Alexander Affenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for the Effutu constituency has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Akufo-Addo has completed 60 out of the 101 community-day school buildings (E-blocks).
He said the number of E-blocks completed by the NPP is higher than the 29 completed under the NDC.
“As at the time we assumed office, they who were the initiators of this initiative had completed only 29. This government believes in continuity…so far, we have successfully completed as at 2022, 31 more so making it a total of 60 community-day schools that are in operation,” Affenyo-Markin told the pressmen in Parliament on Friday, April 19.
He added, “The rest have been reassessed and I can say on authority that 15 of these E-blocks have been earmarked for resumption of work.”
The Majority Leader further indicated that the government has completed a total of 747 structures across the country to augment the existing infrastructure in senior high schools.
FSHS records 1.4 million in enrollment
The Effutu lawmaker further revealed that as of December 2023, a total of 1.4 million vulnerable households had benefited from the implementation of the Free Senior High School.
READ ALSO: Economic conditions would’ve been worse if NDC were still in office – Affenyo-Markin
He said, “Upon successful implementation of this Free SHS we have had an enrollment increasing by 75 percent. In terms of numbers, we have had 800,000 plus getting access from the beginning up to 1.4 million.”
“Currently we have almost 1.4 million of Ghanaian children in school, majority of them are from vulnerable homes,” he emphasised.
Reduction in electricity tariff
Mr. Affenyo-Markin also noted that despite the apparent economic hardships, the situation would have been worse under the National Democratic Congress (NDC), “given their posture while in government.”
He argued that the NPP are better managers of the Ghanaian economy, including the energy sector, than their NDC counterparts.
He emphasised that the NPP, upon assumption of office, implemented key policies such as a reduction in electricity tariffs to cushion businesses and households as well as the free senior high school policy, which, according to him, the NDC, while in government, said were “political talk.”
“Somewhere in 2015 when Ghanaians were calling for reduction in utility tariffs, particularly electricity, the then president Mahama, currently the flagbearer said the cost of the production of electricity was so high that there was no way they could reduce electricity tariff. The NPP government today, the NDC criticises, took steps to negotiate a major tariff reduction.”
“Households enjoyed between 17 to 20 percent, corporate enjoyed reduction up to 25 percent, the mining companies benefited and the records are there that upon assumption of office, the very thing we spoke about in opposition which our friends then in government said it was political talk, we came in and announced this major tariff reduction,” he said.
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