NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESS
2000 MANIFESTO
GHANA:
Spreading The Benefits
Of Development
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
2000 MANIFESTO
GHANA: SPREADING THE
BENEFITS OF
DEVELOPMENT
FOREWORD - By the
Founder and leader of
The NDC,
Flt. Lt. J.J. Rawlings iv
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PREFACE - By the NDC Presidential
Candidate,
Professor Atta-Mills ix
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INTRODUCTION:
.
1
i. The
National Democratic Congress
1
ii. Development
of Freedom
2
iii. Decentralisation
For Development
3
iv. A
New Anti Poverty Focus
4
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A
MORAL AND JUST SOCIETY
6
i. The
Fight against Corruption
6
ii. Human
Rights
6
iii. Affirmative
Action for Women
8
iv. A
New Political Culture
9
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THE
ECONOMY
11
i. Macro-Economic
Stability
11
ii. Production
and Productivity
14
iii. The
Investment Drive
15
iv. Balanced
Development
16
v. A
Strategic Industrial Thrust
16
vi. New
International Trading Relationships
19
vii. Regional
Economic Integration
20
viii. Agriculture and Food Security
20
ix. Cocoa
- The Old Faithful
25
x. Diversifying
our Exports
27
xi. Our
Forests
28
xii. Adding
Value to our Minerals
30
xiii. Energy for Growth
31
xiv. The
Tourists are coming
35
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THE
SOCIAL CONTRACT
37
i. Promoting
employment
37
ii. Social
Security
40
iii. Health
Happiness
40
iv. Education
for All
42
v. Every
Ghanaian must have a Home
45
vi. Water
- a Human need
47
vii. Transportation
48
viii. Roads
50
ix. Urban
Planning and Development Strategy
51
x. Our
Land, Our Basic Resource
53
xi. Too
Many People?
54
xii. The
Environment
55
xiii. Science and Technology for Development
56
xv. The
Media
59
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MIND,
BODY AND SPIRIT
61
i. Our
Cultural Values
61
ii. Religion
and Morality
62
iii. Sports
and Recreation
62
iv. The
Future Belongs to the Youth
64
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SECURITY
66
i. Our
Territory Integrity
66
ii. Law
and Order
67
iii. A
New Image for the Police
69
iv. Justice
- Our National Motto
70
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GHANA
AND THE WORLD
72
i. West
Africa
72
ii. Africa
72
iii. Ties
with Fraternal Parties
72
iv. South-South
Commitment
73
v. The
NDC Ghana and the World
74
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CONCLUSION
75
FOREWORD
BY THE FOUNDER AND LEADER OF
NDC
Seven
years ago, the NDC took over the very solid foundations for the development of
our country that had been laid in the revolutionary period of the PNDC. The NDC not only continued with the
pragmatic economic and political policies of the PNDC but also has actually
succeeded in the translation of the policies into real development structures
that any developing country can be proud of.
Today,
the advances we have made in social, cultural, economic and political
circumstances have become the standard beacons of development that the
international community point out to other countries in need of reconstruction.
Our
continued success in ensuring national development, peace and stability are a
reflection of the Party's ability to respond effectively to the emerging
challenges.
Ghana's
new votes, especially the youth, who we expect to critically analyze and
appreciate the contents of this Manifesto, must realize that they have grown up
with, and have taken for granted, the world of communication centres, the IDD,
mobile telephones, internet services, asphalt roads and holidays abroad for the
more privileged ones among them.
They
must realize that the generation before them, for whom the PNDC/NDC revolution
was launched, had to travel from every part of the country to the Accra Central
Post Office before they could make overseas telephone calls to relatives and
friends, and such calls had to be booked three days in advance!
Apart
from the Accra-Tema motorway, virtually no road in the country was considered
vehicle-worthy. You could count the
number of vehicles on the roads because there was no fuel to power them.
"Kalabule"
was the term used to describe the phenomenon of acute shortages of basic
consumables.
To
get a tin of milk, a kilo of sugar or a cake of toilet soap, you had to know
somebody who could then see the manager of a "Designated Supermarket"
who, if you were lucky, could get you what were then referred to as
"Essencos" or essential commodities.
And
all because we had at the time, politicians and bureaucrats who worked and
lived for only themselves and their immediate families while the ordinary
person and the national economy suffered.
Today,
as a result of the responsible and progressive PNDC/NDC governance, the image
of Ghana as a morally rotten, economically bankrupt and politically unstable
country has disappeared. The new image
and, indeed reality, is that of a successfully reconstructed society that
serves as the model of emulation by other countries.
In
place of narrow, pot-holed roads we now have wide long-stretching asphalted
roads. The number of schools, from
kindergarten through primary to JSS, SSS, polytechnics and universities, have
increased. Clinics are at the doorsteps
of many villages. Electricity is
extended to remote rural communities.
The water is not only of better quality than before but is accessible to
many who previously lacked it.
Even
though we do not produce oil, we do not have to queue for petrol. The consumer goods that previously required
a "purchasing chit" from a Minister of State are now available to
all.
What
the PNDC/NDC governments have done is simply this. We have rebuilt the social, economic and political infrastructure
of development that was irresponsibly destroyed.
We
have also created the conditions for gainful employment for all for real and
meaningful grassroots political participation and representation. The political representation ratio of 1:50
in the combined local and central government systems puts us in the top bracket
in world-wide democratic practice.
What
our achievements mean for every Ghanaian is that through hard work, each
individual can increase his or her income and better his or her lot.
The
call to work is a call to the youth in particular, for they it were who did not
witness the deprivations of the 1970s when our country was sent crawling on its
knees.
As
we get ready to cast our votes in December 2000 elections, I make a call on all
Ghanaians of goodwill and truth who acknowledge the changes that have occurred
in our country, to VOTE for the NDC; to VOTE for the TRUTH.
The
Manifesto of our Party is a testimony of what the NDC and its political allies
have achieved. It is a social contract
that the NDC is signing with the people of Ghana to deliver peaceful political
relations and real economic welfare to all, without discrimination.
The
Manifesto is particularly a signal for our womenfolk to be recognised,
respected and given their due places in the Party, in Parliament and in
Government. As the section in the
Manifesto on "Affirmative Action for Women" makes clear, we are
committed to "forty percent women's representative at all levels of
Government". We believe that
"women's" rights are natural rights" and we will work to ensure
that "men and women stand side by side as equal partners in
progress".
The
Manifesto is also a signal to the media that the period of "NDC -
bashing" is over. We have to work
to create a new era of partnership in development between the NDC government
and the media so that there will be less need for legislation.
We
ask you to read this Manifesto because we want you to judge us by it at the end
of our tenure. Read it, and judge for
yourself that we have been modest because we are pragmatic in what we say and
do.
Read
it and see for yourself that we have promised nothing more than gainful hard
work that you the electorate and us the Party must understand to make our
individual and collective lives better.
And
better, we can make it. For a lot of
development has taken place. What has
to happen is that its benefits must be spread to all. This is the meaning of the theme of our Manifesto - "Ghana:
Spreading the benefits of Development".
So
as you cast your vote in December, remember that the NDC is the Party to vote
for because it seeks, in the next four years, to make a beneficiary of the
country's development.
In
voting for the NDC, you vote for yourself.
Vote
NDC.
Vote
for Unity, Stability and Development.
J.J. RAWLINGS
PREFACE
BY
THE NDC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
In
this Manifesto, we have summarised what we will do as a Government after we
have won the elections in December, 2000.
We
will do these things because they will provide for the expressed needs of the
people of this country. We can do them
because they are polices and programmes that have been carefully considered and
planned for and for which we know we will be able to obtain the required human
and material resources.
The
national agenda for the 21st century is not so much a political
agenda as an economic, development and technological agenda. That challenge we are prepared to meet,
because we have tried and tested and we have the dedicated men and women
capable of carrying the process forward.
We
need all on board to help us meet the challenges. The help you can give is by giving us your vote. But the help does not end there. After that, we need you to work hard in your
chosen field of endeavour.
Hard
work, discipline and openness are what will rescue our economy from the prison
where she has been kept by a combination of unfair international commodity
prices and unfair international terms of trade.
We
have to be productive if we are to enjoy the fruits of our years of
sacrifice. This Manifesto rightly
states that, "what determines the ability of the economy to provide fair
and sustainable rewards for our work is not our desires or even our needs but
our productivity".
Vote
for the Akatamanso on Election Day, for in voting for the NDC you are voting
for yourself.
Vote
NDC.
Vote
Unity, Stability, Development.
J.E. ATTA-MILLS
INTRODUCTION:
THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESS
The
NDC has come a long way since 1992 when this Party was launched. We have won two significant victories at
elections in 1992 and in 1996. We have
succeeded in building one big political family and in establishing one great
political tradition.
We
are the first government in the history of the country to have successfully
completed its term of office and led the process of changing government through
the ballot box.
Of
course we have had problems. In order
to address those problems in the future, we need to constantly remind ourselves
of how we conceived of the NDC at its birth in 1992.
We
stated in our first Manifesto:
"Our
Party is NATIONAL because it knows no regional, ethnic or religious boundaries
but encompasses all Ghanaians who are united in the conviction that the only
way to a peaceful and prosperous future is to build upon the achievements of
the past (nineteen) years (including the revolutionary era of the PNDC).
