If the economy is broke fix it, Nana Addo to Mills
By Abdul Salam Sule, Ghanadot
Accra, May 25, Ghanadot - The 2008
Presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic
Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
today called the Mills administration
about the economy.
"if it is broke as you alleged,
then fix it," Nana told a cheering crowd at a Press Conference
in Accra today.
The conference
was dubbed 'Nana Akufo Addo speaks.'
It was held at the Osu
Presbyterian Church hall this morning.
| |
|
|
| |
Nana Addo's press
conference |
|
In addressing the attendees,
Nana Addo noted that, there
was a significant depreciation of the
value of the Cedi when
compared with the major currencies
of the world. And that it was the
responsibility of President Mills and
his administration to do something
about it rather than constantly
finding fault with members of the
previous administration.
"While the business of the nation awaits the serious attention
of government, all that we hear are excuses upon excuses, the
most common of them being that the problems of the nation are
all the fault of the NPP.
Fellow Ghanaians, excuses can never be a substitute for vision
and purposeful action and can never lead to the Better Ghana we
were promised", he observed.
He also wondered whether President Mills and his economic team
have what it takes to provide solutions to the current economic
problem facing Ghanaians.
This he said was because, between 1999-2000 when
President Mills as Vice-President and Dr Dufour as Governor of
the Bank of Ghana were managing the economy of the country, high
inflation and interest rates were recorded and they failed to
deal with the situations until the Kuffour administration took
over the reign of government in 2001.
Nana Addo revealed that, the Kufour led NPP administration in
January this year left a nation with the best economic growth
and the best economic performance and quadrupled the GDP from
US$3.9 billion in 2001 to US$17 billion in 2008. He said,
despite the global financial crisis, Ghana posted a record
growth rate of 7.3% last year.
"The NDC in 2008 promised us a better Ghana. This should mean,
among other things, better jobs, better pay, better personal
security, better sanitation, better homes, better schools,
better hospitals, better roads, better prices of goods and
services.
It is not a better Ghana when instead of lean government; we
have lean kenkey at a higher price" Nana Addo said.
The Presidential candidate of NPP in the 2008 general elections
noted that, it iwas imperative on the
Mills' government to acts to restore
confidence in the management of the economy.
"To this end, I urge the government to act with dispatch to
address the free-fall of the cedi by working with private
business here and in the Ghanaian Diaspora, the Central Bank and
private banks, while making responsible utterances on our
economy, at home and abroad" he advised.
He said, the relative stability of the cedi
was very crucial in the creation of jobs, stimulation of
commerce and the strong performance of our economy and it would
go a long way to restoring the confidence of the business
community which was absolutely
essential for getting the investment that would
bring systematic growth and the rapid expansion of the economy.
This, he stressed, was the surest way to prosperity for
the broad masses of our people.
On the labour front, Nana Addo urged the government to act with
dispatch to bring stability to the labour front by completing
and implementing a new salary regime for public sector workers.
He said, as part of the comprehensive system of
salaries and benefits, the Pension Act, introduced by the NPP
government and passed by Parliament, should
be implemented with the inclusion of farmers and fishermen to
bring relief to those whose sweat and toil moved Ghana forward.
On the issue of the drug menace he commended the President for
his professed commitment to fighting the drug menace.
"It is necessary, however, to distinguish between
talk and action. Talking about increased commitment to fighting
the drug menace, while reducing the budget for drug enforcement
will not do", he said.
He
therefore advised the government to increase the budget of the
drug enforcement agencies.
Nana Akufo-Addo also condemned the attack on some of the members
of the New Patriotic Party by some supporters of the ruling NDC
and asked the government to bring the perpetrators to book.
He also accused the government for meddling
with the affairs of the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis and
advised them to stick to the road map to peace which was
fashioned by the three imminent Chiefs, the AsanteHene, Na-Yirri
and Yagbon Wura.
In a message to all members of the New Patriotic Party,Nana Addo
urged them to unite and said the party was
strategising on how it could come back to power in 2012. He
asked them not to loose hope but work hard to bring the party
back to power.
Ghanadot
