President to deliver SONA March 8
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on March 8, 2023 deliver to Parliament a message on the State-of the-Nation, the Majority Leader, and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, told Parliament on Friday.
The presentation of the SONA by President Akufo-Addo was initially slated for Tuesday, February 28, 2023 but was postponed to March 8, this year.
Presenting the business statement, the programme schedule of the House for the week of this meeting, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, MP, Suame said the address would begin at 10 in forenoon.
The exercise is in pursuant to Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution which mandates the President to address the nation through Parliament at the beginning of every session of Parliament.
“The President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation,” the constitution stipulates.
As part of the address, the President would be expected to touch on the country’s deteriorating economy, the debt exchange programme, and Ghana’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a US$3 billion bailout.
The address generally would be expected to touch on security, governance, the fight against corruption, education, health, infrastructure amongst other areas of the economy.
It comes a day ahead of the launch of the 30th anniversary of Parliamentary Democracy under the Fourth Republic scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
Five ministers, meanwhile, have been programmed to respond to 48 questions from the lawmakers.
The questions are made up of 46 oral and two urgent ones for the ministers of Health, Transport, Lands and Natural Resources, Education, and Roads and Highways.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