"Our
Party is DEMOCRATIC because it has its origins in the grassroots participation
and the involvement of the ordinary citizens in the responsibility of decision
making at the local and national levels".
"Our
Party is a CONGRESS because it is the coming together of groups and individuals
from diverse backgrounds and political philosophies who share a common
determination to build a stable, just and democratic society, and who all
believe that the principle of development through the united participation of
all Ghanaians remains the foundation of our national democratic
programme."
2000
is a year of change: change for the NDC and change for Ghana. A new political leader, Professor Atta
Mills, replaces the indefatigable Flt. Lt. Rawlings as our flag bearer for the
2000 elections. But it is continuity in
change, because it heralds an opportunity to continue with the polices which
have found favour with the electorate in two successive elections.
It
also offers us all the chance to do new things and to do things anew. Therein lies the challenge of the 2000
elections.
DEVELOPMENT
IS FREEDOM
Our
geopolitical situation in the politically volatile and comparatively under
developed West Africa sub-region, the nature of our economy and its
relationship with the economies of the developed world, as well as the
unacceptable rate of illiteracy combines to put the issue of development in its
fullest sense at the top the governance agenda.
For
the NDC, Ghana can never be said to be free unless we have the infrastructure,
the human resources and technology that it takes to enjoy any freedoms or
rights in the 21st century.
We need water and food to enjoy the right to life. We need roads to enjoy the right to freedom
of movement and the right to full employment.
We need education and familiarity with information technology to have
access to information and knowledge. We
need to be healthy to enjoy the right to the pursuit of happiness. In short, we need to be developed in order
to be free.
In
the 21st century, we risk anarchy if we only believe in development
in freedom. That is why for us in the
NDC, we believe that real Development is Freedom.
DECENTRALISATION
FOR DEVELOPMENT
The
District Assemblies will remain a major channel through which we shall seek to
achieve our national Constitution's Directive Principle of State Policy
"to ensure fair development throughout Ghana, with special attention to
disadvantaged areas and deprived sections of society".
The
next four years will be the "Period of Empowerment" for the District
Assemblies. The integration of the
District Decentralisation will be high on the agenda. We will increase the percentage of total national revenue
available to the Common Fund for the District Assemblies. This should secure for them the transfer of
functions, competence and the means so essential for effective decentralisation.
We
go into these elections determined to preserve the most cherished and
innovative features of the constitution on local government, including the
non-partisan nature of the District Assemblies, the allocation of 30% of the
seats to chiefs, women and other interest groups, the mode of appointment of
District Chief Executives and the concept of the Common Fund.
We
have worked with these features for the past 8 years and they have served the
country well. There is no reason to
abandon them.
A
NEW ANTI-POVERTY FOCUS
Our
poverty-reduction programmes have been fairly successful as the percentage of
Ghanaians classified as poor fell by 8.2 percentage points between 1992 and
1998.
For
2001 - 2005, we will expand and deepen the implementation of our integrated
approach to poverty alleviation. In
particular, we will continue to design and implement programmes emanating from
the Government's Policy Focus for Poverty Reduction Programme such as the
Poverty Reduction Project and the Social Investment Fund. These aim at increasing the availability of
social facilities, education, jobs and income generation ventures for the poor.
Complementary
programmes will cover agriculture and food security, small business, rural and
urban development and social safety nets.
New
releases into the "Poverty Alleviation Fund" of the District
Assemblies Common Fund will be frozen at the end of 2001 and the moneys already
loaned out recovered and used as revolving funds to continue the Fund's
operation.
Ghana
has already subscribed to the idea of a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility
(PRGF) to replace the Enhanced Structure Adjustment Facility (ESAF) as the main
lending instrument of the World Bank and the IMF. Our target is to make Ghana the first beneficiary of the new
lending instrument for timely access to the resources so much needed for our
anti-poverty-focused programmes.
A MORAL AND JUST SOCIETY
A
moral and just society is a bench-mark of good governance.
This
is the NDC's objective.
THE
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
The
anti-corruption institutions will be strengthened and their powers enhance.
Public,
moral and religious education will be major weapons in the battle against
corruption.
We
will make the price of corruption so high that it will be a commodity very few
people will want.
The
fight against corruption is only an aspect of the struggle to ensure
accountability, which is the responsibilities which go with the exercise of
those rights.
We
will continue to lead the fight against bribery and corruption of any kind,
anywhere, anytime - giver and taker alike - but we will need the cooperation of
everyone.
HUMAN
RIGHTS
It
bears repeating that the most basic human rights are the necessities of
existence - food, shelter, clothing, education, medical care, security of life
and property, work and the opportunity to live and develop in peace and
dignity.
The
NDC's policies and programmes are designed to achieve all these.
Political
rights as enshrined in our national constitution will be protected. In particular the right to life, to property,
freedom of speech and of movement, individual liberty and human dignity will
also be enforced.
The
limitations of these rights will be made clear. The NDC's show of tolerance even in the face of extreme
provocation by some of those who enjoy these rights will not be allowed to be
exploited to the detriment and disadvantage of other citizens.
All
who enjoy constitutional rights must respect the constitutional limits to those
rights and accept the social and moral responsibilities, which go with the exercise
of those rights.
We
have already implemented programmes to actualise the rights of children, the
aged, the sick and the disabled. Ghana
under the PNDC was the first country in the world to ratify the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child. Subsequently,
the NDC government had the Children's Act passed.
Persons
over 70 years of age are now exempted from the payment of basic rate. Republic Day, 1st July, is
dedicated to them.
Certain
categories of sick persons are exempted from paying hospital fees.
A
National Policy on the Disabled is in the offing.
All
these programmes will be continued and others developed to further concretise
these rights which, though provided for in the Constitution, could easily
remain "paper rights".
AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION FOR WOMEN
In
1998, the NDC Government adopted the programme of Affirmative Action for Women
which among other things makes a commitment to forty percent women's
representation in executive positions and at all levels of Government. A Women's Desk was also established in the
Presidency.
We
are already implementing the Beijing Plan of Action, the African Plan for
Action and the National Affirmative Action Policy, including aiming for a 40%
representation of women at Conferences and Congresses of the Party and in
government and public service.
In
the next four years, we will continue to implement polices aimed at
mainstreaming women into national affairs.
Among
other things, an NDC Government will promote increased female access to
educational, health, nutrition, employment and other socio-economic
infrastructure and services and improve the institutional capacities of key
women-oriented organisations.
An
NDC Government will also intensify public education against negative
socio-cultural practices that discriminate against women and enact legislation
to safeguard the dignity of women and create conditions to enable their
advancement.
The
NDC believes that "Women's Rights are Natural rights" and will work
to ensure, as stated in our 1996 Manifesto, that "men and women stand side
by side as equal partners in progress".
A
NEW POLITICAL CULTURE:
We
restate our commitment to good and participatory government for the benefit of
all our people and for the stable development of our country.
We
recognise that the political upheavals of the past have left in their wake
bruises and scars, which need to be healed.
Healing
will take time, but we will preserve with the reconciliation policy already
initiated.
It
is the conviction of the NDC that partisan politics can become one of friendly
competition and not a contest in insults bordering on incitement to violence
and public disorder. The NDC will work
towards this end.
The
NDC government will strengthen Parliament with appropriate resources to
undertake research, training and human resource development to enable it link
up more effectively with the executive and other constitutional bodies.
With
Parliament itself, our Parliamentary Group will be enjoined to ensure cordial
relationships between the majority and minority sides and work to create the
necessary atmosphere for good national governance.
THE ECONOMY
MACRO
ECONOMIC STABILITY
Ghana's
macroeconomic performance was broadly on course up to the middle of 1999. The overall budget deficit in 1998 declined
to 6.1% and Central Bank financing of the budget deficit was completely
eliminated in 1998. Broad money supply
consequently increased by only 17.6%, the exchange rate remained fairly stable
and the cedi depreciated against the dollar by only 4.1%. Consequently, inflation declined, reaching
the single digit figure of 9.4% in May 1999 as programmed.
However,
the economy experienced major shocks from the second half of 1999.
The
steep decline in the world market price of cocoa, the confusion on the gold
market and the astronomical rise in the world market price of crude oil are at
the heart of the problem of the falling value of the cedi.
In
1998, we sold a ton of cocoa for $1,600.00.
We bought a barrel of crude oil at $11.00.
Today,
we are selling a ton of cocoa at $800.00 and buying a barrel of crude oil at
about $28.00.
This
is how the gains we made in improved economic management have come to be so
severely eroded.
Clearly,
the country's export earnings have so steeply declined that we are no longer
able to sustain the level and types of imports that we previously brought into
the country.
Therefore,
we must import less and export more.
But we must export things other than cocoa, gold and timber, or we must
add value to them before exporting them rather than export them in their raw
state.
Matters
have not been helped much by the attitude of our foreign creditors who insist
on holding us to the same terms and conditions under which they lent us money
when things were not so bad.
We
have to restore the required macro-economic environment for economic growth and
poverty reduction.
But
to do so successfully, we join hands with other countries of the third world in
demanding of our foreign creditors that they review their lending policies and
instruments as well as their terms and conditionalities.
We
must carry to them the message of recent G77 summit held in Havana, Cuba, that
we need improved terms of trade, we need more access to the markets of the
developed world, we need affordable technologies and we need debt relief.
We
see in the street demonstrations in Seattle against the WTO and in Washington
DC against the IMF and the World Bank, signs that we are not alone in raising
our voices against the unfair world trading relationships and the onerous
lending conditionalities of these institutions. We feel fortified in our stance by this support from the ordinary
people of the developed world.
In
accordance with the agreed macroeconomic convergence criteria required to
achieve a Second ECOWAS Monetary Zone by 2003 and a Single Monetary Zone by
2004, we shall work to achieve a single digit rate of inflation, gross foreign
reserves to cover six months of imports, a limit to the Central Bank's
financing of budget deficits to not more than 10% of the previous year's tax
revenue, and a limit of 4% to the budget/GDP ratio.
To
achieve these targets, we will revise strategies to ensure growth in employment
opportunities, growth in output of our domestic products and an improvement in
the delivery of social services.
We
will continue our constructive dialogue and consultation with the private
sector to agree on strategies that will improve the sector's production and
marketing capacities.
The
impact of the external shocks to the economy merely reinforce the correctness
of our policy to diversify our export base and to concentrate on value-added
processing.
We
shall expand existing action programmes to support this policy.
Our
policies on taxation, industry and agriculture will all continue to be geared
towards the attainment of a stable macroeconomic environment for sustainable
economic growth.
The
newly introduced MTEF approach to budgeting will ensure effective planning and
monitoring of expenditure and much more dependable information on revenue and
cash flows.
PRODUCTION
AND PRODUCTIVITY
To
achieve the macro-economic targets, we must work hard and we must produce what
the markets demand. We must be
competitive and also demand in return just what our work is worth.
There
is real danger in being tempted to hold the economy to ransom for short-term
gains. The ability of the economy to
provide fair and sustainable rewards for our work is determined not by our
desires or even our needs, but by our productivity.
We
shall work in partnership with both labour and employers to ensure that all
Ghanaians get this message, for that is what will create the wealth that can
then be equitably shared.
THE
INVESTMENT DRIVE
During
our second term, we accelerated the momentum to promote Ghana's investment
opportunities. Actual investments
increased remarkably with the commencement of implementation of the various
investor-friendly programmes such as the Gateway Project, the Free Zones, Free
Ports and Liberalised Skies Programmes and the continued improvement of the
country's economic infrastructure.
In
1997, 237 new projects took off with foreign direct investments totalling
$479.6 million. The energy crisis of
1998 slowed down the pace of foreign investment, with the year registering only
187 projects with the foreign direct investment of $167.74 million. In 1999, the pace picked up. 192 projects were commenced at a foreign
direct investment cost of $226.72 million.
The
programmes that have made these investments possible will continue in the third
term of the NDC government.
We
will also continue to promote Ghana as the desired destination in West Africa
for both foreign and local investment - the latter to be boosted by the
implementation of the Export Development and Investment Fund and other financial
interventions.
BALANCED
DEVELOPMENT
The
NDC remains committed to undertake "even and balanced development of all
regions and every part of each region of Ghana, and in particular, improving
the conditions of life in the rural areas and generally, redressing any
imbalance in development between the rural and the urban areas", as
required in our national Constitution.
Our
record in the countrywide provision of electricity, water, schools, clinics,
roads, etc. speaks volumes for our claim.
We
will continue, through the District Assemblies and their sub-structures and
using the mechanism of the Common Fund, to ensure that communities not only
have a say in what they need, but also have the resources to provide what they
need.
And
we will make strategic interventions to ensure that the most deprived
communities and the most vulnerable groups in society receive their fair share
to development and welfare.
The
various poverty reduction programmes already in existence and others in the
pipeline will continue to be so targeted as to ensure balanced development and
material satisfaction for all.
A
STRATEGIC INDUSTRIAL THRUST
Our
experiences with primary commodities exports compel us to make a strategic
thrust into industry to make Ghanaian industry serve domestic needs, be
internationally competitive and the largest contributor to the GDP. To achieve these, the major problems of the
industrial sector must continue to be addressed and this we will do.
Industry's
constraints are mainly finance, the high cost of domestic inputs, excessive
bureaucracy, standards and markets.
On
finance, we will expand our support to small and medium scale enterprises,
provide incentives for the banks to lend to the industry sector, encourage the
increased use of the Ghana Stock Exchange to raise capital, urgently complete
the establishment of the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) to
provide credit guarantees, enhance the operations of the Export Finance Company
and the Exim Guaranty Company and increase disbursements under the Private
Enterprise and Export Development Programme.
We
will promote the establishment and expansion of industries processing local raw
materials, especially food, chemicals, textiles, paper products and
construction materials.
We
will take a critical look at the cost of inputs to the food-processing sector
and of utilities to industry, especially electricity.
We
will review corporate tax rates to provide the necessary incentives to local
industry.
To
ensure increased domestic production and protect local industry, the NDC
government will review our established patterns of international trade and
rationalise laws regulations, tax and tariff policies and customs procedures.
We
will continue the recently announced programme for public sector organizations
to buy Made-in-Ghana goods and monitor it closely as well as enforce the
approved standards for all imported goods.
We
will take more vigorous measures to prohibit unfair practices bordering on
"dumping" by some foreign companies.
Our
mission in the next four years will be to continue, expand and develop
programmes to enable industrial exporters to meet emerging challenges of the
global market by assisting them to penetrate and be more competitive in foreign
markets.
One
specific strategy will be the vigorous promotion of non-traditional exports to
the West Africa sub-region under the "fast-track" approach to
integration. This involves the
implementation of the ECOWAS protocols relating to the Trade Liberalisation
Scheme, the Borderless Zone and the free movement of goods and services.
NEW
INTERNATIONAL TRADING RELATIONSHIPS
The
NDC acknowledges the reality of today's globalisation trend and intends to
position Ghana to take maximum advantage of it.
We
will work with the private sector to activate fully the Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) project being implemented under the Gateway Project towards
the creation of a true knowledge and skills-based economy and thus guarantee
the competitiveness of Ghanaian entrepreneurs in the global market place.
Through
our energized regional integration efforts, we are working to open up the
markets of the ECOWAS sub-region to Ghanaian products and at the same time
ensure their competitiveness in those markets.
The
NDC government will ensure the prompt and full implementation of the ongoing
Gateway Project by removing administration and regulatory constraints in order
to enhance our international competitiveness in the global market place.
We
are determined to transform Ghana into a major base for manufacturing and
distributing goods to the West African sub-region.
REGIONAL
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
The
Ghana-Nigeria "fast track" approach to ECOWAS regional integration is
an important aspect of our new international trading relationships.
The
NDC Government will work to ensure that the specifics of all ECOWAS protocols
are faithfully implemented, especially those relating to the Community Levy for
the Compensation Fund, the Common External Tariff, the removal of roadblocks
that are used by some unscrupulous security agents to harass and extort monies
from ECOWAS citizens, the Second Monetary Zone and regional infrastructure
projects such as the Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra Railway Project, the
Abidjan-Accra-Lome-Cotonou-Lagos electricity interconnection, the
Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra Gas Pipeline and the West Africa Power Pool Project.
Regional
integration is the West African response to the globalisation phenomenon and
the creation of the new Ministry of Planning Regional Economic Cooperation and
Integration is designed to ensure that Ghana is not left behind in this
inevitable development of the 21st century.
AGRICULTURE
AND FOOD SECURITY
Agriculture
growth in the last three years has played a critical role in lowering
inflation, increasing national income, earning foreign exchange, creating
employment and generally reducing poverty.
Our
objective in the next four years is to raise the annual growth rate of
agriculture from 4% to 6% through modernisation, commercialisation and
diversification.
To
achieve this, we will support the private sector to develop medium and
large-scale agricultural operations, and facilitate the improvement of the
productivity of small-scale operators.
Existing
programmes will be vigorously pursued.
These include the Programme for Sustainable Food Security, the
Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Development Strategy (AAGDS), the
Agricultural Services Sub-Sector Investment Programme (AgSSIP), the Youth in
Agriculture Programme (YAP), the Accelerated Non-Traditional Exports Programme
and the Agro-Processing Promotion Programme.
To
ensure the needed institutional support for agriculture, we will provide the
facilities and resources required to improve the extension/farmer ratio to
ensure more effective result-oriented delivery of extension services to
farmers.
An
Agricultural Development Fund will be established partly with funding from
taxes on imported food items to accelerate the pace of provision of
agricultural related infrastructure and services such as feeder roads, markets,
assembly points and fish landing sites.
The Fund will also be used to increase the land under irrigation from
the present 10,000 hectares to 20,000 hectares in order to reduce our heavy
dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
Already,
a programme to rehabilitate existing irrigation facilities throughout the
country in order to make them more productive and effective is under way.
Special
facilities such as cold store chains, park houses and fumigation will be
developed at the airports and seaports to aid the export of non-traditional
agricultural products.
