I cannot afford to fail Ghanaians - President

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated that his government could not afford to fail Ghanaians considering the overwhelming confidence reposed in him in the 2016 general elections.

Addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of Twifo Praso on the first day of his two-day visit to the Central Region on Thursday, the President said “I am fully aware of the confidence Ghanaians had in me when they voted for me”.

“And I know that Ghanaians voted for me and the NPP with the high hopes that we can turn the economic fortunes of this country around and return it onto the path of prosperity so I cannot afford to fail you”.

According to the President, his topmost priority was to put in place prudent economic policies that would massively transform the economy to ensure economic prosperity for the present and posterity.

He expressed the commitment of his Government to fulfil all promises he made to Ghanaians adding that, “the promises I made to you was not just to win your votes but they are initiatives that would help the nation”.

President Akufo Addo said, he felt vindicated that the much awaited free SHS he promised was going to start in September this year.

“When we said we will bring free SHS, people said that we are doing it for politics, trying to buy votes, we can’t do it and that I was lying to the people of Ghana,” he said.

The President urged Ghanaians to continue having faith in him that he would deliver on his promise adding that, ”in no time you will realise that you made the right choice by voting for me”.

He further assured the people of Twifo Ati-Mokwaa that the Cape Coast -Twifo Praso and the Twifo Praso- Dunkwa-On-Offin roads as well as the bridge on the Pra river would be constructed in due course in his first term.

Mr Joseph Aidoo Boahene, Chief Executive officer of COCOBOD said the Government was putting in place various interventions to revive the once vibrant cocoa industry to attract more youth into the sector.

He said the Government met about $20 billion COCOBOD debt but had been able to clear it within the six month period, thereby making national savings of over $400,000, which could have been a penalty.

He mentioned the purchase of weeding and plugging machines and the reintroduction of mass cocoa spraying as some of the interventions by the Government to ensure increase yields and economic returns for cocoa farmers.

Mr Aidoo Boahene was confident that by such interventions, Ghana’s cocoa production could increase to one million metric tonnes of cocoa by the end of the year.

Oseadeewo Kwesi Kenning IV, Paramount chief of Atimokwaa said some illegal miners continued to operate in the area and appealed to the President to deploy some taskforce to the area to compliment the efforts of chiefs.

He said the constituency was fully prepared to embrace the Government’s one district, one factory initiative and has accordingly year marked a hundred acre land as an industrial park in the area.