[ 2012-04-28 ]

President Mills addresses Ghanaian students in New York
Accra, April 28, GNA – President John Evans Atta
Mills has underscored the need for the youth to be
taught how to advance their arguments through
debates instead of using intemperate language.

“I think that it is important that young people
are taught the right things,” he said, during
interaction with17 Ghanaian students, who were in
the office of the Permanent Mission of Ghana to
the United Nations in New York, on Friday
morning.

The students, selected from various first cycle
schools, including those from some deprived
communities are in the United States, for a week
to participate in a Model United Nations
Conference at the State Department, in Washington,
DC.

President Mills said at the UN the students would
see how debates are done and how arguments are
advanced without the use of intemperate language.

He tasked them to look at things very critically
and ask the necessary questions.

Responding to questions from the students, the
President recounted efforts by his government to
modernise agriculture and the provision of
irrigation facilities.

“Luckily with the Chinese loan that we have been
able to procure, we are targeting irrigation of
about 11,000 hectares of the Accra Plains and want
to make sure that we can have an all-year farming
season, President Mills said.

He also identified the marketing of agriculture
produce as another area that the government had
taken keen interest in.

President Mills said it was very important waste
to be properly managed in order to control the
spread of diseases and pollution.

He said a number of organisations were interested
in helping Ghana to develop her waste management
techniques, some of whom had contacted the
government on the issue.

Referring to his last State of the Nation Address,
the President reiterated his determination to
ensure that deprived communities got the needed
infrastructure to improve on lives.

President Mills disclosed that when met his
Togolese counterpart, Mr Faure Gnassingbe they
discussed the possibility of Ghana and Togo
teaming up to have access to cheaper laptops

Asked about his efforts to solve the water problem
in New Ningo, he said Government was providing
boreholes to alleviate the problem.

“We are also working on the Kpong water project,
which is going to add about four million gallons
of water to water supply in the Accra Region.

“For almost 50 years nothing was done about the
main electricity power transmission lines... For
now we are working very seriously on it since
power supply is very crucial and fundamental to
the country's development.

“We are going to have a second compact of the
Millennium Challenge Account. We had the first
one, which ended with my (inauguration) of the N1
Highway. We are getting a second one. In that one,
the emphasis is on energy supply and we want to
ensure that there is enough power to go round the
whole country.

“Furthermore, solar energy systems are being
encouraged to address the country's energy
problem.

Mr Ernest Danquah, County Director of Lifeline
Ghana, Leader of the students informed President
Mills that Ghana won four out of the 36 awards
with 1,500 participants at last year's Model UN
Model Conference in New York.

He explained that the government's current policy
of establishing Information Community centres
throughout the country had made it possible for
many students in the deprived areas to have access
to internet facility, to broaden their knowledge
and to take part in the UN programme.

Source - GNA

... go Back