We
shall tackle head on the problem of land acquisition and security of title by
getting the District Assemblies in collaboration with the landowning families
and stools to establish land banks and by encouraging the participation of
landowners in agricultural ventures through capitalisation of land and more
nucleus outgrower schemes.
We
shall also implement the new National Land Policy to rationalise land
allocation and consolidate small plots.
Our
agricultural diversification strategy will take the form of support for the
development of specified industrial and food crops such as roots and tubers,
fresh and processed fruits, cotton, cashew and vegetables for export and rice
and plantain for domestic consumption.
We
intend to achieve at least 50% self-sufficiency in rice production by 2004.
We
will pursue measures to revamp the commercial poultry sector by promoting
domestic production of poultry feed and other inputs. We will counteract the Newcastle disease with a view to achieving
100% increase in village chicken production, 50% of which is currently lost as
a result of the disease.
The
establishment of large-scale cattle ranges will be encouraged whilst
concurrently promoting small ruminants through the out grower system.
We
have undertaken a stock assessment of fish in our waters. This will enable us to establish allowable
fish catches and modern monitoring and surveillance systems to ensure the
regeneration of our dwindling fish stocks.
We
will support entrepreneurs who are prepared to go into large-scale fish
farming.
We
will concentrate attention on effective agricultural marketing, emphasizing
strategies for stable prices, regular year-round supply of staples, warehousing
and inventory credit, buffer stocks and agro-processing.
Other
supporting strategies to attain our agriculture objective include the
following:
i.
promoting
local and foreign investment in large-scale production and processing of
agricultural products and production of agricultural inputs:
ii.
promoting
the use of emerging information technologies to support access to international
and domestic markets;
iii.
consciously
ensuring the flow of appropriate investment resources into agriculture as well
as providing micro-financing for small producers through the implementation of
a Rural Financial Services Project,
iv.
increasing
loanable funds to agriculture through the Agriculture Development Bank and
providing incentives for other commercial and development banks to lend to
agriculture.
v.
reconstructing
and transforming the Ghana Food Distribution Corporation as well as the many
grain silos throughout the country into efficient commercial organisations for
improved storage and marketing while at the same time serving strategic national
food security needs.
The
bottom line is that we have to work to ensure that as a nation, we can feed
ourselves. The surest way of ensuring
domestic food security is to make certain that we produce enough of what we eat
and preserve the surplus for use in times of need.
COCOA-THE
OLD FAITHFUL
With
the plummeting of cocoa prices on the world market and the decision of the
European Union to introduce 5% vegetable fat as substitute for cocoa in
chocolate manufacture, it is now obvious that we cannot in the medium to long
term continue to rely on the export of raw cocoa beans as our major foreign
exchange earner.
Yet
cocoa will, some time to come continue to be the "old faithful"
commodity that we have come to rely on.
Attention will therefore have to be paid to the cocoa sector in the next
four years of our expected renewed mandate.
Our
commitment to the cocoa industry is evidenced by our policies, which have
resulted in increases in the level of cocoa production, increasing the
percentage of the export price that farmers receive and protecting that price
even in the face of falling world prices.
We have also improved the delivery of support services to farmers,
enable them to own shares in the privatised Produce Buying Company, and
facilitated and increase in the share of processed cocoa products in total
exports.
Most
of these policies contained in our 1996 Manifesto.
For
2001-20005, the focus of our attention will be the expansion of the national
capacity to process cocoa for export and commercialise research findings on the
processing of cocoa waste and by-products.
We
aim at processing 40% of our total production by 2005.
We
will also promote the integration of cocoa with the cultivation of other crops
and promote the increased domestic consumption of cocoa products.
For
a start, "cocoa breaks" will replace "coffee breaks" or
"tea breaks" at all official meetings and functions.
We
will implement the Cocoa Sector Reform Strategy, the main features which are
the following:
i.
increasing
the producer price to not less than 70% of the export price;
ii.
lowering
the export tax to 15% of the FOB price;
iii.
allowing
qualified Local Buying Companies (LBCs) to export at least 30% of their
domestic purchases;
iv.
promoting
increased competition in internal marketing by making COCOBOD's warehousing and
crop purchase financing facilities accessible to all LBCs;
v.
maintaining
quality control with the public sector institution.
DIVERSIFYING
OUR EXPORTS
The
price failures of cocoa and gold in 1999 and 2000 confirm the wisdom of our
decision some time ago to promote non-traditional exports. Our determination to focus on export
diversification and progressively change the structure of the Ghanaian economy
away from one of primary product exports is reflected in our proposed
programmes for industry and trade.
We
will seek to achieve this by continued facilitation of private sector growth
and expansion especially within the targeted areas of agro-based industry and
manufacturing for export.
The
Free Zones Programme should accelerate our export diversification efforts by
boosting our export competitiveness within the sub-region.
This,
complemented by the Export Development and Investment Fund should expand the
production base for export.
We
will focus on the further promotion of non-traditional exports by emphasizing
added value, developing chains of export supporting infrastructure from
production centres to airports and harbours and developing more Export
Promotion Villages. We will provide
export linkage services to producers and exporters, including export
information systems, and implement export finance and guarantee schemes and
simplify customs and other regulations governing export of agricultural
non-traditional exports.
OUR
FORESTS
In
fulfilment of our 1996 Manifesto pledges, the NDC Government introduced
competitive procedures for the allocation of forest utilisation contracts,
effective controls and standards to ensure compliance with the sustainable
annual allowable cut of one million cubic metres and market led pricing to
reflect the economic value of the resource.
The
Government also promoted private sector investment in commercial forest
plantation development and people's participation in forest resource
management, introduced social responsibility agreements between concessionaires
and communities and undertook institutional reforms which saw the Forestry
Commission established as a corporate organisation with Forest Services,
Wildlife, Timber Export Development and Forest Products Inspection operating as
Divisions under it.
For
2001-2005, our forestry objective will continue to be sustainable
management. The implementation tool
will be the Natural Resources Management Project that seeks to protect,
rehabilitate and sustainably manage national land, forest and wildlife
resources and increase the income of the present and future of rural
communities.
Specifically,
the NDC government will undertake the following actions:
i.
Develop
the capacity of the Forestry Commission for effective service delivery and effective
implementation of the forest policy actions;
ii.
Develop
guidelines and procedures for sustainable land use planning and management in
order to reduce conflicts and promote food security.
iii.
Launch
the Forest Plantation Development Fund to stimulate private investment in
commercial forestry;
iv.
Continue
the planned development of inland and coastal wetland sites and rehabilitation
of degraded mangrove resources;
v.
Promote
downstream processing and invest in improved technology and recycling of wood
residues.
Let
us repeat what we stated in both our 1992 and 1996 Manifestoes: "The NDC
will not be swayed from pursuing responsible forest policies by the pleas and
complaints of inefficient exploiters".
ADDING
VALUE TO MINERALS
Since
our last manifesto, the gains made in the mining sector have continued to
grow. From a production level of 1.7
million ounces generating total foreign exchange earnings o US$640 million in
1995, gold production rose to 2.8 million ounces in 1998 but dropped slightly
to 2.6 million ounces in 1999, generating foreign exchange earnings of US$687.7
million and US$710.8 million respectively.
Production for 2000 is predicted to rise again to 2.8 million ounces
with a foreign exchange earning of US$784 million.
Manganese,
bauxite and diamond together yielded over US$30 million in foreign exchange.
For
2001-2005, we will pursue a policy of adding value to our mineral exports as
well as promoting the establishment of industries that use our industrial
minerals as inputs. This will reduce
Ghana's exposure to world market price fluctuations, generate more employment
and expand our non-traditional exports.
We
will continue, through the mechanism of the Minerals Development Fund, to
redirect some of the mineral royalties to the mineral producing commodities
through their District Assemblies to improve their quality of life and also to
check environmental degradation.
The
programme of assistance to small-scale miners will likewise be continued.
We
will strengthen the Minerals Commissions to be better able to carry out its
supervisory and monitoring role in the mining sector.
The
NDC government will continue to promote investment in large-scale mining for
gold metals, diamonds and other precious minerals whilst focusing attention
also on the development of the industrial minerals such as bauxite, manganese,
iron ore, silica, oyster shells, clay and limestone.
The
impact of mining activities on the environment will continue to engage the
serious attention of the next NDC government.
We will strengthen the mining and monitoring institutions to ensure that
the country's environment is not jeopardised through the exploitation of these
natural but non-renewable resources.
ENERGY
FOR GROWTH
In
our 1996 manifesto, we pledged that the remaining 13 district capitals without
electricity would be connected to the national grid within the first two years
of the NDC's renewed mandate.
This
pledge was redeemed ahead of time when Salaga in the East Gonja district became
the last capital to be connected to the national grid on June 8, 1998.
For
2001-2005, our focus will shift to the non-district capital settlements. SHEP III will be completed this year (2000)
when 570 communities are connected to the national grid. SHEP IV which already has over 1,000
applications on the waiting list will usher in the next phase of the NDC's
unprecedented National Electrification
Programme.
To
meet the growing energy needs of industry, mining and services, the newly
completed 330 MW thermal power station at Takoradi will be expanded to increase
its installed capacity to about 660 MW.
