President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for construction work to begin on a GH¢5 million Ghana Award House — a new administrative building for the Head of State Award Scheme.
The construction of the administrative building is expected to help drive growth, impact and ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the Award Scheme to all young people in Ghana and beyond.
Speaking on Wednesday at the ceremony, President Akufo-Addo said since its inception in 1967, the Head of State Award Scheme had challenged and touched the lives of over 750,000 young people who had participated and benefited from the Scheme.
“I have always been excited about the work being done by the Award Scheme and that is why I continue to urge them to ensure that as many young Ghanaians as possible benefit from it,” he said.
The President said to achieve this ambitious target, a befitting administrative office is needed to be built for the Scheme for its operations.
“The provision of a Ghana Award House, to serve this purpose, is my commitment towards driving the agenda of the Award Scheme,” the President said.
When completed, the Ghana Award House will comprise a two-storey office block, with a 200-capacity conference room and a training facility designed to house the National Secretariat of the Head of State Award Scheme.
President Akufo-Addo said the “completion of the Ghana Award House will put Ghana ahead of many of the countries running the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.”
That, he noted, would mean that Ghana is the second country in Africa, after the Presidents’ Award of Kenya, and one of the few countries globally, to have its own administrative office.”
President Akufo-Addo also announced the government’s contribution to the project, which include a GH¢1 million allocation of vehicles for the secretariat’s use, as well as the operational cost of the Secretariat.
“The government pledges to do what it can to ensure that the project is completed in the next 36 weeks,” he added.
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD
