His speech will mainly center on the economy, health, education and other sectors.
Political scientists have said they do not expect the president to announce major policies since the 2017 Budget Statement is likely to address them.
The president has already sworn into office 36 central government ministers and 10 regional ministers approved by Parliament, charging them to render service in humility and with integrity and to expeditiously declare their assets.
Meanwhile, a senior lecturer at the Political Science department of the University of Ghana Dr. Kwesi Jonah has advised Akufo-Addo to inspire confidence and hope in his maiden state of the nation address.
According to the IDEG fellow, Ghanaians will expect hope, above everything, from the President in his address to parliament.
“Because he hasn’t been in power for long, people will expect him to give hope. The president must give hope to this nation that; he is the kind of president who comes into office prepared to deal with the myriad of problems that he has been talking about throughout his campaign.
“This is the first major opportunity for the President to tell the nation that he is up to the task that he has taken upon himself; and it is very important,” Dr. Jonah told Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Monday.
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