An
Off-Grid Rural Electrification Programme using solar energy will be used to
supply electricity to communities which are too remote from the national
grid. This has already been tested in
some communities in the Volta, Eastern and Upper West Regions with remarkable
success.
We
will work to resolve the environmental and other problems associated with the planned Bui Dam and move ahead to
mobilise the necessary to accelerate construction of the Dam.
We
expect work on the Bui Dam to commence during our next term of office.
To
ensure constant electricity supply, we will work with the other ECOWAS
countries to pursue vigorously the proposed West Africa Power Pool
Project. For a start, we plan to extend
the existing Abidjan-Accra-Lome-Cotonou electricity interconnection to Lagos in
Negeria and ultimately to Niamey in Niger.
The Kumasi-Tamale-Paga line will likewise be extended to Ouagadougou in
Burkina Faso and on to Bamako in Mali.
The
programme to provide electricity to all Ghanaians settlements with population
of 500 or more by 2010 is on course.
Our
policy on the provision of electricity is very simple. The people said "Let there be
light". The NDC government replies
"There is light".
Like
light, petroleum products must also be available to all. Though Ghana is not yet an oil-producing
country, the NDC Government has been able to manage in such a way that fuel is
available throughout the country to support economic, social and domestic
activities.
The
country can boast of a reliable system of petroleum products distribution, with
strategic depots established at different geographical locations in the
country.
The
fuel transportation system has been imported considerably to ensure an
equitable distribution network.
New
projects to further improve the distribution system in 2001-2005 include a fuel
pipeline from Buipe (Northern Region) to Bolgatanga and subsequently to
Ouagadougou and ultimately to Bamako as part of our regional integration
efforts.
We
will seek to bring to fruition the proposed West Africa Gas Pipeline Project
linking Lagos-Cotonou-Lome-Accra.
A
60,000 tons per year bitumen plant will be constructed in order to sustain our
road construction and maintenance programme.
The
Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Factory, completed and commissioned in 1998 as
promised in our 1996 Manifesto, will be expanded to supply other vital markets
in the West African sub-region in order to earn foreign exchange. We aim to produce in excess of 150,000 gas
cylinders annually as against the 72,000 currently being produced.
The
NDC government will be sensitive to the prices of petroleum, which will be
adjusted according to the rise and fall of the world market price of crude oil
and according to the exchange rate of the cedi to the dollar.
We
will pay particular attention to the prices of kerosene and LPG gas.
THE
TOURISTS ARE COMING
Aggressive
marketing and promotion campaigns in our major overseas tourist generation
markets during our second term are reflected in the arrival figures as well as
foreign exchange receipts. 1997
arrivals totalled 325,438 with receipts of $265 million, compared to 304,860
and $248 million respectively in 1996.
Comparative figures for 1998 and 1999 are 348,218 arrivals and US$301.44
million receipts and 372,593 arrivals and US$342.13 million receipts
respectively.
The
NDC Cabinet approved the 15-year National Tourism Development Plan 1996-2010 in
1997.
Its
vigorous implementation will continue to engage our attention in
2001-2005. The objective is to ensure
the development and promotion of tourism on a sustainable basis for the
generation of foreign exchange and revenue, the creation of jobs, the
development of cottage industries and for Ghanaians to know their country
better through domestic tourism.
The
NDC Government will continue to market Ghana as a good quality and
internationally competitive tourist destination.
A
conductive tourism investment environment will be created through generous
concessions, tax relief and waivers for active private sector participation in
the development of necessary visitor facilities and services including hotels,
beach resorts, parks, lodges, camping facilities, youth hostels, restaurants
and fast food units, tourist transport facilities and recreational and
entertainment facilities.
Our
tourism promotion endeavors include a Public Awareness Programme stressing
measures to mitigate possible negative effects associated with tourism
development and a tourist behavioural code dealing with comportment, dressing
and reverence for our values, traditions and religious practices.
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT
PROMOTING
EMPLOYMENT
Both
the 1992 and 1996 Manifestos pointed out the various types of unemployment and
emphasised that solutions to the problem could not be found in rounding up
dog-chain sellers from city streets and settling them in agricultural
camps. The 1992 Manifesto stated
clearly that the NDC did not believe in solving the unemployment problem by
creating artificial jobs or be setting up large projects for the purpose of
absorbing labour. Such solutions do not
work.
But
we do recognise that unemployment especially among the youth, still poses a
challenge to the country.
At
a labour force rate of growth of 3.1% per annum, an estimated 230,000 new
entrants are added to the labour market each year. Of these 65% are aged 15-34 years.
This
makes the task of providing full employment, the objective of the NDC, daunting
indeed.
But
the NDC remains undaunted and will rise up to the challenge.
In
the immediate past, we introduced schemes such as "Poverty
Alleviation" and "Youth-in Agriculture" in order to generated
self-employment.
In
the next four years, we will pursue major policy changes in the areas of
employment policy, credit, co-operative development, vocational training,
graduate employment, national productivity, industrial relations, disability
and ageing.
In
the next four years, we will pursue major policy changes in the areas of
employment policy, credit, co-operative development, vocational training,
graduate employment, national productivity, industrial relations, disability
and ageing.
A
revised Employment Policy will be launched and we will continue to promote
social dialogue and tripartism.
We
will encourage the substitution of capital with labour in infrastructure
investments wherever possible.
We
will continue our support for small and medium scale enterprises through the
provision of advisory services and technical skills.
We
will double the intake of trainees by the NVTI Centres over the next four
years.
We
will provide inputs to the Integrated Community Centres for Employable Skills
(ICCES) to enable them further improve their performance.
We
will, in collaboration with EMPRETECH, design programmes to provide unemployed
graduates with entrepreneurial skills.
We
will replace the now obsolete Industrial Relations Legislation of the 1960s
with a new one that will provide a better environment for peaceful and improved
worker/management and intra-labour relations.
We
will intensify the dialogue with labour to attain a firm understanding in the
areas of wages, worker welfare and support for an investment and labour
climate, which is less tense and generally strike-free.
We
will review the national policy on cooperatives to allow them operate as
business enterprises rather than As welfare groups to enable them play an
important role in poverty reduction, employment creation and increasing
incomes. Consequently, a new National
Policy on Cooperative Development will be launched.
New
national policies on People With Disabilities (PWDs) as well as the Aged will
also be introduced - the former to fully integrate PWDs into the mainstream of
national life and the latter to develop new approaches to meet the new demands
of ageing.
SOCIAL
SECURITY
The
next NDC government will promote the expansion of Social Security Schemes to
provide safety nets for the majority of Ghanaians by revising and expanding the
contributory scheme of the SSNIT, promoting vocational insurance programmes and
supporting the popularisation of private insurance schemes, all of which will
cover both formal and informal employment.
HEALTH
AND HAPPINESS
A
healthy people are a happy and productive people and so between 2001-2005, we will
seek to create the conditions to make Ghanaians healthier and therefore
happier.
We
will continue to support Primary Health Care, extend and equip hospital
facilities, localise most medical treatment and keep the cost of health care to
a minimum.
Already,
access to health services has risen to over 53% from under 35% in 1990; the
number of state hospitals has increased from 64 to 83.
New
regional hospitals have been constructed and over 30 district hospitals and 66
health centres are at various stages of completion.
The
newly introduced specialist outreach programmes will be extended to cover burns
and reconstructive surgery, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, cardio services,
eye, orthopaedic and ENT services as well as dialysis.
Health
insurance will be a major strategy for mobilising additional resources and for
ensuring financial access in time of need.
The pilot work already carried out will form the basis for a mix of
insurance schemes, both public and private, national and local, to cater for salaried
employees, the self-employed as well as both urban and rural communities.
The
National Health Endowment Fund whose Coordinating Committee was inaugurated in
July, 1999 and whose Board of Trustees has already been established, will be
made operational.
We
will review the "cash-and-carry" system in order to improve on its
efficiency and ensure increased access to basic health services.
The
exemptions policy will also be reviewed in terms of coverage as well as disease
spread and more funds will be provided to support the needy.
The
fight against HIV/AIDS, currently with a cumulative total of about 38,000 known
cases and a prevalence average of 4.6%, will be intensified. We will become members of the International
Partnership against AIDS Initiative (IPAA) and finalise our national strategic
plan to respond to the epidemic.
Other
diseases targeted for special attention will include malaria, buruli ulcer and
tuberculosis. We shall work towards the
final eradication of guinea worm.
Local
training of health specialists will be a major focus of our attention. We will speed up efforts to establish a
National Post graduate Medical College, a School for Allied Health Professions
and expedite the local training of physiotherapists, laboratory technologists
and radiographers.
The
newly establish Ghana Health Service will be required to implement the reviewed
conditions of service of health workers and take measures to stem the tide of
the brain in the health sector.
EDUCATION
FOR ALL
The
major pre-occupation of the NDC government has been to lay a solid foundation
for a sustainable, credible and efficient education system capable of producing
the kind of human resource needed to meet the challenges of the new millennium.
This
has propelled the massive investment in educational infrastructure, including
teaching and learning aids. The result
has been the astronomical increases in pupil and student intake at all levels
of the educational system-basic, secondary and tertiary.
