[ 2012-07-18 ]

Hassan Ayariga

PNC will avoid partisanship, bias in contract award - Ayariga
The flagbearer of the People’s National Convention
(PNC), Mr Hassan Ayariga, has promised to be fair
to all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political
affiliations, if he is elected President.

Presenting the PNC’s programmes, policies and
strategies at the second Institute of Economic
Affairs (IEA) Evening Encounter in Accra Tuesday,
he said his administration would avoid the past
mistakes of partisanship in the country’s
political system and eschew bias in the award of
government contracts and appointments.

“I will also bring on board a long-term national
development plan for Ghana which will be for the
next 20 to 30 years. It will include a development
policy document that contains the national vision.
It will be a document that will focus on the
rehabilitation of various sectors of the economy,
growth and a new direction for our country,” he
added.

The IEA forum, held at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre,
brought together representatives of interest
groups — the labour union, health workers and
women’s groups — to hear from the PNC the
programmes it will implement if it is elected into
power in December.
The platform was created by the IEA for all flag
bearers whose parties have representation in
Parliament.

Mr Ayariga said the main theme of his government
would be: “Rehabilitation, redirection, youth
empowerment and economic growth” and added that he
would introduce leadership of hard work,
patriotism, truth, honesty and love.

He said a PNC government would review the National
Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), with the view to
strengthening and expanding it, and establish a
health maintenance organisation to monitor the
scheme and advise the government on how to
continuously enhance its operations.

According to him, he would ensure the
establishment of more psychiatric hospitals and
clinics to address the problem of mental patients
roaming the streets and ensure that all buildings
were disability friendly.

Agriculture
On agriculture, he said given the right attention,
the sector could create jobs, increase incomes,
eradicate poverty, boost foreign exchange and
ensure food security.

He also stated that the PNC would revisit the
Operation Feed Yourself programme of the
Acheampong era, repackage it and make it a
flagship project to solve the food security needs
of Ghana.

In furtherance of that objective, he said, his
government would acquire large tracts of land
across the country and lease them out to
commercial farmers to engage in farming.

Support in the areas of funding, farm inputs,
equipment and marketing of farm produce would be
provided to enable the programme to flourish.

“The approach will be integrated and it will
involve financial institutions, industry, input
suppliers, companies dealing in farm machinery,
the government and farmers. Investors who wish to
engage in commercial farming will be granted
favourable terms and other incentives to turn our
country into a food basket,” he said.

A PNC government, he said, would also rehabilitate
abandoned silos and build new ones across the
country to improve food storage and reduce
post-harvest losses.

“The intention is to provide food security for
lean periods and in times of national disasters
such as crop failures due to bad weather, fire
outbreaks and flooding,” he added.

Mr Ayariga said more irrigation dams would be
constructed across the country if the PNC won
power to facilitate all-year-round farming and
plant pools for mechanised agriculture established
to modernise agriculture and speed up the
revolution in that sector.

To facilitate easy transportation of farm produce,
he said feeder roads would be constructed to link
all food production areas and attention paid to
railway construction as well.

Cocoa production, according to him, would be
boosted from the current one million tonnes to two
million within four years, adding that the feat
would be achieved by replanting all fallow cocoa
farms, mass distribution of fertilisers,
introducing quarantine officers, building cocoa
depots close to cocoa farms, making chemicals
available to farmers and stopping cocoa
smuggling.

With regard to fisheries, he said a PNC
administration would review all existing laws and
make premix fuel and outboard motors readily
available. Fish farming would also be encouraged
and made a module under the National Youth
Employment Programme (NYEP).

Energy
To improve the energy situation in Ghana, Mr
Ayariga said his government would build more
hydro-electric dams and explore the possibility of
generating power from wind and solar energy.

On education, he said a PNC government would
review the curricula of all levels of education,
from basic to tertiary, and would not only provide
free education but also ensure quality in that
sector.

Teachers, he said, would be equipped with new ways
of imparting knowledge and tertiary institutions
provided with funding.

“We will expand the mandate of the Students Loan
Trust to cover private tertiary students,” he
added.

Housing
On housing, Mr Ayariga said a percentage of the
nation’s annual budget would be committed to the
construction of high-rise buildings and
well-planned communities to make housing
accessible to all Ghanaians who could not afford
to own their own houses.

All stakeholders, he said, would be brought
together and tasked to meet the government’s
housing targets within four years, adding that
“the houses provided shall be given out on
tenant-owner basis”.

Turning the spotlight on foreign affairs, he said
the PNC’s policy would be in consonance with
international law and diplomacy and the objectives
would be pursued in a manner that would not
compromise national interest and sovereignty.
“In order not to subordinate the dignity and
independence of Ghana to foreign interests, all
international agreements, contracts, treaties and
conventions that will be executed on behalf or for
the people of Ghana shall be subjected to scrutiny
and ratification by Parliament,” Mr Ayariga said.

Source - Daily Graphic

... go Back