Accra, Jan. 15, - President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated government's commitment to boost private
businesses, announcing a major reduction in electricity tariffs for
Non-residential users from January this year.
This year, small businesses and
enterprises would enjoy an average reduction of 14 per cent in utility tariffs,
with barbers getting a cut of 18 per cent, hairdressers and beauticians, 15.7 per
cent and some 9.8 per cent cut for tailors and fashion designers.
President Akufo-Addo made the
announcement on Monday at the opening of the three-day Eighth edition of the
Annual Salon Academy of the National Association of Beauticians and Hairdresser
of Ghana (NABH) held at the Mensah Sarbah Hall, University of Ghana, Legon,
near Accra.
This year's event is under the
theme: "Creating the Best Learning Environment in All Training
Centres".
The Salon Academy, which drew
participation from all over the country and from West African countries of
Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, is aimed at enhancing and improving the
skills of beauticians and hairdressers.
The President told the
hairdressers and beauticians that government was determined to make their
businesses grow, and that, with the normalisation of the power situation in the
country, it (government) would ensure businesses flourish and bring the desired
growth Ghana deserves.
With small business, like that of
the hairdressers paying an average electricity bill of GH₵562.00 monthly last year, the
reduction announced by the President is expected to cut their bills to GH¢473.00
a month.
"This means GH¢88.00 has
been taken from the electricity tariff that you pay. We want to encourage
private business, and make business stand on its feet,” President Akufo-Addo
said.
The President was grateful to the
Association for their support and prayers, which brought him and the New
Patriotic Party victory in the 2016 election, and assured them that he would
fulfil the promises he made in the run up to that poll.
He noted that, one of the pledges
he made to them, the implementation of the Free Senior High School policy, was
now a reality.
“By the grace of God, Free SHS,
which some said was not possible or would be possible only after 20 years, is
now a reality in our country. Free SHS has come to stay. It is going to be a
central feature of the education architecture of our country.
"We are not going to go back
on it. By 2020, all students in form 1, form 2 and form 3, would enjoy the free
SHS policy,” he said to a thunderous applause.
The President told the
association that government had made it a policy decision to centralise all
vocational training institutions under the education ministry to enable the
scaling up of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the
country, and make skills acquisition readily available to Ghanaians.
“My government has made the
decision to centralise all of them (TVET) under the Ministry of Education, so
we can scale up TVET training, and make it better and more robust for you.
The demand for an industrial park
in every region is part of the NPP manifesto, and you know that all the pledges
I have made to the Ghanaian people, I am going to fulfil each and every one of
them,” he said.
He called on the members of the
association to continue supporting his government, saying “this government is
your government; it is the government of the private sector."
"Whatever we can do to
strengthen the private sector, we will do it. We have come to do a job to raise
Ghana up, and, with your support, we will raise Ghana up. The Black Star is
going to shine and shine and shine again.”
GNA
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