165
new primary schools were opened between 1996 and 1999, bringing the total
number of state-run primary schools to 12,128 with an enrolment figure of about
2.3 million. 300 Junior Secondary
Schools were established during the second period, and enrolment currently
stands at 771,568. 10 new Senior
Secondary Schools were also opened in the period, bringing the total number of
Senior Secondary Schools to 464 with a total enrolment of more than 200,000.
Tertiary
education has witnessed a three-fold increase in admissions, with the 5
Universities currently boasting of a student population of over 36,000,
compared to under 10,000 in the then existing 3 Universities at the beginning
of the education reform programme in 1987.
8
polytechnics are in existence.
3
private universities have become fully operational out of 11 that have been
accredited.
For
the next four years, emphasis will be focused on vocational/technical
education, Science, Technology and Mathematics Education for Girls, expanding
access to education for the girl-child, computer literary and teacher
education.
Tertiary
education will continue to receive special attention, with emphasis on
expanding the facilities at all the 5 public Universities and accelerating the
development of distance learning.
As
promised in our 1996 Manifesto, each region will have a Polytechnic by the end
of this year - those for Bolgatanga and Wa being the last to come on
stream. Emphasis at the Polytechnics
will now shift to infrastructure provision and quality teaching.
We
shall review the policy to establish Regional Colleges of Applied Arts, Science
and Technology (RECAAST) as conceived under the Educational Reform Programme as
its take-off has been delayed by financial and other constraints.
The
NDC has never hidden the fact that its aggressive education policy is a major
charge on Government sources.
The
establishment of the Education Trust Fund will go a long way towards the
problem of financing education, but at the end of the day, more private sector
participation in the establishment of educational institution will be
necessary. Consequently, the NDC
government will work towards private sector participation in Teacher Education
and Polytechnic Education.
We
will unite the public and private sectors in a "smart partnership" to
create and implement a national education strategy which will provide the best
possible training - for teachers, the other professions and business.
In
evolving all these policies, the NDC is mindful that education should never be
for sale to the highest bidder, and that access to education is a right and not
a privilege.
Schemes
to ensure that brilliant but needy students are assisted to go as high on the
educational ladder as their talents will permit them will be on the agenda of
the next NDC government, whilst those parents can afford it also contribute
towards the cost of their education.
We
confirm the position in our 1996 Manifesto that "the NDC believes in
education for all".
EVERY
GHANAIAN MUST HAVE A HOME
Our
policy objective is for every Ghanaian to have a home, though not necessarily
to own a house, as a concrete expression of the right to shelter.
There
must therefore be adequate and decent housing for individual rental and
ownership at affordable prices.
The
most vulnerable groups are urban workers in need of rental accommodation and
rural dwellers whose houses are constructed of sub-standard materials with
little or no proper drainage and waste disposal systems.
Our
policy has been and will continue to be to facilitate access to serviced land,
to promote access to credit, to promote local production of building material
and to provide effective regulatory and monitoring mechanics.
Having
changed the government's role from direct provider of housing to facilitator of
housing delivery, the NDC government will pursue the following objectives:
(i)
accelerate
home improvement and the upgrading and transformation of the existing housing
stock;
(ii)
make
shelter programmes more accessible to the poor;
(iii)
continue
to promote greater private sector participation in housing delivery;
(iv)
create
an environment conductive to investment in rental housing;
(v)
provide
adequate incentives to investors in the housing sector;
(vi)
provide
training to rural communities in basic construction and maintenance skills,
local building materials production, wall protection as well as drainage and
erosion control measures.
In
addition to the Home Finance Company set up under our Urban II Project, we will
encourage other commercial and financial institutions to increase their loan
portfolios for construction finance and to establish a primary mortgage
institution to provide a variety of credit products for home improvement,
lease, purchase, licence, maintenance schemes, upgrading and infrastructure
improvement.
Special
tax and land concessions will be offered to investors to provide rental housing
and low-income housing for workers and low-income earners.
WATER
- A HUMAN NEED
Water
is life and is therefore a basic human need.
It will be our objective to ensure that every community in Ghana has
access to safe water.
2001
will see the commencement of our planned 10-year water programme under which
communities with population below 500 will be provided with hand dug wells,
communities with population between 500-2000 with bore-holes and communities
with population over 2,000 with piped systems.
Rural
water supply will be programmed with sanitation facilities and private sector
participation will continue to be admitted in urban water supply investments.
The
total urban coverage of water supply is about 76%, varying from 86% in the
Greater Accra Region to about 50% in the Northern Region. We intend to increase this coverage of 95%
in the Greater Accra Region and 76% in the Northern Region.
We
shall also seek to increase water supply sources through further investments in
urban, peri-urban and large rural population areas to ensure regular flow of
water to these communities.
For
rural water, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency will complete the
following projects within our 4 year mandate: 1,500 bore holes fitted with
pump, 2,500 rehabilitated bore holes, 500 hand dug wells, 20 spring protection
systems, 30 gravity schemes, 70 pipe systems with different energy source
mechanisms and 20 rain harvesting systems.
We
are fully committed to providing good quality and safe drinking water to every
community in Ghana.
TRANSPORTATION
The
easy movement of goods and people will continue to be the policy objective of
the next NDC government.
We
will continue our support to the GPRTU and other transport organisations to
bring in more buses and other commercial vehicles for mass transportation.
The
successful privatisation of the State Transport Corporation should inject the
needed private capital to enable it expand its operations.
Metropolitan
and Municipal Assemblies will be encouraged to invest in intra-city and
inter-city omnibus services in competition with OSA and City Express Service.
We
will continue to seek private sector participation in Ghana Railway Corporation
in order to make it more efficient and effective as a provider of mass
transportation.
The
restructuring of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to convert it from a
service providing Ports Authority into a facilities provider will continue
under the Gateway Programme.
Tema
and Takoradi ports will be dredged to enable them to accommodate new generation
vessels; the quays at Tema will be extended and new breakwaters constructed to
berth modern vessels and the planned inland port at Fumesua near Kumasi will be
established.
In
the air transport sector, emphasis will be on programmes to advance the
"liberalised skies" component of the Gateway Project. The Airport City Project will be commenced
even as work continues on the Phase II rehabilitation programme of the Kotoka
International Airport involving the extension of the runway and improvement of
terminal facilities.
We
will look for funds to upgrade the Kumasi and Tamale airports to international
standards and complete work on the Wa and Bolgatanga airstrips.
ROADS
A
good road system gives practical meaning to the concept of freedom of movement
in this technological age, and an NDC government will be committed to providing
just that.
In
fulfilment of our 1996 pledge to pay special attention to inaccessible areas,
we embarked on several bridge rehabilitation and small bride projects and
completed major bridges at Damanko, Sabari, Missiou and Kulpawn, opened up
remote areas in the Western Region and Afram Plains and established more
landing sites on the Volta Lake to link up lake and road transport.
For
the mandate period 2001-2005, priority will be given to maintenance and
rehabilitation works as well as maintaining broad equity among geographical
locations.
We
shall continue to work closely with our development partners to secure funding
for road construction and reconstruction.
A
5-year rolling Highway Sector Investment Credit Programme has been adopted to
ultimately bring the road condition mix to 70:30:10 for excellent, good and bad
roads.
The
Road Fund will be adequately resourced to enable it to be used for maintenance
and rehabilitation.
The
tolling system introduced on some reconstructed roads in the Ashanti and Brong
Ahafo Regions will be extended to other identified roads in the Northern, Upper
East, Central, Western, Greater Accra and Eastern Regions.
The
NDC repeats its commitment to pursue a planned and comprehensive programme to
bring good roads to every part of the country.
URBAN
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
We
will continue with our programme to rehabilitate decayed and degraded urban
infrastructure.
The
strategy is to seek external bilateral and multilateral credit and grant
support for our urban development projects in order to release domestic
resources for rural development and rural enhancement.
Using
this strategy, negotiations have been concluded for an Urban V project, which
will cover 23 more urban centres so that within our mandate period, all 10
regional capitals and all 34 major urban centres will have decent basic
infrastructure.
Urban
VI, currently at the planning stage, will be concluded and implemented during
2001-2005. It is a project designed for
the Accra-Tema-Ga conurbation to enhance the capacity of the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area as the development, administration, financial and diplomatic
center of Ghana and the largest concentration of our population.
Under
our promotion of District Capitals II Project (PRODICAP II), all towns with
population of 5,000 or above in 10 districts in the Brong Ahafo and Ashanti
Regions will receive external support to improve their roads, markets, drains,
lorry stations and water systems.
Another
externally funded project, DSDA II, will support the infrastructure needs of
all district capitals in the Upper West and Volta Regions.
The
ongoing development works together with its population have combined to make
Tamale achieve "city status".
The necessary legal work has also been completed to enable Tamale to be
declared Ghana's 4th city as promised in the 1996 Manifesto.
Again
as promised in the 1996 Manifesto, a national population census was conducted
this year. The analysed results will be
used to create more districts if required and possibly also enable some more
towns to qualify for urban center status.
We
will concentrate attention, working with the District Assemblies, on
implementing the National Environmental Sanitation Policy launched in 1999.
That
policy which for the first time captures the sanitation issue within the
national budget framework seeks to provide the kind of clean and healthy
national environment that can qualify Ghana for the "middle income
status" envisaged under Vision 2020.
