President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GetFund) to provide financing for the completion of the Ghana Awards House, making good on a promise he said he had not forgotten since it was first put to him.
President Mahama made the announcement on Tuesday evening while addressing the gold award and special honours presentation ceremony of the Head of State Award Scheme.
He recalled the moment the commitment was made, when the leadership of the scheme visited his office, and the promise of completing the Awards House was put on the table.
He said the instruction to GetFund had been given and that the project would be completed.
“I reaffirm my dedication to completing the Ghana Awards House. I remember the promise I made when the team led his delegation to my office. I haven’t forgotten.
“Indeed, I’ve instructed the GetFund to provide us with the funding to complete the project,” he emphasised
He noted that the Awards House is more than a building, saying “it is a lasting physical symbol of Ghana’s investment in its young people and the legacy of a programme that had been shaping character, discipline and leadership in Ghanaian youth for decades.”
The Head of State Award Scheme is Ghana’s chapter of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award, which marked its 70th anniversary at Tuesday’s ceremony.
President Mahama said the scheme had, over those seven decades, become a symbol of hope, discipline and transformation in Ghana, and that completing a permanent home for it was the least the country owed the programme and the young people it served
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