In
furtherance of this, we will support industries and firms that will seek to
invest in the recycling of waste into raw materials and other products.
OUR
LAND, OUR BASIC RESOURCE
The
land of Ghana constitutes the basic resources of Ghana. Consequently, it must be managed sustainably
for the present and future generations.
We cannot create any significant amount of land. Population pressure and land degradation
make it imperative that land is wisely used.
This
is the thrust of the NDC's National Land Policy promised in the 1996 Manifesto
and launched in 1999.
It
is a clear and comprehensive policy which aims to ensure wise and planned use
of our land and equitable and secure access to land for housing, agriculture,
mining, industry, recreation and environmental conservation.
Its
effective implementation will be the pre-occupation of the NDC government in
2001-2005.
Land
little registration, already operational in Accra, Tema and Kumasi will be
gradually extended to the other districts.
Digital
base maps produced for 11 district capitals under the Urban III Project will
also be produced for the 23 towns to benefit under the Urban V Project as well
as 10 district capitals per year to prepare them for land title registration
and also to guide planning and infrastructure development. Title registration will be expanded beyond
residential and commercial areas to include farming communities to enable
farmers obtain protection of land rights and security of title for their
farmlands.
Indiscipline
in land sale and land use will continue to be addressed, as will the concept of
a "one-stop-shop" where all the land sector agencies will be accommodated
to drastically cut down on service delivery time.
TOO
MANY PEOPLE?
Our
high population growth rate poses a challenge to our achievement in terms of
improved economic growth rates and impedes our progress towards the attainment
of higher standards of living.
At
3.1%, this growth rate has created a high dependency ration since nearly half
the population are less than 15 years.
We have therefore taken initiatives within the context of our revised
population policy to address a wide range of population issues.
The
implementation of family planning programmes in the interest of maternal and
child health has led to a drop in the fertility rate from 5.5 in 1993 to 4.6
today.
The
recently concluded Population and Housing Census, promised in our 1996
Manifesto, will provide the much-needed updated data for integration of
population variables into the development planning process.
Our
commitment, to re-echo our 1996 Manifesto, is to "promote responsible
parenthood and healthy, happy families as well as enhance the quality of life
of the people.
THE
ENVIRONMENT
The
quality of life of present and future generations depends on how effectively we
safeguard and manage the natural environment and the many renewable resources
which it provides, as well as the man-made environment.
The
transformed Environmental Protection Agency will be strengthened to enable it
play this role. So also will the
District and Community Environmental Management Committees of the District
Assemblies.
A Greenbelt Zone will be created around the
Accra-Tema conurbation to ensure that development in this area is compatible
with maintaining a predominantly green zone for agriculture, recreation, water
catchment and other essential functions.
SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT
No
nation can or has ever developed without innovative industrial-technology. We must translate intellectual knowledge
into practical, useful social and economic services. This requires collaboration between Ghana's institutions of
higher education and our physical and cultural environment.
In
recognition of our country's imperative need for appropriate industrial
technology, the Government has over the years supported the activities of the
Intermediate Technology Transfer Units (ITTUs) in all our regions.
Since
1998, the NDC government has encouraged and supported the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to commercialise the research
findings of its component institutes.
We must go further than this.
For
the period 2001-2005, we will explore all revenues to bring our academic
institutions closer to the private sector in this quest for appropriate
industrial technology. The NDC
Government will support academic research that is oriented to indigenous
development of technology and skills that have practical value to our local
industries.
GHANA
AND THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGE
The
creation of the Ministry of Communications was based on the NDCs foresight and
vision of the 21st century as the communication age.
We
will endeavour to catch up with the information technology of the 21st
century and turn Ghana into information society in which knowledge is a major
development resource.
Through
a pipeline National Communications Policy as well as the establishment of an
Information and communication Technology Division in the Ministry of
Communications, we will aim at influencing all Ministries, Departments and
Agencies and the private sector to realise the compelling need for networking
and the use of communication technologies to galvanise all sectors of the
economy to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in the national economy. This
will make Ghana's products and services much more competitive in the ever
increasing complexity of the global market, and continue to making Ghana the Gateway
to West Africa and Africa.
The
NDC will formulate an Information Technology Master Plan which will focus on
the following objectives:
-
Foster
the development and growth of information technology, information systems and
computer related services in Ghana.
-
Formulate
appropriate national education, training and research programmes in the field
of information technology in order to build the necessary expertise base for
consolidating the information technology industry in Ghana.
-
Direct
national policies in respect of the promotion, development and regulation of
information technology and its applications.
-
Propose
legislation to ensure data protection, security and other related matters.
The
NDC Government will invest in optimal communications technologies including
micro satellites, fibre optics, broadband data transmission system etc. with
emphasis on wider and finer national
broadcasting and telecommunications systems, with particular reference to the
development of rural telecommunications.
In
doing this, encouragement will be given to the private sector to lead in the
provision of communication services to consolidate the gains already achieved
through the liberalisation of the media, especially, the air waves.
THE
MEDIA
The
media in Ghana today is vibrant, agitative and provocative. Our liberalisation of the print media, the
electronic media and the airwaves has resulted in an avalanche of newspapers,
television and radio stations.
This
is good, as it not only allows for free flow of information and rigorous debate
and discussion of issues, but also demonstrates the NDC government's commitment
to freedom of speech and the constitutionally guaranteed independence of the
media.
However,
the confrontational attitudes which characterise sections of the print media
and the temptation of some private radio stations to play to the gallery as if
they are heard to be best discharging their duties if they appear to be in
conflict with government, is giving a new, unintended definition to freedom of
the media.
We
will work to create a new era of partnership in development between government
and the media and expect that media practitioner will complement our
efforts. That way, there will be less
need for legislation.
The
leadership of our Party in government will have frequent contacts with the
media through interviews, press conferences and news releases on the state of
the nation.
We
will expect the media to promote unity, stability and social cohesion but not
to become instruments of disinformation, political vendetta and of gratuitous
insults.
We
will pursue our policy of off-loading part of government shares in the print
media to the private sector and the general public in order to ensure a greater
degree of public involvement.
GBC
will however remain a public service broadcaster which will be adequately
resourced to enable it fulfil its mission of being the standard-bearer in our
world of broadcasting.
MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT
OUR
CULTURAL VALUES
We
will continue to pursue a cultural policy that ensures an integrated national
culture, national consciousness, social cohesion and national stability. The objective is unity in diversity.
Our
cultural policy must contribute positively towards Ghana's political, economic
and technological development and be used as an important tool for national
development.
The
positive cultural elements of the institution of chieftaincy will be
guaranteed.
Culture
will also be used to inculcate in the youth values of patriotism, self
confidence and the concept of African personality.
We
will continue to support cultural festivals at both national and district
levels and pursue our policy of establishing fully functional Centres for
National Culture in all our regional and district capitals.
RELIGION
AND MORALITY
Freedom
of worship as enshrined in the Constitution will be respected.
The
careful balance that we have sought to draw between religion and culture,
especially where the two appear to clash, will be maintained.
We
will continue to value the example and moral guidance, which religious leaders
provide to society.
SPORTS
AND RECREATION
Despite
considerable improvement in sports facilities, there is still a shortfall in
public stadiums and other facilities, especially in the Districts and some
Regions.
We
will continue to seek corporate sponsorship for the development of sports
infrastructure and encourage District Assemblies to commit a share of the
District Assemblies Common Fund to the provision of basic infrastructure for
sports.
The
Accra and Kumasi stadiums have already been upgraded to approved international
standards. The NDC will continue to
take steps to ensure that ultimately every regional capital has a 70,000 seat
capacity stadium with multi-purpose sports Hall (like the Kumasi Stadium) and
every district capital has a 7,000 seat capacity stadium (like the El-Wak
Stadium).
A
722-acre land has been acquired near Ashiaman for the promised Olympic standard
100,000 - seater stadium and feasibility studies are being conducted.
While
it is true that we could not deliver on our 1996 promise for the Black Stars to
qualify for France '98, we are determined to ensure that they will be at
Japan/South Korea 2002.
World
class boxing talent will continue to be promoted, whilst
"non-traditional" sports such as Tae-Kwando, Handball, Basketball,
Volley ball and Netball will continue to be encouraged.
THE
FUTURE BELONGS TO THE YOUTH
The
NDC is committed to the effective mobilisation of the youth, the productive
engagement of their talents and energies and the creation of an environment,
which will enable all sectors of the youth to realise their full potential and
to contribute effectively to National Development, Stability and Progress.
The
NDC will continue in its objective towards the development of community and
national youth programmes in the areas of culture, recreation and vocational
training to inculcate a spirit of adventure, discovery and patriotism in our
young people as they prepare for adult life.
Since
our 1996 Manifesto, 3 more Youth Leadership Training Institutions have been
added to the 6 then in existence. A
tenth will be establish in the Northern region so that each region so that each
region will have a Training Institute to provide the skills required to improve
employment.
Additionally,
Youth Guidance and Counselling Centres will be set up throughout the country to
enable the Youth make informed educational and career choices as well as
address social problems.
SECURITY
OUR TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY
The NDC is still committed to Ghana's traditional
defence policy of maintaining national sovereignty, territorial integrity and
internal security through the strategic principles of deterrence, non-alignment
and active participation in international peacekeeping operations.
The NDC Government fulfilled the promise made in our
1996 Manifesto of maintaining the Ghana Armed Forces in combat readiness with
requisite equipment and highly trained, disciplined and motivation officers and
men.
More officers and men were recruited, vehicles, logistics
and other equipment were acquired, and construction of new office and
residential accommodation was commenced in the various barracks.
The NDC Government of year 2000 and beyond will
continue to strengthen the human and material capacity of the Ghana Armed
Forces to play the following important roles:
-
National
territorial defence and international peacekeeping
-
Assistance
to the Police for the maintenance of internal law and order and protection of
life and property
-
Assistance
to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) for disaster
management and humanitarian relief.
-
Assistance
to the civilian population in selected areas of national socio-economic
development.
To facilitate the discharge of Ghana's obligations
to the UN and OAU relative to world peace and security, the NDC Government has
since 1998 launched programmes for higher-levels of training of military
personnel.
The Ghana Military Academy is now a degree-awarding
institution while plans are well advanced for the establishment of the
"Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping School".
LAW AND ORDER
As we promised in 1996, the Police Service has since
1997 been more pro-active than reactive in the handling of demonstrations.
The Government released is statement on the Justice
Archer Committee Report into Police conditions and operations and
implementation is in progress.
Neighbourhood Watch Committees continued to be
active and provided good evidence of police-civilian cooperation.
Special attention is being paid to finding effective
and efficient means of police protection of women and children against
homicidal attacks and criminal violations, especially in urban areas.
Special attention will also be paid to the fight
against armed robbery, which gained prominence in 1999 with armed attacks on
filling stations and banks.
Steps will be taken to contain the unacceptable
increase in lawlessness, especially unrest arising from ethnic, religious,
chieftaincy and land disputes and from demonstrations, which sometimes turn
violet.
The NDC government recognises that law and order are
indispensable in a democracy and will continue to ensure a safe and secure
society.
The provision of vehicles, equipment and other
logistics to the Police and other security agencies generally will be high on
the agenda of the next NDC government.
Attention will be given to completing the several
abandoned police projects, especially offices and barracks, scattered
throughout the country.
As part of its overall strategy, an NDC government
will continue to pursue appropriate to custodial sentences such as parole,
community service and suspended sentences.
In order to have an accurate record of citizens, a
Civil Registry and Population Database will be established from the recently
completed census.
Having already relaxed immigration controls with the
passage of the new Immigration Act, an NDC government will ensure that
Ghanaians in the diaspora with the dual citizenship can reside and work in
Ghana without permit.
A NEW IMAGE FOR THE POLICE
The Ghanaian police represent the force of law and
order. As such, they must be both
respected and liked.
The Ghanaian policeman or woman must be friendly,
courteous and polite, but always incorruptible, firm and efficient.
We will create a special unit within the Police to
deal with complaints against members of the Service.
Under the next NDC administration, the Ghanaian
police and the people of Ghana should become partners in the maintenance of law
and order.
JUSTICE - OUR NATIONAL MOTTO
Our resolve and commitment to a just, fair,
efficient and transparent system of justice remain undimmed.
In pursuit of our Vision 2020 objective, laws have
been repealed or passed to ensure that an investor-friendly legal environment
is maintained.
We recognise that the justice delivery system has a
vital role to play in the realisation of our developmental objectives.
We shall work with the judiciary to establish
separate business, commercial and investment courts to deal expeditiously with
cases of commercial litigation and white collar and economic crime.
The Serious Fraud Office, the CHRAJ and other
institutions set up to ensure probity and accountability will be resourced and
their personnel trained to enable them perform their constitutional roles more
effectively.
The NDC will continue in its objective of enhancing
accessibility to justice be ensuring the establishment of the full complement
of the lower courts.
We will strengthen the court system and the Legal
Aid Scheme to enable them deliver justice to the poor and the deprived who, by
virtue of their poverty and deprivation, are often denied access to justice.
The legal and judicial sector reforms already
initiated by the NDC Government hold a lot of promise for the modernisation of
the court system - especially the introduction of computerised technology. We will continue to decongest the courts and
expedite the resolution of disputes.
The focus on social and criminal legislation started
in 1997 will continue to be reflected in our work in the legal sector. Areas to be targeted will include the
Protection of Privacy, Surveillance and Interception of Communications,
Compensation in Personal Injuries Cases, Domestic Violence, Bankruptcy, the
Rights of the Physically Challenged and Regulation of Public Nuisance.
GHANA AND THE WORLD
WEST AFRICA
The recent initiatives by the NDC government to
foster closer collaboration with six of our West African sister states for the
purpose of creating a Free Trade Area and Borderless Zone and with five others
to establish a Second Monetary Zone are in pursuit of our national commitment
to West Africa sub-regional integration as a critical part of the process on
the road to the unification of our continent.
The NDC will support this major effort of government
and, at the people to people level, act as a major promoter of the ECOWAS
integration agenda.
AFRICA
The national programme in support of African Unity
and the Pan African project are important to the NDC. The Party's support for the African Renaissance concept in the
new millennium shall continue to be a major component of its international
programme across the continent.
TIES WITH FRATERNAL PARTIES
In the promotion of the programme of Pan-Africanism,
the NDC shall pursue most fervently the building of ties with progressive
political parties on the continent and in the Diaspora.
Relations with other non-African political parties
shall also be cultivated for the purpose of sharing common experiences in
party-building and in defining clear perspectives and strategies for the
construction of true national democracy world-wide. The NDC shall also cultivate ties with all political parties
abroad who share with us common aspirations for a peaceful and just world
order.
SOUTH-SOUTH COMMITMENT
The NDC remains committed to the need to construct
common cause with our brothers and sisters of the south for the purposes of
trade, cultural exchange and development, and to intensify the effort at
fighting for a just world economic order in this era of globalization. In this direction, embassies in Africa, a
number of which were closed down for economic reasons.
The NDC renews its support for the Non Aligned
Movement (NAM) the South Commission and the G77 with an agenda to rekindle the
need for the developing world to close ranks in demand for equity and a fair
share in matters of trade, technology, and dignified treatment in the councils
of the world.
THE NDC, GHANA AND THE WORLD
The NDC shall work hard to maintain Ghana's place in
the international community, and strengthen the arm of its government to
continue its active role in the United Nations, the Commonwealth and in all
other regional and world bodies devoted to the true interest of all citizens of
the world without discrimination.
The election of a Ghanaian, Kofi Annan, as the
Secretary-General of the United Nations during the term of the Second NDC
administration is a point that has been lost on Ghana-watchers on the
international scene.
The NDC will continue to guarantee that Ghana's
voice is heard loud and clear in the forums of the world in defence of the
oppressed, and in the promotion of world peace and human solidarity.
CONCLUSION
At this historic political juncture in the life of
our nation, when we are poised to face perharps the final test in the task of
building a new national democratic culture, the NDC is proud to declare that it
has withstood the storms of the uncertainties and difficulties of these past
seven years.
Our transition from a revolutionary tradition to a
constitutional era, though problematic at times, is surely on course. The NDC has come of age as a party. We have successfully ushered our country
into a new democratic era with the firm hope that our conduct of national
politics will reflect a new culture both in rhetoric and practice.
The fact that we, from our revolutionary origins,
created a new and more meaningful grassroots democracy, is a matter not only
for self-congratulation, but also more important, a clear indication of our
commitment to true democracy as the long-term destination for our beloved
country. And that commitment on our
part remains firm.
The past year has been a difficult one, particularly
after the promising 1998 when signs of accelerated economic growth were
evident. The various economic
indicators in that year including reduction in inflation, higher productivity
in the export sector, control on money supply and a generally improved
macroeconomic environment projected the final prospects for the take-off that
we have and sacrificed for from the PNDC era.
The energy crisis of 1998 as the result of poor
rainfall in the Volta Dam's catchment era was the first attack on our
well-worked plans. But we overcame the
difficulty through a concerted programme involving both the state and the
private sector. Today, we can say we
have that problem behind us.
But barely had we won the energy war when evidence
emerged that our receipts for cocoa and gold would be hit by an unfolding
collapse in the prices for these critical commodities on the world market.
The collapse finally matured and hit us hard by the
first quarter of 2000.
This manifesto is the NDC's declaration of intent in
our determination to weather the recent economic storm and move forward with
confidence into the future.
For the NDC, the welfare of the people shall always
remain our supreme concern. From this
fundamental commitment, the NDC will not flinch.
There still remain serious needs in some of
communities. We have set out in very
clear terms in this document, the NDC manifesto, the ways and means we shall
employ to carry out our duty to the people.
The NDC believes that it is the one party with the
will to push this country ahead. The
NDC has done it before. We have the
experience. We have the
leadership. We have the determination
to push on into the future.
This is why the NDC needs your vote.
And more.
The NDC needs your commitment and involvement in the task of working to
build a better Ghana.
Come let us join hands to build the new future.
Come let us spread the benefits of development.
Development is FREEDOM
Vote NDC for Unity
Vote NDC for Stability
Vote NDC for Development